12 Chapter 12: First Blood
In a small room sat 4 figures in a full circle. One thing which all of these people had in common was that they looked similar to each other, if one could say they looked like clones of each other. Their lavender eyes also made them look almost the same.
Hiashi Hyuga was sitting in the middle, his face was stoic as usual. Right now he was sitting in a very important meeting with the elders of the Hyuga clan.
"Hiashi, has the plan been put into motion?" asked Hibachi seriously. The man looked like the older version of Hiashi.
"Yes, Tou-san, it is done." said Hiashi impassively
"The Hyuga clan have chosen their heiress Hiashi-sama, we want that weakling removed as the possible heir of the clan." said another elder angrily
"Yes, Hinata brings shame to our clan, she is weak and pathetic. We would become the laughing stock of the entire village if she is made the clan heiress, the girl can't even beat her little sister in a spar. We want you to name Hanabi as the clan heiress and make Hinata a branch family member and give her the cursed seal." commanded Hibachi firmly
"Yes, that is why I strongly requested the Hokage to let her go on a B-rank mission with team 7. The Hyuga clan is the strongest clan of this village. I told the Hokage that we needed to see Hinata's skills in a mission to decide the future leader of our clan. Naturally, the Hokage agreed and accepted my request." explained Hiashi briefly
"But what would happen if she dies on that mission?" asked another elder curiously
"The Hokage has assured me that she wouldn't die. He has a lot of faith in that boy and his team and if she dies on a mere B-rank then she doesn't deserve to be a Hyuga." spat Hiashi distastefully
In truth he was disappointed with his elder daughter, he had so many hopes from her. The Hyuga clan followed tradition to the code and were always firm in their beliefs, yet Hiashi's own flesh and blood couldn't speak properly. She couldn't even beat her 9 year old sister in a spar, she had a crush on the Jinchuriki, her skills were weak. Hiashi wondered how did he end up with a daughter like Hinata?
But he was relieved when his younger daughter fulfilled all his expectations that Hinata couldn't. Hanabi was a genius, she was the star of Hiashi's eyes, she was strong, confident and firmly believed in Hiashi's and the Hyuga clan's ideals and traditions.
Hiashi wished to make Hanabi the heir to his clan but their tradition was getting in the way. The eldest child of the clan leader always ended up as the next leader while the younger ones would be made branch family members. It had happened with him and his brother.
Thinking of his brother shot a wave of guilt in Hiashi's heart. He didn't want that to happen with Hanabi. She deserved much more than Hinata.
As a result he had found a way, if the elder child is proved to be incompetent to lead the clan, then in that case the younger sibling could lead the clan in his place.
Hiashi had explained this situation to Hiruzen and the Hokage had agreed as he couldn't deny it as it was matters pertaining to the Hyuga clan. However Hiruzen had made him take full responsibility of Hinata and the consequences of the mission on her and her life. Hiashi had readily signed the agreement.
However he did believe that Hinata would survive. He was disappointed in her but that didn't mean he wished her dead. He was his father, he tried to act tough as he was a leader but he still cared for his child.
"Hinata, please come back alive." prayed Hiashi
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It was pitch black darkness, rain was pouring heavily from the sky, six figures had surrounded a bandit camp.
Team 7 was patiently waiting for Naruto's signal to attack.
Sakura was already positioned in the shooter position on the norther side. She was wearing the goggles which Naruto had given her. She could clearly see the various bandits located in the camp. Her hands were firmly holding the tip of the arrow. She had made up her mind, today was the day she was going to kill, and these people were just scum. When she had heard what those bandits did, all her hesitation faded away. Now she was ready to kill these bandits and was patiently waiting for Naruto's signal.
On the eastern side Anko and Hinata were hiding behind a rock. Anko was stoic, she had been on such missions before so she was confident that she would do her job done. Get in, rescue the hostages and get out. Plain and simple.
In the meanwhile Hinata was the most nervous person in the entire team, she was supposed to take a person's life. She didn't know if she could do it. She feared she would fail, as she had with everything in her life. The only thing that was holding her together was Naruto's faith in her.
Hidden in trees Kurenai was anxiously waiting for to order to attack. She was immensely proud of Naruto, he was a true leader. The plan which he had made would end this mission in minutes, the enemy won't know what hit them. Even though their team had a weak link like Hinata, she was sure that Anko could handle her. The only thing that was on her mind was to get her job done.
On the northern side, near the enemy gates, Naruto and Sasuke were hidden in the shadows. They both were a tag team. Naruto was observing every movement of the enemy. He had been trained to never underestimate the enemy no matter how weak they seemed. He had analyzed every possible strategy he could make and was sure that his team would do their job. He would protect his team, no matter what.
Meanwhile Sasuke's heartbeat was rising with each passing second. This was where he would find out how strong he was, he had trained for years and he would make sure no harm came on his team.
Naruto sensed Sasuke's tensed behavior and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I've got your back." reassured Naruto with a smile
"So do I." said Sasuke confidently this time.
"Is everyone in position?" asked Naruto quietly
"Hai" was the unison reply of the team.
"Let's roll." commanded Naruto seriously
The guards in the tower were having a very boring night. They couldn't even see in such darkness, plus their leader had forbidden them from having any more fun with the women. It was such a shame.
"Hey Tsura, can you see anything?" asked one bandit who was standing in his tower.
No response.
"Hey, you fucking idiot are you listening?" asked the bandit loudly.
He then turned around and to his utmost shock he saw Tsura's body fell with a big arrow right between his eyes.
"AT-" before he could finish the sentence he felt something cold pierce his head. He didn't realize it was a precise arrow, his body limply fell to the ground.
"Sentries are neutralized." replied Sakura silently. She felt a little sick for having taken two lives, this was her first kills after all. But she knew she was doing the right thing and was prepared to do it once again.
"Roger, Kurenai move front" commanded Naruto
Kurenai nodded, she then quickly shunshined herself in the enemy camp. She was hidden due to her camouflage jutsu. Her objective was simple, kill the enemy and turn them against each other.
She silently went towards the south west direction. There was a tent there which contained all the weapons of the bandits. It was night time so most of them were sleeping with only a few standing guard.
It was a primary rule of warfare, if you want to destroy the enemy destroy his weapons to fight.
There were two guards who were guarding the tent. Kurenai silently positioned herself behind the guard on the left. The bandit didn't even know that he was just going to die in a few seconds.
She slowly wrapped her hands around the man's neck. The man found something cold touch his neck, he tried to move his neck to look back to see what it was. But soon his entire neck was twisted in one swift motion with a sickening crack. The only expression that remained on the man's face were his wide eyes before his body simple fell lifeless to the ground.
"What!'' said the bandit on the right but before he could act, his neck was pierced by a sharp arrow. Blood started to spill out from his neck, Kurenai acted quickly and threw the man'd body in the tent. She then quickly hid the other bandit's body beside his partner.
She was quite impressed with Sakura's aim. The girl was a precise shooter.
She then laid her only explosive tag in the tent and started to move towards her next targets.
"Objective complete." whispered Kurenai lightly
"Alright, let's storm the front." said Naruto
Naruto and Sasuke quickly stormed towards the front gate. The seemed like blurs which could not be seen by the bandits in such darkness.
Naruto unsheathed his sword, his sharingan was ablaze and he was clearly looking at the 10 bandits on the right side.
He quickly threw his blade high in the air and performed a quick set of hand signs.
"Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique)"
Several sharp blades of wind rushed towards the oblivious bandits and what appeared to be a moment sliced their heads of their necks. It wasn't just a simple slice, their heads were torn to pieces with every part on it crushed. The bandits didn't even know they were dead and passed into the afterlife.
Naruto jumped high in the air and caught his sword in mid air, he instantly flashed wind chakra through his sword and made a swipe at the nearby three bandits. They saw the sword etching closer and tried to parry the attack by raising up their own swords.
Futile
Naruto's attack cut the bandits swords to pieces followed by the bandits's head.
Nearby Sasuke quickly slashed the throat of a bandit, he then jumped in the air and cleaved the other bandit who was trying to run away in half.
He felt strange, he had already killed three people. He was amazed when he saw Naruto kill 13 bandits in 5 seconds. He was so much mesmerized by the precision with which Naruto was attacking that he left his back open to the enemy.
Big mistake
"DIE!" yelled a bandit fro behind. His sword was quickly moving to chop Sasuke's head off in an instant. Sasuke tried to block the sword, his kunai was slowly moving to block the attack. But the enemy's sword was just an inch away from his neck.
Sasuke felt his entire life flash before his eyes. His mother, father, his clan, everything was over now.
"Amaterasu"
Sasuke heard this word and when he opened his eyes he saw the bandits entire body engulfed in black flames. The man had an arrow in his head, curtouesy of Sakura. He realized before the bandit made any noise she had silenced him. The man's entire body was melting in those flames, the skin was dissolving leaving a bad foul.
Sasuke immediately puked when he inhaled that foul stench.
He was quite surprised when he was roughly grabbed by his shoulders.
He looked up and saw Naruto looking at him seriously. Naruto's right eye was bleeding heavily, and he was panting a little.
"Sasuke, focus. We need to finish the enemy." said Naruto tiredly
Naruto had just used his Mangekyo sharingan, the Amaterasu was his strongest fire ninjutsu. When he had seen Sasuke about to be killed he immediately used his power to protect him. The vision in his right eye blurred a little and he was in immense pain but he had to go on.
"Hai" said Sasuke a little hesitantly.
He was worried when he saw blood coming out of Naruto's eyes, he wanted to know what happened.
"Sakura, I want you to fire your arrows laced with exploding tags in 40 seconds. Till then we will deal with the enemy and Kurenai can put her plan in motion. Then you focus on the others." commanded Naruto strictly
"Hai, are you alright?" asked Sakura worriedly.
"I'm fine. Let's go." said Naruto
Kurenai heard what had happened on her radio. At first she got a little worried but then she heard Naruto's orders. She was standing in a small tent where 7 bandits were sleeping heavily. She knew she barely had seconds.
She immediately took out 7 sharp kunai from her pouch and in one precise strike launched them at the sleeping bandits killing them instantly. She was thankful to Naruto for giving her a little training in Shurikenjutsu.
"10 seconds" whispered Sakura in order to warn Kurenai
"Hai" said Kurenai quickly and made a ram hand sign
BOOM!
There was a loud explosion in the armory tent of the enemy camp. Kurenai quickly disappeared from her tent because now their plan was finally going into its last stage.
The loud noise suddenly woke up Taro and Sasame. They both looked at each other and understood what was happening.
"We are being attacked.'' thought both of them and picked up their gear in order to fight and repel the enemy.
"Now!" commanded Naruto loudly
Almost all of the bandits had woke up when they heard the loud explosion.
Sasame and Taro were already outside in their chunin vest. Both missing nin were pissed when the saw their armory burning like hell.
"WHA-" shouted Taro lightly but he was stopped when Sasame tackled him away quite roughly
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Taro was quite shocked when his tent along with several others were bombed and blown to bits.
Many of the bandits were in the camp and were torn to shreds. Some who had survived had some of their limbs missing and were screaming in agony.
"AHHH"
"HELP ME!"
"SAVE US!"
All of these voices were coming from every direction in the camp.
"Where the hell are those motherfuckers? I"ll Kill them." hissed Sasame angrily
She then angrily sped of to the south side of the camp.
"Sasame WAIT!" screamed Taro but she was already gone.
He too went of in another direction to gather his men and flee.
In the meanwhile Anko just stabbed a bandit straight to his heart. The man's eyes widened in shock before they closed never to open again, his body fell limply to the ground.
Hinata just stood behind Anko, she was shell shocked on seeing such a murder. She was brought out of her daze when Anko slapped her with such force that sent her crashing on the ground.
"Hyuga, where are the hostages, you little shit!" hissed Anko angrily.
This was the girl who was supposed to watch her back, Anko never really had patience and she had even tried to explain it to Hinata in a civil manner but now the girl was getting on her nerves.
Hinata fearfully activated her byakugan and pointed in the right direction.
Anko had just turned her back in order to enter the tent when she heard a body fell to the ground.
She looked back and saw it was a bandit with an arrow lodged in his neck. Hinata's entire body was covered in the man's blood. She was shivering, her entire body was covered in blood.
"What is happening? Help me" thought Hinata fearfully
"Sakura, I want you to blow up the eastern wall in 1 minute. Please cover my back, this Hyuga is a pussy." said Anko seriously
"Hai Anko-taichou" said Sakura and took out the pair of bandits guarding the prisoner camp.
"Good girl, now you follow me and help the women and children. I'll cover you, escape with them, Sakura will rendezvous with you. Protect the hostages with your life, if anything happens to them there will be one less Hyuga in Konoha." barked Anko angrily
"Hai" said Hinata meekly
She realized this was what shinobi were. They murdered, they killed, the stole, this was the truth which Iruka had spoke about.
Anko quickly entered the tent, she knew she had to hurry the others needed her help.
"Please don't kill us." begged a woman with tears in her eyes.
Most of the women were badly beaten and had bruises on their body. 2 of them were unconscious and there was a pool of blood near them indicating they must have been recently raped.
"Kage Bunshin No jutsu"
Immediately 1 shadow clone popped up beside her and picked up the wounded females.
"We are here to save you. Follow me if you want to live" commanded Anko
The women immediately got up and quickly followed Anko out of the tent. They looked around and saw fire everywhere, there were many bodies littered around. The smell in the air was sickening.
In a far distance Anko saw Naruto and Sasuke quickly kill 10 shinobi in a matter of seconds. Their speed was frightening, the boys didn't look like teenagers but trained shinobi who had killed.
She heard the eastern wall being blown to pieces indicating Sakura had used her last explosive arrows.
"Hinata, take the hostages and leave. I'll take care of the rest of these scum, Sakura rendezvous with her."
"Hai" replied both girls
Hinata had already gathered some courage and rescued the kids, a bandit had tried to stop her but Sakura had killed him. She wondered how Sakura did that, how was she able to take a person's life. With her byakugan active she clearly saw Naruto killing so many enemy, this was not her kind and gentle Naruto. This was a cold blooded assasin.
The same thing was being seen by Kurenai, she had already dealt with her target with the help of her genjutsu and the mission would be over in a few moments. She was unnerved a little when she saw Naruto cut through numerous bandits.
It was as if he had no emotions.
He had not guilt.
He had no soul
She shuddered, she feared what Naruto was becoming. She knew he was strong, she knew he was wise, she knew he would kill, but this was just plain slaughter.
Meanwhile Taro was quite frightened, sure he and Sasame had the B-rank missing nin status in the bingo books but that was just exaggeration of their skills. They could handle a few bandits but the enemy that were attacking them were skilled shinobi.
"They must be Anbu" thought a fearful Taro
Their army was almost finished, they couldn't even see what was happening in this pitch black darkness, no matter how hard they strained their eyes.
The sound of bodies dropping from everywhere was sickening.
Taro knew there was no escape now. Sasame was missing, his men were killed like chickens, he knew running was futile, he had to fight.
Beside him stood 6 bandits, this was what was left of their men. They didn't even know if the others had survived or not.
"We are all gonna die." said a bandit on the left fearfully
"It's all because of you." yelled another bandit
"Shut up all of you. Do what I say, we must fight the enemy.." said Taro angrily
To his surprise one of his comrades attacked him, Taro defended himself but soon all the remaining 5 bandits attacked him from all sides.
He jumped high in the air and in one swift motion killed all the bandits. He hastily landed on the ground.
"Sasame where are GAHHHH" screamed Taro in agony.
He looked down and saw a kunai had pierced straight through his heart, the entire surroundings changed and the last thing he saw was a cold pair of sharingan eyes.
"Its over." said Naruto. His entire uniform was drenched in blood, there were drops of blood on his face which he washed away slowly.
He turned around and saw Sasuke was standing still, he had his head bowed down. Sasuke had atleast taken out 15 bandits, Naruto knew how Sasuke was feeling, the guilt of first kill and Sasuke, Sakura had taken multiple lives today. Sakura had taken more lives than Sasuke, Naruto was a little worried about her.
Kurenai slowly came in front of him. She was holding Sasame, the chunin was no match for Kurenai, she had defeated her and captured her as per Naruto's orders. Females were easy to crack and Naruto knew that and in front of a sharingan wielder they cracked instantly.
"Naruto, are you alright?" asked Kurenai worriedly
She then gently hugged Naruto, she didn't care that he stinked, she didn't care that he had killed so many. She loved him and what they did was for the sake of the mission. They were shinobi.
"You alright brat?" asked Anko softly to Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulders.
Sasuke just gave a nod, he didn't feel sad for killing these men but he was shocked to see he had killed so many in one night.
"Sakura, Hinata are you alright?" asked Naruto firmly through his communication device.
No response.
"Is anyone there?" asked Naruto a little worriedly
Nothing
"We need to check on them quickly." said Anko quickly
The entire team quickly went towards the blown up eastern wall. On their path they saw that the entire camp had been destroyed with only dead bodies remaining in the area.
Naruto used his sensor skills in order to see if they had left someone alive. But no one was alive.
His mission was simple, annihilate the enemy and save the hostages. No enemy was to be left alive. He wanted to get some information from Sasame, that's why he had ordered Kurenai to capture her. After that she would be executed.
Anko had told him about Hinata's performance, to say that he was disappointed would be an understatement.
He still remembered his talk with Hinata's father.
(Flashback)
Naruto was standing at the northern gates ready for the first mission with his team. He was relaxed, a typical B-rank mission that bordered near high C-rank was no difficult task.
It would still be a few minutes before his team arrived. He was an Root Anbu captain and as such was trained to be on time.
He was interupted from his thoughts when a man came towards him.
It was none other than Hiashi Hyuga, Hinata had sometimes mentioned about her father when they were in the acadmey. The strict posture and from the way he walked Naruto knew it was Hiashi. Danzo had also made him remember varuious information about different political clan heads, just in case.
"Naruto-san" greeted Hiashi formerly with a nod.
"Hyuga-sama, what can I do for you?" asked Naruto respectfully
"The Hyuga clan and I want to make a formal request to you." said Hiashi calmly
"I'm listening."
"We want you to observe Hinata and her performance during the mission and report it to us." said Hiashi stoically
"It can be arranged. You will get the full report only from the Hokage." said Naruto seriously
Hiashi was a little surprised, he had thought that the boy would ask questions but it appeared as if he knew why all of this was happening.
"I thought you would like to know the reason behind this request?" asked Hiashi curiously
"Its quite simple, you want to chose your younger daughter as the heir to your clan but your tradition is getting in the way. So if you can prove Hinata is not capable of leading your clan then she can be made a branch family member. Hinata lacks the confidence and strength and what you are doing is for your clan." explained Naruto briefly
"You seem to know a lot more about our clan." commented Hiashi a little warily
"You are forgetting that Hinata is my friend, I know how she feels. I don't know what happened between both of you and neither it is my business to know. I will give an honest report about her skills in my report. I will not sell her out just to please your clan. She is now a member of my team and I will not do her any injustice." said Naruto firmly
He was quite surprised when a small smile came on the Hyuga clan leader's face.
"I may not have been a good father to her but I still care about her. Please keep her safe." requested Hiashi humbly
"I'll try, in the end we all are shinobi and death is our profession." said Naruto stoically
"You are an interesting person Naruto-san." said Hiashi silently
"That I am"
(Flashback end)
After hearing from Anko about Hinata's actions, Naruto was sure of what he had to do. But still for old times sake he was going to give the girl one last chance, if she fails that then he would suggest her removal from the shinobi corps.
"Naruto what were those flames back there?" asked Sasuke curiously
"Flames?'' asked Kurenai surprisingly
"It was one of my fire style ninjutsu attacks." explained Naruto shortly. Well he had atleast told Sasuke half of the truth.
"Then why was your right eye bleeding?" asked Sasuke sharply
"Naruto.." said Anko a little worriedly
"That was the blood of a bandit which I had to hastily kill. Next time be careful Sasuke and don't leave your back open to an enemy." reprimanded Naruto sternly
"Hai" said Sasuke with a small nod
Naruto's right eye was burning like hell, his vision had gotten a little blurry since he used the Amaterasu.
"If I don't do something about this, I'll go blind in a few months." thought Naruto seriously
"That was a nice strategy brat, you confused the enemy so much. They even turned against their own leader, the speed of our attack didn't allow the enemy to counter. Hell they couldn't even see in such darkness. Kurenai's genjutsu and Sakura's attacks were lethal." said Anko proudly
"Yes, we did defeat the enemy. We are shinobi, instead of going in a full scale battle I tend to finish the enemy in a second. Kurenai took down Sasame in a few moments, I killed Taro without letting him know who I was, or why I was attacking him. A true shinobi always stays in the shadows and protects the village." said Naruto firmly
"You know, you just sounded like Danzo." said an amused Kurama
"Tch" said Naruto irritatingly
"What are you going to do about Hinata?" asked Kurenai curiously
"I need to do one last thing before I decide what to do with her. Sasuke deactivate your sharingan, we're almost there." said Naruto seriously
Both the boys then deactivated their sharingan, Naruto didn't want Hinata to know about his sharingan just yet.
When they arrived at the clearing, they saw the hostages were safe. Women were taking care of children and were trying to keep them calm. Sakura was off in the corner trying to heal a woman.
While Hinata was trembling in fear in the shade of a tree.
"Brat, what are you going to do?'' asked Kurama curiously
Naruto just had enough of Hinata's weakness, she called herself a shinobi?
He quickly went towards her and roughly grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the bark of the tree.
"NARUTO!" snapped Kurenai angrily. She went to stop him but one look in his eyes made her stop in her spot.
"Stay out of this." said Naruto harshly
"Naruto-kun.." said Hinata with ragged breath, she couldn't breathe properly
"Hinata, I trusted you, I put my faith in you and yet you failed me. If not for Sakura and Anko you would have been dead." said Naruto angrily
"I'm sorry" said Hinata with tears in her eyes.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, you put the hostages life in danger, you put Anko's life in danger, you risked the safety of the entire mission. WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? THE WORLD ISN'T MADE OF ROSES, YOU LIVE IN YOUR OWN DREAM WORLD HINATA. WHY DO YOU EVEN WANT TO BECOME A SHINOBI IF YOU CANNOT EVEN DEFEND YOURSELF?" asked Naruto angrily
"I...wanted..to..become...like..you. I wanted...to...become..strong. I..wanted to be acknowledged." said a sobbing Hinata. Her voice was getting more choked as she spoke.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" asked Kurenai angrily. She knew Hinata had failed, but Naruto was going very harsh, she had never seen him so much angry.
"You say you wanted to be acknowledged. But you will never be acknowledged." said Naruto impassively
"What?" asked a shocked Hinata
"Hinata, I know how you admired me, how you looked up to me, how you wanted to prove yourself. But yet you did nothing, you just watched me get strong. You never trained, you never tried, you cried like a baby for being weak, you know why your clan and even your own father are disappointed in you its because you are pathetic, not because you are weak but because you have no respect for yourself." said Naruto bitterly and dropped Hinata on the ground.
Hinata was already crying, as her dream was crushed. The person from whom she wanted to get acknowledged the most considered her a failure. Before anything further could happen Kurenai stepped forward.
"Naruto STOP THIS NOW!" hissed Kurenai angrily and grabbed him by his shoulders.
"I did what was right." said Naruto without any remorse in his voice. He looked Kurenai straight in the eyes, she saw how he looked at her, this was not her kind and gentle Naruto, this was a ruthless killer.
"I know Hinata failed, but you are being rude." said Kurenai softly. She rubbed his cheeks affectionately
Naruto just remained silent and was looking at Kurenai with a soft gaze. Meanwhile everyone else was watching them, Sakura and Sasuke were also quite surprised with Naruto's behavior, the only one who thought Naruto was right was Anko.
Hinata was seething with anger now, how dare that bitch, she was taking her Naruto.
"She is corrupting him, My Naruto-kun would never do such thing to me. I will rescue you from this bitch Naruto-kun" thought a fuming Hinata who was clenching her hands so tightly that her knuckles had gone white.
"Alright, I'll give her one last chance." said Naruto tiredly
"What do you have in mind?" asked Sakura curiously, she was a little sad that Hinata was treated this way, but Naruto was the team leader and what he did was right, Hinata did jeopardize the mission.
"Hinata you want to prove that you are a shinobi right?" asked Naruto seriously
"Hai" said Hinata a little confidently.
"Then Kill Sasame." said Naruto harshly and pointed towards the prisoner whom Anko was holding.
"Wha..T?" asked a shocked Hinata
"You heard me. Kill her after Anko interrogates her. Kurenai, I'm giving her a chance to prove herself, enemy won't be merciful to her or her team. She must learn to be a true shinobi." explained Naruto hoping Kurenai would understand.
"I understand." agreed Kurenai
"I'll see if she has some valuable information." said Anko and went behind a few trees with Sasame in order to interrogate her.
"Sasuke, Sakura-chan you did well. How are you feeling?" asked Naruto softly
"I'm fine Naruto-kun, but am I a bad person? I took so many lives today?" asked Sakura sadly
"No you are a savior dear, you saved us from those tyrants, they planned to sell us to slavers. If not for you and your shinobi friends we would not be so safe. Thank you." said one elderly woman and gave a soft pat on Sakura's shoulders.
"We will drop you safely in the hands of the nearest local police. From there you can return to your families." said Naruto with a smile
"Thank you." said a small boy. He came forward and hugged Naruto's leg tightly
"Its alright, you'll be fine. Grow up and become strong." said Naruto and ruffled the little boy's brown hair.
"That's my Naruto" thought Kurenai with a warm smile
The women had tears in their eyes, they were finally saved. This had been a nightmare but now they could return home to their families.
"Sasuke I need to talk to you. Alone" said Naruto and Sasuke nodded.
Both the boys went away from the others and were now standing on top of a big tree. Kurenai and Sakura were healing the injuries of the woman.
"What's the matter?" asked Sasuke curiously
"Is there any document or evidence which can explain more about the visual powers of the sharingan?" asked Naruto seriously. His eyes were suffering damage and he had to find a way quickly
"Why do you want to know?" asked Sasuke suspiciosuly. He was just getting a bad feeling about this.
"I want to know about the various powers of the sharingan." said Naruto honestly
"But your sharingan is already powerful and developed." argued Sasuke
"Are you going to help me or not?" asked Naruto sadly.
Sasuke was thinking about whether telling Naruto about the tablet or not.
"Damn, you really are a good actor." muttered Kurama
"Shut up Kurama. I'm trying my best here, my eyes have suffered damage, I need to do something." said Naruto firmly
"I know, you don't have much time. You need the power of your sharingan to do your mission." stated Kurama simply
"I know" said Naruto silently
"Alright, in the main hall of the Nakano Shrine is the Uchiha clan's secret gathering place." said Sasuke seriously. Naruto was an Uchiha and he couldn't deny him his right, besides he was his best friend and Sasuke trusted him.
"How do you know about this, if its a secret place?" asked Naruto curiously
"He told me." said Sasuke bitterly, that's all Naruto needed to know and he understood immediately
"Under the 7th tatomi mat, there is a room beneath which contains a tablet. It explains all about the sharingan." explained Sasuke briefly
"I guess only those who have the sharingan can read it." suggested Naruto
"Precisely, I have been able to decipher some parts of the tablet but the rest I'm still trying." said Sasuke seriously. In truth he knew somethings about the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi had told him how to get those eyes but he wouldn't do what Itachi wanted him to do.
"I see, thank you." said Naruto gratefully
Sasuke nodded and both the boys went towards the others, Sakura was resting while Kurenai was standing guard near the hostages. Anko was holding a bruised Sasame who barely looked alive while Hinata was sulking in a corner.
"What have you got?" asked Naruto
"Nothing much, they were the real culprit behind these abductions and they planned to sell the hostages as slaves to various slavers." explained Anko
"I see, Hinata." barked Naruto loudly
She flinched a little and hesitantly came towards Naruto and the prisoner.
The rest of the team were silently watching the entire ordeal wondering whether Hinata would be able to do this or not?
Naruto took out a kunai from his pouch and put it in front of Hinata.
"Kill her" stated Naruto simply
Hinata shakily picked up the kunai, she knew it was a direct order and she had to obey it. She looked at Sasame, the woman was heavily bleeding and had bruises all over her body. Anko had badly tortured her.
"Hinata kill her or I will kill you." said Naruto and pointed his sword at Hinata's neck.
"Naruto-" said Sakura worriedly and tried to intervene but was stopped as Anko stepped between.
"Let the Hyuga do this." said Anko sternly
Fortunately Kurenai and Sasuke had already took the civilians and kids somewhere else as Naruto didn't want the innocent children to see this.
"Now" said Naruto firmly and pressed the sword at Hinata's neck.
"What should I do? I cannot do this..." thought Hinata fearfully
Her heart started beating more faster, there was a throbbing pain in her head, her hands were shaking, her legs were trembling, how could she take the life of another human being.
She did one thing which she had done for so many years.
She fainted.
"Tch, Sakura get her out of my sights. Anko finish her would you?" asked Naruto irritatingly
He had made up his mind, Hinata Hyuga was not fit to be a shinobi.
Sakura picked up Hinata's unconscious body while Anko beheaded Sasame and burnt her body.
Naruto sighed tiredly.
"It has been a long day."
