42. The Search for Utakata

The sun began to rise over the ruined village of Uzushiogakure. As the day was just beginning, Jiraiya and the Uzumaki cousins were finishing up their final preparations to leave. Within thirty minutes, the group had finished packing and was now standing outside the Uzushiogakure Temple. Masakado stood by the entrance, looking at the group.

"You all weren't here for too long, but you all picked up on fūinjutsu fast. I trust you can learn the deeper intricacies of the art on your own time." Masakado told them with a smirk.

"We will!" Karin declared excitedly.

"We also have a much stronger understanding of our clan!" Tayuya mentioned.

"You do." Masakado nodded his head. A small frown developed on his face as he recalled the initial reason why the group had arrived at the village. "Look, I understand that you all came to learn secrets of the clan and give them back to your villages. Go ahead and say a few things if you want… but remember that a clan's secrets are supposed to remain their own secrets. Keep some things to yourself." He then turned his attention to Jiraiya and narrowed his eyes on him. "That goes for you too, Jiraiya. You are lucky as an outsider to have even stepped foot in that temple. I hope that you won't spill everything you have seen and heard to your leaders."

"I won't." Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding.

"None of us will. We will make sure things stay secret." Naruto added. He then gave the elder a thumbs-up gesture. "You can trust us, Masakado-jī-san!"

Masakado's face softened as he let a smile grace his lips.

"I trust you, I trust you. You're honest to a fault, Naruto." He claimed with a laugh. "I'm going to miss you. I'm going to miss all of you brats. It was nice having someone to call family around for the first time in decades."

"… You could come with us, if you want." Tayuya commented quietly.

"Hmm?" Masakado gave the girl a strange look.

"Well, Naruto and I are going to be in Konoha. You can, you know, come back with us. Granted I'll be in a prison cell for a little while longer probably," Tayuya let out a scoff before continuing, "but you would definitely have us in the same place. Or you could go to Kusa with Karin. You don't have to stay here by yourself. You have family out in the world."

"I…" Masakado proceeded to mumble to himself, trying to process her suggestion. "I-I have research to do. I have history to maintain. I-"

"Relax, wasn't trying to stress you out. You don't have to come with us. It was just a thought." Tayuya shrugged in response. She then walked over to Masakado and, to his surprise, embraced him in a hug. "I… I didn't think I would feel this way when we first met, but I'm going to miss you too Masakado-sensei."

"I-"

"But don't get me wrong: I'm not going to forget that you tried to kill us because you were being too emotional to think properly. Trust me: I'll get back at you one day." Tayuya warned him. Despite her threat, she seemed to tighten the hug.

"… Ha. Ha ha!" Masakado started to laugh loudly in response as he returned her hug. "I'd like to see you try!"

Naruto and Karin joined the group-hug as they all said farewell to the elder Uzumaki. After a minute, though, Jiraiya coughed and got their attention, reminding them that they needed to leave soon so that way they would make progress on their way back to Konoha. The cousins let go of Masakado and walked over to Jiraiya. The group then started to walk off, away from the village.

"We'll meet each other again one day!" Karin shouted at the man.

"Yeah ,we will. Whenever I'm in the area on a mission, I'll try and stop-by." Naruto informed him. "You take care!"

"What Naruto said. For the love of God, take care of yourself better." Tayuya demanded. "Your clothes are falling apart and you fucking smell. Seriously, the next time I see you one day, you better not look like shit!"

"I'll try. I'll try." Masakado laughed in response at Tayuya's order.

The Sandaime Uzukage waved goodbye as the group proceeded to leave him. He stayed outside, watching them leave until they disappeared over the horizon. With them gone, Masakado was now alone once-again.

The man remained outside for a moment, still staring in the direction the group had walked out to. A few moments passed before he sighed and walked back inside his temple.

For a few days, Uzushiogakure felt alive. There was only four other people in the village, but that was enough for him. The company was appreciated and they were all great people. They were family: literally. Now that they were gone, though, the village was back to its usual empty atmosphere. Masakado handled living in this environment for over two decades. Now, after getting a brief reprieve from it, he didn't know if he could go back to living in it again.

"I should have asked them to stay. They probably wouldn't have, but I should have." He mumbled to himself. "Or… maybe I should have taken up Tayuya's suggestion."

'I couldn't, though. I have a responsibility to everybody that died in the village on the day of the invasion. I have a responsibility to focus all of my time on the time-travel seal and go back to save them. I can't afford to go moving to some other village and forgetting about them.' Masakado mentally scolded himself for entertaining the idea.

"But… it would be nice to not always be this lonely." He sighed.

The man needed to reflect.

Three Days Later…

Terumī Mei sat quietly down at a desk in a plain, empty room. The woman was currently was looking at different financial reports that Shichō had given her. She was currently trying to find ways to divide her current funds to appropriate resources to hire the necessary amount of 'missing ninjas' to assist with the rebellion while also obtaining necessary tools for the upcoming invasion.

'Such tedious work.' She grumbled to herself as she wrote down information about hiring a particular shinobi. 'Still, guess somebody has to do stuff like this.'

As she moved to another report, a loud knock sounded throughout her room. Mei looked away and faced the door.

"You can come in." She called out.

On cue, the door opened and Anko proceeded to walk in. The auburn-haired woman sighed in relief.

"For a moment, I thought you were Shichō and you had more reports for me. Thank God it's you." Mei stated with a smile.

"Heh." Anko smirked in response. "You're already doing paperwork and hating it. You really are practicing for when you are the Godaime Mizukage."

"Once the rebellion succeeds, if I'm the Godaime, then so be it. But I'll never be doing this shit when that happens." Mei grumbled in response. A playful grin developed on her face. "I'm sure I can find some sweet, studious man who'd be willing to do anything to please the Mizukage."

"You'll find somebody. You have people that'd do anything for you." Anko snorted in response. "Lord knows that half of the men here would kill the Rikudō Sennin if it meant they had a chance to sleep with you."

"You flatter me." Mei chuckled in response. Her face then switched to a more serious expression. "Do you have anything you want to discuss, Anko-san? Have you heard back from the Hokage?"

"I have." The Konoha jōnin nodded her head in response.

The woman pulled out a scroll from her jacket's pocket and tossed it over to Mei. The Kirigakure rebel grabbed the scroll and opened it. She then began to read its contents as a smile developed on her face.

"So we do have Konoha's aid." She commented in genuine relief. Her smile seemed to develop further as she continued to read. "And he's going to send a good-sized battalion."

"Yup. Count us in." Anko replied with a smirk.

"This means a lot to us. Konoha's assistance will never be forgotten." Mei informed her.

Mei was about to dismiss Anko and continue reading the Hokage's report to herself when a thought occurred to her: a thought she brushed off when she was unaware of whether or not Konoha would be helping her. Now that she knew what they were doing, the thought returned.

"… Anko-san, before you leave, can I make a request? If you and your team are going to help in the rebellion, would I be allowed to borrow a particular shinobi of yours for a mission?" Mei questioned.

"A mission?" Anko's eyebrows raised in confusion.

"You were at that meeting when I informed Aō that I would try and create a team for him to be able to recruit Utakata successfully." Mei commented. "I would like if I could have Hyūga Hinata join that team to ensure success."

"Hinata? Why?" Anko was now looking at the woman suspiciously. "And isn't Aō the guy that has the Byakugan? That would be a horrible decision-"

"It wouldn't because she would succeed at the mission." The auburn-haired woman replied.

"Explain." Anko demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are aware of who Utakata is, correct? The Rokubi jinchūriki?" Mei questioned.

"I was familiar with the name, but couldn't recall why. That's where I heard it from, I suppose." The Konoha jōnin mentioned. Her eyes seemed to narrow at the woman in front of her. "That alone isn't an explanation. If anything, that news doesn't make me feel more comfortable about letting Hinata go on this mission."

"I did my research, Anko-san. I know that you all are apparently very close with the Kyūbi jinchūriki." Mei stated. "I… I'm aware of flawed beliefs amongst my shinobi. I know that many of them view jinchūriki negatively due to Yagura's tyrannical rule. The 'theory' that Yagura's insanity happened because of the Sanbi has ultimately led to some less than savory opinions about people like him. I can't have people like that try and recruit Utakata. They would ultimately antagonize him and drive him away from us. I need somebody has no bias against jinchūriki."

"And you don't have any shinobi at all in your ranks that would fill that role?" Anko questioned.

"I do have plenty of shinobi that have no biases, but that's not all I want. I also want somebody who would be able to sympathize with him." Mei admitted. "I do know that plenty of the rebels would be able to sympathize because of the bloodline hunts, but that's not the same. Becoming a jinchūriki is a different beast altogether and if you have never been close to a jinchūriki, I don't think anyone can properly understand that." The woman then gave a pleading look towards Anko. "I heard about how close Hinata-san is towards the Kyūbi jinchūriki. I… I think she's somebody that would be able to sympathize with Utakata and convince him to join the rebels."

"Okay. I understand that logic." Anko sighed in response. "But would I not be good at the job? Or Shikamaru or Dosu? We all are close to our jinchūriki, after all."

"Not referring to him by name in front of me, I see. Guess I got you too suspicious." Mei chuckled in response. Anko's eyes narrowed on her, causing her to continue. "I chose Hinata because, based on my own investigation, she is the one who is closest with the jinchūriki. Even having romantic feelings."

'Hinata's feelings are so obvious that somebody who has never even met Naruto nor has seen them interact together knows that she likes him. Wow.' Anko shook her head in response, resisting the urge to chuckle.

"Because of that, I'd prefer it to be her. I think that means she would be even more sympathetic towards somebody who grew up with a similar burden than most would." The Kirigakure Rebel leader stated.

The purple-haired woman sighed in response. "Alright, I get it. I see why Hinata has to be on the mission. And I'm okay with that now." Anko sighed in response. "But why send her with Aō? I'm telling you; that's a bad decision. She has too much bad blood towards him."

"… I have to have Aō on the mission." Mei frowned in response. He's the only person who both has the tracking capabilities and the spy network possible to locate Utakata."

"Great." Anko sighed.

She opened her mouth to say something back to the woman, but an idea entered her head. A grin developed on her face.

"Alright, I have a suggestion then: my whole team will go on this mission." Anko suggested. "Surely we all can provide some help in recruiting Utakata. Also, we will be there to help keep Hinata in-line if her relationship with Aō proves to be too harmful."

"… I had intended on this just being a three-person team. The addition of you, Dosu-san, and Shikamaru-san would make this a six-man squad." Mei mumbled. She then sighed in response. "I suppose you all could go. You're not officially under my command, so I'll allow you to do what you want. Go on the mission." The rebel's eyes then narrowed. "However, if you all go, I expect a completed mission. Come back with Utakata on our side."

"Understood. We can accomplish that." Anko nodded her head in response. She then gave the auburn-haired woman a curious look. "So it's my team and Aō. That makes five. Who is this sixth person you want us to work with?"

"Really? You?" Anko grumbled to herself.

After informing her team of Mei's mission, the group proceeded to head over to the woman's office as soon as the next day began. When they arrived, they were greeted by Aō and Kawada Misora.

"Misora-san, it is nice to see you again." Dosu bowed towards the brown-haired girl.

Misora didn't seem to pay much attention to his bow. Still, she greeted him with a bow of her own. "It's a pleasure to meet you again, Dosu-san. And you as well, Anko-san." The girl then turned her head towards the Konoha jōnin. Her normally-neutral face developed a small, playful smirk. "It appears, from my understanding, that the Hokage has ordered you and other Konoha shinobi to assist with the rebellion. It appears he understood that it was the logical decision."

"Zip it." The jōnin hissed. 'Great, she also is smug. God, what an insufferable bitch!'

"So you are the team I'll be working with." Aō commented, getting everybody's attention. The middle-aged man had a smile on his face as he held out his hand towards the Konoha shinobi nearest him: Hinata. "The name's Aō. I've heard a lot of good things about you Konoha shinobi. Here's to a good mission!"

Hinata remained quiet she stared back-and-forth from Aō to his hand. She took a deep breath in, as if resisting the urge to say something, before turning her attention towards Mei.

"Mei-sama, can you inform us of the specifics of the mission?" She questioned, her voice devoid of emotion.

'Hmm… cold.' Aō grumbled, returning his hand to his side.

"As I assume Anko-san has informed you, the mission is to find Utakata and bring him to the village." Mei ordered. "Utakata is somebody who would help reduce overall casualties on our side. He would be a crucial aspect of the invasion. Therefore, I need you all to approach him and find a way to convince him to join the rebellion." Mei's eyes then narrowed at the group. "One thing, though: I want him back in the village through any means necessary, but do not engage him. If you do and he fought at full-strength, I make no promises that you all would make it out alive. In addition, that would ruin any trust he could have with the rebellion… or shinobi in general. No, use whatever means necessary, but don't try to fight him."

"He's a jinchūriki, right?" Shikamaru questioned. Mei nodded her head. "Should we be expecting resistance? Like, does he have a bad experience with the rebels?"

"As a group? No. The rebels have left him alone and he has no reason to dislike us. However, you are all familiar with jinchūriki, right?" The rebel leader questioned. The four Konoha shinobi nodded in affirmation. "Then you must understand that Utakata had problems with discrimination growing-up. Ultimately, Kirigakure's descent into the village it is today under Yagura, along with some falling-out he had with his now-deceased mentor, Harusame, led him to leave the village and become a wanderer. He's somebody who does not like interaction with people… and will resist any attempt to make him 'interact' with more people."

"He's anti-social, then." Anko sighed in response. "Whatever. He can't be any worse than Han. This should be doable."

"Do we know where we would find him?" Dosu questioned.

"Aō?" Mei turned her attention to the middle-aged man.

"I did my research, yeah. Apparently, he is in Mizu no Kuni somewhere on the main island. His last sighting was nearby a small village in the north. My sources have also said that he is accompanied by a young woman roughly around his age. Maybe a few years younger." Aō reported. "She is more identifiable than him, though, so I'm going to approach finding Utakata by trying to find her."

"Utakata is with a woman?" Mei blinked in surprise. 'Did he find love?'

"Mei-sama… I have a question." Hinata spoke, interrupting Mei's thoughts before they could develop in detail. "We aren't simply bringing you a tool, right? You aren't using Utakata-san as a tool?"

"What does it matter if she is?" Aō asked with a shrug. "The Rokubi was put in him to make him a tool. That's what he is."

Hinata turned to face the man. The emotionless look in her eyes was replaced with a cold, angry glare.

"It matters because jinchūriki are human just like us! They aren't tools to be used and thrown away." She hissed in response.

Aō returned her glare with one of his own. "Yeah they are. We all are. Before being a jinchūriki, he is a shinobi, and all shinobi are tools. Our master will use us until we are worth nothing, and then we'll be thrown out."

"Of course you would have such a belief." Hinata rolled her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aō demanded.

"Enough! You are here to work together; not pointlessly squabble. You both look pathetic to me at the moment." Mei shouted.

The woman obtained the full attention of both Aō and Hinata. The two shinobi looked embarrassed, but still seemed rather agitated. Neither were looking at the other. Mei sighed at their behavior, but ignored it to continue talking.

"To answer your question, Hinata-san… no. I want to have Utakata assist us in the invasion and after that, he can do what he pleases. If he wishes to become a shinobi of Kirigakure again, then he may. If he wants to stay a wanderer, then he may and I will not label him a 'missing ninja.' All I ask of him is to help with this one battle and nothing more." She stated. "Please inform him of that when talking to him. I want him to understand that I mean no harm to him and I want to work with him."

"… Understood." Hinata bowed her head in understanding. A small smile developed on her face. 'I hope you are being honest. If he grew up in any way like Naruto-kun, then he deserves a life that makes him happy; not a life of being a tool.'

"Any other questions?" The rebel leader questioned the group of six. Each member shook their head. "Then you are all dismissed. Report to the village entrance in one hour and begin your mission."

All six shinobi replied with a nod in understanding before leaving to make their final preparations for the mission.

The Konoha shinobi walked back to their room in the inn quietly, not attempting to talk much. Hinata was in a foul mood, which affected the normal relaxed conversational environment. After arriving at the inn, they organized their belongings and weapons quickly. In a few minutes, they were ready to head-out on their mission.

"You all good?" Anko questioned her team.

Dosu and Shikamaru nodded silently to their captain in response. Hinata, in contrast, just scoffed in response.

"I'm as good as I'll ever be." She grumbled.

"Hinata." Anko said the kunoichi's name sternly. "Calm down."

"I'm trying! But he's even worse than I thought he'd be." Hinata exclaimed. "He… To him, people like Naruto-kun are just tools to be used. That's unacceptable! He's-"

"A dick. He's an absolute dick." Anko interrupted the Hyūga's rant. "But we have to work with him on his mission. So Hinata, please-"

"I'm trying not to hate him! I really am!" Hinata shouted, her eyes starting to water up. "B-But… his beliefs about the jinchūriki and the fact that he has the Byakugan… I-I can't stop myself. I-I'm sorry. I don't want to, but I can't help myself. I'm-"

"Hinata, you didn't let me finish." Anko spoke loudly and sternly, getting Hinata to stop talking. "There is nothing wrong with hating somebody. It's an emotion and it doesn't make you a bad person. Everyone has somebody or something they hate. So stop trying to not hate him." The woman's face than twisted into a sympathetic smile. "What I'm asking you to do is to look beyond the hate. We're working with a shithead, but that shouldn't affect your abilities as a shinobi. Don't let that hate and anger impact the mission."

"I… I'll try." Hinata mumbled in response. She brushed away the developing tears in her eyes before giving her jōnin-instructor a smile. "I'll try. I promise."

"From what I heard from Misora-san, Aō-san is rather anti-social himself and won't talk much. I feel this shouldn't be difficult. As long as you don't engage him, he shouldn't try and talk to you." Dosu offered.

"I won't." Hinata affirmed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then let's just get this mission over with and get this asshole out of your life, Hinata." Shikamaru offered. He put his hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Regardless, we're here for you if you need someone to just rant to and take some of the anger out."

"I… I really appreciate that, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata admitted with a smile. She turned to face both Dosu and Anko as well. "Thank you all. Thank you so much."

"We're a team. It's what we do." Anko shrugged in response. "Anyway, now that we have that addressed and we're all ready, let's head over to the entrance of the village. Maybe if they finished, we can get the mission started as quickly as possible."

Anko's subordinates nodded in agreement. With those words, the team left the inn and headed towards the village entrance.

As Anko had predicted, both Aō and Misora had finished their preparations early. The group of six, upon arrival, headed-out of Kibō and began their mission.

"As I told Mei-sama, Utakata was last-seen near a village north of here, close to the coastline. That was roughly two days ago. If he were to remain on the island, logic dictates he would have west. If he went east, he'd be heading in the direction of Kirigakure, and that'd be the last place Utakata would want to be." Aō informed them.

"Is there any possibility that this Utakata-san would have went to the village to get a boat and move to another island?" Dosu questioned.

"Doubt it." The middle-aged man shook his head. "The last report I had about his location stated that he was on a different island. His current sighting here shows that he just arrived on this island, and I really doubt he would have just landed here only to immediately head-back on his boat. No, he's got to still be on the island for the next few days."

"So he went west and most likely away from the coast. I'd assume that means he would have gone to a village like Hitachi." Misora threw-out her opinion.

"That's what I was thinking." Aō nodded his agreement.

"Hitachi?" Shikamaru questioned.

"It's a small village deep within the marshlands. Not a very well-known village and has little interaction with the rest of Mizu no Kuni with the exception of Yagura's troops coming occasionally for 'Bloodline Hunts'. Misora explained. "Utakata was always somebody who preferred solitude. If he were traveling somewhere in the country, I'd bet it would be there."

"Why, though?" Shikamaru continued to ask questions. "Would he have any reason to come to the country to go there?"

"I'm not for certain, but it makes sense if that's the direction Utakata would go in and considering that he's a person who would not want to go to a heavily-populated area in the country." The kunoichi shrugged in response.

"Well, we have a destination where we think he could be. We'll head to Hitachi first and check for information." Aō declared. "If we travel at a steady-pace and stop only once to prepare a meal, we should arrive their tonight shortly after nightfall. So, let's head out that way."

The group of six proceeded to move in the direction towards the village of Hitachi. Aō led the group at the front. Dosu, Shikamaru, and Anko were directly behind him and remained in the center. Hinata and Misora were both at the rear. They, along with Aō, were paying attention to the environment around them and were preparing for any possible conflict.

After traveling for four hours, the group came to a stop. As Aō had suggested, they were going to take a small break to prepare their meal for the day. The middle-aged man caught fish from a nearby lake and quickly cooked it. The group of six began eating their meal.

They remained in silence as they quickly ate the fish. After finishing his portion, however, Shikamaru decided to break the silence.

"I still find it eerie how deserted this country is." He noted. "We haven't seen a single person since we started-out. Not even a single passing traveler? Or even a bandit?"

"It's not safe. Even bandits are aware of that fact." Misora replied with a shrug. "Any given location could become the next battleground between Yagura's troops and Mei-sama's rebels. Nobody wants to get in the cross-fires."

"Some things will never change, I suppose." Aō mentioned with a bitter chuckle. "This is exactly what Mizu no Kuni was like during the Third Shinobi World War."

"Were you a veteran of the war?" Anko questioned out of curiosity.

"Of course." The man nodded his head. A frown developed on his face. "This Civil War is nothing compared to that. You kids think Yagura is bad? You should have seen the Sandaime Mizukage. We were all his tools to engage in war. And back then, nobody had the bright idea to try and rebel against him. We just let him march us off to our death against Iwa, Konoha, Suna, or Kumo shinobi. I'm lucky to have even survived the damn war. Most Kiri shinobi didn't." Another bitter chuckle escaped the man's mouth. "Yagura was the one who finally disposed of the Sandaime Mizukage and we thought he was going to usher in a new era for Kiri: an era of hope. How ironic. If anything, he worsened all the problems his predecessor caused and was the one who truly divided the nation.

"Your country and village have a most… unfortunate history." Dosu commented, trying to come-up with the right word.

"It's called 'The Village of the Bloody Mist' for a reason." Aō sighed. "Whatever. It's just history repeating itself. I keep telling myself that because it makes fighting in the Civil War easier for me." He then let out a hearty chuckle. "If I survived the Third Shinobi World War, I can survive this Civil War."

"Was the Third Shinobi World War where you got your eye?" Hinata spoke up.

All eyes had turned toward the Hyūga. Hinata had not said a single word to anybody since the mission began. The girl didn't seem to notice everybody's attention. She was just staring at Aō, her eyes containing a weird mixture of emotionlessness and anger.

"Hinata…" Anko mumbled, hoping Hinata wasn't going to start something.

"I did." Aō answered plainly. "Bastard took out my right eye, so I took his when I killed him."

"It's not your eye." Hinata commented plainly.

"Bullshit. I defeated him. Anything on his body was fair game for me to take." Aō replied dismissively as a scowl developed on his face. "Unless you think I should have just gone without a right eye."

"I'm sure you could have gotten a different transplant. You just chose the one most profitable to you." Hinata grumbled. "Not caring about the effects of your actions."

"Effects? What the fuck are you talking about?" Aō rolled his eyes.

"Do you even know what the actions of people like you have done to the Hyūga Clan?" Hinata questioned angrily. "Those actions are why the Hyūga Clan started marking people. They're the reason why the Hyūga Clan is divided into a Main House and a Branch House. The result of men like you who think our eyes are just a tool to use."

"It goes with the territory of being a shinobi. When you die, the person who kills you has access to anything on your possession. That's why most bodies of Kiri shinobi are destroyed by Hunter Shinobi." Aō dismissed her comments again.

"You can't just brush off actions like that!" Hinata shouted. "You-"

"I can, you hypocritical bitch!" Aō hissed, standing up and pointing a finger at the girl. "Because you don't give a shit that the fucking Hyūga I fought tried to kill me. If the situation was reversed and the Hyūga killed me and took something from me, you wouldn't care. And why would you care? You only care because of the fucking Byakugan. You don't care about the fight I had with the Hyūga or why I have the eye!"

"I don't care?" The Hyūga heiress questioned angrily.

"Yeah, you don't." Aō declared as he stood-up and started to walk close together to her. "You don't care, you goddamn-"

Before the two could continue fighting, Anko jumped in, standing in between her student and the approaching rebel.

"Enough." She ordered.

"Your bickering is unfit for any shinobi, regardless of rank." Misora stated dismissively. "Such pathetic fighting over a useless eye of all things."

"Useless?" Hinata questioned in surprise.

"It has a purpose and you know it Misora." Aō shook his head in response. "Just because you are blind and have to use chakra sensing to function as a shinobi doesn't mean that sight is useless, let alone the perfect vision from the Byakugan."

"You're blind?" Dosu questioned Misora in surprise.

The brown-haired woman gave no response to the boy. She simply continue to shake her head: "You call me blind, but I'm just somebody without vision. You two," she proceeded to look back-and-forth between Hinata and Aō, "unable to look past your emotions, are the ones who are truly blind. And if you both keep acting like that, you'll both get your killed in this war."

Silence filled the area for a few moments. Aō and Hinata were staring at each other and Misora. Both still seemed to have anger on their faces, but they also appeared uncomfortable. The silence was finally broken by Misora.

"We've all eaten and wasted enough time. Let's get on the road. We need to get to Hitachi before nightfall, right?" She commented.

"… Yes." Aō grumbled. "Let's start moving out, then."

The group of six immediately got ready and started back on their path towards Hitachi. Once again, silence filled the air as the group remained focused on their mission. Anko, however, would occasionally glance over at Hinata, looking at her in concern.

After hours of non-stop quiet travel, the group arrived at the village of Hitachi. Unlike the village of Kibō they had been staying at, Hitachi was much smaller and did not have a gate to enter the village. Instead of an actual road, the paths in the village seemed more like a dirt path. The buildings were a lot shorter and further between. The buildings also seemed to be painted dark colors that blended in the night. The only form of light was from the moon in the sky.

Most of the noise in the area seemed to come only from insects in the area. There didn't appear to be anybody out in the streets at this hour.

"Alright, we're here." Aō declared with a sigh. "I'm going to go contact a few of my spies that are in this village and ask about Utakata. While I do that, feel free to do your own investigation. Ask any locals you find about Utakata or the girl he is traveling with. You all remember the descriptions I gave you about them, yes?"

The Konoha shinobi nodded in affirmation.

"Is anybody even awake at this hour, though?" Shikamaru questioned with a yawn. "We may need to have to ask tomorrow morning."

"I'd rather be back on the road first thing tomorrow morning on the way towards Utakata's location." Aō replied dismissively. "There will be people awake. Maybe not as many out on the streets, but in bars, there will always be people awake. Just find somebody to question."

With the orders understood, the group of six split apart. Aō moved out to go meet with his contacts within the village. Anko, Misora, and Shikamaru left in their own directions, looking for locals to question.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to stay together, Hinata-san." Dosu suggested to his teammate.

Hinata didn't know a way to properly turn down his idea, so she sighed and nodded her head, allowing the former Oto shinobi to accompany her. The two then proceeded to walk through the village's streets, looking for somebody to question about Utakata.

A few minutes into their walk, Dosu decided to break the silence.

"I don't personally judge you or anything for what you do, but I'm just curious; did you try to follow Anko-taichou's request and not start anything with Aō-san?" He questioned.

His blunt question caused Hinata to stiffen. Her eyes moved downward on the road.

"I-I tried. I really did! I tried to just not to talk to him the entire time cause I thought that would work. But…" The Hyūga began to mumble to herself. It took a few seconds before her mumbling became coherent again. "He just started about the war and I r-realized that must have been where he got his eyes and I s-started to think about it. I needed to ask about it and it, er… d-developed into that."

"I see." Dosu commented with a slight sigh. "I asked because it simply seemed out of character."

"It really is." Hinata frowned in response. "I… I'm not going to lie and say I've liked everyone I've met. I haven't. But I've never felt such anger towards a person than him. And it's making me uncomfortable." She proceeded to shake her head. "Like, I don't feel like myself when I'm around him and talking to him. It's… scary to me."

"It might because you are trying to repress it." Dosu suggested. "Try releasing some of it."

"I already did at lunch." The Hyūga mumbled at lunch. "It didn't go well."

Dosu stopped walking on the street. Hinata stopped as well and glanced at her teammate, looking at him in confusion.

"You were trying to repress it and found yourself in a situation where you couldn't. Try releasing some of it now." He suggested again. "Try releasing it on me."

"B-But I don't-"

"Hinata, you need to understand it's okay to feel hate." Dosu informed her, interrupting the girl. "It's as Anko said. As long as you don't let it affect you, it's already to feel however you want to feel about anyone. It is affecting you, though, because you are still trying to deny it. So don't deny it longer. Just take it out on me and be done with it."

The Hyūga heiress closed her eyes and remained quiet for a moment as she attempted to process Dosu's words. She also recalled Anko's words to her. She didn't agree with them; she didn't like experiencing hate and she didn't want to ever let it out. However, she knew it was affecting her and it could damage the mission if she let it controlled her.

'I… I don't know what to do about it. I don't think there's anything I can do.' Hinata sighed. '… So I guess I should just try taking Dosu's advice…'

Another moment of silence passed by before Hinata opened her eyes. She instinctively activated her Byakugan and narrowed her now-active eyes on Dosu.

"People like him have ruined the Hyūga Clan!" She shouted. "They are the ones who created the need for a seal to brand clan members so the Byakugan wouldn't get stolen. This led to the division of the clan and the distance between Main and Branch Hyūga. People like him are the reason why Neji-nii-san and I have to fight an uphill battle to fix our clan!"

'… Meeting Aō-san I think has triggered some other latent emotions that she had been repressing. Emotions directed towards her clan…' Dosu realized. In an attempt to release all of this pent up anger, he decided to prod her to continue: "And how does this make you feel?"

"Angry!" Hinata admitted, tightening her hands into fists. "No clan should be divided like our clan. We're family but we all act like shaky allies instead. We're just working together and keeping an eye open, looking for any signs of 'bad behavior'. It… It… It PISSES ME OFF!"

"And you think Aō-san is responsible for this?" Dosu continued to question.

"I said people like him, but Aō isn't that good of a person anyway. He views us as weapons? He views jinchūriki as tools? Naruto-kun is a tool to him?" Hinata nearly growled as she recalled the various things Aō has said. "He's an asshole. HE'S A FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

"So you hate him." The former Oto-shinobi commented.

"OF COURSE!" The kunoichi hissed.

"And you accept that you hate him?" He asked.

Hinata gave no verbal reply. She simply nodded her head in response.

"Then accept that feeling. You have plenty of reason to hate him in your mind. Don't let it affect you as a shinobi. Just accept how you feel about him and move on." Dosu stated.

The Hyūga heiress remained silent for a moment, still visibly angry. A few seconds passed by before she deactivated her Byakugan and her face began to calm down. Her body seemed to relax as she let out a deep sigh.

"How do you feel now?" The bandaged-wearing shinobi questioned.

"… Better." Hinata admitted. She stayed quiet for a few more seconds, breathing in a little harder than normal, before speaking again to Dosu. "That really helped."

"I figured it would." Dosu admitted with a chuckle. "It's not good to let emotions like that just stay repressed. You need to let them out."

"Do… you have feelings like that, Dosu-kun?" Hinata questioned.

The former Oto-shinobi gave the kunoichi a strange look. The times she had referred to him by name, she had always used the –san honorific. He was confused, but didn't spend too much time thinking about it. He didn't want to ignore her question.

"Of course I do. Believe it or not, I have a lot of hate and anger deep within me." He mentioned with a shrug. "But I accept it. Their real emotions based on my life. I'm not going to act on them. I just know that I have those feelings and accept them. They're a part of me for a reason."

"I see." Hinata commented in understanding. She then let a small smile develop on her face. "I really appreciate you talking to me, Dosu-kun. I really needed that."

'There's that honorific again.' Dosu noted. He then shook his head before verbally responding to Hinata. "We are comrades, Hinata-san. Do not thank me. Although we probably do need to focus on the mission now and see if we can find out something about Utakata."

Hinata nodded her in agreement. The two Konoha shinobi then proceeded to keep moving on the street, looking for anybody they could ask questions to about Utakata. As they walked, though, Hinata seemed to have a relieved smile on her face.

'It's just how I feel. It's not a bad thing.' She told herself. She had tried to repeat those words to her since Anko had first talked to her. This time, however, she actually believed them.

An hour and a half had passed by before the group met up with each other again at a local inn. They walked to the singular room in the inn that they could get.

"We're all sharing one room?" Shikamaru asked.

"Waste of money to have more than one. Besides, we're leaving first thing in the morning." Aō replied dismissively.

"Fair warning; Aō snores. It may be best if we sleep outside." Misora commented nonchalantly.

The middle-aged man turned his head towards the woman and scowled at her: "That's a lie and you know it!"

"Or is it?" The rebel replied with a slight chuckle.

'Is that emotion in her voice? She can laugh? She can be human?' Anko mentally noted in surprise. 'Huh. Guess that's proof of a god and that miracles can happen.'

The group proceeded to get situated in the room, laying down their belongings and getting comfortable. A few minutes passed before they were all sitting down on the floor, prepared to discuss things.

"So I did manage to contact my sources here. As we expected, Utakata was spotted here earlier this day actually." Aō stated. "Both he and the woman he was traveling were here during the morning and left sometime in the afternoon. It seemed as if they were going to stay here the night and had a room in the inn until some of Yagura's troops stepped foot into the village."

"Yagura's shinobi are here?" Anko questioned. The woman sighed in response.

"No, they're not here at the moment." Aō shook his head. "They apparently left shortly after they came. But their presence apparently caused Utakata to cancel his reservation at the inn and he and the woman he was traveling with proceeded to leave the village and head further west."

"Any other villages nearby?" Shikamaru asked.

"Negative." Misora spoke up. "Closest village would be more than a day's travel and it's a decently populated one too, as it is on the coast. If I had to presume, he's probably somewhere in the swampland."

"Along with that woman." Anko mentioned. "Which, by the way, I did find out some information about her. Apparently, her name is Hotaru and she claims to be Utakata's student."

"Did she actually give her name and actually say she was traveling with him?" Misora questioned. The brown-haired girl appeared to be incredulous. "That's… ridiculously stupid. She may be the reason why Yagura's shinobi came to the village. Gossip travels fast and they may have heard that the Rokubi jinchūriki was spotted in Hitachi."

"She definitely wasn't being smart by announcing who they were, but according to the people I ran into and asked, she was probably just simply excited and wanted to talk to people." Anko explained. "The two apparently came out here so she can practice her water-style ninjutsu."

"Could she have not done that wherever they were?" Shikamaru asked. "That seems… rather reckless of them to come to this country just to practice."

"Hey, I'm just saying what I had heard." Anko shrugged in response.

"It doesn't necessarily matter, anyway." Aō spoke up. "What we know is that Utakata is nearby and we can probably reach him tomorrow morning. We will talk to him and hopefully convince him to assist in the rebellion."

"Did you hear anything about what direction Yagura's shinobi went?" Misora questioned.

"… They apparently west." The man admitted with a sigh.

"They went in the same direction then. So there's a possible chance we may have to confront them." Dosu mentioned.

"Did you hear about how many shinobi there were?" Hinata asked.

Aō's eyes narrowed on the Hyūga: "No."

"Hmm… Then I guess we need to approach with caution then. We don't know how many potential enemies there are, then." She replied.

"Yeah, we are going to have to." The middle-aged man sighed.

'They're… being civil, I guess. They're talking and haven't resorted to passive-aggressive bullshit.' Anko noted in surprise. A proud smile developed on her face as she turned to face the Hyūga. '… Good job Hinata.'

"We should probably get some rest, then." Misora suggested. "We'll need to be fully rested to get out early and find Utakata and to potentially get into a fight with Yagura's shinobi."

"Agreed." Shikamaru replied with a yawn. "Sleep sounds nice."

"We'll get up before sunrise, so get rested." Aō stated. "Also, even though we are in an inn, we need a night watch in case one of Yagura's troops is still here."

After discussing a pattern for the night watch, the group prepared to get some rest. They had a busy day the next day that could potentially dangerous…

"There it is! And just before the day started." Jiraiya chuckled.

After traveling for days, the Sannin and the Uzumaki cousins had finally arrived at Konohagakure just as the sun was hitting the village. The group proceeded to walk the last few meters away from the village.

"Bout time. I'm sick of sleeping on the grass." Tayuya replied with a shrug.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Karin mentioned.

"I'd rather sleep in my prison cell." Tayuya replied dismissively.

"I'm just glad to be back." Naruto replied with a chuckle. "I'm excited to see how my friends are doing!"

"We can do that in a little bit. First thing we've got to do, though, is report to the Hokage." The Sannin informed him with a chuckle.

The group continued to chatter as they finished their walk. At the gate to the village, they were greeted by Kotetsu and Izumo. The two immediately approached them upon entering the village.

"Jiraiya-sama, I'm glad your team is back. Sandaime-sama was about to send one of his summoning animals out to Uzushio to inform you to return." Kotetsu informed the group.

One of Jiraiya's eyebrows rose in confusion at that statement.

"Why? Has anything happened?" Jiraiya questioned.

"You'll find out when you talk to him." Izumo answered with a shrug. "Anyway, you and Naruto were asked to go talk to him immediately. I'll escort the other two members of your team somewhere where they can debrief about the mission."

"We're doing the debriefing?" Karin looked at him in confusion.

"What the hell? Why aren't we giving it to the Hokage? And why aren't we doing it with them?" Tayuya questioned angrily.

"Sandaime-sama has more pressing matters to deal with and they directly concern them." Kotetsu answered with a sigh.

"Anyway, if you both could please follow me." Izumo requested.

Tayuya and Karin, reluctantly, followed the Konoha chūnin towards their destination, where they would give a debriefing of the mission. Kotetsu, Naruto, and Jiraiya were now left alone.

"Well, you heard him. I trust you don't need an escort to the Hokage's office, do you Jiraiya?" Kotetsu questioned.

"I don't." The Sannin shook his head before turning to face Naruto. "Come on. Let's see what that old monkey wants to talk about."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. The two then proceeded to walk off towards the Hokage's office.

"What?" Jiraiya nearly shouted.

Both he and Naruto, despite some joking, were concerned about their meet-up with the Hokage and wondered exactly what he had to tell them. The two of them were not expecting to hear his report about the situation in Mizu no Kuni.

"So Anko-sensei, Hinata-chan, Shikamaru, and Dosu are currently in the middle of a war?" Naruto questioned with a frown on his face. The blonde was looking very concerned and frantic.

Hiruzen nodded in response. "They were on a normal B-rank mission that turned bad very fast in the worst possible way. With the direction their mission took and based on the actions they made, they are fighting in the war. And, therefore, Konoha is fighting."

"And just right after the Suna-Oto invasion." Jiraiya shook his head in frustration. "This is just great. We can't go more than a fucking month without something coming up."

"My sentiments exactly. I feel like I'm getting older by day with each passing thing that happens." Hiruzen mentioned with a frown. "… If you two haven't gathered, I've already starting to organize an attack-force that will join the Kirigakure Rebels. According to my last contact with Anko, they are planning a singular invasion of Kirigakure to end the Civil War. I'm sending a group of appropriate size and strength to guarantee the success.

"… And I assume that means we are on in this army?" Naruto questioned quietly.

"Jiraiya will be leading it." The Sandaime stated.

"Sarutobi-sensei, you know how I feel about things like this." Jiraiya scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I realize your opinions on war, but I don't have much of a choice. I can't leave Konoha so soon after the invasion. That would be putting us at risk from other threats. I could see Kumo trying something in that situation." Hiruzen informed him. "I suppose I could have asked Tsunade, but considering she isn't even part of the village at the moment, I wouldn't trust her to do so. You're the only shinobi I have that is capable enough to lead an army and still inspire the soldiers under to you do their mission to the best of their abilities. It needs to be you, Jiraiya."

"… Fine." Jiraiya sighed in response. "I don't like it. I thought I was done with war after the Third Shinobi World War. But I'll do it."

"And me?" Naruto interrupted. His voice sounded desperate and he looked a combination of anxious and angry. "I'm in the army, right?"

"You are." Hiruzen confirmed.

Jiraiya's eyebrows raised in confusion. Naruto, on the other hand, simply sighed in relief.

"When do we go out?" Naruto asked again.

"We were waiting for you all. I'll send out a message to the rest of the shinobi that you all arrive. You have three hours to be at the village gates, ready to move-out to Mizu no Kuni." Hiruzen ordered.

"Understood." Naruto bowed in response.

"That's all I had to discuss with you, Naruto-kun. You may be excused so you can finish preparations." The Hokage informed him.

Naruto nodded his head again and proceeded to leave the room quickly.

"Anko-sensei, Shikamaru, Dosu… Hinata-chan… I'll be on my way. You guys take care." He mumbled to himself as he hurried out the door to finish preparations.

With the blonde gone, Jiraiya and Hiruzen were now alone. The Sannin gave the Hokage a confused look.

"This is dangerous, Sarutobi-sensei. Much more dangerous than the invasion. And, in particular, Yagura, by himself without the Sanbi, is a much more dangerous opponent than that Gaara kid when he was under the complete influence of the Ichibi." Jiraiya stated. "… Are you sure it's wise to let Naruto go on this mission?"

"I understand the risks, but Naruto was going to find out about the situation in Mizu no Kuni eventually. And the second he did, he would have probably simply gone despite orders to fight just to make sure his friends were safe." Hiruzen replied with a slight chuckle. "If he stayed, then his head wouldn't be in the right place until the mission was complete. This works for the best, I believe. I trust him and I trust his strength. Naruto-kun won't die." The Hokage then gave a serious look to his former student. "I trust you too, Jiraiya, to keep yourself and your army alive. While it's naïve to assume that there won't be casualties, I trust you'll keep them at a minimum. I hand-picked every shinobi that would be going on this mission. I want a guarantee that every single one of them will come back."

"… I'll do what I can, Sarutobi-sensei." Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding. "For everyone's sake, I hope that'll be enough."

"It will." Hiruzen replied. "You're dismissed, Jiraiya. Make your preparations."

The Sannin, once again, nodded in understanding before he left the room in a poof of smoke.

"Keep on the look-out for him, everybody." Aō declared as the group hurried out of the village of Hitachi.

"If they are really here to help that girl he's traveling with train, he's probably by a large source of water." Anko commented. "Any lakes nearby?"

"Aomori Lake." Misora suggested. "Not too far away from Hitachi. That would actually be a logical location for him to be at, I believe."

"Then let's head in that direction." Anko suggested.

"Got it." Aō nodded his head.

The group rushed forward through the swampland to the west of Hitachi in the direction of Aomori Lake, looking for Utakata. They retained their original formation. Aō, Hinata, and Misora were currently paying attention to everything around them, looking for any signs of Utakata.

The group traveled for roughly an hour and half straight before Hinata spotted something at the end of her vision. She noticed a large group of Kirigakure shinobi… heading towards them!

"Guys, we have trouble!" Hinata called out to her team. "The Kirigakure shinobi are approaching!"

Everyone instinctively stiffened and prepared for combat. As the group continued to travel, Aō and Misora also noticed the presence of the approaching group. A few moments passed before the two groups collided.

Roughly twenty Kirigakure shinobi were present. Each of them were dressed in standard uniform and looked no different from the other. They did, however, all look varying degrees of tired and injured. A few of them had wide tears in their uniforms and were bleeding extensively from the skin underneath.

Standing directly in front of the shinobi was a woman with blonde hair worn in a bun and kept together with a pair of chopsticks. She wore a bodysuit that was colored brown and blue underneath her Kirigakure flak jacket. The woman had on the standard Kirigakure forehead protector over her forehead and was holding a staff in her hands. Like the other shinobi with her, she seemed very tired and weak from combat.

The group of Kirigakure shinobi had not seemingly expected to run into the rebel group. They all seemed surprised to see them. As soon as the surprise faded, frustration seemed to develop.

"Of fucking course this would happen on my mission." The blonde hissed. "It goes to shit and then I run into the goddamn rebels. I swear, the gods are out to punish me."

"Tomoe, is that you?" Aō questioned, recognizing the woman.

The woman, Tomoe, looked more intently at Aō. She, too, seemed to recognize him. A laugh escaped her lips.

"Well, if it isn't Aō. You're still a rebel? I'm surprised you haven't died of old age yet." She commented.

"… You're not much younger than me, you know. You're forty." Aō glared in response.

'Who is she? She looks so familiar…' Dosu's eyes narrowed on the blonde.

As if understanding Dosu's inner questions, Misora started to speak: "Tomoe, no surname, is a shinobi of Kirigakure who became famous near the end of the Third Shinobi World War. Known for her bōjutsu, her skill with lightning-style ninjutsu, and her general ruthless behavior on and off the battlefield."

"Ah, don't say that. I can be a sweetheart when I want to be my comrades." Tomoe mentioned with a smile. That smile immediately turned malicious as she gripped the staff in her hands tightly. "However, you are all rebels against Kiri and some Konoha trash that are helping them. For you all, I will be ruthless."

"Tomoe-sama, we don't have the strength for this." One of the Kirigakure shinobi behind her stated. "We're all drained. Even you shouldn't be able to fight them all properly."

Tomoe's malicious smile faded and she turned her head to scowl at the shinobi that spoke up. Shen then faced the group of six.

"Unfortunately, we have other matters to attend to. We'll settle this later. And believe me, we will." She declared. "We'll fight soon, though. And I'll make sure that all of you and every single traitorous rebel scum will die under my storm."

With those words, the group of twenty Kirigakure shinobi proceeded to disappear in a poof of smoke and head-out.

"Which way did they go?" Anko demanded.

"I can still hear their footsteps. They're close." Dosu stated.

"They are." Hinata mentioned, her Byakugan focused on their retreating image. "They're somewhere-"

"Focus on the mission, everybody." Misora spoke-up, interrupting the kunoichi. "Fighting and killing them is not worth losing the chance to get Utakata as an ally. We don't have to fight them, so we won't. Let's just find Utakata and return."

"Misora has a point." Aō stated. "Come on, let's get moving."

After a few moments, the group of six proceeded to continue moving through the swampland. Another hour had passed when Hinata saw two figures in the corner of her vision. One was a young woman with blonde, wavy hair and a widow's peak. She wore a violet-colored top, a black skirt with black shorts underneath, and black high boots. Standing nearby her was a man that appeared around her age with brown hair that reached his shoulders. He was wearing a long, light blue kimono that was let loose, revealing his stomach, and a pair of grey pants underneath it. He wore an orange sash to tie his kimono together. He also seemed to be carrying a bamboo jug and a pipe of some sort. The two of them appeared to be standing by a lake.

"I think I found them." Hinata spoke-up.

Slowly, Misora and Aō began to see what she was seeing. The group moved in the direction towards these two figures, ready to meet up with them.

In minutes, they arrived at Aomori Lake. Immediately upon arrival, the two people that were there noticed them. The young woman stiffened while the man seemed to have no reaction.

"Dammit. More shinobi trying to find you?" She commented with a frown. "I didn't know it was going to be that chaotic coming here."

"I told you it would be, Hotaru. That's why I suggested we not come." He replied to his partner, Hotaru.

"We don't mean any harm Utakata." Aō spoke up first for the group. The man took a step forward. "We-"

Within seconds, Utakata disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Aō. He held a kunai directly to the man's neck and had him in his control.

Aō's eyes widened in surprise. Anko, Shikamaru, Hinata, Dosu, and Misora all seemed equally taken aback. They hadn't expected him to move so quickly.

"Erk!" Aō winced as Utakata dug the blade into his neck slightly. The man was now starting to bleed.

"Aō!" Anko shouted the name of the rebel shinobi.

She proceeded to instinctively run through hand signs. Utakata noticed and proceeded to shake his head.

"Unless you want this man here to die, don't try anything." He stated sharply.

Immediately, Anko stopped her hand signs. She, instead, gripped her hands tightly into fists as she stared intently at the man in front of her.

"… I have your attention, I presume." Utakata continued to speak. The man proceeded to look each of the shinobi in the eyes, anger present in his. "Good. Then I want you all to answer a few questions. Who are you all? Are you representing Yagura or Mei? And what do you want with me? Answer each question carefully, because if I don't like the answers, I will personally end this man's life and then kill all of you."