43. Proving Their Resolve

"… 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.

For a brief moment, silence filled the air. The Konoha shinobi and the Kirigakure rebels were in thought, trying to come up with answers that he would find appropriate. They were in a precarious position and they couldn't afford to say something wrong.

"Utakata-sensei, don't you think you're being too harsh?" Hotaru asked nervously. "You let those other guys go when they came to talk."

"I've told you multiple times, Hotaru; don't call me sensei." Utakata replied. His tone had an edge that it had previously lacked when he spoke the word 'sensei'. "And you're right: I let those shinobi go… after I killed the other forty that were traveling with them."

'Forty?' Shikamaru's eyes widened at the number. 'He killed forty Kirigakure shinobi by himself and forced the others to retreat? Who the hell is this guy?'

After Utakata's statement, Misora stepped forward from the rest of the group. She appeared calm as she looked him in the eye.

"Utakata-san, we do not mean you any harm." She informed him.

"You're not answering my questions." Utakata replied simply.

Misora responded with a shrug. "Fair enough. Then here are your answers: my name is Kawada Misora and the man you have at knife-point is named Aō. The Konoha shinobi are Hyūga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, Kinuta Dosu, and Mitarashi Anko. We have come here on orders of Terumī Mei."

"So you are working with Mei, then." The Rokubi jinchūriki noted. "Very well. I'll let the five of you live." He then tightened the grip of his kunai against Aō's neck. "However, I'll kill this man here. Mei needs to understand, like Yagura will, that I don't want to work with you all."

After Utakata finished speaking, Aō proceeded to reach-upwards with his right hand and grab the kunai out of Utakata's grasp. He tossed the kunai away before attempting to deliver a kick to the jinchūriki's stomach. Utakata, however, side-stepped and avoided the attack.

"You won't be killing me or any of us." Aō hissed at the man. "Just listen to us. Mei-sama has a generous offer-"

"I don't care what she has to offer. I want my peace." Utakata interrupted as he pulled out a pipe from a pocket in his kimono. "And the only way to guarantee it is to give a warning of what will happen to all who try and disturb me."

The jinchūriki rushed over quickly to Aō before the man could react. He then brought his pipe to his lips before blowing out a bubble. The bubble quickly grew in size and reached Aō's head before the man could react. The bubble surrounded his head, causing the man's eyes to widen. He then proceeded to start choking.

"Aō!" Anko exclaimed.

"There's nothing he can do. He'll drown. He's a Kiri shinobi, so he'll probably last a little longer than most. Maybe… three minutes max?" Utakata mentioned with a shrug. "Regardless, you all have until he drowns to leave. I won't follow you if you try. If you wait any longer, though, I will kill you all."

"You…" Anko hissed as she started to make hand signs. "Let him go!"

"No." The man shook his head. "I already said I want Mei to understand that I don't want her bothering me. He'll be the example for that."

"Utakata, do you want to make an enemy out of her? Think rationally!" Misora hissed in response.

"I am thinking rationally. I simply want nothing to do with your civil war and want you all to understand that. So you should think rationally and get out of here." Utakata replied.

"Utakata-sensei, stop it!" Hotaru shouted.

"Hotaru, it's the only way to get people to stop coming after us." He dismissed his companion's request.

Tension developed in the air. Nobody said a word. The only sound in the area was the sound of Aō struggling to breathe and not drown. Anko seemed as if she was trying to decide how to initiate combat in a way that would spare Aō's life. The rest of the group was in silence, attempting to think of a solution.

"… Utakata-san, you would be sending the wrong message back to Mei-san and the rest of Kiri." Hinata was the one to break the silence.

The jinchūriki gave her a curious look: "Oh? What message would I be giving them then?"

"You want them to not bother you, but that's not what you'd do. You… You would make them think their prejudices are right." She mentioned.

Utakata's eyes narrowed at her: "What are you getting at?"

"One of the most important people in my life is a jinchūriki. I know what he goes through and what people used to think of him. There were whispers and rumors of him being a monster, but that was not true for him and for any jinchūriki. It's not true for you!" Hinata declared. Utakata's eyes seemed to soften slightly, but they were still focused on her. He seemed as if he was going to speak up, but Hinata continued. "If… If you kill Aō and us as an example, you may end up proving their prejudices right in their mind. They'll see you as a monster."

"… Good. Then they'll leave me alone." Utakata replied quietly.

"Or they may send more people out for revenge! That's one thought they could have. But even if they did leave you alone, you don't want to be hated, do you?" Hinata continued to question. "You don't want to prove those people right! All those judgmental people… you want to prove them wrong!"

"Don't talk like you know me." Utakata scoffed in response. "Just because you are close with another jinchūriki does not mean you know how I think or what I've been through. Don't pretend to-"

"But you're not denying me. You did have people judge you and treat your like a monster." Hinata interrupted him. Utakata's words died on his tongue. "Please… show them that you are not who they think you are. Don't do this!"

"Utakata-sensei, listen to her!" Hotaru shouted. The jinchūriki turned his head to face his companion. "She's right. You aren't the kind of person who would do this! Let them live!"

Utakata remained quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes in thought. He repeated Hinata's words in his head, trying to rationalize them. While he was in thought, however, Aō's choking was starting to become quieter. It was apparent that he was close to losing his struggle.

"Utakata-san, please!" Hinata pleaded once more.

The Rokubi jinchūriki opened his eyes at her request. He turned his head to face Aō one last time before he sighed and snapped his finger. The bubble surrounding his head immediately disappeared, freeing him and exposing him to oxygen. Aō promptly fell to the ground and started wheezing, trying to gasp for air.

"Aō-san!" Misora quickly rushed over to him to check if the man was okay.

The group watched as the rebel kunoichi proceeded to help Aō cough out the water in his lungs. Within a few seconds, he seemed to be breathing normally again. The man was now lying down on the ground breathing heavily.

"… Hinata-san, correct?" Utakata addressed the Hyūga, recalling the name. Hinata nodded her head in understanding. "… You are right. That is not the message I want to send back." He then turned his head to face the rest of the group. "I apologize for my rash actions."

"It's… okay?" Shikamaru spoke in response for everybody.

"Having said that, I stand by my stance. I want to remain a neutral party in this war." The jinchūriki stated. "Therefore, please inform Mei that I have no intention of working with you all."

"Are you sure about that?" Dosu questioned.

"Yes." Utakata nodded his head. "Now-"

"Utakata-sensei, you can't just send them off like that!" Hotaru spoke up, interrupting the man. "You just tried to kill them. We have to make it up slightly!"

"… Excuse me?" Utakata blinked in response.

"Let them stay for a little bit. We were going to eat lunch soon, so they should stay with us for that at least." She elaborated.

'Huh? Sorry he tried to kill you, let's all go eat something and try and forget about that.' Shikamaru shook his head as he processed what she was suggesting. 'What kind of logic is that?'

"… Fine." Utakata sighed. "They can stay."

'Wait… he agreed?' Shikamaru nearly gasped at the jinchūriki's words.

"If they're eating with us, though, we'll need more food. I'll catch more fish." The man replied as he started to walk to catch the food. "If you want to get anything else prepared, go ahead."

A few moments of silence passed the area. The group, with the exception of Aō, who was still struggling to breathe, watched Utakata leave in silence. Shikamaru was the one to finally break the silence, expressing his confused thoughts.

"What the hell just happened?" He questioned.

"Good. Everybody is here." Jiraiya declared after checking a scroll for a list.

Standing at the entrance to the village of Konoha was a large group of shinobi. All of them were at least at the rank of chūnin and there were even a few ANBU operatives mixed in with the squad. The group numbered one-hundred and twenty shinobi: a decent sized attack force that would be able to handle the mission in Mizu no Kuni.

Naruto stood near the middle of the battalion. His eyes wandered the rest of the group, analyzing the people he would be fighting with. Most of the shinobi were older than him and were people he had never met. He did recognize Hatake Kakashi, the jōnin sensei of Team Seven, as well as Yūhi Kurenai, the exam proctor and the woman who helped him train for the Chūnin Exam finals. Other than them, though, he did not recognize a single person.

"Your eyes are wandering." A voice spoke up to him.

Naruto immediately turned his attention towards the source of the voice. It was a boy that actually looked close to Naruto's age. He also had features that resembled Naruto's childhood rival, Sasuke. He had similar black hair and similar dark-colored eyes. His facial structure was also relatively similar to the Uchiha. That was where the similarities ended, however. The boy wore a grey shirt that showed off his midriff, a black-and-grey jacket with red straps over his shoulders, black pants, and black gloves. He also had a tantō on his back.

The boy also had an eerily creepy smile on his face. It seemed forced and looking at it disturbed Naruto slightly. Nevertheless, the Uzumaki wasn't going to be rude to a comrade. Therefore, he decided to respond to his comment.

"I was just looking at the group. I don't recognize anybody." Naruto explained. He then held out his hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"I'm Sai." The boy replied, retaining his forced smile as he shook Naruto's hand. "If I recall, you are a newly-appointed chūnin. You must be something if the Hokage saw fit to assign you to this mission."

Naruto didn't give a verbal response. Instead, he tightened his hands into fists as his eyes narrowed. 'It's a mission I'm not going to fail! I'm going to make sure my friends are alright and we're going to take down the Mizukage!'

"Hey dickless, the commander is speaking. You should stop zoning out." Sai informed the blonde.

Naruto was removed from his thoughts by Sai's words. He was about to respond angrily to the insult, but he then noticed that Jiraiya was indeed speaking. The Uzumaki pushed his anger to the side to focus on Jiraiya's words.

"… I've already arranged for the transportation to Mizu no Kuni and we'll be out on the water within reaching the coast. If we keep at our pace, we'll arrive at the village of Kibō in roughly three days. From there, we will meet Mei-san and work with her army." Jiraiya explained. "Now, remember, we represent Konoha. Although I probably will not argue with her, you follow my orders. No matter what she says, if I don't approve of her orders, then you listen to me.

"This is going to be a dangerous mission. There is a high-risk that some of us may not make it back to Konoha. However, we have the opportunity to end the reign of one of the most corrupt kage the elemental nations have ever seen. This is the opportunity to end the bloody civil war that has plagued Mizu no Kuni for years and end the suffering of all the people there. We also have the opportunity to establish a close relationship with a potentially united Kirigakure." The Sannin continued to explain. "There is a lot riding on our success in this mission and we need to give it our all. For Konoha… and for the people of Mizu no Kuni!"

Many of the various shinobi at the entrance started cheering in response to Jiraiya's speech. Many of them understood the risks involved with the mission, but they understood the benefits. There was a lot of good this mission could do for not only Konoha, but the world. Everybody was anxious to get this mission started.

"Let's move out then and get to Mizu no Kuni as fast as possible." Jiraiya declared.

With those words, the Konoha shinobi battalion moved out in unison out of the village on their path to Mizu no Kuni.

'I'm on my way. Guys… stay safe!' Naruto told himself as he kept up with his fellow shinobi.

At Aomori Lake, the group had divided themselves into groups to gets tasks finished. Both Anko and Aō had moved to establish check-points for potential enemies that could come by and attack them while they were at the lake. Dosu remained at the lake, brewing a pot of tea. Misora stayed with him, uncertain about what she was to do. Hotaru, Shikamaru, and Hinata were out together in the nearby swampland, looking for local herbs that could be used for their meal.

"I'm sorry again about all of that. Utakata-sensei is normally more friendly. Being in this country has him more anxious than usual." Hotaru apologized as they continued to move through the area.

"You don't need to apologize. You weren't the one who threatened to kill us." Shikamaru replied with a chuckle.

"But don't be mad at him for it either though!" She exclaimed.

"I'm not. I'm not." Shikamaru assured her. A confused look then developed on his face. "Although I do wonder why he's here though if he really isn't comfortable with it."

"That's my fault." Hotaru sighed. "I wanted him to teach me how to get better with my water-style ninjutsu. He kept refusing though. One day, he finally gave in and said he'd take me out here to train." A frown developed on her face. "I know he was hoping that seeing the war here would scare me into not wanting to be a shinobi and would make me want to stop asking him to train me."

"Really?" Hinata looked at her in surprise. "Why do you think that?"

"Utakata-sensei… doesn't like the idea of teaching me. Or teaching in general. I don't know why. He never explained." Hotaru's frown deepened. "But he has always tried to be a harsh instructor whenever he does teach me something in hopes that I won't get his lesson and will stop trying. The very first thing he taught me was how to walk on water when I hadn't had any chakra control training at all!"

"Seriously? Why the hell are you still training with him then?" Shikamaru nearly choked at that statement. 'Not even Anko was that much of a dick when training us!'

"Because I want to show him I can take everything and that I want to learn from him!" Hotaru declared, tightening her right hand into a fist. "I managed to learn water walking within a day by just pushing myself. I can handle anything he throws my way. I want to show him that I am serious with my desire to be a shinobi and I want to prove myself to him!"

"You're really strong, Hotaru-san." Hinata commented with a smile on her lips. "I admire your determination."

"Well thank you!" She replied, returning the Hyūga's smile. The smile then faded slightly. "… I don't think you'll be able to convince him to side with you guys, though. Utakata-sensei is pretty adamant about really taking a side."

"Are you sure of that?" Shikamaru questioned. "Because from the way he was talking, I think he respects Mei more than Yagura."

"He does, but that doesn't change the fact that he just doesn't want to get involved. He almost killed that man you are traveling with to prove that point." Hotaru admitted as a frown developed on her face.

"Point noted." Shikamaru sighed in response.

"If he doesn't want, then we won't force him. We'll just eat lunch with you all and leave." Hinata informed her.

Hotaru's frown turned back to the smile that it had been: "I really appreciate that. I'm sorry your mission won't go the way you planned."

"Don't worry about that." Shikamaru shrugged. "Anyway, let's get back to looking for herbs. We're just wandering around talking. Did you have anything in mind?"

The girl nodded in response. The trio then proceeded to continue looking for the herbs for their meal.

Dosu and Misora had sat in silence at the lake while the former Oto shinobi prepared tea for their meal. As a reserved person, he would normally not mind the silence. At the moment, however, he could tell that Misora was deep in thought. Her eyes were closed; there was a slight scowl on her lips, suggesting that her thoughts weren't pleasant. Dosu wasn't really certain why, but her silence was bothering him.

After minutes, the boy finally decided to break-it.

"What are you thinking about?" He questioned.

Misora opened her eyes and stared blankly in Dosu's direction. She shook her head.

"I'm confused. Nothing more." She replied dismissively.

"About what?" He continued to question.

The kunoichi raised her eyebrows, confused why he would continue asking. Nevertheless, verbalizing her thoughts might help her come up with an answer. Perhaps he could contribute some discussion that would lead her to her answer.

"I had read reports about Utakata and his general reported personality." She stated. "He's a calm person that's rather polite but also very logical. That's an error though. He wasn't behaving rationally during our confrontation earlier."

"By attacking Aō-san?" Dosu questioned.

"No." Misora shook her head. "I was expecting that. He's a cautious person, so that made sense that he would try something like that. What doesn't make sense is that he wouldn't bother listening to us at all. He wouldn't even entertain what we were going to ask him."

"I think it was self-explanatory. He knew what we were there to talk to him about." He replied.

"I suppose, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't listen to any offer we could have made. In the end, we were planning on offering him the freedom to be a wanderer without being in our bingo book. There would be no shinobi hunting him. It would have been a benefit to us all. We could have even offered more benefits, such as wealth or techniques." Misora brought her hands to her forehead. "He wouldn't even know what we could offer to him. He should have at least heard us out. It wasn't a logical decision to simply ignore us."

"It is probably less about logic and more of sense of indifference. I assume he simply didn't care what we could have offered." Dosu shrugged in response.

"I realize, but I simply don't understand that train-of-thought." She grumbled. "I'm trying to devise a way in which I can introduce the topic during lunch where I can convince him of working with us, but I can't appeal to his sense of logic because I'm unsure if he would care." The kunoichi then proceeded to shake her head. "He was a jōnin before leaving Kiri. He should be more logical. All shinobi should be."

"Not every decision is based on what seems the most logical." Dosu explained.

"It should be. If that were the case, then there wouldn't be this damn war in the first place." Misora crossed her arms over her chest. "Yagura would have realized that killing off his own people would be an asinine decision and would have looked past any prejudices he had against people of bloodlines. Then Kiri would have been a peaceful country, we wouldn't have such a shitty history, and I'd actually have a clan."

Silence filled the air between the two shinobi. Misora closed her in eyes in thought, trying to think how to approach Utakata. Dosu also closed his eyes in thought in an attempt to come up with a response to Misora's statement. A few seconds passed by before he finally opened his eyes and looked back at her.

"… I don't intend to offend you with this question, but do you believe that it would be logical for somebody who was blind to become a shinobi?" He asked.

Misora's eyes shot open instantly. They narrowed in anger at the former Oto shinobi.

"Vision is unnecessary to become a shinobi. I was born with such heightened chakra-sensory capabilities that I can 'see' better than nearly any shinobi that has to rely solely on their eyes." She declared.

"I realize that. You definitely see well enough that I didn't realize you were blind until Aō-san mentioned it." Dosu commented. "However, you had to improve on those capabilities, yes? Surely you were not as adept as a sensor when you first became a shinobi?"

"… I was not." She admitted. Her eyes lowered slightly and her hands went to one of the scythes that were attached to her back. "They were abysmal when I first started. I had to rely on my hearing and a walking stick at first for quite some time. It took me years of training before I was allowed to even take the simplest of missions for Mei-sama."

"At first, it probably wasn't logical for you to become a shinobi. But through training, you pushed past your weaknesses and became a skilled shinobi that Mei would trust." The former Oto shinobi informed her. "Sometimes, emotions do trump logic. You were clearly passionate about being a shinobi that you made it work despite logic telling you otherwise."

"Hmm." Misora mumbled in thought.

"The world may not necessarily better if somebody acted purely on logic. People have emotions that affect what actions they take. They're not a bad thing. It's why you became a shinobi, after all." He told her. Underneath his bandages, the boy was smiling. "And if you truly want to convince Utakata to join the rebels, you need to stop trying to appeal to logic and appeal to his emotions. Give him a reason to want to work with the rebels."

The kunoichi remained quiet again, trying to process Dosu's words. His suggestion seemed to contradict her own belief of the world. Rationality was what should govern the world and any action or appeal to emotions was not useful or beneficial. She had always told herself that and had used this belief to control how she would react to circumstances. Dosu's argument, however, appealed to her for some reason. In her mind, it made sense…

"… I will try that." She finally spoke up. The kunoichi let a smile grace her lips. "Thanks, Dosu-san."

"It is my pleasure." Dosu nodded his head in acceptance at her compliment. Underneath the bandages on his face, he was blushing.

"You are much wiser than most people I have ever met. We should have more discussions like this. I think they would be beneficial for us both." She informed him.

Dosu's blush seemed to develop even further.

He opened his mouth to respond, but the words died when he heard an approaching noise. He turned around to find Aō and Anko arrive back at the lake.

"You two are back?" Misora questioned.

"Yup. We set up some barriers around the area and Anko-san has a few clones patrolling the area. We'll be safe here and anybody that could somehow get through my barrier would be discovered instantly." Aō answered.

Despite the rather neutral statement he made, there was a hint of bitterness in his voice. The man seemed rather frustrated about his encounter with Utakata and seemed to resent the idea of being around the jinchūriki for too long.

Upon their arrival, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Hotaru returned to the lake. They each were holding bags filled with various herbs. The group proceeded to come together. All that was left to do was wait for Utakata to return…

Twenty minutes passed by before Utakata returned, having caught sixteen different fish. After he arrived, the group proceeded to prepare the fish with the herbs that Hinata, Shikamaru, and Hotaru had found. Dosu then poured the tea that he had brewed into eight cups. Everyone was then served two separate fishes and a cup.

"Not going to lie; I'm normally not a big seafood person, but this tastes really good." Shikamaru admitted with a chuckle.

"Mhmm." Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

"Mizu no Kuni fish is very fresh. It tastes better than any other countries'." Utakata replied.

One thing that was apparent at lunch was that Utakata appeared to be much more relaxed than he had been when they first confronted him. He was not the most talkative person, but he was polite and open to conversation if spoken to. It was a noticeable change in attitude that everyone seemed to notice.

"I have to say that this tea is probably the best I've ever had. And trust me; that means something." Hotaru stated after she finished her cup.

"I must agree with that." Utakata added.

"You both flatter me too much." Dosu shrugged off their compliments.

"Nah, you clearly know what you're doing kid." Aō mentioned. He had already finished his cup and was pouring himself another from Dosu's teapot.

"He makes some of the best tea I've had." Anko declared. "Not the best, but he's definitely up there." She then glanced towards the bandage-wearing shinobi. He appeared to be shifting in his spot uncomfortably. "You wouldn't happen to be red under those bandages, would you Dosu?"

Dosu's response was some incomprehensible mumbling, earning a laugh from the group around him.

During the lunch, Misora remained silent. She didn't even much of her meal and was focused on her thoughts.

When the group was nearly finished with their meal, Anko decided to shift conversation to a more serious topic. She took a final sip of her tea before turning her gaze to Utakata.

"So Utakata, what were those Kirigakure shinobi doing when they approached you?" She questioned. "We saw a couple of them fleeing from the lake after you killed most of them."

"They came for the same reason you all came. Yagura sent a group of people to approach me with an alliance. They thought that being a jinchūriki like him, I would want to side with him." Utakata answered.

"Clearly that was not the case." Shikamaru commented.

"I don't want to take any side." The Rokubi jinchūriki affirmed his position. "I've already been involved with Kirigakure enough that I want to simply leave it be."

"… While I understand that position, can I voice my opinion?" Misora spoke-up.

All eyes turned to face the kunoichi. Utakata narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded his head, giving him her permission.

"This scenario goes beyond Kirigakure. People all throughout Mizu no Kuni are affected by Yagura. People with kekkei genkai are persecuted and treated like crap by people. Many of us have been hunted down and executed. I… I don't pretend to know what it is like to be a jinchūriki, but I would assume I have experienced a portion of your suffering." Misora's eyes began to tear up. "I-I can guarantee you anything. I can guarantee you that Mei-sama will leave you alone after the war is over. I can offer you all the money and techniques that I know and I'm sure Mei-sama would reciprocate. I… I can offer my life if you want. Just please; help us end this war."

Utakata did not respond. He closed his eyes in deep thought. He recalled images of his own childhood, growing up near the end of the Third Shinobi World War and having the Rokubi sealed inside of him by the Sandaime Mizukage, planning on using him as another weapon if the war continued any longer. He remembered the sneering of civilians and shinobi that only grew worse once Yagura became Mizukage and revealed his horrid plans for Kirigakure. This growing hate, along with Harusame's betrayal, were the reasons why he fled Kirigakure in the first place.

He wanted to be left alone. He wanted peace. But was living in a world where even more people suffered the same persecution, possibly to a worse degree than his, a 'peaceful' world he wanted to live in?

"Misora-san isn't trying to force you to work with the rebels." Hinata began to speak up. Utakata's eyes opened and focused now on the Hyūga. "She wants to let you how bad you are needed. The rebels do need all the help they can get."

"… I had been meaning to ask you, but you're a Konoha shinobi. Why do you care what side I take in the war?" Utakata questioned.

"… Because I sympathize with the rebels. I have a kekkei genkai as well and it's scary that if my clan was set in Mizu no Kuni and not in Konoha, we could have been victims of the same bloodline hunts." The Hyūga admitted. "I… I want to do something. I want to do what I can to end the war and end all of this bloodshed!"

"We all do." Aō spoke-up, getting Utakata's attention. "I'm not an optimistic person and I don't know if this civil war will end up changing anything, but I have to hope it will. Life during the Third Shinobi World War was shit and Yagura only made it worse. Something needs to be done or else both Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni itself will die!"

Silence filled the area. All of the shinobi and Hotaru were currently staring at Utakata. The jinchūriki seemed to be processing all of the information he heard. A few moments passed by before he pulled out his pipe. His eyes then wandered from Misora to Hinata to Aō.

"You all are passionate about your stances. I'm… interested." He commented. "Prove to me this passion."

"Hmm?" Hinata seemed confused.

"Fight me. You three against me. I will not kill any of you. I just want to see the full extent of how your belief." Utakata explained. "I am firm in my belief that I want to be left alone. You are all firm about fighting in the civil war and wish me to fight with you. So, show me the full extent of your beliefs. Show me enough that you'll break my resolve to stay neutral."

"Just those three?" Anko questioned, a frown developing on her face.

"Just these three." Utakata confirmed.

With his declaration, Misora, Hinata, and Aō looked at the man with visible determination.

"When do you want to do this match?" Aō questioned.

"If we are all done with lunch, then now." The jinchūriki suggested.

Anko, Shikamaru, Dosu, and Hotaru moved to the nearby trees to observe the fight at a safe distance. The only people present directly by the lake were Misora, Hinata, Aō, and Utakata. The jinchūriki brought his pipe to his mouth. In response, Misora reached for one of her scythes, Hinata got into her stance for her gentle-fist, and Aō started to channel chakra into his hands. Both the Hyūga and Aō activated their Byakugan. Misora, gripping her scythe with her left hand, raised her right hand into the air and made a singular hand sign.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Water began to rise from the nearby lake and changed shape into mist. The mist completely covered Misora, Hinata, and Aō, hiding them from Utakata. The mist then began to spread over the battlefield towards Utakata.

"I know how this jutsu works, Misora-san. I was hoping for something a little more intriguing." Utakata admitted as he started to blow on his pipe. 'Water Style: Bubbles Technique!'

Dozens of bubbles came out of Utakata's pipe and flew directly into the upcoming mist. A few of the bubbles made contact with the ground, causing explosions. The explosions caused the mist to stop moving in a straight direction. The mist, however, separated into two mist clouds and moved to the left and ride of the explosion. Both mist clouds continued to charge towards the jinchūriki.

'Strange. I've fought plenty of people who use this jutsu and a technique like mine should have blown it away and caused it to dissipate.' Utakata noted. It was at this moment that the mist reached his body. He then noticed that the mist clouds were grabbing onto his body. 'Hmm?'

The mist clouds formed chains, preventing him from moving his arms and legs. Seeing that the jinchūriki was restrained, Misora charged forward. She was invisible to the naked eye, her body perfectly blending into the mist. However, Utakata could hear her footsteps, no matter how faint the noise was. As she approached him, she prepared to strike at him with her scythe. As she was about to land her attack, however, Utakata managed to overpower the restraint on his arms and broke free. He then blocked the scythe's blade with his pipe.

'What kind of material is that thing made out of?' Misora mentally questioned. 'It should at least have a scratch on it!'

'So she seems to have a much greater control of the mist then most people do. She is actually able to use it for other purposes than merely hiding herself. I wonder if this relates to the kekkei genkai she claimed to have.' Utakata wondered.

Now that he had broken free from his restraints, Utakata used his other hand to deliver a punch to Misora's face. The kunoichi was unable to react in time and was sent flying back deeper into the mist. She became invisible once again.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

A vacuum shell made from chakra and pressure was sent flying directly towards Utakata's body. The jinchūriki immediately put more force into his feet and freed himself from the mist restraints on them. He then jumped out of the way of the attack before he could get hit. Upon landing on the ground, he was met with Aō, who attempted to land a punch on him. The jinchūriki proceeded to block the attack with his arm. Aō then grabbed onto his arm and proceeded to try and kick the jinchūriki in the chest. Utakata pulled himself out of Aō's grip in time and jumped backwards to avoid the attack. He then brought his pipe to his lips just as Aō clapped his hands together.

"Water Style: Bubbles Technique!"

"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"

Utakata blew bubbles from his pipe as Aō released a giant wave of water from his mouth. The two water-style jutsu collided with each other. The explosions from Utakata's bubbles canceled out Aō's burst of water.

Before Utakata could do anything else, however, he felt his body becoming constrained again. He noticed that the mist clouds in the battlefield had reached his body again and were now completely surrounding his body. Everything below his neck was unable to be moved.

"Caught him." Misora mumbled to herself as she made three one-handed hand signs. "Ninja Art: Suffocating Mist!"

The mist clouds that had encased Utakata's body released another cloud that moved to his neck. It then tightened its grip on it. Utakata's eyes closed in pain.

'... Effective.' He noted.

Seeing he was restrained, Hinata and Aō charged forward towards Utakata's body. Hinata was prepared to strike him with her palm and seal off his chakra network while Aō planned on simply knocking him out with a few solid punches. Seeing the coming attacks, Utakata closed his eyes and struggled further to break out of his restraints again.

Like previously, he managed to overpower the mist clouds and free himself, allowing himself to breathe normally and move. Now able to react to the approaching shinobi, Utakata aimed his pipe downward and blew on it. Instantly, a large bubble completely surrounded his body. He then began to float into the sky just as Hinata and Aō reached him to land their attacks.

Now above them, Utakata created a small hole in the bubble surrounding him. He proceeded to blow out more bubbles from his pipe, releasing them through the hole. The bubbles moved quickly through the sky and made contact throughout the battlefield, creating multiple explosions. Hinata, Misora, and Aō managed to jump away and avoid the oncoming assault, but the explosions still affected the environment around them. After a few seconds of constant explosions, the mist was blown away, revealing the three to the jinchūriki.

'So the mist can be blown away. It just requires enough constant force.' Utakata noted with a smirk.

"The longer he stays up in the bubble and in the sky, the more dangerous he is going to be. He can just spam those attacks of his and we can't do anything about it." Misora noted. "We need to pop that bubble and get him on the ground."

"Let me try." Hinata replied as she reached for her bow.

The Hyūga proceeded to fire arrows into the sky, aimed for the bubble. Utakata proceeded to direct his bubble away from the oncoming arrows, preventing it from taking hits from even a single strike. Nevertheless, Hinata continued to fire.

"Keep him distracted." Aō commented as he brought his hands down to the ground. "Water Style: Storm Upheaval!"

As Hinata continued to fire arrows, Aō channeled his chakra into the area around them. Within moments, a massive amount of water was channeled directly from the sky. The water came crashing downwards, directly above Utakata's bubble.

The jinchūriki was unable to avoid the oncoming barrage of water and was hit by it. The water forced his bubble down to the ground. Upon contact with the surface, the bubble was popped. Utakata, however, was seemingly uninjured from the attack.

"Didn't really do anything to him other than break that bubble. That thing must have been more durable than I thought." Aō grumbled.

"That's unfortunate." Misora sighed as she raised her right hand into the air, planning to create more mist again for her techniques.

"Acid Scattering!"

Upon taking a deep breath, Utakata breathed out a massive burst of liquid corrosive acid directly from his mouth that moved forward towards the group. Misora was forced to stop channeling her jutsu and jump away with Hinata and Aō. The acid made contact with the ground, causing it to melt slightly.

"… Shit." Shikamaru mumbled to himself.

Anko, Shikamaru, Dosu, and Hotaru continued to watch the fight from their position atop the branches of nearby trees. They watched Utakata chase after Hinata, Misora, and Aō by spitting out acid from his mouth. With each missing attack, the ground proceeded to melt slightly, showing how dangerous his attack would be if it made contact with their skin.

"Misora and Aō are jōnin-level shinobi and Hinata is a highly skilled chūnin with the Byakugan. The fact that Utakata-san is holding them off as they attack him together is extremely impressive." Dosu complimented.

"Why do you think Mei wanted us to recruit him?" Anko questioned. "He's good. And you can tell he's still got more in him that he hasn't shown yet."

"I know. He hasn't even used the Rokubi's chakra at all." Dosu commented.

"Utakata-sensei won't use its chakra unless if it's absolutely necessary." Hotaru spoke-up, drawing attention to herself. "He doesn't have full control over the bijū, so he knows it's too destructive to use unnecessarily. You'd need to push him to use it."

"So he's not being pushed. That's… a scary thought." Shikamaru nearly shivered. "Glad I'm not fighting him." The Nara's eyes then closed in thought. 'Stay careful, Hinata. Just impress him.'

Conversation effectively died after Shikamaru's comment. The group returned their focus to the fight.

'They're all quick. I need to try a different approach.' Utakata realized as he brought his pipe to his mouth. 'Soap Bubble Slime!'

Utakata breathed out a barrage of small bubbles that floated towards Hinata, Misora, and Aō. The trio jumped away, avoiding the oncoming bubbles. Predicting where they would land, however, Utakata quickly blew another set of bubbles from his pipe that flew towards the ground. Upon contact, they released a dark-green colored slime that coated the ground. As Utakata predicted, the trio landed on the ground at the spot of the slime. They immediately became stuck to the ground, unable to move.

"Wh-What the…" Hinata gasped as she tried to move.

Upon capturing the group, Utakata quickly rushed over to them. He then blew on his pipe, letting out a single bubble. The bubble proceeded to expand in size and completely surround the three stuck shinobi. Utakata then proceeded to make a singular hand size, causing the bubble to begin to fill-up with water instantly.

Hinata, Misora, and Aō began to choke as they struggled to breathe. Utakata continued to watch them intently as they struggled.

'I'll let them out in a little bit before they actually drown. They'll be too drained to fight any longer in no time, though.' He told himself.

'Gotta get out…' Hinata told herself. It was hard to think of an escape route when she was having a difficult time trying to breathe. However, an idea did occur to her. 'That's it!'

'Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms!'

Hinata started to move her palms forward in a pushing-manner under the water. Streams of chakra were released from her palms. Hinata continued to pushing gesture, forcing these constant streams of chakra to make contact with the same point on the bubble. Slowly, the bubble started to weaken. Within a few moments, the jutsu popped the bubble, causing the group to get freed from the bubble and spraying the ground around them in water. The three hit the now-soaked ground hard. Each of them were completely wet.

'Someone broke through one of my bubbles?' Utakata's eyes were wide in amazement. 'That's… incredible.'

Almost immediately, Hinata, Misora, and Aō started to stand back up. Utakata proceeded to make a hand sign. The water on the around group started to rise up, as if it was going to solidify into another bubble. Noticing this, the trio jumped away just-in time before the bubble was reformed. Hinata proceeded to extend her hand backwards, preparing to create another vacuum palm. Both Misora and Aō started running quickly through hand signs.

'I don't want them to get back on the offensive. I'll just end this now.' Utakata told himself as he slammed his palms together. 'Water Style: Bubble Hell!'

The large bubble that Utakata had reformed imploded, creating enough force that it knocked back Hinata, Misora, and Aō, stunning them momentarily. After exploding, the large bubble had formed into hundreds of smaller bubbles. These bubbles were sent flying towards the trio at a rapid rate. They had no time to react. As soon as the bubbles reached them, they exploded. The multiple mini explosions knocked the three shinobi around in place before sending them further back. They all hit the ground hard, unmoving.

"That's the end." Utakata noted to himself as he put his pipe away.

The jinchūriki proceeded to walk over to the trio and check how their condition. He knew he didn't kill them, but he wanted to make sure they were simply knocked unconscious and nothing more. Upon walking over to them, he checked Aō first. As predicted, the man was knocked out. He then moved over to check Misora. To his surprise, however, the kunoichi started to stand-up.

"Erk…" She grumbled to herself as she tried to force her body off the ground.

'She's still able to move?' Utakata's eyes were, once again, wide in surprise. 'That's-'

The man's thoughts were interrupted as he heard groans. He turned his head and noticed Hinata pulling herself off the ground slowly. In a few seconds, the two kunoichi were both standing in front of the jinchūriki. Both seemed exhausted, but both had looks of determination on their faces to keep fighting.

"How… How are you two still standing?" Utakata questioned them.

"You… s-said that you wanted to us to fight and show how determined we were to fight." Hinata said between gasps.

"Yes, but this is foolish of you both. You honestly can't expect to keep fighting." Utakata informed them.

"B-But you said… we need to break your resolve and make you want to fight with us…" Misora mumbled. She took a step forward to the jinchūriki. "And I don't care how hard it is… I… no, we are going to show you… how badly… the rebels need you…"

Hinata nodded her head in agreement. "S-So let's keep-"

The words on her lips died as the kunoichi found herself unable to combat her exhaustion. She fell to the ground, too tired to continue. Misora took a few more steps closer to Utakata and attempted to reach for the second scythe on her back before she, too, succumbed to her exhaustion and passed out on the ground. Utakata stared at the two shinobi in awe.

"That's some dedication. I gotta admit." A voice spoke within Utakata's head. "You got to admit that."

"I do." Utakata nodded his head in agreement. "… I really do."

"Ugh…"

The first sensation that entered Hinata's head was pain. There was sharp sensation going up her bodies. Her chest and her lungs, in particular, were the parts most hurting. It took her a few moments before she was able to overcome the pain, pull herself up from a laying position, and open her eyes.

She was still at Aomori Lake, but she was lying on a blanket on the grass. The sun was now setting, showing her that she had been knocked out for quite a few hours. There was no sign of Utakata, Hotaru, Anko, Shikamaru or Dosu anywhere around her. She saw lying next to her on another blanket was Misora. She was still unconscious. Next to her was Aō. The man, unlike his fellow rebel, was sitting-up and conscious.

The man seemed to notice that Hinata was awake. He turned his head towards her.

"You're up too, huh?" He questioned.

The Hyūga nodded in response. "What happened?"

"After the fight, the others came by our side to check-up on us. They then started to do little things to treat our wounds and make sure we'd be okay to travel by tomorrow morning, assuming we all woke up. They stayed by our side until I woke up. They then hurried off to collect some more herbs and stuff for healing." Aō answered with a shrug. "Apparently Utakata is familiar with a bunch of medicinal herbs."

"… I see." Hinata commented.

"While we are alone, I ought to say good job." Aō spoke-up. Hinata looked at him quizzically. The man seemed to notice her confusion and decided to elaborate. "In our fight against Utakata. Also when you talked down Utakata earlier. We may disagree on a lot of things, but I have to give credit when it's due; you're dedicated to the mission above all else and I respect that."

"… Thank you." The Hyūga accepted his compliment. She then shook her head. "But it wasn't all about saving the mission. It was about getting us out alive… it was about making sure you didn't die."

"No need to fake being cordial to me." The middle-aged man actually laughed at her response. "I know you hate my guts. No need to lie about your motives for diplomacy."

"No, I'm being serious." She stated.

Aō gave her a suspicious look: "I find that hard to believe. Why would you care if I lived or died?"

"… You are right. I'm not fond of you. I don't think I ever will be. And I'm pretty sure that you feel similarly." Hinata started. Aō nodded her head in confirmation. "But, you're a person too. You're a comrade at the moment. And you have people that you are fighting for and people who want you back home. With that in mind, I can't let you die if I could do something to help save you."

Aō looked down momentarily in response to her statement. He remained quiet, processing his words. A full minute passed by before he broke the silence.

"Mei-sama owes you for your service today… and I owe you for saving my life. So, thank you, Hinata-san." Aō mentioned.

His voice was quiet when speaking, but Hinata heard the words. For the first time, she allowed a smile to grace her lips towards him. She was about to respond, but she then recalled the initial part of his statement.

"Why would Mei-sama be grateful to me?" She asked.

Aō finally turned his head back to face her. A grin was now developing on his face: "We convinced him. Utakata is going to fight with us."

"What?"

Both Hinata and Aō turned their head to the third-person in the area. Misora, who was now conscious, had shot her body upwards after hearing Aō's statement. She winced in pain at the sudden movement she forced her body to go through, but she didn't seem to care too much.

"Welcome to the land of the living again." Aō remarked.

"What did you say?" Misora questioned, ignoring Aō's teasing comment.

A large smile developed on Hinata's face. "He said Utakata-san has agreed to assist the rebels."

While Hinata's smile was large, it did not compare to the smile that developed on Misora's face. The kunoichi was so happy that she appeared to be near tears.

"The rebellion… it can happen. We can win." She mumbled to herself. She was so beside herself in excitement that her words started to become incomprehensible.

It was in this moment that Utakata, Hotaru, Anko, Shikamaru, and Dosu returned. Each of them were carrying baskets filled with medicinal herbs. They walked closer to the group and noticed that both Hinata and Misora were now conscious.

"Hey. You all doing alright?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Better than ever!" Misora declared. "Utakata-san?"

"Yes?" The jinchūriki responded

The brown-haired kunoichi proceeded to bow in his direction: "Thank you so much."

Immediately after bowing, the girl winced again pain.

"Hey, you shouldn't be making too many sudden movements!" Hotaru lectured as she walked over to Misora to attend to her.

"So… You really wish to fight with us?" Hinata asked the jinchūriki. He nodded in response. "I'm more than happy, but this is what you want, right? You don't feel forced into this?"

"… I do have some stipulations, but I'll address those with Mei when I meet with her. But I have to admit, the resolve you all possess impressed me." Utakata declared. "It's been a while since I've seen a cause I wanted to fight for. But you all seem to think that this civil war can really bring some needed, good change to this country. And if you believe in it so much, then I believe it has to be a cause that I'd be willing to fight for."

Hinata nodded her head in understanding. She didn't verbally reply to his comment. Her smile and visible happiness said everything for her.

It took the group a lot longer to leave than they had initially planned. They waited an extra day at Aomori Lake to make sure that Hinata, Misora, and Aō were fully healed and ready to travel in case of any conflict that could arise on the way back to Kibō. They then had to travel from their position at the lake, a location further away than the village that they had initially traveled from.

It took two days of travel in the Mizu no Kuni swamplands to finally return to Kibō. Upon arrival, however, they noticed a multitude of new shinobi walking around the village.

"There are more Konoha shinobi are here?" Utakata seemed confused. "Based on our conversation, I had assumed it was just you four."

"No. More were requested to assist in the civil war." Aō replied.

'Utakata-san is here and now the Konoha shinobi… this war will be over soon.' Misora couldn't resist but smile again as she thought about the new additions to the rebel shinobi.

"Well I'll be damned. They got here sooner than I thought they would." Anko chuckled.

It was in that moment that one Konoha shinobi seemed to notice the arrival of the group. He had been carrying some general weapons and was going to deliver them to another shinobi near the entrance, but he stopped his duty the moment he heard Anko's voice. Instead, he immediately rushed forward at the group that had arrived.

"Anko-sensei! Shikamaru! Dosu!" He exclaimed. "Hinata-chan!"