Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto vs. Sasuke The Aftermath ❯ Tears and Sacrifices ( Chapter 27 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

With Kakashi dead and Hinata captured and bleeding to death, all hope seems lost. Will help reach Hinata in time to save the Hyuga heiress from a fate worse than death? And what desperate maneuver is Kurenai attempting on Kakashi that may end her life? In the end, will someone step-up to save the Genjutsu Mistress, and if they do, what price will they pay?

Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.29.2010 | Pages: 12 | Words: 16.9K | Visits: 726 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter 27 Summary: With Kakashi dead and Hinata captured and bleeding to death, all hope seems lost. Will help reach Hinata in time to save the Hyuga heiress from a fate worse than death? And what desperate maneuver is Kurenai attempting on Kakashi that may end her life? In the end, will someone step-up to save the Genjutsu Mistress, and if they do, what price will they pay?

Naruto vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath

Chapter 27: "Tears and Sacrifices"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kurenai screamed to the heavens, as she felt Kakashi's hand fall away from her cheek. Her cry of anguish echoed throughout the forest, before she gazed down at his placid face and in a choked voice with tears rolling down her cheeks, she pleaded in desperation with the masked Jounin.

"Pl, please Kakashi, you can't die! I, I do love you! Pl, please don't die, I, I need you!"

Neither seeing nor hearing any kind of response from Kakashi, Kurenai tore open his shirt and placed her ear to his chest hoping beyond hope that she could hear a heartbeat no matter how faint it might be? After a moment or two of listening, a grief stricken sob burst forth from her throat, as she realized the only sound coming from Kakashi was silence. It was at this moment that Kurenai's sadness turned to anger and she spat with frustration.

"Damn you Kakashi, you lazy bastard. I'll be damned if I'm going to let you get away with telling me you love me, and then dying. I love you too damn it, and no way in Hell am I going let you get away with this!"

Kurenai's left hand began to glow with a pulsing soft green light, as she moved her head to the side and rested it in the crook of Kakashi's neck. She then placed her glowing hand onto Kakashi's chest directly over his heart and closed her eyes, as her thoughts drifted to a memory from one year ago.

(Flashback)

As Kurenai entered the large conference room at the Konoha hospital, she noticed the entire room was filled with virtually every Kunoichi the Leaf village had. Kurenai then heard a voice call out and spied Hinata waving to her. Making her way over to her student, Kurenai sat down next to the Hyuga heiress and asked.

"Hello Hinata, I see you got a message from the Hokage as well about this meeting. Do you know what it is about?"

"N, no Kurenai-Sensei I do not. But it seems like every Kunoichi in the village is here for this."

"Yes, I noticed that too when I first entered. I wonder what Lady Tsunade has in store for all of us?"

"I don't know Kurenai-sensei, but whatever it is apparently we are in the same group." Hinata replied, as she pointed to a large blackboard, which had her name and Kurenai's along with a few others written under the title Group 1.

It was then that Hokage Tsunade followed by Shizune and several medic nin's entered the room pushing several carts filled with small animals in cages. The medic nin's then began moving around a series of tables and distributing the cages onto them. They then assigned a number to each table, and when they were finished, they moved to the front of the room behind the Hokage. Tsunade then stood before a podium and the room quieted down to let her speak.

"Kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you are all probably wondering why I have called you here today. Today you all will be learning a valuable medical technique that could help to save the life of a fallen comrade if a medic nin is not available."

The crowd of kunoichi's began to murmur upon hearing this before Tsunade continues on.

"Now this medical procedure is called a Directed Chakra Heartbeat Simulation."

A look of bewilderment and confusion spread across the face of many of the women in the room before Tsunade spoke once more.

"Now I know that procedure sounds complicated, but I assure it's not. In fact, I expect that most of you will master it in a few hours. You all will be learning this technique under my supervision along with my assistant Shizune and these medic nin's behind me. Now save any questions for the instructors at your assigned tables and please go to your designated table, as indicated by the number upon it."

A few minutes later, Kurenai and Hinata found themselves at table #1 along with their friends Ino, Tenten, Sakura, and Anko. As all the kunoichi talked and stared at a small white rabbit in a cage on their table, Tsunade strolled over with a smile on her face and said.

"Good to see all of you, now I'm sure you have some questions about this procedure, so let's have them."

"What exactly is a Directed Chakra Heartbeat simulation Hokage-sama?"

"Straight and to the point, I like that Kurenai. Well, a Directed Chakra Heartbeat Simulation is exactly how it sounds. I will be teaching you all how to send directed chakra pulses into the heart of someone whose heart has stopped beating. These chakra pulses will simulate the heartbeat, so essentially you will be taking over control of keeping the heart beating when the brain of that person has stopped doing so."

"I don't understand Hokage-sama, what's the point? If someone's heartbeat has stopped, that means they've died. Is this procedure going to bring them back to life or something?"

"No Anko, it won't bring them back to life, but it will keep them alive enough for a trained medic nin to hopefully resuscitate them."

"I want to make something perfectly clear to all of you!" Tsunade shouts for the entire room to hear before continuing.

"This procedure is merely a stop-gap technique for you to use to help keep a fallen comrade alive until a trained medic arrives. It should only be used if a medic nin is not available to buy the patient some time until one is available."

Tsunade then turned her attention back to the table, as Ino raised her hand and asked.

"Hokage-sama, how come it's only the kunoichi's who are learning this stuff and not the guys too?"

"Well Ino, most of the guys as you put it don't have the chakra control needed to learn and master this or any other medical technique. It's just another talent that makes the female far superior than the mere male." Tsunade replied, earning a chuckle from all the girls around her.

"Is there any danger to this technique Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

"For the most part no Sakura, however you must never use the technique if you yourself are severely low on chakra."

"Why is that Hokage-sama?"

"The reason Tenten is that the human body requires a certain amount of chakra to survive. You see physiologically everyone has a set limit of chakra that one should never go below. For if you push past that limit is when chakra exhaustion can set in. And severe chakra exhaustion is one of the leading killers of shinobi. So, if one exhaust all of their chakra trying to save someone else, the only result by doing that will two dead people instead of one."

Tsunade paused a moment, as she saw grim looks upon all the young kunoichi's faces before adding with comical flair.

"Unless of course one of my fabulously trained medic nin's arrives in time to save both people, as they are expected by me to do."

This lightened the mood of all the kunoichi's. It was then that Tsunade reached over to the cage and removed the rabbit from it, while simultaneously pulling out a syringe filled with a lime green liquid. This action caused Hinata to gulp and nervously ask.

"Ho, Hokage-sama wh, what are you going to do with Floppsy?"

"Floppsy, who is Floppsy Hinata?"

Hinata hesitantly pointed to the rabbit on the Hokage's arm, which caused Tsunade to look from the rabbit to Hinata a couple of times, before she stated in utter bewilderment.

"Hinata, you've been here less than five minutes, and you mean to tell me you've already given a name to this rabbit?"

Hinata began blushing and meekly nodded her head, which caused most of the girls present to giggle at how sweet and innocent their friend could be. Even Tsunade was quite amused with the girl, before she cleared her throat to answer the Hyuga heiress question.

"Ahem, well Hinata to answer your question Floppsy here is the test subject to help teach you all this technique. I'll be stopping her heart with this drug and it will be up to each and one of you to restart and maintain Floppsy's heartbeat again. Failure to do so will result in her death."

"Eeep!" Hinata exclaimed in alarm.

"Well thank you Hinata, I was going to ask for a volunteer to go first, but you seem very anxious to get started so why don't you go first." Tsunade stated with a little mirth.

(End of Flashback)

'Ha, ha, poor Hinata, she was so nervous that day, but more for the rabbit than for herself I think. But that didn't stop her; she learned and mastered that technique quicker than any of the rest of us that day. She even stayed behind to help Anko and Ino who struggled a bit with the technique just to make sure that they learned it and that Floppsy survived. Hinata, I'm so sorry and I hope you can understand why I am doing this. Tsunade might be right and that I'm doing nothing more than throwing my life away by doing this. But if Kakashi's love for me means he was willing to sacrifice his life to save me, the love I feel for him means I refuse to do no less for him. If keeping Kakashi alive long enough for Tsunade to arrive and save him costs me my life, those terms are acceptable to me.'

While Kurenai fought to stay conscious, as the onset of chakra exhaustion began to set in. She could only pray to Kami that Tsunade would arrive soon so that her sacrifice to keep Kakashi alive would not be in vain.

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Meanwhile, four young Leaf village shinobi were sprinting through the forest at a furious pace, when a shout rang out from one of them to.

"Stop!"

Immediately the Inuzuka, Nara, and Aburame heirs halted and turned to stare with confusion at their Byakugan blazing comrade who had ordered them to stop. Kiba growled in anger and annoyance.

"What the Hell Neji, we don't have time to stop! Hinata could be in danger right now! If you're too tired and can't keep up, we'll just leave your ass behind!"

"Shut the fuck up mutt-boy before I bury you where you stand! I didn't say stop because I needed a break, I said it because we are going the wrong way! I can see several chakra signatures about a mile to the northeast of us. And one of the signatures is Hinata's and it is fading!"

"What, that's a load of crap! No way can you see that far away, and I don't give a fuck how great your Byakugan supposedly is! The grotto is three to four miles north of us according to Shino, and we're just wasting time listening to your bullshit right now!"

"Look you mangy cur, I don't give a damn whether you believe me or not, but I'm telling you that is where Hinata is and we need to be heading there right now!"

As Shikamaru watched Neji and Kiba argue, he noticed some small rivulets of blood were beginning to leak from the corners of Neji's eyes. It was then he remembered something Neji had boasted to Hiashi the morning the Hyuga patriarch had attacked Hinata.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, you old fool! I've already achieved levels in the Byakugan you never knew even existed!"

Seeing the fierce contorted look on the Hyuga prodigy's face, as the young man's Byakugan seemed even more intense than normal. Shikamaru silently wondered if it wasn't just a mere boast and that perhaps Neji truly had achieved new levels to the Byakugan. If any Hyuga were capable of doing so, Neji would be the most likely candidate Shikamaru concluded, as he ordered with authority.

"Alright, change of direction, we're heading over to where Neji says Hinata is and we're leaving right now! Neji, you take the point and we'll follow behind you!"

"What! Who died and made you the leader Shikamaru?" Kiba openly complained.

'Troublesome.' Shikamaru thought to himself before turning around and angrily stating.

"No one died to make me the leader Kiba, but the Hokage did! Or need I remind you that out of all of us, I'm the only officer here. So Kiba, you will follow my orders and keep that big mouth of yours shut or I'll turn your butt in for insubordination so fast that you'll be Genin for the next 10 years you got that!"

Kiba growled in anger and started to advance upon Shikamaru when a hand clasped his shoulder stopping him. The Inuzuka heir turned his to see his teammate holding him while shaking his head before Shino said in his usual calm and monotone voice.

"Shikamaru is right Kiba, he is a Chunin officer and does outrank us, and we are bound by Shinobi code to follow his orders. If he deems it necessary for us to move to the location where Neji says Hinata is I trust the Nara's judgment. And Neji has no reason to lead us astray; he wants to find Hinata as much as we do. If he swears Hinata is no longer at the grotto but northeast of us, I trust him as well."

As Kiba pondered his friend and teammate's words, Shikamaru commented to the Aburame heir with amusement.

"Damn Shino, in all the years I've known you that's the most words I've ever heard you say in one breath."

"Like you Shikamaru, I only speak when it is necessary or when I have something important to say."

"That's a good philosophy to have on speech. Maybe you could come by sometime and teach it to my teammate Ino."

"I think not Shikamaru. The last time I saw your teammate she was still upset with me for my comment of her not being my type of girl to date."

"I'm not surprised, if there is one thing Ino excels at above all others is holding onto a grudge."

"Fine!" Kiba growled in irritation, before adding with malevolence.

"We'll go to this spot where white eyes says Hinata is at, but I swear to you Nara and Hyuga! If you guys are wrong and something happens to Hinata because of it, me and Shino are going to kick your Asses, and that's a promise!"

"Hmph, if I'm wrong which I'm not, the two of you are welcome to try. And while a fight with the Aburame might prove challenging, a battle with you dog boy will be about as strenuous as a morning calisthenic." Neji snidely replied to Kiba's threat.

"Save it both of you, we need to get going right now, let's move out!" Shikamaru ordered, before he and the others leapt away following closely behind Neji, his Byakugan leading the way.

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"I don't understand Lieutenant Kioshi, why are you helping that little Hyuga bitch?" One Oto Shinobi grumbled to his acting commanding officer, as he rubbed his wrist.

"Shut the fuck up and let me concentrate! Be glad I healed your wrist she had snapped like a twig first. Kioshi spat at his subordinate, while he worked feverishly to close and heal the kunai wound on Hinata's back.

"I, I appreciate you doing that for me Lieutenant, I really do. But I still don't understand why you're helping her? That little whore killed seven of our comrades including Sub-Commander Masashi! I say let her bleed out!"

"Well fortunately Private, your opinion means shit to me in this matter! Not that I need to explain myself to you, but I'm healing this girl as much as I can because we were under direct orders from Lord Orochimaru and Commander Kabuto to do as little damage as possible in capturing her."

"You didn't seem too worried about her condition when the Sub-Commander was kicking the shit out of her, why now?"

"Masashi was a sadist and a fool! I warned him about hurting the girl, but because of his insane bloodlust he refused to listen. I didn't care about the damage he was doing to the girl because I figured Commander Kabuto would kill him for disobeying Lord Orochimaru's orders, as he is known to do to those officers stupid enough to do so. But since that psychotic idiot Masashi went and got himself killed by this little Hyuga bitch as you called her, his command has now been thrust onto me. And I'm not about to take this girl in her present condition back to Commander Kabuto without doing all I can to clean and heal her up, lest he take his anger out on me since Masashi is no longer available."

"Ok Lieutenant Kioshi, I understand. How much longer is it going to take to heal the girl?"

"Well, I've stopped the bleeding and closed her wound, she's lost a lot of blood but I think she'll be alright. Give me a few minutes to heal some of these cuts and bruises on her and then we'll head out."

"That's good to hear, I want to get back to Otogakure as soon as we ca ……"

"What did you say Private?" Kioshi asked, before the body of the aforementioned Oto nin Private fell to the ground beside him with a kunai firmly implanted in his forehead.

Jumping up in shock, Kioshi whirled around to see four young Leaf Shinobi burst through the forest and charge straight for him. The lead ninja was obviously a Hyuga and judging by the fierce flaring Byakugan upon on his face, as Kioshi realized he was out for blood and vengeance. Kioshi barely had time to bark out an order to his men to pair up and that each two man team engage a Leaf Shinobi, before he was frantically blocking and dodging Jyuuken strikes from the enraged Hyuga male before him.

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While Kioshi was battling for his life against Neji, two Oto nin's landed near Kiba and Akamaru. Seeing as it was only a boy with a small white dog, they smirked and one of them mockingly offered in overconfidence.

"Give up now kid, you're outnumbered and if you do, I promise we won't hurt you or your puppy too much, ha, ha, ha."

Kiba merely growled in response, before tossing a Soldier pill into Akamaru's mouth and ingesting one himself. Almost immediately, both Kiba and the Inuzuka canine familiar's appearance took on a more feral look, and Akamaru's fur turned red in color. Kiba then performed a quick series of hand seals and shouted.

"Juujin Bushin no Jutsu!" (Beast-Man Clone Technique)

And in a flash of smoke, Akamaru had transformed into an exact copy Kiba.

"It doesn't look like we're outnumbered anymore." Both Kiba's in unison before adding.

"And if you thought that was cool, watch this!"

"Gatsuuga Style!" (Dual Piercing Fang Taijutsu Technique)

It was then both Kiba and his familiar began a spinning rapidly and leapt to attack both of their surprised opponents. The Oto nin's were ill prepared to combat the fast rotation of their two attackers, as they were bombarded by multiple impact claw strikes to their bodies. Kiba and Akamaru heightened their confusion by repeatedly switching off opponents and striking from multiple angles. Then in an instant the rotating duo stopped, as Kiba had thrust with full force his right claw deeply into one Oto Shinobi's chest. While the Akamaru/Kiba clone had sunk his teeth into the other Oto nin's throat. As Kiba tore his arm out of his enemy's chest, and Akamaru ripped out the others throat, they both were showered in a spray of blood before the Oto nin's fell to the ground in a heap.

Meanwhile, Kiba's teammate and friend Shino was engaged in a Taijutsu battle with two Oto Shinobi. Unfortunately, his opponents had not given him the time to call upon his Kikai insects to help him and he was losing his fight. As his two foes delivered a simultaneous round kick to Shino's chest and drove him back several yards, they ceased their attack. Shino looked up and realized this was a mistake on their part; he would make sure of that. It was then he heard one of the Oto nin say with contempt.

"You see brother; I told you the Aburame clan is worthless when it comes to hand to hand combat."

This insult raised the ire of Shino, as he stood up and stretched his arms forward and a multitude of bugs began flowing out from inside his coat sleeves. However, both Oto merely smirked at this display before one of them said with derision.

"We know all about your bugs and how they eat an opponent's chakra. Well guess what you little punk we don't have any chakra! We are the Sato brothers of Otogakure and even though our bodies won't produce chakra, we're still the best Taijutsu fighters in the entire Sound village. So go ahead and send over your little bug buddies, it won't matter because they will have nothing to eat. What do you have to say about that bug boy?"

"I have two things to say. One, it is a pity my comrade Rock Lee is not here to show you who a true Taijutsu master is. And second, while it is true that my Kikai brethren do prefer to feed on chakra. If there is none available, they will gather their sustenance from other . . . . . proteins shall we say."

It was then that Shino's insects burst forth like a rocket into the mouths of the Sato brothers. Both Oto nin's fell to the ground and began writhing in agony. They attempted to scream, but found their mouths, throats, and lungs completely congested with insects. As Shino turned around and began walking away, little fountain like geysers of blood began erupting all over the bodies of the Sato brothers, as the Kekai insects consumed them from the inside out.

As Shino's insects were busy having lunch of the Sato brothers, Shikamaru was battling an Oto Shinobi. The Nara heir had managed to get the drop on the man's partner and used one of his clan's prized jutsu's the Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu or Shadow Neck Bind Technique. Shikamaru was still trying to shake loose the memory of the sheer look of terror the nin had on his face, as the shadowed hand Shikamaru had created crept up the nin's body to his neck, and strangled the man without mercy. However, his partner was proving most troublesome, as Shikamaru had been unable to capture him so far in the same manner. Trying once more to ensnare his opponent, the Nara boy formed the necessary hand seals and called out.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu!" (Shadow Imitation Technique)

Once more Shikamaru's shadow extended out to capture his foe and freeze him in place. And once again his opponent jumped backwards to avoid his shadow coming in contact with the Nara's. Shikamaru made note of this, as he dodged a shuriken and thought to himself.

'All this guy does is jump straight backwards whenever I send my shadow jutsu towards him, never to the sides. Once he lands, he immediately retaliates by throwing a shuriken or kunai at me forcing me to dodge and breaking my concentration on the jutsu. I can't seem to get my shadow to him, which means I must bring him to my shadow. Yes, that should work, but the timing has to be precise.'

Covertly attaching a long burning explosive note to a kunai, Shikamaru threw the kunai at his Oto opponent who smirked, as he watched the weapon sail over his head and impact the ground several yards behind him. Turning back he saw Shikamaru charging him and once more making some hand seals and calling out.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu!" (Shadow Imitation Technique)

Once more the Oto Shinobi began leaping backwards until he noticed that the Nara boy had stopped. Landing on the ground, he pulled out several kunai and was about to show this Leaf village fool the proper way to throw kunai's although it would be the last lesson he ever learned. Just as he was about to unleash his volley of kunai, the Oto Shinobi heard a sizzling sound behind him. Turning his head quickly, he spied the explosive note attached to the kunai he thought his opponent had errantly thrown only moments before. The Oto nin's eyes grew wide with shock before the note exploded and blew him forward several yards, as he skidded along the ground. Coughing to dislodge some earthen debris from his mouth, the Oto Shinobi attempted to rise but found his body unresponsive. It was then he realized that he was lying directly in the center of his Leaf Shinobi foe's shadow jutsu. As he watched Shikamaru move closer to him, the smirk on the young man's face told him everything before he heard the boy say.

"Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu." (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)

It was then that the Oto Shinobi felt the constriction upon his neck, as the air was being choked out of him. As his vision grew hazy and the light of the day grew dim, he thought he heard the young man say . . . . .

"Troublesome."

. . . . . before the darkness claimed his vision, now and forever.

The Oto Lieutenant Kioshi was panting heavily and desperately trying to reopen some of the Tenketsu points his Hyuga foe had closed on his body. It was proving difficult, as he had used up the majority of his chakra in healing the Hyuga girl. What little chakra Kioshi did have left he had wasted by using some Katon element jutsu's, which the boy had easily blocked by using the Hyuga clans famous Hakkeshou Kaiten in defense. Kioshi looked around to see he could call upon any of his comrades to help him. To his horror he saw all them either dead or in the process of being killed. Kioshi couldn't believe he and his fellow Otogakure Chunin were being slaughtered by four Konoha Genin's. Looking back to his Hyuga opponent, he stared across at the young man's smirking face and realized that the boy had merely been toying with him in this battle. Kioshi then saw the smirk disappear, as it was replaced with a look of pure hatred and he heard the Hyuga male say in a voice dripping with loathing.

"I grow bored of this Otogakure scum and will end this fight, as you are now within my field of divination. For daring to attack and then placing your filthy hands on the first lady of the Hyuga clan, you will now die!"

"Hakke Rokujuyon Shou!" (Gentle Fist Style Eight Trigrams 64 Palms)

"Two hands, four hands, eight hands, sixteen hands, thirty-two hands, sixty-four hands!" Neji cried out, as he delivered in a blur a series of Jyuuken strikes all over the Oto officer's body.

Kioshi dropped to his knees and his arms hung lifeless at his sides, as his body was seemingly numbed to the core. He could only watch helplessly, as Neji pulled a kunai out and stalked towards him with a murderous glint in his eyes. When Neji raised the Kunai above his head, Kioshi closed his eyes and thought of his wife and little girl, while he waited for the final killing blow from the Hyuga that would end his life. After a few moments, Kioshi tentatively opened his eyes because the death stroke form the kunai had yet to be delivered. Standing in front of him immobile yet struggling to move was the Hyuga boy still holding the kunai above him. It was then he heard Neji shout in rage and frustration.

"What are you doing Shikamaru? I demand you release me from your shadow binding jutsu at once!"

"I can't do that Neji, unless you promise not to kill him. We need at least one prisoner to take back to the village and find out what the Hell has been going on?"

"Fine, but not this one Nara, he dared to have his filthy hands upon Hinata when we arrived and for that alone he dies now!"

"Sorry Neji, but he's the only one left alive. I guess that will teach to play with your opponents, if you had wanted to kill this guy so badly. Besides, I checked Hinata, she has a bad stab wound on her back, but it looks like this guy here is the one to close and heal it. I don't know why he did that, but that's why he was touching her."

Neji vision narrowed upon the paralyzed Oto nin before him, as he asked with scrutiny.

"Is this true Oto pig, did you attempt to heal Hinata?"

"Y, y, yes." Kioshi nervously stammered, in a choked voice.

After a moment or two of contemplation on Neji's part, he finally spoke up and said.

"Alright Shikamaru release me. I swear upon the Hyuga name this man will not die today by my hands." Neji swore, as Kioshi exhaled a sigh of relief.

Shikamaru nodded to the Hyuga prodigy and deactivated his jutsu. Neji turned back to Kioshi and declared with certainty.

"You should consider yourself most fortunate today Oto! That one act of kindness on your part is the only reason you're not meeting a Shinigami right now!"

"Neji, go check on Hinata with Kiba and Shino, I'll get this guy secured with some chakra wire."

Moments later, Neji along with Kiba and Shino were helping Hinata to her feet. Kiba asked with worry and concern, as he noticed the numerous injuries his teammate had.

"Are you sure you're ok Hinata?"

"I'm, I'm alright, thank you Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Neji-kun, and Akamaru for coming to my aid."

"Hey, I helped a little bit too Hinata." Shikamaru playfully commented, as he approached them dragging his bound and unconscious Oto prisoner behind him.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru-kun, I thank you as well."

"No problem Hinata, let's just get you and this guy back to the village as soon as possible."

"No!" Hinata exclaimed, before adding.

"We, we can't go back to the village yet! We must go and help Kurenai-sensei right now!"

"That's right Shikamaru, we've got to go and save Kurenai-sensei, she could be in trouble!" Kiba shouted in agreement.

"I don't know guys; the logical move is to get Hinata back to the safety of the village. If we try to press on and rescue Kurenai-san, we jeopardize doing that and risk losing the both of them. Plus we've got this Otogakure prisoner to deal with as well. I'm sorry guys, but the best and safest course of action for us is to head back to the village now." Shikamaru stated with hesitancy.

Just as both Hinata and Kiba were about to protest most vehemently against going back to the village. Shino surprisingly spoke up first and voiced his disapproval of returning to Konoha without his Sensei.

"Shikamaru, I agree that getting Hinata and the prisoner back to the village is the wisest course of action. But this is our Sensei we are talking about trying to save. I don't even wish to contemplate Kurenai-sensei suffering the same ordeal that Sakura went through, because we chose the safest course of action for us. Tell me Shikamaru, if it was Ino out there, would you still be so intransigent about going back to the village?"

"That's a low blow Shino." Shikamaru said with disgust, before slamming his fist into the palm of his hand and asked.

"Hinata how big is the force Kurenai was facing?"

"A, about 12 to 14 mid to upper level Chunin, one low level Jounin, and one upper level Jounin, it, it was Kabuto guys!"

"Damn it, that is most troublesome! Well there's nothing we can do about that, we just have to hope that Kakashi-sama and Kurenai-san have managed to reduce those numbers a bit before we get there. Alright, so we don't lose any speed or time, we'll leave the prisoner here. Neji's closed off his chakra pathways and he's bound with chakra wire so he won't be going anywhere. Kiba, I need you to send Akamaru back to the village with this message I'm writing down letting them know what we're doing and requesting backup. Can Akamaru find you again Kiba and lead help back to us?"

"Damn straight he can, Akamaru can find me anytime anywhere no problem." Kiba proclaimed with confidence.

"I'm counting on it Kiba. Shikamaru stated, as he affixed his message to Akamaru's collar and then watched the dog sprint back towards Konoha. Turning back to the others, he then announced with authority.

"Neji, you have the point again. Shino and I will be the center, and you Kiba carry Hinata and watch our backs. Does anyone have any questions?" Shikamaru inquires, and after receiving no reply he says.

"Alright, then let's head out."

With that said, all five Shinobi leapt off into the forest.

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A little while later, Shizune and several medic nin's looked on nervously, as one Hokage Tsunade impatiently paced the ground outside the northeast gate waiting for her Anbu search teams to report back in with any news. Growling in frustration, Tsunade punched a nearby boulder, pulverizing the once might stone into bits and dust when an Anbu Commander landed next to her and bowed.

"Report!" Tsunade harshly commanded.

"Hokage-sama, my Anbu teams have done a one mile search radius of the village and have found nothing as of yet."

"I see, Commander I want you to take your teams and concentrate your search areas to the north, northeast, and northwest of Konoha. Our records show that Kurenai and Hinata left the village this morning through this gate."

"It shall be done at once Hokage-sama." The Anbu officer replied, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Shizune walked over to her mentor and asked.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure it's wise to limit the search area?"

"I don't know Shizune? But what I do know is time is working against us right now, and we need to find Hinata and Kurenai as soon as possible. So I'm going to assume that they went north because they exited the village from here. I just pray to Kami that my gamble is correct by doing this."

"That had better be one doozy of a prayer Lady Tsunade considering your track record when it comes to gambling." Shizune absently replied, before realizing what she had just said and turned to see her Hokage leveling a deadly glare her direction. It was then a small dog whose white fur was tinged crimson burst through forest barking before jumping into the arms of one surprised Hokage.

"Ak, Akamaru!" Tsunade said with shock, as she struggled to control the writhing barking dog in her arms. Tsunade saw the note attached to Akamaru's collar and thrust the squirming animal into Shizune's arms while taking the message out and reading it. After a moment, Tsunade looked up and shouted out a command to one of her Anbu guards.

"Send out the recall signal to all the search teams at once! We are heading out immediately!"

"What is it Hokage-Gama, what did the note say?" Shizune quickly asked, as she set Akamaru down on the ground.

"It's a message from Shikamaru, apparently he, Neji, Shino, and Kiba have found and rescued Hinata about three miles to the northeast of us. They have left an unconscious Otogakure prisoner at their current location and are proceeding north to try and rescue Kurenai. Shikamaru says because of the potential size of the enemy forces they may have to face, he's requesting both Anbu and medic nin's for backup and support. He also says to follow Akamaru, as the dog will lead the reinforcements to their exact location."

When two full Anbu teams suddenly appeared, Tsunade ordered one team to go and fetch the Otogakure prisoner, while the other team was to accompany her and the medical staff to Kurenai's location. Any other Anbu teams that arrive were to follow them immediately. And with a bark from Akamaru, he dashed back into the forest followed closely behind by Tsunade and her makeshift squad of medical nin's and Anbu.

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As Shikamaru and the other neared the area where Hinata had left Kurenai, a strong breeze came from that direction that made Kiba ill, as he shouted out with a little trepidation in his voice.

"Guys, I just caught a scent of blood coming from up ahead of us . . . . . . a lot of blood."

"Damn, that's most troublesome." Shikamaru muttered to himself, before raising an arm and signaling everyone to stop.

"Why are we stopping Shikamaru-kun? Kurenai-sensei needs our help! Hinata pleaded to the Nara heir.

"I know Hinata, but I would like to see what's ahead of us first. Neji, can you see what's up ahead?"

Neji hesitantly reactivated his Byakugan and peered off towards the direction in front of them. A moment later, he shouts out in pain and brings his hand up to cover his eyes.

"Neji-kun!" Hinata cried out in concern.

Shaking his head and removing his hand from his eyes, Neji quickly replied to his cousin.

"I'm fine Hinata."

Before he turned around and stated to his comrade in a solemn and remorseful tone of voice.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru, but I've severely taxed my Byakugan today and I can't see anything right now."

It was then that Shikamaru noticed even more blood leaking from the corners of Neji's eyes. Sighing in frustration, as he realized that Neji had probably injured himself somehow with his Byakugan, he said with sympathy.

"It's alright Neji; you've done more than your fair share on this mission. Give your Byakugan a rest right now. I just wish we knew what was ahead of us?"

"Let me take a look Shikamaru-kun." Hinata said, and before anyone could stop her, she activated her own Byakugan and began pumping as much chakra into her eyes as she could. A few moments later she too cries out in pain, as she brings her own hand up to her eyes. Hinata then looks up and everyone notices a little bit of blood leaking from the corners of her eyes. Neji is stunned at seeing this, but before he or anyone else can inquire about her condition, Hinata frantically exclaims.

"It's Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sama about half a mile ahead of us. Their chakra signatures are very faint and getting weaker each passing moment. No one else there is alive and the field they are in is littered with bodies. We need to hurry and get to them now!"

Hinata then leaps away from everyone and starts racing towards Kurenai at a breakneck speed. Neji quickly catches up to Hinata and hands the Hyuga heiress a handkerchief and tells her to wipe her eyes. Hinata does this and then notices the blood smears she left upon the cloth. Looking back to Neji, she nervously hands the handkerchief back to him, which he pockets before turning and saying to his cousin.

"We shall talk about this later."

A couple of minutes later, all five Leaf Shinobi burst forth onto the field where Kurenai lay motionless with Kakashi. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino immediately ran over to check on the condition of their Sensei, while Shikamaru and Neji surveyed the death and destruction of the battlefield. The sight the two young Shinobi beheld was something they had never seen before and they were shocked at the carnage around them. This once idyllic lush field that had been so full of life now resembled something straight out of one's worst hellish nightmare. All around them torn to shreds lay the various dismembered bodies of several Otogakure Shinobi. The stench of blood and the rotting decaying corpses baking under the afternoon sun was stifling, and it was all they could do to keep from puking. The entire clearing almost seemed to be stained a sickly crimson color, as swarms of flies buzzed about the dead in an excited frenzy. As Shikamaru kicked the decapitated head of one Oto Shinobi away from him, he stated in astonishment.

"Man, remind me to never piss off Kurenai or Kakashi in the future!"

"Indeed, they exacted a heavy toll on these Oto scum, but I wonder what it cost them to do so?" Neji replied, as he looked over to Hinata and her teammates tending to their Sensei.

As Hinata knelt down and activated her Byakugan to check on Kurenai and Kakashi, what she saw terrified her, as both Kurenai and Kakashi barely had any chakra left. Kakashi's chakra line to his heart had been severed, and Kurenai was barely conscious and was pumping what little remained of her own chakra into him to keep his heart beating using a technique Hinata recognized immediately. It was then Hinata remembered Tsunade's warning about using this technique if you were low on chakra. In a panic, Hinata shouted to her two teammates.

"Kiba, Shino, pull Sensei off of Kakashi and lay her down next to him at once!"

Both Kiba and Shino looked at each other with confusion, before they heard Hinata yell once more.

"NOW!"

Both the Aburame and Inuzuka heirs had never heard that tone of voice from Hinata before and quickly complied with her wishes. As they were pulling Kurenai away from Kakashi, they could hear the faint and barely coherent voice of their Sensei ordering them to stop, before Kurenai finally succumbed to her chakra exhaustion and fell unconscious. Once the two male members of Team #8 had maneuvered Kurenai next to Kakashi, Hinata placed herself between them and had taken over Kurenai's task of keeping Kakashi's heart beating.

"What else can we do Hinata?" Kiba apprehensively asked.

"Give me a soldier pill Kiba!" Hinata quickly answered, as the hard edge tone of her voice was still evident.

"Wh, what?"

"I said Kiba; I need you to give me a soldier pill right now! Without it, I'm not sure I can save them!"

Kiba hesitated a moment before handing over a pill which Hinata ingested immediately. Looking up at her teammate and friend, Hinata gave a small mile and said.

"Thank you Kiba-kun."

"Sure, sure thing Hinata. Is there anything else we can do?"

Yes, Shino-kun can you use your insects to keep the flies away from me and Sensei?"

"Consider it done Hinata." Shino replied, as raised his arms above his head and his Kekai insects erupted from them and flew all around the field at an incredible rate. In mere moments, all the flies that had been inundating the clearing had seemingly vanished. While Shino's Kekai insects now hovered twenty-five feet above everyone and moved around in a sort of roving patrol, Hinata spoke once more and said.

"Thank you Shino-kun. Now if you and Kiba could leave me alone, I need to concentrate on healing both Kurenai-sensei, and Kakashi-sama."

"Wait a minute Hinata, you're still pretty busted up and probably low on chakra. Are you sure it's safe for you to be doing this? Maybe we should just wait until Akamaru gets back with the reinforcements." Shikamaru inquired, as he walked over to them.

'Damn it Shikamaru, I should have known I couldn't sneak this by him. Well, all I can do is bluff and hope for the best?' Hinata silently thought to herself, before answering the Nara boy in the softest and sweetest voice she could muster.

"Don't worry Shikamaru-kun, that Oto Shinobi healed most of my injuries, and I just took a soldier pill to replenish my chakra. So, I'll be fine."

"I don't know?" Shikamaru questioned while cocking an eyebrow.

"Please Shikamaru, I promise I'll be alright! Besides, Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sama won't make it if we wait on the reinforcements. And we don't even know if there will be medics with them? If I don't do this right now, they will die. Shikamaru-kun, please let me try to save them!" Hinata pleaded to her Chunin classmate.

"Ugggh, you troublesome woman, fine! Just please be careful and don't over exert yourself. The last thing I need is Naruto looking to take a bite out of my ass because I let you get hurt." Shikamaru stated with annoyance, before walking away to join the others.

As Hinata watched the Nara heir stroll away her hands glowed green, as she began to dump massive amounts of chakra into Kurenai, while simultaneously maintaining Kakashi's heartbeat and pumping increased volumes of chakra into him as well.

'Thank you Shikamaru, I'm sorry I had to lie to you, but it was the only thing I could think of to let you allow me to save Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sama. If you knew the truth of what I'm attempting, you would never let me do this and Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sama would surely die and I refuse to allow that to happen. These two people are precious to both me and Naruto-kun and I will do whatever it takes to save them!'

A single tear rolled down Hinata's cheek as she thought of Naruto.

'If I do get hurt or worse by doing this, I hope Naruto-kun will understand and not hate me for it?'

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A short time later, three Anbu appeared in the clearing with weapons drawn and ready for a fight. Seeing no enemy left alive, one of them disappeared and a scant few moments later Tsunade, Shizune, and several medic nin's arrived upon the scene. Tsunade spied Shikamaru and the others and quickly inquired about any injuries they may have. Upon learning that Kakashi and Kurenai were severely injured and that Hinata who was tending to them was also hurt, Tsunade and the others looked over in time to see Hinata collapse in the distance. Immediately rushing over to check on all three of them, Tsunade ordered Kiba to pull Hinata away while she and Shizune began medical scans on both Jounin. Tsunade immediately discovered that Kakashi's heart chakra line was cut and that he was on the verge of death, as she outwardly cussed at the masked Jounin.

"Damn it Kakashi, you're late for everything else, why the hell do you have to be on time for your own death?"

Tsunade began pumping chakra into Kakashi's heart and ordered gurneys to be brought over. She also gave orders to the medic nin's that the moment they get back to the village that Kakashi was to be prepped immediately for surgery. Looking over to Shizune, Tsunade asked with concern.

"How is Kurenai doing?"

"She barely has any chakra left Hokage-sama and she also appears to be paralyzed."

"Hokage-sama." Kiba calls out.

"Paralyzed, damn we'll need to prep her for surgery too. But first we've got to get her chakra levels back up. Tsunade announced, before barking out orders to the medic nin's around her.

"I want chakra transfusions to be started at once on this woman! I also want . . . . ."

"Hokage-sama!" Kiba called out much louder interrupting her.

"Not now Kiba, Now, as I was about to say, I also want both Kakashi and Kurenai cross matched with available blood donors, as soon as we get back and also ……."

"DAMN IT YOU FUCKING OLD HAG LISTEN TO ME! ITS HINATA, SHE'S NOT BREATHING!" Kiba roared, as tears started streaking down his face.

Everyone's face took on an appearance of stark horror after they heard Kiba's angry and desperate statement. Tsunade ordered two medic nin's to take over for Shizune, as her longtime apprentice raced over to check on the Hyuga heiress. The Slug Sannin's gaze darted back and forth from maintaining Kakashi's heartbeat and watching Shizune frantically running a medical scan on Hinata. When Tsunade saw Shizune lower her head and her arms drop to the sides of her body, she immediately ordered two more medic nin's to take over for her with Kakashi and rushed over to her protégé and asked in a panicked voice.

"What is it Shizune? What's wrong with Hinata?

Shizune looked up and Tsunade could see a torrent of tears rolling down her face, before her apprentice replied in a quivering voice filled with despair.

"She's completely out of chakra Ho, Hokage-sama."

"You mean she's low on chakra don't you Shizune?"

Shizune shook her head frantically, before saying in the same despaired filled voice.

"No Hokage-sama, I can detect no traces of chakra at all within Hinata."

"That, that's impossible, if she truly had no chakra left that would mean Hinata is, is ……" Tsunade stammered, before Shizune screamed in a wail and finished her mentor's sentence for her, as fresh tears flowed down her face.

"Is dead Lady Tsunade, Hinata is dead!"

Author Notes:Well I hope you all enjoyed this drama filled chapter. My thanks to Yasha512, as I was about to give up on updating this story on this site anymore if not for his review. I realize I probably lost some readers with my neglect in updating the story. But so long as I know that there are still readers on this site that want my story to continue on. I will continue to post chapters on it. My thanks in advance to all of you who leave a review on this chapter.

Take it easy and be good.

Kingkakashi