Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Relationships ❯ The Attack ( Chapter 2 )

 

 

The Attack

 

 

Ayuda Toshiro was an excellent ninja. When he was given an assignment he would not stop until it was completed. It was this very attitude that brought him to the attention of the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Village Among the Rocks. He had been assigned to lead a platoon of one hundred ninjas in an attack upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This attack was two years in planning and now he overseeing its execution as one hundred rock nins were spread around the outside of Konoha in groups of four. These groups consisted on one highly trained and medically enhanced Doton user and three body guards. Since this was a covert attack the group was minimally supplied with weapons so as not to appear to be an officially sponsored raid. However this was not a large concern as Konoha would be too busy trying to survive to send out patrols.

 

 

Now while the medically enhanced Doton users were applying the Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld) to the foundation of Konoha from their strategic locations outside of the wall, the inner village was starting to collapse. It was necessary to start the jutsu from fifty feet below the surface for two reasons. The first was in order to let the different sources of the attack come together without being detected to avoid any counterattacks and bring the village down as a whole. The second reason was purely structural; the attack had to be deep enough in order to affect the foundations of all the buildings. The men in this attack had given up their personal lives when they volunteered for this mission and the Doton users were risking even more. The amount of chakra being used to accomplish this mission was massive and even with their enhancements there was a ninety-five percent chance they were all going to die from chakra exhaustion. But if giving up their lives was necessary in order to have their old enemy Konohagakure sink into the earth then they all thought it was worth it.

 

 

The ground was shaking violently now threatening all the tall structures of Konoha.

 

 

Naruto suddenly yelled to Gaara, “Gaara, can you still use that jutsu you used to save the Sand from Deidara's attack?”

 

 

“Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. Why?” Gaara answered.

 

 

“Is there enough sand in the ground so that you can lift all of Konoha away from the swamp?” Naruto yelled.

 

 

Gaara said, “No, not enough sand but there is enough of the minerals that make up sand. I could control them to lift the village but without Shukaku I only have enough chakra for fifteen minutes at most”.

 

 

Naruto yelled “Don't worry about the chakra, I have that part covered. Just do it now!”

 

 

At that moment Gaara started concentrating his chakra into the ground and then the trembling started to lessen. After a while the shaking stopped and Gaara said “I am holding Konoha about a foot above the swamp but I can't keep doing this for very long”.

 

 

Naruto said “Gotcha” and started doing a few hand signs and then closed his eyes and started concentrating.

 

 

Suddenly red chakra engulfed his body giving the impression he was inside a transparent fox costume with two tails of chakra. His whole body was covered in red chakra except for his hands; they were covered in blue chakra. Naruto then stepped behind Gaara and placed his hands on Gaara's back. Gaara stiffen slightly as his body was flooded with extra chakra as he hadn't felt this strong since Shukaku was extracted from his body.

 

 

Sakura asked “Naruto, what are you doing?”

 

 

“Remember when Chiyo baa-san used my chakra to save Gaara, Sakura?” Naruto asked.

 

 

Of course Sakura remembered that incident as it had cost the life of a medic she had learned to respect and admire. “Yes, of course I do” she said.

 

 

“Well, I don't have the skill to revive the dead but I thought that if I could learn to share my chakra then I could help you whenever you needed it. So I used my clones to help study the chakra transferring part” Naruto said.

 

 

“Since my body automatically uses Kyuubi's chakra to restore my stamina and regular chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy, I am using my body to convert Kyuubi's chakra into regular chakra” Naruto added.

 

 

“But Naruto, even you can't keep this going forever!” Tsunade said.

 

 

“I know. You guys will just have to find out what is causing this swamp and stop it” Naruto answered.

 

 

Then Tsunade ordered “Sakura, go find Yamoto and bring him here immediately. He's probably at his emergency post awaiting orders”.

 

 

Sakura looked confused but said “Hai” and took off running.

 

 

Tsunade then ordered, “Kotetsu, go to the Akimichi Clan estates and get me two supplies of the X1 soldiers pills and only the X1. Then have them give me the three pepper pills they use for emergencies”.

 

 

“Hayate, you go find Shikamaru and bring him back immediately along with six com-links”.

 

 

Hayate and Kotestsu bowed and took off.

 

 

Naruto, keeping his concentration on his jutsu, asked “What are you up to, Baa-san?”

 

 

Tsunade answered, “I have a plan to help stabilize Konoha”.

 

 

After a few minutes Kotetsu returned first with the pills and stood by for further orders. After a few more minutes Sakura returned with Yamoto and next Hayate arrived with Shikamaru.

 

 

When everyone was gathered around Tsunade said ”We may be under attack. Naruto and the Kazekage have stabilized Konoha for now but they can't do it forever so Shikamaru I want you to find Shizune and have her coordinate the evacuation of the civilians to the mountain shelter. And then I want you to coordinate the search parties to find out whom or what is attacking us”.

 

 

“Yamato, I want you to come with me. We're going to use your Mouton jutsu to place pylons from the stabilized ground through the swamp area and into the bedrock below”.

 

 

Yamato looked at Tsunade in shock and stated “Hokage-sama, I don't have enough chakra to do that!”

 

 

Tsunade replied, “I know, that why I got the Akimichi's Pepper pills. You are going to take them to supplement your chakra and I'm going to monitor your organs and fluids to make sure you don't die”.

 

 

Yamato looked unsure but said, “Hai, Hokage-sama”.

 

 

Then Tsunade turned to Hinata and Sakura and said “You two will stay here and protect Naruto and the Kazekage from any possible attack. Here, wear these com-links so I can keep in touch”.

 

 

Both Hinata and Sakura took a com-link and said “Hai”.

 

 

Then Tsunade turned to the Anbu members present and said “I want the Anbu scouring this village for any suspicious characters in case we are under attack. Have some of them checking the forest too, coordinating their efforts with Shikamaru.”

 

 

The closest Anbu member who seemed to be the leader answered “Hokage-sama, it's our duty to stay near you and the Kazekage to safeguard your lives. The villages cannot survive without their leaders.”

 

 

“Baka, if this is a natural disaster then there isn't anything you can do to protect me or the Kazekage. However if this is an actual attack and the village is destroyed along with the people then what good would it be if I was the only one safe?” Tsunade retorted.

 

 

“Now do as I commanded you!” she ordered.

 

 

The leader of the Anbu was visibly shaken by the tone of her voice and so after taking a second to recover, nodded to the rest of his team and the Anbu departed.

 

 

Temari, who had been silent up to now, said, “Hokage-sama, I would like to go with you to provide protection while you and Yamato-san are busy”.

 

 

Tsunade looked at the Sand Jounin evenly and said “As you are not a Konoha nin I can not stop you but I must warn you that whomever is behind this will try to stop us if we are discovered”.

 

 

Temari glanced over to Gaara and Naruto and replied “I owe Naruto a great debt for twice helping my brother. This will only be but a small down payment.”

 

 

“Besides”, she said as she smirked and hefted her giant fan onto her shoulder, “I need to work out some frustration from only having boring diplomatic missions”.

 

 

Tsunade smiled and said, “Okay everybody lets move it“.

 

 

While Tsunade and the other nins took off, Hinata and Sakura took up positions on the opposite sides of Naruto and Gaara facing outward and ready for anything. Hinata tied her long hair in a top knot and activated her Byakugan and as the world took on the familiar hue of reduced colors and highlighted outlines she scanned the area for any threats. The first thing she noticed was that Naruto and Gaara were glowing from the chakra flowing through them with Naruto having the brighter aura. While she scanned the area Hinata thought back to the stories she had heard of the Kyuubi attack on Konoha seventeen years ago. Even though the Hyuugas had fought bravely that night, their doujutsu was useless because the Kyuubi was made of pure chakra and therefore appeared as a glowing mass with no outline defining its arms, legs or deadly nine tails. Keeping Naruto and Gaara behind her, close to her blind spot, made it easier to concentrate on the outer perimeter.

 

 

As Hinata scanned the perimeter she could see civilian escaping buildings and running in all directions. But even though individual movement was chaotic the mass of people as a whole seemed to be moving away from them and going towards the Hokage Mountain and the shelters inside. Every once in a while she would tense because it looked as if someone was headed their way but then the individual would veer away. After a while she heard Sakura's voice in her ear, “Hinata, do you see anything?”

 

 

“No, nothing but the civilians evacuating, Sakura” she replied.

 

 

Though Sakura didn't have the benefit of the Byakugan, Tsunade had trained her in sensing chakra and “killer intent”. As a medic nin Sakura's main objective was to stay alive so that she could heal wounded ninjas in the field. The ability to sense when someone is targeting you and being able to dodge the attack was a necessity of the job.

 

 

“This is the part I always hated about escort missions, knowing someone's out there but not being able detect them” Sakura said into her com-link.

 

 

“Did Naruto ever tell you about our first mission to the Wave country?” Sakura asked.

 

 

“No” replied Hinata.

 

 

“Well, we had to protect a bridge builder from this missing nin named Zabuza who was from the Hidden Mist” Sakura continued.

 

 

“He trapped us in a mist on the bridge and I was assigned to protect Tazuna, the bridge builder, while Kakashi-sensei moved into the mist to fight Zabuza. Sasuke was busy fighting Zabuza's partner Haku and Naruto was back at Tazuna's home resting up from the previous night. Let me tell you I was never so scared in my whole life. I couldn't see a thing and I knew I was no match for Zabuza even if I could see him coming” Sakura explained.

 

 

“Anyway I knew …” Sakura stopped talking as her earpiece suddenly filled with static and she felt an increase in chakra coming from Naruto.

 

 

As she turned Sakura saw Naruto with three tails visible. Hinata had also noticed the static and increase in chakra as the glow behind her got much brighter. Suddenly filled with concern, Sakura asked, “Naruto, what wrong?”

 

 

“Nothing, it just that this is taking a lot more chakra than I thought I would need. But don't worry everything is under control” he said as he thought “Baa-chan, you better hurry up”.

 

 

“Something is wrong” Toshiro thought, as the sounds of the crumbling village had stopped and the outer walls weren't vibrating as they were before.

 

 

Toshiro immediately activated his com-link and radioed Team One, “Team Leader to Team One, Team Leader to Team One, check in”.

 

 

When the earpiece crackled in the affirmative Toshiro said “Team One, what's your status?”

 

 

The voice at the other end stated “The area is secured. The operation is going as planned”.

 

 

Toshiro radioed back “Alright, stay alert”.

 

 

Then Toshiro radioed Team Two and received the same answer. After contacting all twenty-five teams and receiving the same answers he became increasingly confused. He had to know what was going on inside Konoha so he contacted his second-in-command and told him to gather four good men and meet him near Team Eight by the North Wall.

 

 

After a few minutes Toshiro was met by his second-in-command, Higa Jiro, and four other men and he addressed them, “Something is wrong with the mission so we're going to sneak inside to see what happening”.

 

 

Jiro and the rest of the men said “Hai” and with that all six men did the hand signs for Dochuu Eigyo (Underground Fish Projection) and melted into the ground. When all six men appeared inside Konoha's North Wall Toshiro turned to Jiro and asked “Did you feel a gap when you rose to the surface?”

 

 

Jiro replied “Hai” and then looked at the other men who nodded in agreement.

 

 

Toshiro placed his hand to the ground and pushing his chakra into it felt something strange. There was chakra in the soil but it didn't feel it like it does when doing the Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld). When Toshiro stood and looked around he suddenly felt a strong chakra source coming from the center of the village. Toshiro thought the strong chakra must be the result of the Leaf's Kage trying something and decided to go investigate. However as Toshiro and his men moved towards the source of the strong chakra they saw Tsunade and her group heading away in the opposite direction. Unable to understand what was going on Toshiro told Jiro to take two men and follow the Hokage while he would continue on to the source of the strange chakra.

 

 

When Tsunade, Temari and Yamato left Naruto and Gaara they didn't go into any open areas and immediately start creating pylons but kept running for awhile until they came to another building.

 

 

As they were racing upstairs Yamoto questioned, “Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but why are going in here instead of an outside area to create the support pylons?”

 

 

“Do you know exactly where to place them?” Tsunade asked.

 

 

“Uh, no” Yamato answered sheepishly.

 

 

“Well, neither do I, so we are going to the Building Department to find someone who does” she said.

 

 

Akiyama Mamoru was working alone today. It was a slow day and most of the other workers had gone to lunch early so he was basically by himself. He was one of those civil servants who had gone to the Ninja Academy and passed but couldn't pass the final genin test. As the career as a field ninja of Konoha got further away he decided to pick a new career. He always had a knack for building things and he had a small affinity for Doton jutsu so he decided to become a structural engineer in the Building Department. It was a pretty good way of making a living as Konoha was growing and there was always construction going on somewhere. When Pein had attacked he was lucky enough to be away visiting friends in another village. Upon coming home he saw the destruction and thought he would never see his beautiful home again. But the Konoha villagers were resilient and soon he was part of the team overseeing the replacement of the soil lost in the attack. The ground had to be packed just right or it would not support the new buildings that were to be erected above it.

 

 

When the ground started to vibrate he knew that it couldn't be an earthquake because the village wasn't near any tectonic plates as the Hokage Mountain had been created by the First Hokage over time with successive Doton jutsus. As the shaking got worse he knew it was bad and started gathering up all the structural files he could so he could lock them away before he fled. However after a few minutes the shaking stopped. Not taking any chances he decided to complete his task as someone would need this information when assessing the damage. Just then the door to the office burst open and there stood the Hokage her eyes searching the room.

 

 

When Tsunade spotted him she ordered “Get me a construction engineer now!”

 

 

Mamuro was taken aback by the authority her voiced conferred and timidly said “I am engineer”.

 

 

“Good”, Tsunade said, “You felt the tremors?”

 

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama, are we under attack?”

 

 

“We might be. Right now we have no information yet but our foundation is being undermined by a massive chakra attack. We have a counter jutsu in place but it won't last long so what I want to do is shore up our foundation with support pylons and I need you to tell where” she replied.

 

 

“It's a good idea, Hokage-sama but I'm afraid it just won't work” stated Mamoru.

 

 

Knowing that time was short Tsunade let a little irritation enter her question, “Why not?”

 

 

Mamoru cringed slightly not wanting to incur the Hokage's wrath and said, “Konoha is no longer sitting on bedrock. After Pein's devastating attack the crater had to be filled with packed dirt. Once whatever jutsu that is holding the ground together is released then the ground will start to crumble around the pylons and Konoha will be in ruins again. Without something to support the ground or hold it together there is no way your plan can work”.

 

 

Tsunade was frustrated. There was no way she was going to let Konoha be destroyed a second time. Suddenly she turned to Mamoru and asked, “What about a net?”

 

 

Mamoru thought for a second and said, “If the net is fine enough that would work. But where are you going to get a net large enough to support the village?”

 

 

Tsunade looked directly at Yamato and said “roots”.

 

 

Yamato looked nervous but Mamoru voiced what Yamato was thinking, “Roots? I had heard rumors of such an organization but I thought that they were disbanded long ago”.

 

 

“Not that Roots, tree roots”, Tsunade said with irritation.

 

 

Though Yamato showed signs of recognition, Mamoru and Temari were still confused so Tsunade said, “Haven't you ever pulled up a clump of grass and had a lot of dirt still attached to it? Think of an inverted tree with it trunk going down into the earth and it roots close to the surface.”

 

 

The light of recognition crossed Mamoru's face as he said, “That might just work”.

 

 

“Good”, Tsunade said “now get your gear together and let's move out”.

 

 

Mamoru gathered up his charts of the village and followed Tsunade, Temari and Yamato out of the building. When they reached the entrance in front of the building Mamoru said, “I think we should start at Sector thirteen and systematically move…” but Tsunade took off towards the Hokage Mountain and said “Follow me”.

 

 

Mamoru had a hard time keeping up as he hadn't done this type of running in a long time. As he ran Mamoru yelled “Hokage-sama, why are we heading for the mountain?”

 

 

Tsunade replied “Priorities! We are going to re-enforce the escape routes for the civilians first. Next we go to the Hospital area and after that the residential district, business district and finally the clan estates”.

 

 

Mamoru replied “But Hokage-sama, we will waste time crisscrossing Konoha by doing that”.

 

 

“Can't be helped”, Tsunade answered, ”civilian safety comes first”.

 

 

Higa Jiro considered himself to be a pretty good strategist and that idea had be re-enforced many times by the praises he had received from his superiors but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what this crazy woman was doing. When the Hokage and her party had left what looked like a government building she had picked up an extra ninja. Now she was going all over the village, stopping at various spots and having one of her ninjas doing hand signs and then touching the ground. As far as Jiro could tell nothing was happening and then, after about a minute, that crazy woman and her party would go to another location and repeat the process. He couldn't tell if she was looking for something or whatever as there wasn't a pattern to her madness, so at the last two positions he left one man each to investigate.

 

 

While Jiro watched the Hokage make her sixth stop his com-link crackled “Alpha One to Alpha Leader, Alpha One to Alpha Leader, come in”.

 

 

“Alpha Leader to Alpha One, report” replied Jiro.

 

 

“Alpha Leader, I have searched the area and have found nothing unusual”.

 

 

“Are you sure? You did a thorough probe of the soil?” questioned Jiro.

 

 

“Yes sir; and everything looks normal” replied the voice on the com-link.

 

 

The Hokage and her party seemed to be taking a little break to get their bearings so Jiro said “Fine, I'm about two clicks northwest of our last position. Report back”.

 

 

“Yes sir. Alpha One out” came the reply.

 

 

About fifteen seconds later Alpha Two reported in with same information and Jiro gave him the same orders. Alpha Two had just arrived as the Hokage and her party started to move again. After they stopped once more and started their ritual Jiro sat there trying to figure out what was going on when Alpha One casually said “No wonder this place has a lot of roots, I mean look at all the trees and plants everywhere.”

 

 

Alpha Two answered “Yeah, I am glad we didn't have to pass through all that, it would have been crazy”.

 

 

This exchange caught Jiro's attention and he said over his shoulder “What are you two talking about?”

 

 

Alpha One, feeling that somehow he had overstepped his bounds, hesitantly replied “The ground, sir, it is saturated with roots”.

 

 

Jiro did some hand seals and probed the ground and while he felt a lot of roots it was nothing like what his men were describing. “You mean like right here?” he asked.

 

 

Alpha One probed the ground and replied, “No sir, it was more massive than this'.

 

 

Jiro looked at Alpha Two who just nodded his head in agreement. When the Hokage and her party left Jiro told his men to follow them as he was going to stay to investigate. As soon as Jiro reached the area the Hokage just left he began to probe the soil and was shocked at the amount of roots that permeated the area. His mind came to the conclusion that the Hokage was trying to hold the village together using plant roots as the glue.

 

 

“But that makes no sense” he thought, “because as long as their jutsu touched the soil the roots would have no effect”.

 

 

Then he remembered the gap they had passed through when they went under the walls but again that made no sense. The only way the gap would work was if the whole village was suspended above the affected area and that was impossible. Still in all he had to report his finding to Toshiro but he'd be damned if he would offer any conclusions. He would just report what he knew and let his commander draw his own conclusions, because he may have volunteered for a possible suicide mission but he wasn't crazy.

 

 

Toshiro arrived with his men at the source of the enormous chakra he had been sensing. From his place of concealment he spied four figures in the middle of an open area, a boy standing next to something that looked like a fox and two girls who looked like they were guarding the others. As Toshiro watched more carefully he recognized the boy as the Kazekage of the Sand. When he concentrated on the fox-thing he could barely make out what looked like someone inside a red costume of chakra but that was impossible because you weren't supposed to be able to see chakra unless you had a special kekki genkai and the last time he checked he didn't have one. But Toshiro was no fool; he knew one didn't jump into a fight without knowing what one was up against. This creed had kept him alive and he wasn't about to go against it now. He was going to observe this group for awhile until he knew what was going on. Fifteen minutes had passed when he heard a voice coming through his com-link with a slight static in the background.

 

 

“Team Alpha to Team Leader; Team Alpha to Team Leader; come in” said the voice on the com-link.

 

 

“Team Leader to Team Alpha, what do you have?” replied Toshiro.

 

 

“Team Leader, we know what the target is doing. The target is creating a web of tree roots within the soil to hold the ground together. But I don't understand how that will help by itself” the voice replied.

 

 

Toshiro looked at the Kazekage and thought about the information he heard and said “It isn't by itself. It's part of a two prong defense. Take your men and attack the target to disrupt what it is doing”.

 

 

There was a small pause and then Toshiro heard the hesitation in the voice as it said, “Attack the target? Is that correct, sir?”

 

 

Toshiro knew what his men were thinking and replied “Not directly, you idiots. Use hit and run tactics to interfere and disrupt. I'll take care of the second prong on this end, Team Leader out!”

 

 

Toshiro decided not to worry about the fox-thing right now and to focus his concentration on his main target. He surmised that since the Kazekage was known to be able to control sand maybe he was using some kind of jutsu to keep Konoha from crumbling. Figuring that all he needed to do was disrupt the Kazekage's concentration in order to dispel the jutsu, Toshiro started making hand signs and slapped his palm to the ground and said “Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm)”.

 

 

Toshiro waited for the palms made of dirt to rise and crush the Kazekage but after a few seconds realized nothing was happening. Puzzled Toshiro tried the hand signs again and repeated “Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm)” but again nothing happened.

 

 

Then Toshiro made the signs and said “Doton Kekai Dorou Doumu (Earth Barrier - Earth Dome Prison) and again nothing happened.

 

 

Toshiro was puzzled as he knew that jutsu should have worked. Placing his hands on the ground Toshiro tried pushing chakra into the soil and was surprised to discover that he couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried his chakra would not flow into the earth. Toshiro considered that to be impossible since he and his men had used `Dochuu Eigyo' (Underground Fish Projection) to enter Konoha. Toshiro started to realize that the closer they were to this counter jutsu the more concentrated the chakra was in the ground.

 

 

Toshiro thought “But that's impossible! The amount of chakra to accomplish that would be so great that it...would…be…visible” and then Toshiro stared back at the fox-thing. His mind ran through all the intelligence he had on Konoha. He knew that Konoha had a jinchuuriki but he couldn't remember which demon they possessed. Running down the lists of bijuus in his mind he looked at the red cloak of chakra and the fox-like shape and then it came to him: `Kyuubi'.

 

 

“Great”, he thought, “How am I going to deal with this without being able to use Doton jutsus?”

 

 

When Hinata had first noticed the three figures heading their way she thought that they would veer away like everyone else. Hinata began to become concerned as the three shapes kept coming towards them and speaking through her com-link said, “Sakura, three unknowns heading this way from the east”.

 

 

Sakura replied, “Can you tell if they are a threat?”

 

 

“No”, Hinata replied, “but they just stopped just beyond the buildings over there and now they seem to be just watching us. From what I can tell their chakra systems seems to indicate shin obi training”.

 

 

“Well don't give them any indication that we've noticed them and as long as they stay there and don't attack we'll leave them alone”.

 

 

Hinata said, “Hai ... no wait!” “One of them is using hand signs”.

 

 

Hinata and Sakura tensed waiting to see what would happen but when no attack appeared Sakura asked, “What happened?”

 

 

Hinata replied “I don't know. I saw him repeat it twice but nothing happened. Now they're just waiting and watching.”

 

 

“Well, keep an eye on them and we'll leave them alone until they make their move” Sakura said, “since we can't afford to be lured away from here”.

 

 

Yamato was exhausted. The effect of the two previous pills had worn off but there was still a lot of work to do. When they first started out Yamato had his doubts about being able to accomplish this mission. Mamoru had explained that the Village consisted of forty square miles in a half circle and that at minimum there would have to be one pylon for every square mile of land. The pylons would have to be a minimum of three hundred feet in diameter and go down at least one hundred feet to get pass the affected area and into solid bedrock again. Now Yamato knew that the network of roots would be simply to create because all the natural foliage would react to his chakra and grow longer thereby intertwining with the roots he created. What gave Yamato concern was the giant tree trunk that would become the pylons. He estimated that the most he could do on his own was three and this man wanted forty.

 

 

After they got started Yamato was actually able to create four trees before running out of chakra and it was at this point that Tsunade gave him the Green Pepper pill. The effects were almost immediate. Yamato felt his chakra returning and then some.

 

 

Tsunade gave Yamato a quick medical scan and said, “Your heart is racing but well within my expectations and your system seems to be handling the extra boost so let get going”.

 

 

At this point Temari casually sidled up to Tsunade and said “Hokage-sama, we are being watched”.

 

 

Tsunade, making sure not to acknowledge Temari's presence, said “I know. We picked them up when we left the Building Department but as long as they are just watching I don't give a damn”.

 

 

The Green Pepper pill gave Yamato enough chakra to create eight more trees and it was during this period that the attacks started. The attacks always came from hidden positions and consisted of Doton jutsus and a few shurikens. The projectile type attacks were easily handled with a wave of Temari's fan but when the Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm) and the Doton Kekai Dorou Doumu (Earth Barrier - Earth Dome Prison) appeared Tsunade took care of them with her massive strength. One attacker got careless and Temari was able to use Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Cutting Whirlwind Technique) to eliminate him and it wasn't a pretty sight. Now down to two the attackers were becoming much more calculating in their attacks trying to maximize their effects to disrupt group. When the effects of the Green Pepper pill had waned Tsunade gave Yamato the Yellow Pepper pill. Again the effects were astounding, Yamato felt like he could create trees all day long. Tsunade did a medical scan and wasn't too happy with the results.

 

 

“His heart rate is faster than I anticipated and all his muscles are tense”, she thought, “but I guess we have no choice”.

 

 

Tsunade turned and asked Temari, “How are our friends doing?”

 

 

“After losing one their companions they are staying well out of sight, Hokage-sama” she answered.

 

 

Then Tsunade addressed Mamoru, “How are you holding up?”

 

 

“I'm fine, Hokage-sama. The last soldier pill you gave me is still working however I feel useless just standing around while you and the young lady do all the fighting, Hokage-sama”.

 

 

“Right now your job is to save Konoha; it's my job to defend it. So where's our next destination?”

 

 

Mamoru checked his topographical maps and said,” To the north about three-quarters mile”.

 

 

“Alright everybody, lets move it”, Tsunade said while hoping she wasn't running out of time.

 

 

She had tried to contact Hinata and Sakura through the com-links but there had been too much static in the background. Now there could be many reasons for static on a radio communication device but only one kept coming to Tsunade's mind. As Hokage she had read the military reports about teams unable to communicate with each other during the Kyuubi attack seventeen years ago. The static happening now did not bode well as far as Tsunade was concerned however the mere fact that there weren't any tremors meant that Naruto was still in control. Like it or not she would just have put her faith in Naruto that he would be able to hold out a little longer.

 

 

With this new burst of chakra Yamato was able to create twelve trees while the group protected him from the pestering attacks. Yamato was getting annoyed with these hit and run tactics and the effect of the pepper pill was heightening his irritation.

 

 

At the twentieth position Tsunade asked “How is it going?”

 

 

Yamato snapped back, “Fine, if you just leave me alone.”

 

 

Yamato felt a hand on the back of his vest as he was lifted from his crouched position and held a foot off the ground by the Hokage.

 

 

Tsunade looked at Yamato, her eyes hard as steel and said, “I'm going to overlook that remark because I know it the effects of the pills, but don't you ever answer me in that tone again. Do I make myself clear?”

 

 

Yamato gulped and said “Yes, Hokage-sama. Forgive me”.

 

 

While Tsunade was setting Yamato back down she saw movement reflected in one of the windows of a nearby building and deftly removing a shuriken from Yamato's waist pouch flung it catching the Rock nin right between the eyes

 

 

Straightening her clothes Tsunade said “Okay now, let's get back to work. We have to save our home”.

 

 

Jiro, as mentioned before, was first and foremost a strategist and right now none of his strategic training had covered fighting a Kage who had a fan wielding ninja beside her. Jiro had lost both men and he couldn't reach his commander on the com-link. Jiro didn't mind risking his life for the mission, hell he would even give up his life if he thought it would do any good but right now he couldn't justify it. As far as he knew his commander was dead and he was alone in the enemy's village. He figured if he was going to die he might as well die side by side with the men he had trained with for last two years. So Jiro decided to make his way back to the wall where they had entered Konoha before this crazy woman had a chance to screw up the soil and stand with his men hoping somehow the attack would still succeed. He didn't have much hope as strategies couldn't quantify hope and therefore couldn't take hope into account but then again none of the strategies he knew took into account the ability to elevate a whole village.

 

 

Tsunade's team had been circling around the area occupied by Naruto and Gaara because it was impossible for the roots to penetrate the chakra soaked soil. Now it was time to force the roots as close as possible into that area and then go beneath the area and form a literal mesh below to support the whole thing. Yamato figured that he should be able to create sixteen trees from the effects of the Red Pepper pill since the results from the previous ones seemed to be multiples of his original abilities.

 

 

“Now it's time for the Red pill” said Tsunade, “but this one will be tricky”.

 

 

Temari, keeping a watch out for the last unknown visitor who seemed to have disappeared, said “How so, Hokage-sama?”

 

 

“Well since all these pills are based on the Akimichi physiology they take advantage of body mass to produce excess chakra. Yamato has nowhere near the mass necessary to use the Red pill safely without supplements so I brought some of the old soldier pills to help out.”

 

 

Temari was confused so she asked, “How will energy pills help fight energy pills?”

 

 

“These are some of the first soldier pills created and they were basically just concentrated carbohydrates but they were discontinued because of three major drawbacks. The first drawback was the conversion to energy was slow; the second one was that you could only eat one every twenty-four hours or you risked stomach distention when the pills expanded.”

 

 

When Tsunade didn't continue Yamato asked, “And what was the third one?”

 

 

“Constipation” Tsunade said dismissively.

 

 

“The key here is to time the consumption of the X1s while the Red Pepper pill is in effect and not have Yamato stomach burst from eating them too early” Tsunade said.

 

 

Tsunade handed Yamato an X1 and said “Swallow it, don't bite it!”

 

 

Yamato did as he was told and after a minute he said “Whoa, I feel stuffed.”

 

 

Tsunade said, “Good, now take the red one”.

 

 

When Yamato swallowed the red pill he could feel his body flushed with energy. When he looked at his skin he could have sworn it was shining and if he were in the dark he would have bet a month's pay the he was glowing.

 

 

Tsunade did a scan and thought “His heart rate and blood pressure are way too high and his endocrine fluid balance is way off but I've got no choice. This will have to do”.

 

 

With Mamoru's guidance Yamato went to work. At first he created two trees before Tsunade gave him another X1. Next time only one tree was created before he was give another soldier pill. The pattern seemed to be first two trees, then a pill, then one tree and another pill and then two trees again. There were a couple of times it was one tree, one pill and then one tree, one pill again but after that the pattern restarted. After the last tree was created and the mesh of roots were in place under area of Gaara and Naruto, Yamato collapsed on his rear end exhausted. Tsunade gave him one more soldier pill just in case of any lingering effects of the Red Pepper pill and then told Mamoru to get Yamato to the hospital and have Shizune perform a full examination immediately.

 

 

With that done Tsunade thanked Mamoru for his help and turning to Temari said “Let's hope this works. Now let's go get Naruto and your brother.”

 

 

An hour or so had passed since he started this when Naruto, while concentrating on controlling the chakra he was sending into Gaara, suddenly heard a grunt from in front of him.

 

 

Naruto asked “Hey Gaara, are you alright?”

 

 

“My back is starting to burn, Uzumaki Naruto” Gaara replied.

 

 

Naruto looked down at his hands and noticed small streams of red chakra intertwined with the blue.

 

 

“I'm not changing Kyuubi's chakra fast enough, Gaara. Do you want to stop?” Naruto asked.

 

 

“No, I can handle it” Gaara replied.

 

 

Not wanting to cause his friend any pain Naruto yelled, “Sakura, come here quick!”

 

 

Sakura, upon hearing her name, turned to see the concern on Naruto's face through the red chakra aura. Coming closer she asked “What is it, Naruto? What wrong?”

 

 

“I'm not changing Kyuubi's chakra fast enough! Some of it is getting through and poisoning Gaara! I need you to heal him while we're working!” Naruto replied.

 

 

Sakura knew the effects Kyuubi's chakra had on a body having experienced it first hand. She also knew that if she was to help Gaara and they were attacked then Hinata would be all alone.

 

 

Sakura understood what she had to do and with the com-links basically useless yelled to Hinata, “I have to help Naruto and Gaara, Hinata, so you have to cover the perimeter by yourself, okay?”

 

 

When Hinata heard Sakura's request she answered “Hai”.

 

 

Hinata had been carefully moving away from Naruto and Gaara to minimize the glare from Naruto/Kyuubi's chakra. However with this new development she had to revise her tactics. She deactivated her bloodlimit and moving next to Sakura, took all but one kunai and all Sakura's shurikens. Then, reactivating her bloodlimit, she started circling the group in order to give her Byakugan the best chance at detecting any potential threats while keeping Naruto and Gaara inside her blind spot as much as possible.

 

 

As Toshiro saw the change in formation below him he knew this is the chance he had been awaiting. With one of the guards occupied that left only one against three and he liked those odds. Toshiro told his men to spread out as they were going to attack using two of their three kunais since the guard would not be able to block all six of them at once. Once both men had moved to their new position Toshiro signaled for the attack to begin.

 

 

Hinata saw two of the threats suddenly move to their new position and knew an attack was imminent so she signaled Sakura to be prepared. She didn't know what form of attack was coming but she was ready to protect Naruto-kun, Sakura and Gaara with her life. Suddenly six kunais flew towards Naruto, Sakura and Gaara. Hinata noted their positions with her Byakugan then disabled it and concentrating chakra in her legs leapt into the air and threw six shurikens to intercept the enemies. She was able to deflect all the kunais but one did hit the ground between Naruto feet. Once Hinata landed she orientated her blind spot to Naruto and reactivated her bloodlimit.

 

 

Toshiro was surprised that this `little girl' was able to deflect all the kunais. Then he noticed Hinata reactivating her bloodlimit and realized she was a Hyuuga. So Toshiro decided to attack the group directly. But Toshiro was no fool, he would send his two men to attack from opposite ends and he would cover them from his position. Toshiro told one his men, through the static, to move to a hidden position behind the `medic' and for the other man to move to a hidden position in front of the `medic'. Then he instructed them to wait until the guard and the medic were lined up on opposite sides and then attack.

 

 

Hinata noticed two of the men changing positions and as she neared Sakura in her rotation told Sakura their positions and to be ready for anything. Sakura had been worried that she would deplete her chakra healing Gaara but it seemed Gaara's body was more resistant to demon chakra. She figured it was probably a byproduct of having grown up hosting Shukaku and as such she had more than enough chakra to deal with this moderated threat. Once Hinata moved opposite Sakura the Rock nins made their move.

 

 

As Hinata saw the attack begin she knew she had to finish her battle fast if she was going to protect Sakura. She deactivated her Byakugan so as not to be distracted, took two steps to the right, threw a kunai at Sakura's opponent and rushed her opponent head on. The Rock nin started his attack with a forward thrust with his right hand. Hinata parried it with her left hand and use the follow through to aim her elbow at her opponent's head. The Rock nin blocked her elbow with his right palm and brought his left knee up to do a front kick which Hinata blocked with her right knee. The two opponents jumped away from each other and then started trading blows again. Hinata thought that this was taking too long so she faked a wide thrust at her opponents head leaving her chest unprotected hoping he would fall for it. The Rock nin took the bait and as he blocked her jab he thrust his kunai towards her chest. Hinata then bent backwards as she was taught with her Hyuuga training and planted her right palm on her opponent chest. Hinata shot a pulsed of chakra from her hand into his heart which exploded in her opponents chest. Blood spurted from the mouth of the Rock nin as he fell forward barely missing Hinata as she angled out of his path. Hinata then turned to find the location of the other attacker but he was nowhere near Sakura.

 

 

Sakura knew she only had one shot at this. When she saw one of the men attacking Hinata in front of her she knew the other would be attacking her unprotected back. As Hinata's kunai flew pass, Sakura split her concentration between fighting the poisonous chakra's effect on Gaara and searching for the foreign chakra of her attacker. Luckily, knowing the attack was coming from behind made it easier to sense the approaching danger. Knowing the general length of a man's arm she listened as her opponent got closer to make sure he didn't throw anything. When she felt him get within range she immediately spun on her right heel and blocked the downward arc of the kunai with her right arm while planting a chakra infused left fist into his chest. The resulting blow shattered the Rock nin's ribcage sending shards of bones into his lungs, heart and spine. As a result the Rock nin died immediately and the body flew across the courtyard hitting the side of a building and bounced onto the ground. Sakura immediately returned her attention to healing Gaara.

 

 

Toshiro was furious. These brats were ruining everything. All their planning had not taken this situation into account and thus he wasn't properly prepared. He had one more attack he could try but he had been reluctant to use it at first because it was sure to bring reinforcements but he had no other choice. He took out three small packets and threw them above the teens. As the packets flew above Gaara, Naruto and Sakura the packets burst and confetti fell down upon the trio. Immediately Hinata and Sakura knew that the confetti was really small explosive tags and that there would be no way to stop them without interrupting Gaara and Naruto.

 

 

Suddenly Naruto growled out “Hinata get close to us and hang on tight to Sakura”.

 

 

Hinata looking confused did what Naruto said and planting her feet to the ground with chakra held on to Sakura. Then Naruto let out a growl and a pulse of chakra infused wind flew away from him in all directions whipping past Gaara, Sakura and Hinata ruffling their clothes. As the wind came in contact with the explosive notes it gave Hinata the impression of an expanding bubble with flecks of dust on its surface. The wind carried all the explosive tags away from the teens before the tags exploded with a deafening boom.

 

 

Hinata was about to thank Naruto for the help when suddenly Naruto let out a blood curdling scream. Then blood seem to percolate from his skin filling his red chakra shell making it opaque and a fourth tail emerged. From Hinata's perspective Naruto looked like a caricature of a fox that had a face with human features. Sakura had seen this form before and knew that they were in trouble because when Naruto went into four tail mode that meant he couldn't tell friend from foe. She was about to stop healing Gaara and just grab Hinata and run when she notices Naruto's hands. Naruto's hands were still blue. Sure there was an increase of red chakra intertwined with the blue but the majority was still blue chakra. Naruto was still there! Sakura thought if Naruto could still hold himself together enough to save the village then she could too.

 

 

Sakura noticed the apprehension in Hinata's eyes and said, “Hinata, look at his hands! He's still there. So we have to continue fighting too!”

 

 

Hinata saw that Naruto's hands were indeed blue and replied “Hai” to Sakura.

 

 

Then Hinata turn around to get Naruto in her blind spot and activated her bloodlimit. Suddenly Hinata let out a loud scream and fell to her knees covering her eyes.

 

 

Sakura yelled “Hinata, What's wrong? What happened?”

 

 

As Hinata recovered her senses and turned to answer, Sakura could see that Hinata's eyes were bloodshot.

 

 

“Naruto's chakra is too bright. I can't use my Byakugan”, Hinata answered.

 

 

Sakura asked, “Can you take out the final one without your Byakugan?”

 

 

“If he was a Jounin I would have to say no but luckily his chakra coils shows that he is at Chuunin level”, she answered.

 

 

Sakura couldn't believe that the enemy would send three chuunins to attack the village but in their present situation she had no choice but accept Hinata's assessment.

 

 

“So do you have a plan?” she asked Hinata.

 

 

Hinata said, “Yes, but I am going to need your help”.

 

 

Toshiro was livid. Two years worth of planning was being thwarted by two girls, Konoha's jinchuuriki and the Kazekage of the Sand. Now the Kazekage of the Sand was rumored not to be this strong without the Shukaku and the Kyuubi brat wasn't rumored to know any Doton jutsus. He was about to retreat when something interesting happened. The Kyuubi brat had started howling and changing form right before his eyes. But that wasn't the interesting part. What was interesting was the Hyuuga girl's reaction to the change. Now everything was starting to make sense. Toshiro had been wondering why the Hyuuga girl's circling pattern had seemed somewhat unnatural; the Kyuubi brat's chakra was blinding her. So if he got the Kyuubi brat between her and him, he could attack the medic first and then deal with the Hyuuga later. Toshiro knew he would have to move fast but as long as he struck before getting within range of the medic then he could take her out easily. When the Hyuuga girl started her patrol Toshiro tensed and got ready to make his move. As soon as the Kyuubi brat was between him and the Hyuuga girl Toshiro raced out to attack the medic.

 

 

Hinata had lied to Sakura. She knew the last attacker was at least Jounin level maybe higher but she didn't want to distract Sakura from her job. She knew that as soon as the last enemy attacked she was going to have to use her Byakugan to take a snapshot of his position in her mind before she was blinded by Naruto's chakra. She was hoping Sakura would be able to give her enough warning in order to act quickly.

 

 

Sakura was getting tired. Naruto's recent change was causing her to devote a lot more chakra to fighting the poisonous effects of Kyuubi's chakra on Gaara and Gaara was sweating and grunting more often than she cared to hear. Now she had to be bait for Hinata's trap and hope she would be able to give sufficient warning so as not to die as well. She was having a hard time even sensing Hinata's chakra as Naruto's chakra was blanketing the area. As she split her concentration and searched for foreign chakra she found nothing. She was starting to get worried when suddenly she felt something but it was not chakra, it was killing intent.

 

 

As soon as she felt it getting closer she yelled “NOW!”

 

 

Hinata concentrated chakra into her legs and leapt backwards over Sakura, pirouetted in the air and activated her Byakugan. As her eyes burned she let loose a volley of shurikens and the rest of her kunais in a broad pattern at her opponent and then covering her eyes, screamed, and landed as best she could. Toshiro had to stop and change direction to dodge the volley as best he could but caught two shurikens across his right thigh and though it wasn't fatal it hurt like hell.

 

 

Hinata held her eyelids tightly closed as she knelt down on one knee while whimpering silently wishing the pain would just go away.

 

 

Her blood suddenly felt cold as she heard her opponent say “Not bad little girl you actually nicked me. But now I am going to kill you and then use all these weapons you gave me to kill your friends”.

 

 

Hinata started to panic. Not only had she failed, she had let Sakura down. She had let Konoha down. But most importantly she had let Naruto down and now they were going to die. As she prepared herself for death Hinata heard the sound of gravel being crushed in front of her and a little to the right. She knew exactly where the enemy was and more importantly he was within her range for Hakke Rokujuuyonshou (Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand). Hinata knew that she would have to rely on her memory to hit all the tenketsus but right now it was her only hope.

 

 

Hinata leapt at her opponent and started her family technique; “Two hits” she said as she felt skin beneath her hands.

 

 

She yelled “Four hits” as again she felt her hand come into contact with his body as she hoped to Kami she was hitting the tenketsus.

 

 

Hinata ran through the whole technique letting her body go into automatic mode and picturing in her mind her opponent's body as a practice dummy on the Hyuuga estate. After completing the final move and yelling “Sixty-four hits” Hinata stood frozen and listen to hear the body fall. When no sound came to her ears she started to panic, fearing she had failed and now she didn't know where her opponent was located. Just as she was about to back away she heard the satisfying thud as her enemy hit the ground.

 

 

Then Hinata heard Sakura yell, “Hinata, you did it!”

 

 

Hinata turned towards Sakura and replied “Thank you, Sakura”.

 

 

Then Hinata asked, “Sakura, could you please keep talking so that I can find you?”

 

 

Sakura looked concern and said, “What's the matter with your eyes, Hinata?”

 

 

Hinata replied, “I needed my Byakugan to win and now I can't see”.

 

 

Sakura kept talking while Hinata gingerly made her way towards Sakura and upon reaching her sat down at Sakura's feet and wept silently. As Sakura kept fighting the poisonous chakra in Gaara's body she looked down at Hinata and noticed Hinata's tears were tainted red with blood.

 

 

Sakura was exhausted. Naruto and Gaara were holding Konoha together and Sakura was holding Gaara together. Naruto's head was starting to thrash about and he was growling more frequently. Even though his hands were still blue the amount of red chakra was increasing and Gaara was starting to tremble. She felt that if Tsunade didn't return soon she would collapse from chakra exhaustion. Plus Sakura knew that if they were attacked Hinata would be helpless and there was no way she could fight under these conditions. As she stood there wondering how much longer she could last she heard the crunch of gravel behind her. She didn't know if she should turn and confront the intruder or just stand there ready to take the blow when she heard a familiar strong voice say “Okay Naruto, you and Gaara can stop now”.

 

 

Sakura smiled in relief as she stopped the chakra flowing through her hands and sat down next to Hinata. However her relief was short-lived when she heard Tsunade repeat her command “Naruto, I said you and Gaara can stop now”.

 

 

Sakura looked at Naruto to see he was still in four-tail mode and still pumping chakra into Gaara's body. Sakura tried to reach up and touch Naruto thinking she could shake him out of his trance but as Sakura's hand got closer Naruto let out a sudden burst of chakra infused wind sending both Hinata and Sakura tumbling towards Tsunade.

 

 

Temari looking shocked yelled “What the hell was that?”

 

 

Tsunade, without taking her eyes off Naruto, asked “Sakura, Hinata are you okay?”

 

 

Sakura stood shakily and staring at Naruto in confusion said “Hai, Tsunade-shishiou”.

 

 

Hinata pulled herself into a sitting position towards Tsunade's voice and answered “Hai, Hokage-sama”.

 

 

Temari, not getting any reply to her first question, yelled again, “What just happened? Why did Naruto attack them?”

 

 

Tsunade replied, “In four-tail mode Naruto can't tell friend from foe”.

 

 

Then Temari asked, “If that is true then why didn't he attack Gaara?”

 

 

At that point Sakura added, “Yes, and look at his hands, they are still blue, Tsunade-shishiou”.

 

 

Tsunade had already noticed Naruto's hands and said, “It seems Naruto is still in there somewhere and subconsciously he is still in a `protect Konoha' mode”.

 

 

Sakura asked “What do we do?”

 

 

Tsunade was wondering the same thing. She needed to separate Naruto from Gaara before Kyuubi's chakra killed him but how to do it with hurting either one of them. Doton (earth) jutsus were out of the question because the ground was saturated with Kyuubi's chakra. Katon (fire) jutsus were too wide ranging and thus would probably injure Gaara and besides it probably wouldn't work on the Kyuubi anyway. Raiton (lightning) jutsus were also wide ranging and the short range attacks required physical contact which would result in poisoning the attacker. Tsunade decided to try a Suiton (water) jutsu as she could control it just to hit Naruto and leave Gaara relatively untouched.

 

 

Tsunade told the girls, “Ladies, get behind me. I am going to try something and I don't how Naruto will react”.

 

 

After Sakura and Hinata were next to Temari and behind the Hokage, Tsunade unleashed a Suiton Daibakufu no jutsu (Water pillar) attack at Naruto hoping to separate him from Gaara or at least break his concentration. When the column of water `hit' Naruto it just split into two columns rushing past him with steam coming from the point of contact. Naruto turned his head and looked at his `attackers' and growled but didn't move towards them.

 

 

Then Temari stepped forward and said “Let me try something”.

 

 

Removing her fan from her back Temari snapped it opened and sent a column of wind towards Naruto. Again the column split into two upon contact with Naruto having no effect while Naruto stared back growling. Tsunade didn't want to use anything stronger against Naruto but she saw no other option because if this lasted any longer he was going to kill Gaara. So as Tsunade was preparing to use her enormous strength to strike at Naruto and take her chances with chakra poisoning she heard a voice cry out ”Naruto-kun, please stop!”

 

 

Tsunade turned to see Hinata standing with her hands clasped together near her chest, eyes closed with tears streaming down her face, pleading with the boy and that when Tsunade noticed that the growling had stopped. She turned to see Naruto staring at Hinata but with a curious look on his face.

 

 

While watching the change in Naruto Tsunade said, “Hinata, keep talking!”

 

 

Upon hearing the Hokage's voice, Hinata pled again, “Please Naruto-kun, stop. We're all safe now”.

 

 

Naruto stared at Hinata for a while cocking his head first to the right and then to the left and as Hinata kept pleading, as if some switch had been turned off, all of his tails disappeared and the red chakra dissipated while he collapsed onto the ground. Gaara was still standing until he felt Temari touch his shoulder and then he too collapsed. When Gaara collapsed all of Konoha shuddered as the full weight of the village settled onto the web of roots created by Yamato. Everyone stood deathly still while waiting to see if the plan had indeed worked.

 

 

After about a minute when Tsunade was convinced it was working, she yelled “Get them to the hospital now!! And remove those bodies!”

 

 

The Anbu who had accompanied Tsunade went to Naruto and Gaara and so the Hokage turned to Hinata and Sakura to see how they were doing. When Tsunade had gotten a good look at the girls she asked “Sakura, Hinata, how are you guys feeling?”

 

 

Sakura replied ”I am fine, Tsunade-shishiou” and then she collapsed into Tsunade's arms.

 

 

Hinata stood there with her eyes closed and asked “Is Naruto-kun going to be alright?”

 

 

Tsunade studied the girl and said “Yes, I am sure he will be fine. Now tell me what's wrong with your eyes?”

 

 

Hinata just stood still with her hands clasped in front of her and quietly said “I can not see, Hokage-sama”.