Chapter 42
TSUNADE SENJU
Everyone dear to her had lost their life in the service of the village. Their losses had made her bitter, as she began to resent her very home and began to loathe it for all it had taken from her.
She had left Konoha not out of anger or hate, but out of fear of losing anything else, and now, as she sat in the very place where her grandfather and granduncle had sat, she wondered if she had been right in her actions.
"SHUT UP!" and it took every piece of restraint in her to stop herself from pummelling the bastards in front of her into the ground, for as much as they may try to act otherwise, she knew very well that they were as involved in that bandaged bastard's schemes as anyone else.
Tsunade had always been proud to be a disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi, yet now, as she stared at his legacy, she realised that, in many ways, her sensei was just as broken as she was. Perhaps even more so.
He just knew how to hide his scars better, for how else could the God of Shinobi be blind to the actions of his own comrades?
"You two are lucky that I haven't torn you to shreds myself," and a bit rusty as she may be, Tsunade would not need anything more than her pinky to put the old coots infront of her into the ground.
"Is that any..." and that stupid bitch refused to relent, as Tsunade struck the table with her finger.
BANG!
And the entire table cracked from the force, as she finally realised the severity of the threat.
"SHUT UP!" she repeated, and the words finally landed.
"The only reason I have not yet put you into the ground is that I do not wish to cause another scandal. But do not test my limits!" she warned, and the two former Council Members tensed as her chakra roared throughout the room.
"I am not my sensei, and you mean nothing to me. Given all I know, I want nothing more than to spit on your old teammate's grave," and yet she could not do that.
"But I cannot do that," and what a test it was of her patience, for she had no choice but to honor the very man who had plotted against her own kin.
"Yet that does not mean that I have forgotten your involvement with him," and the glasses-wearing elder gulped nervously as he added.
"We did not know anything about Danz..."
"Save your lies for someone who may believe you! Sensei was a fool to trust you, and I will not make the same mistakes as him," and that was why she had gotten rid of that damned council, and had stripped the two bastards infront of her of all their powers.
"So, you two will go to the funeral of that traitor," and it irked them as she named their friend a traitor, yet she was the Hokage now, and the decision was solely hers.
"You will say your prayers as you stand beside me, and afterwards you will be led to your compounds, and will never leave those compounds again in your entire damn life!" and she saw them pale.
"This is preposterous..." and she had enough, as she flicked her finger, and a piece of wood shot right past her face, scratching Koharu Utatane's face as blood began to drip down her face.
"It's either that or..." and in the blink of an eye, a shinobi stood behind them, half his face covered by a 'sparrow' shaped mask, as he held his fist inches from Utatane's neck.
"...Death!"
"Ho..."
"You move, you die," and both of the bastards paled at Hikari's warning, as Tsunade raised a brow.
"...I let him kill you two as well, and then we can bury you two beside your dear old friend," and that was the end of their discussion. Tsunade was not blind to their thinking when they had named her for the position of the Hokage.
The old coot must have thought that either she would simply deny the offer or that they could leverage her disinterest into a power grab. Yet they had forgotten that Uzumaki blood also ran through her veins and that when an Uzumaki had made their mind, it was impossible to change their mind.
And she had made up her mind.
With the old bastards out of her office, she found herself facing the boy who had caused all this commotion, and a part of her wanted to curse him for the trouble he had caused her, yet another part of her was thankful for his actions. For he had rid the village of an evil that she had not even known about.
An evil that had hollowed out the foundations of her grandfather's dream for years now.
Hikari Hyuga was no hot-head. She was sure that he was aware of the severity of the consequences of his actions when he had killed Danzo. Yet, he had refused to back down, for he had deemed him a great threat to the village, an assessment she was beginning to agree with more and more as details continued to come regarding the depravity of her teacher's comrade.
He would have known that he might be hanged for it. But he had persisted in his belief. His dream reminded her much of Dan and her brother, yet the more she observed him, the more glaring the differences became.
Where Dan and Naawaki had been dreamers, he was ruthless and practical, reminding her much of her white-haired uncle.
"You are looking rather spry for someone coming out of jail," she teased, as the young boy shrugged.
"Shizune-sama was gracious enough to help me in my recovery," she knew that along with the fact that the boy infront of her dabbled in Iryo-ninjutsu as well. It was a testament to his dedication.
"Still, you should take this time to rest because you won't be getting any for months," and the situation at the borders was getting rather tricky, and both Iwa and Kumo were taking liberties that needed to be answered quickly.
"After all, you should know better than anyone that the captain of the ANBU dragon unit hardly ever rests," and she saw him still slightly at those words, as the implication dawned on him.
"You are making me ANBU captain," and the Dragon unit was ANBU's most elite squad, and its captain was perhaps second in power only to codename 'Dragon', which meant that she had practically made him untouchable within the village.
"Yes, and don't you dare make me regret it," she warned, and he gave her a salute.
"I will not," and she hoped that she was right about him, that he was no Nawaki or Dan but was Uncle Tobirama instead.
"And have you made your decision regarding that mark?" and she saw him reach for Orochimaru's mark on his neck, as his face shifted.
"That power is a curse. It will eat you up, until there is nothing left," and it was a crutch invented by her old teammate to attune one's body to senjutsu. It was based on her grandfather's biology, and in many ways was an abomination.
"Jiraiya could seal it for you," she suggested, but the boy shook his head.
"I would like to handle this myself," he answered after some contemplation, and she could force him, but she chose not to.
"I will give you a year, but if I hear that you are relying on it too much, then I can always force you to seal it up, do you understand?" and he nodded.
"Now go," she said, smiling.
"I know that there are a dozen people who want to see you before you go out...."
.
.
.
Hours later, she found herself standing infront of a decorated grave, as the village's force stood behind her. The grave was situated just next to her own sensei's resting place, and the two elders stood behind her, seething with rage.
But she was no different. She wanted to spit on that grave. She wanted to curse him. She wanted to reveal all his heinous crimes and schemes, and yet the morale was already fickle, and she could not risk another civil war at the moment.
So, she balled her fists as she turned to face her shinobi, as she celebrated the man who was perhaps the greatest traitor to their village.
"Today we are here to mourn a loyal soldier...."
0000
HIASHI HYUGA
For far too long, he had let others suffer because of his complacency. He had always cursed his powerlessness and had sought an excuse in it until his actions had nearly taken his daughter from him.
When they had told him that Hinata had gone missing and that they could not find her body, he could hardly believe their words. They had always been estranged, more so because of how he was forced to act with Hikari and Neji as the clan head.
He had tried to be hard on her, only to ensure that she would not fail where he had. Yet all of it would have been for naught if she had died. But he was done wallowing.
Hinata's abduction and the response from clan elders afterwards had turned the tide within the clan. Even if the clan members did not know the whole truth, everyone had been shocked at how quickly and callously the elders had just abandoned their heir without any reason.
They had discouraged them from searching for her, and were already planning a ceremony to Crown the Watanabe's son as heir. They may not know the whole truth, but everyone could tell that the elders cared far more about politics than the safety they would so quickly boast of whenever the matter of the cursed seal was brought up.
Their actions had been a betrayal of their own words, and now the tides had turned as he found himself sitting infront of his own father—the very man who was the architect of this great betrayal of clan, kin, and blood.
"You are done," Hiashi announced, as his father spluttered, knowing that the game was up.
"You cannot do this to me, Hiashi. I am your fath..."
"You are no father of mine," Hiashi retorted quickly, for he would rather be an orphan than call a man such as him his father.
"You are a traitor to your clan and your kin," and his lips thinned as he quickly lashed out.
"I am no traitor. I only ever acted in the best interests of the cl...."
"Of yourself and your lickspittles!" Hiashi retorted, for while they could not reveal the true nature of his crime, they were ninjas, and making people disappear was their specialty.
"You only ever cared for yourself, and now your reign of terror comes to an end," and after this, he was to head the Clan Council, where he was set to propose sweeping changes to the clan's organization, while crowning Hinata as his heir proper.
All of the elders who had supported his father were going to be purged, and had been forced to give their resignation, and would never ever hold any power or influence within the clan.
But his father's fate would be different. He had committed the most heinous crime one could as a Hyuga, and had made a deal to sell their doujutsu to Danzo Shimura, and for that, there was but one punishment.
Hiashi reached into his pocket and took out the blade that he had brought and put it infront of his father, his intentions clear as he saw those eyes widen.
"The choice is yours," Hiashi whispered back as he rose from the ground.
"You can die a well-respected elder, or you can have the same wretched death as your accomplice," and Hattori Hyuga was a proud enough man and was able to sense the presence of the ANBU behind him.
"So, you brought him back," he said as his nephew stood behind his own father, sword aimed at his back, and the old man finally realised that the game was over.
"You will rue this day," he warned as he reached for the small blade and began to strip away his kimono's jacket.
"I will never," and then he took the small blade out of its sheath and aimed it at his abdomen, and just as he cut open his own abdomen, Hikari swung his blade and cut his head clean off, relieving him of his misery.
THUD!
The head rolled on the ground, as Hiashi felt his heart twist in a mix of emotions before he looked up at his masked nephew.
"You have my gratitude for everything," he whispered as he gave him a small nod.
"I have heard that you are going away," and Lady Tsunade had begun a secret purge of Danzo Shimura's old allies and friends, yet the faction still held some power. In that sense, it was safest for Hikari to be away from the village.
That and the village had great need of him and his skills on the border to push away Iwa and Kumo's invading forces.
"I am," Hikari answered, and Hiashi nodded.
"Then I would like for you to visit me before you leave...." and with that, the boy vanished, as Hiashi stared down at his father's lifeless head and took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he was about to do.
Afterwards, Hiashi found himself sitting in front of the entire clan as his daughter sat just to his right, now wearing the ceremonial garbs and attire of his heir.
"Today marks the beginning of a new era within this clan. One marked by a unit rather than discrimination," he announced, as he let his eyes skim over the entire.
"For from this day on, either all of us shall wear the 'Seal' on our foreheads or none of us shall have those shackles binding their hands...."
.
.
.
The ANBU were stretched relatively thin as they tried to put out one fire after another, yet even in her busiest times, Uzuki Yugao chose to make some time for herself as she found herself visiting an old friend for her aide.
And so, she found herself in a Dangi shop, waiting for her there.
"It has been some time, Anko...."
0000
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