Chapter 44
SHINSO KEN
I evaded the blow from Zosui, yet the man did not relent as he continued to chase me.
"What are you guys doing staring like idiots! ATTACK!" he shouted at the shinobi he had arrived with. There were about ten or so of them, mostly genin with probably two chunin.
And they began to join him in the attack, cutting off my escape routes, throwing kunai at me, and rushing into the attack as well.
This was not sustainable. Even with my skillset, any small mistake could prove fatal.
And so, it was time to step things up. I unwrapped the scroll from my back, my hands flying through the required seals.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" My other two swords appeared with a puff planted into the ground. And I ducked under a kick from a genin, and just as Zosui was about to strike me from the back.
CLANG.
His kunai was blocked by the three projectile upper bodies I had sprouted from my torso.
"NINPO: PARTIAL TRANSFORMATION!" With that, I closed my eyes for a second, my chakra rushing through the three swords. But this was not lightning chakra.
No, it was wind-natured chakra. I had been working on mastering wind nature transformation for quite some time to complete another of my moves, and I finally achieved the required levels some time ago.
"NINPO: SEAL!"
And the swords gained a visible purple hue, and I began to attack, my swords slashing as they cut two genin in half, though Zosui avoided the attack. Making hand seals.
"Earth style: Mobile core!" The ground beneath me moved, destroying my footing. I jumped up and was immediately attacked from all sides.
"Wind Style: Great Storm!"
And with that, I spun at a high speed, blowing all my attackers away. The attacks continued as I rushed through the air. Avoiding. Attacking. Jumping.
My swords glowed during this whole ordeal.
"Is running all, you can do kid? Really, I had better expectations, kid! It will be easy to have that redhead back in my hands after I kill you, kid!" he said in a sinister tone.
I landed on the ground. The two shadow transformation projections vanish as lightning arches over my body, both inside and outside. I could feel the world slow down. My senses sharpened as I put both my hands on my sword.
"Lightning Style: Thunderous Calling!" and with that, I vanished, moving at lightning-fast speed as I gutted several shinobi of Kusa; none were even able to react to my pace.
And as I reached behind Zosui himself, who was still searching for me. I let go of my chakra once more.
"Lightning Style: Narukami's Roar!" He turned as a massive storm of lightning rushed toward him.
0000
ZOSUI
"Huff! Huff!" Zosui took labored breaths as he tried to ignore the pain radiating across his body. Shinso Ken was not as skilled as his report had mentioned. No, he was way more skilled and dangerous. Proven by the tens of shinobi that lay dead across the field.
But the kid was not invincible. Their exchange had lasted for more than an hour now, and he was beginning to slow down. Finally, Zosui could feel more of his attacks connect, as was evident by the blood running down the brown-haired bastard's arm. A kunai stuck in it.
The kid's body was also littered with cuts, but that did not make him any less dangerous, and the kid just gutted another of his shinobi with the unnatural arms he had grown once more.
The elders were going to be very angry about the losses they had endured. Zosui was angry as well and planned to obtain compensation from that bandaged bastard.
But the attack was over.
"You have lost kid."
He shouted as he felt the main force of his village land. Ten to fifteen experienced jounin-ranked shinobi landed behind him. And Zosui could spot the horror on their faces as they spotted the dead bodies of so many of their comrades.
"So why don't you give up? I will let you watch as I drag that redhead of yours through the streets of this village. You might be able to get a final look at her head that way." he said in a mocking tone.
The kid was special, but his overconfidence that he could take them all out himself would be the cause of his death. The kid was huffing slightly as he took labored breaths.
"Who says that I won't get out this alive? From where I stand, you can actually bring a hundred of your weak ninja, and I will gut them all like I killed the others." He said as he wiped the blood from his face.
"And as for Karin. You are never going to see her ever again, because I plan to burry you and your village today."
Zosui was flushed with anger at those words. He let go of his chakra, planning to teach the kid a lesson.
"Attack!" he shouted. And along with every other ninja that had arrived.
"You guys don't know it yet. But your fates were sealed the moment you decided to face me." Came the reply of the kid.
"NINPO: UNSEAL! HAZING WINDS!"
"AHHH!"
"AGHHH!" came the shouts as his vision turned scarlet. Blood everywhere. He looked to the side and saw that they had all been attacked. Invisbly. He stumbled and looked down and saw that his leg had been cut off.
TING.TING.TING.
The loss registered and he shouted in pain.
"AGHHHH!" but then he felt his arm getting slashed.
TING.TING.TING.
He looked up and saw that the kid had not moved an inch, standing there with his hand on his word, which was on its sheath. His finger just continuously tapping the hilt.
TING.TING.TING.
"AGHHH!" more shouts came as others fell down with dismembered limbs, slashed heads, and cleaved bodies.
And Zosui couldn't even think anymore. The pain made it impossible to think.
The tings of the bell stopped, and the kid began to move towards them, his pace slow as he took unhurried steps. The ground was now littered with blood.
DEAMON. A BLOODY DEAMON. Zosui thought as he saw the boy's bloody form walk towards them. The shouts of his comrades made it impossible to hear what he was saying.
The boy crouched down, staring straight into Zosui's eyes. And Zosui could see it in those eyes. They were hollow. Dead eyes that thought of all of them as insects. They were insignificant.
"This is for everything you put Karin and her mother through. She will never have to fear weaklings like you anymore!"
And he saw seals erupt from the boy's feat. Spreading throughout the area.
He should never have gotten involved with this, was his last thought as Zosui heard the final words, and his vision darkened for eternity.
"LIGHTNING STYLE: ABYSS PRISON!"
0000
HINATA HYUGA
Hinata watched as the hours turned into days and then the days into weeks. She had lost all contact with the world outside, being confined to her own room, all this done in an effort to make her submit. To make her compromise.
Yet they would fail. Hinata Hyuga was not going to back down. No matter what. She picked up the piece of parchment that had been the only communication from the outside world she had gotten.
A simple sentence addressed to her, written in very familiar handwriting.
I will take care of it. Hold tight.
It had been left in the food tray some days ago. And Hinata had smiled as she had read it, her heart easing slightly upon reading the letter. She was not alone, and she had the support of her teammate. She had the support of the people within the clan that were tired of all this bullshit.
So, she had sat in her room patiently, quietly, stoically. Her ears heard the rumors and happenings, often spoken loudly by some sympathizers outside her room. Things were moving. More so, today, evident by all the hustle and bustle she could feel outside.
Perhaps, it was time.
KNOCK.KNOCK.
A servant entered her room. Dressed in formal clothing reserved for clan-wide meetings. He placed a new set of clothes on the floor.
"Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama has called a clan-wide meeting. He has ordered you to attend." And with that, the servant left her room. Closing the door gently.
Hinata looked at the new set of clothes. The design was similar to what she had worn previously. She changed into the formal dress.
She then began to wait. And then the door was knocked at once more. The servant appearing once more.
"Hinata-sama, it is time." He said with a small bow. Hinata got up and walked out of her room after all this time. Her eyes widen as she saw the whole of the clan prepared and gathered for the meeting.
Her father sitting on the stage in his seat. Her sister occupied the seat to his left. An empty seat was placed on his right. She did not walk up to it, only standing in front of the stage, as she refused to bow and stared straight at the man.
The main and branch families were standing in two lines behind her. She could feel their stares on her. The tension in the room was palpable.
The elders sitting behind her father were frowning. Her father did not show any expression as he continued to stare at her. When no command was given, she simply walked to the side of the branch family and took the seat right next to her cousin Neji. Murmurs broke out, but they would die out when her father got up.
"Hyuga clan is one of the oldest clans in the elemental nations. We are the amongst few clans that can trace our ancestry to the sage of six paths himself."
He began speaking. His eyes darting around the room.
"We have adhered to the traditions that have played a huge part in keeping us safe and prosperous. One can not spit on them. They are what got us through the various shifts of time itself."
Hinata's eyes widen slightly at those words. She could feel Neji clench his fists beside her, and he was not the only one. While on the other side, there were several people shaking their heads while many others were smirking. However, the smirks would die down with her father's next words.
"BUT WE MUST NOT BECOME PRISONERS TO SUCH TRADITIONS. WE MUST ADAPT AND EVOLVE. STRIVE FOR BETTERMENT. FOR THAT IS THE ONLY WAY WE WILL TRULY REACH OUR TRUE POTENTIAL."
Hinata could feel her heart beating faster as he said those words. Then her father took out a scroll.
"The Hyuga clan has endorsed the Hokage's proposal to end the use of specific seals. Seals that also include the Caged Bird Seal of our clan."
And now the whole hall broke into a controlled commotion. She smiled as she saw the panicked faces of the elders. But her father would ignore them all as he continued speaking.
"But, the need to safeguard the Kekkei Genkai that we have been blessed with cannot be denied. And hence the newly returned Uzumaki clan has lent us their services in designing a more efficient seal to protect the Byakugan," and he took out a pair of hanafuda earrings as he said that.
"The sealing formula shall remain a secret known only by him and the Hyuga clan head. A secret which he will not pass onto anyone else during his life."
Hinata smiled at that. Shinso-kun had done it. He had not let her down. She looked to the side and saw the form of her cousin as he shook in his place. Hinata placed her hand on his trembling hand. He looked up, and she spotted the tears in his eyes. She gave him a smile, which he returned just like he used to in their childhood.
"Hinata Hyuga! Step up and, as the clan heir, be the first bearer of this change." And her eyes widen as she heard that. She looked up toward his father. And the man nodded.
"From this day, every clan member, let they be main or branch, shall wear them, for they serve only a singular purpose. Protection. And hence ending the divide that we inherited from our forefathers."
And then the murmurs broke out once more. And Hinata got up from her seat in the commotion and walked up to her father.
And as she stood right in front of him. He took out a pair from the box, a pair that was adorned with their clan's symbol. He bent down as he pushed their pins into her ears. And Hinata had not missed the slight murmur she had heard.
"Thank you!"
0000
I could have excluded this, but I could not. Hinata is such a cool character whose potential was wasted. Hyuga clan are descendants of Homura Ototutski, yet none of their members were given any true development.
Plus, this whole class system they had did not sit right with me. Shinso ends it all without talk no Jutsu. With the singular power of sealing.
SEALS BETCH!
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Huge Kudos for reading this!
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