50 A Batch Of Endless Fights Near Konoha (3)

"Neji, I warned you before about descending onto this path of darkness. I said that I would be the first one to deal with you then, didn't I?", Might Guy suddenly declared seriously while entering his Seventh Gate. He finally made some kind of difficult resolution with himself at this moment. It was the hardest decision of his entire life evidenced by his current change of demeanor. Usually jovial Guy, now had a distressed but also resolute face full of intent to kill this past student of his. He was even prepared to open his final Gate of Death, just now, slowly moving his thumb finger near his heart area, however, Tsunade suddenly stopped and motioned him to hold back and not do it yet.

Neji never saw him so cold before, so he was a bit taken aback. But, it was also at this moment, that he understood that Guy wanted to kill him for the sake of Konoha. After all, he served Konoha all his life but knew Neji for just a few short years. Neji looked at his body getting filled with blue vapor, and he knew that they broke their relationship to the point of no repair from this day onward. Neji felt only a tinge of regret at the fact. He prepared for it already long ago, it was destined to be.

"Sigh... But, you can't deal with me anymore, Guy-sensei! Not even if you open your final Eight Gate. Well, you could try, but then I would have to destroy this entire village behind you, you are serving! Be certain that these are not empty words! I just want to leave now in peace, there is no point in the entire Konoha getting destroyed! And even if you choose to open it at this time, I would be gone before it takes full effect. Don't die for nothing.", Neji evaluated Guy's Eight Gate around the middle Six Paths level. He could probably escape it easily in his peak form, but not so easy in this worn-out state. But he could certainly destroy Konoha in return with his Gold Sword if he attempted to use it against him. To hammer that point even further, Neji's right hand suddenly glowed blue in color, and then a small Truth Seeking Ball appeared, then he cracked it a little and a bright sun-like aura already oozed out a little. He didn't have enough energy for his usual scale, but it was still enough.

Might Guy, was only around a peak Kage level in his Seventh Gate form while Jiraiya and Tsunade were both late Kage in strength. Kakashi was a little mysterious now but was probably still weaker than them. Neji thought that he just needed to frighten them enough to prevent from Guy going to the Eight Gate route and then to escape. And he succeeded, everyone opened their mouths wide in shock. Neji's seemingly small hand manifested such an endless and seemingly almighty piece of energy. Tsunade, in this hectic situation, decided for Gut not to use the Eight Gate after all, and just signaled them all to attack. Guy nodded and immediately used his Hirudora, giant toads also moved with their weapons. Kakashi swiftly took out his saber from his back and draw a few arcs in the air, creating multiple waves of purple electricity and chakra to which Neji opened his eyes a bit.

"Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid!", Tsunade's summon also launched an attack. Katsuyu released an acidic paste from its mouth. The acid's concentration and density are great enough to melt stone. Katsuyu requires no preparation to perform this technique, allowing it to be used instantly, which in turn means that targets have no opportunity to dodge. In addition to that, it was the size of a small lake.

"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!", Jiraiya and Gamabunta, he was standing on, started spitting out two different substances from their mouths. It was a cooperation ninjutsu performed by a toad and a fire user who have achieved mental and physical harmony with each other. The toad uses its large lung capacity to spray toad oil from its mouth at a target. The fire user then ignites the oil, increasing the attack's range and power. Everyone decided to use only long-range attacks on Neji previously due to the danger of coming close to him because of his superior speed. At this time, those ten people, from the Root, started falling from the sky, while also removing their clothes and making some kinds of seals, their bodies completely marked by some kind of black marks. Even Sai performed his strongest painting jutsu that he recently mastered, "Super God Imitating Drawing!"

Neji, however, remained unperturbed and calm even when that shower-like wave of attacks came to rain over them, "You all forgot the underground, didn't you? And you call yourself the strongest that Konoha has to offer now?", Neji just mentioned while picking Karin and Kiyomi by their shoulders and underarms. His whole body already entered his Tenseigan Chakra Mode once again today. Karin blushed in delight, Kiyomi's left eye also started releasing yin energy, and they were gone down below. Once they encounter the part of the barrier underground, Neji simply manifested a small Truth-Seeking Ball, molding it into a drill, and then casually started cutting a part of this barrier in order for them to escape, and they promptly did. After a few instants, they now fled somewhere miles away from the Konoha, to a new location. To a location where the Hyugas' Tenseigan rested.

***

Simultaneously, Naruto was urgently running to the massive barrier a little further after shaking off Yamato, when all of a sudden he noticed another girl, in front of him, speedily running toward the same place while sobbing. She wore a lavender and cream hooded jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armor. She also wore navy blue pants, and black, low-heeled sandals, "Hinata, wait!", Naruto suddenly exclaimed. Hinata flinched in surprise and spun around while removing her tears a little.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?", Naruto asked a little hesitantly after she stopped. He just saw her cry and he was aware of what happened to her father already. Not to mention the girl's younger sister previously committed suicide which was a big event inside the village. He always had good feelings regarding her due to their similar good-natured personalities. So, he was really sad for her. He previously wanted to get closer to the barrier and see if he could also enter or help in any way. That's why he ran from Yamato. He also knew that both of his teachers, Tsunade, and Might Guy were fighting there. However, he was certain that it wasn't a good thing for Hinata to go there too.

"Naruto, I'm going to get revenge on him for everything!", Hinata declared while her eyes were red from crying but her face was angry in a way never seen before. Naruto instantly understood that he was talking about that. Naruto sighed inwardly, it was hard to imagine, for someone like him, how could anyone commit such heinous acts, kill his own uncle and cause his own entire clan to get destroyed, "Hinata, I'm afraid that he's still too much for you to handle. You should train harder before attempting to take him down!", Naruto's demeanor, due to various reasons, was much more rational than it was in the past. Hinata clenched her fists. Even though Hiashi had forsaken her, given her no attention since childhood, and Hanabi behaved mean to her, she was still sorrowful for their deaths, even for Hiashi's death now despite him being so sadistic and evil recently in her mind.

In fact, Hinata lived with Kurenai-sensei already for a very long time due to her disagreements with her father Hiashi. Lately, he even started tormenting the side branch members and she couldn't bare to watch that anymore if she couldn't help them. Just now Neji indirectly caused him to even kill them all while using that secret power of his. She still blamed her father for everything. She even wanted to previously overthrow him with the help of Hokage's faction and save the side branch members. However, she also blamed Neji. In her mind, Neji caused her father to become like that in the first place by killing the entire main branch, not to mention that, in her mind, not every main branch member was evil and wronged Neji, in the past, just like herself, therefore, there was no need for him to erase them all. She hated Neji even more because he was so closely related to her and her father, yet he behaved so cruelly against them. She was not even sure if he would go after her again because she was also technically the Main Branch member, and now the last living Hyuga.

She wanted to take revenge against Neji for a long time now, and she even recently finally mastered a new technique called the "Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists" after training in it for a long time. The user changes the shape of the chakra released from both hands into large guardian lion-shaped shrouds. Doing so greatly increases range and destructive power. The lion heads drain the chakra network of those they touch. It is an extremely difficult ability to learn, as the slightest mistake in chakra control will lead to failure, meaning it is a feat requiring the Byakugan and not just an ordinary amount of talent. That technique could also be used in conjunction with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

She changed her personality, not just her strength, as well recently into a more decisive and firm one. She realized that being so naive, gentle, and empathetic was a weakness in this world. She listened to Naruto's words now about her being weak to fight Neji as an even bigger testament to that. Previously, two and a half years ago, there was no way that Naruto would've said that. He would've encouraged her to fight Neji, just like he did that time during the Chunin Exams. She also needed to become more logical as well as courageous in the future in order to protect her closest people even if she could never get revenge against Neji, she just wanted for her and her closest people to live in peace. She doesn't want to lose even them like she lost her whole clan and family.

"Hinata, don't worry! I will get Neji Hyuga in the future!", Naruto's eyes turned serious while looking at Hinata pitifully. He, who was always an orphan, felt really bad for her after she experienced all of that. In his mind, she was just a gentle girl, who didn't deserve any of it and who now had to bear such heavy, almost impossible burdens. He felt like he should be the one to deal with Neji and give her some closure and justice. Naruto always wanted to protect his close people, and recently on the journey with Jiraiya, he even thought that he should try and bring everlasting peace into this world after becoming the Hokage and getting recognized by everyone, it was his newfound second goal.

"Naruto...", Seeing Naruto's concerned, warm, and protective gaze, Hinata suddenly felt emotional once again, her nose turned sour and she was about to start crying all over. She was, after all, just a teenage girl with tremendous pressure and pain on her shoulders now. That, in addition to her newfound change in personality, which made her a tad bit bolder, also led her to ask the following question in a low tone of voice, "Naruto... Can I hug you... I feel like it would make me feel better..?",

"E-Eh, sure...", Naruto suddenly stuttered a bit hearing that and seeing her sobbing and blushing, heartbroken face. He suddenly smelled a girly fragrance and felt something soft entering his arms. His new shinobi uniform suddenly got wet in the front part as well, "Hinata...", Naruto also blushed and didn't know what to do, his hands remaining in the air behind her back. It was his most intimate contact with the opposite sex ever. And, in the end, he also hugged her and started speaking some consoling words while she wept. It seemed that Hinata was not the only one who became assertive. However, after a few moments, both of them suddenly blushed hard and turned awkward once they remembered that there was still that fight, of tremendous scale and importance, happening in front.

***

After a few minutes after Neji's escape, inside the Root's underground hidden complex, Danzo also got informed of all the happenings there by Sai who witnessed it first hand. He suddenly turned enraged, "Those damn ten good-for-nothings!", He was truly maddened by their successful escape.

Sai already left, therefore Danzo was left alone and could freely let out his anger, "And that waste of Itachi, wasn't he supposed to deal with all the survivors on his own? Don't tell me he got a change of heart later and let some of them go... If that is the case, then I'm sorry that his precious Sasuke isn't here to bear the consequences of his brother's stupid decisions!", Danzo then roared. He could pinpoint exactly from which direction did this young female Uchiha jump. In fact, after some time, he was even confident to determine her exact origin through some old records of his on that clan.

He was mostly angered because of her today. Judging by her words, she knew the whole truth and judging by her tone, she would almost certainly go against him in the future. And she was not just an ordinary Uchiha, but she had a Mangekyo Sharingan, almost perfect Susanoo, and time-based abilities which were considered rarest in the entire Ninja World today. It was, therefore, perfectly understandable why Danzo became so emotionally driven now despite his stoic and logical nature.

Danzo was also alarmed by the sudden reappearance of the so-called Madara Uchiha person in the Ninja World, right near the Konoha, and his targeting and defeat at the hands of Neji Hyuga. He also never thought that that person was also a part of the Akatsuki secret organization. Danzo also knew a bit more about Akatsuki than your average person, not only from Itachi but also due to his involvement in its creation when he indirectly killed one of its founders and made that other one, with the Rinnegan, take the organization in another direction. Madara Uchiha was also there during the Uchiha massacre, taking some of their eyes just like himself. His whole arm, full of Sharingan, was in fact obtained at that time. He was also on his mental list of the most dangerous opponents.

'That supposed alien of the last time... Madara Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, those two females, one of which has a life and death feud with me... It keeps getting worse and worse... However, If nothing happens before we finally conquer the Edo Tensei, then with all of those great individuals, I have planned for resurrection and control, I would be stable as a mountain...', Danzo also researched about that white-haired individual that took Hiashi's daughter and he came to some rather intriguing clues.

Danzo and his team also already inferred, in the meanwhile, that Orochimaru's previous use of the Edo Tensei in the village wasn't at its maximum potential. It was, at most, utilized at around thirty percent of it. Not to mention his sensei's Tobirama oldest one which could basically just deal with deceased bodies, not their unique chakra abilities. Danzo was preparing for that perfect version,

The version that he realized could truly allow him to dominate this world. Therefore, it didn't bother him all that much now that he lost those ten sacrificial vessels. He was currently only at most six months away from that point. After that, it was the moment to move. Lately, in addition to Edo Tensei itself, Danzo also focused on recalling history in order to get ideas for extremely powerful shinobi that he could resurrect later in addition to ways in which he could try and obtain their DNA.

"The only good thing that came out of today was that there is no more Hyuga clan now inside the Konoha... And that there was now more Hiashi! However, there is still that other daughter of his left!", Danzo murmured. He prepared to deal with her as well, as soon as possible, so he could use Shisui's ability freely. Not that he cared anymore. As soon as the research was over, he is going to take Konoha either peacefully or forcefully. At this point in time, he can't waste time on formalities.