Chapter 15
Kakashi watched as Lord Jiraiya vanished, leaving him alone with his brother. Unlike him, his brother had always been an optimist. Despite being younger than him, Gojo had always understood the value of life.
They were never truly close to one another, and the fault for it lay with him. Still, his brother had never held a grudge against him for his actions, and he could only be grateful for that.
"I am not going to change my mind," Gojo reiterated as Kakashi came and stood beside him, and he had not come here with that intention at all.
"I am not here to change your mind," Kakashi answered back, as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I failed you once. I will not fail you again," and he had left him to bury their father all by himself, and he regretted that choice to this day. He will not repeat that mistake. Not now.
Not ever.
"I know well the risks that a shinobi's life carries," his brother whispered as he scrunched up his lips.
"I knew that I would have to face failures and deaths," and he had faced aplenty of them.
"But she was the one thing I wanted to keep," and Gojo's voice shook as he spoke of Hana Uchiha.
"She was the one thing I could not bear to lose," and he knew that.
"I won't accept this," his brother whispered in a barely audible tone.
"I refuse to accept this...."
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NEJI HYUGA
Years ago, not long after the Kyubi incident had pushed Konoha into a dark era, the village was visited by a delegation from Kumogakure to pursue peace between the two villages.
The Third Hokage had chosen to invite him during the celebrations for the third birthday of the Hyuga clan princess, Hinata. Her cousin. Their clan was honored to be part of these negotiations and had offered to host the foreign ninja, unaware of the hidden motives of the Kumo retinue.
The incident happened during the night, and much to their disgrace, it took them an hour just to realize that the delegation from Kumo had stolen off the young Princess. Kumo had always been envious of Konoha's Kekkei Genkai and had plotted to kidnap one of them.
His own father had chased after the retinue all by himself, but he was too late to go after them. Thankfully, another shinobi had anticipated their teachery and was on the mission already.
Gojo Hatake, who was by then only a chunin, had wasted little time in going after the Kumo team to recover their princess. He was able to defeat the Kumo nin single-handedly, and recover Hinata safely, but the mission had come at a great cost.
Kumo had chosen to deny all the allegations, and the village was still reeling from the shock and consequences of the Kyubi incident. Kumogakure had threatened war unless their village handed over either Gojo Hatake or a pair of Byakugan.
The demand was an insult to their clan and village, but the elders had wasted little time in throwing the young chunin under the bridge. They had demanded that the village take over the Hatake-san, and few within the village had an appetite for war.
He had done their clan a favor, and yet he had received only betrayal in return. In the end, Gojo Hatake was sent to the border along Kumo, and it was well known that he was abandoned by both the village and their clan.
It was a disgrace, and Kumo had sent a force of five hundred just to avenge their lost team. But much to everyone's surprise, the young Hatake scion had refused to give up.
He fought on that border for years all by himself, without any backup, as he suffered for his kindness. Five years, and eight hundred deaths. That was what it took for Kumo to finally realize that Gojo Hatake was no ordinary shinobi, and for this, he was given an S-rank by Kumo in the Bingo Book along with a moniker of his own.
Hatake of the Invisible Blade.
Few within the clan dared to mention his name and the generosity he had shown them. But Neji remembered, and now that very man was trying to help his friend. Neji could never pay him back for the kindness he had shown his family, but he could do his part in protecting him.
"Are you sure about this?" Ten Ten asked, as they stood over the roof of the Hospital where their teammate was staying.
"This could be your chance to show your entire clan your worth," she suggested, and she was right.
"I will get an opportunity for that again," but what he was doing today was far more important.
"I was under the impression that you never much liked Lee?" Ten Ten asked, and she was wrong. Neji had great respect for their teammate, and that respect had only grown upon seeing him clash against the genin from Sungakure.
"I respect him," and he would make sure that, no one would dare threaten his future as a shinobi.
"Still, why do you think sensei asked us to be here?" and he had not exactly asked them. It had been more of a suggestion, but Neji had gotten the hint. For some time now, there was tension in the air, and now it had become almost palpable.
He did not know the reason for it, but something was brewing and it somehow involved both Lee and Gojo Hatake. He did not know hoe exactly, and he did not need to.
Their sensei has simply suggested that they keep an eye on Lee and so here he was along with Ten Ten who was sitting on the wall with her legs dangling down, as their teammate fought for his life.
In the distance they could hear the cheers and the screams from the arena, and unlike him he could see Ten Ten eyeing the arena with some envy.
"Man, I really should have worked harder," and she came from a civilian family, and her father was a smith. Ten Ten had made it her life's mission to become a walking advertisement for their business, and the Chin Exam would have been the best promotion for her father's works.
But she had lost her battle to the Suna kunoichi in the last round, making her ineligible for the last round.
"Don't worry. You will get anot...," but before he could finish, a loud explosion rocked the arena, and the screams grew louder as Ten Ten tensed up.
"What the hell was that?" and Neji was quick to push chakra into his eyes, as he activated his Kekkei Genkai.
"Byakugan," and the world shifted, and all the colors vanished except for the blacks and whites and the glistening blue hue of chakra.
"It's an attack," and he saw four shinobi surround the Hokage-sama along with a stranger, as they erected a barrier around him.
"They have managed to isolate the Hokage-sama," he told her, as he saw an ancient and corrosive chakra explode in the arena, but that was not his only concern, as suddenly explosions rocked the entire village, and alarms began to ring, making it clear that Konoha was under attack.
"They are coming," he spoke to Ten Ten, and by now the enemy was visible, and he watched as a some several dozen shinobi, waring the hitai ate from Suna and Otogakure rushed towards the hospital.
He was about to hump forward, but Ten Ten beat him to it.
"I will handle them," she called out, as she jumped into the air, and unfurled two scrolls as she rose in the air.
"Ninpo:...," she whispered as she began to unseal all of the weapons inside them.
"Rising Twin Dragons," and suddenly, the group of shinobi found themselves bombarded with a storm of weaponry, and their screams filled the air as they were all taken aback by the pace of her attack.
But he sensed another group land behind him, this one wore masks on their faces. ANBU masks.
"What are you two genin doing here?" questioned one of the men, as Neji frowned.
"We are here to keep an eye on our friend," he answered.
"You should leave. You must have heard the sirens. Follow the evacuation protocols, and leave this to us," he commanded, and usually Neji would have accepted their words, but something felt off to him as he saw them rush into the Hospital building.
His Byakugan cut through the walls, as he saw them rush through the Halls without addressing any of the iryo-nin or the patients, and they were headed towards a particular room only, confirming his suspicions.
So just as they were about to reach the place, he moved.
"Eight Trigrams..." he whispered as he pushed chakra into his fists.
"..Stone Fist," and his fist hit the stone, and cut through it, until he broke through several layers of concrete to land right in front of the door leading up to the Operation Theatre, where Gojo Hatake was operating on his teammate.
"I knew that there was something wrong with you all," Neji whispered as he took his stance, and suddenly the air was filled with killing intent as one of the masked nin stepped forward.
"You have no idea about what you are doing," he warned, his intent obvious.
"Leave," he warned as he brandished his tanto, but Neji had already made up his mind.
"Make me," he challenged, and now the rest of the group drew their tantos as well, as the leader gave the command.
"Kill him," and in the blink of an eye, Neji found himself surrounded by four of the masked nin, all coming at him from various directions as he lowered himself and pushed chakra into his hands and feet at the same time.
"Ninpo:..." and he had hoped to brandish this technique only during the exams to make a statement to his clan, and show them that even as a branch line clan member, he was capable of using their clan's most treasured kinjutsu.
But he knew well that if he were to stop these men, then he would have to give it his all.
"...KAITEN!"
BOOOOOM!
And he spun on his heels, as he pushed chakra out his hands, and a massive orb of chakra surrounded him and shredded through both the shinobi and the attacks coming for him.
He stopped half a minute later, when the four nin who had come at him were lying unconscious on the ground, while the rest seemed taken aback by his jutsu.
"That technique," he heard one of them gasp in realization.
"Is that all you can do?" he challenged.
"You are dead...."
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