Chapter 22

Ambush!

Lower Lightning Country

While the Third Division fought furiously in Frost Country against the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, several convoys of crucial supplies were being sent to each battlefront and each medical camp. There were far more wounded than had been expected so Konohagakure and Kirigakure sent a surplus up to the main medical camps. Not only that, due to several raids from White Zetsus on Lightning Coast the First Division was in crucial need of fresh munitions.

For this purpose a detachment of the First Division was deployed to help guard the convoy routes. They were lead by Hyuga Hiashi, leader of the Hyuga Clan. Before being deployed, he had talked with his eldest daughter and his nephew after his company rendezvoused with the Second Division.

"Greetings father..." Hinata said as she stood as straight as she could to greet him and bowed respectfully.

Hiashi smiled. "...Hinata, you don't need to do that. We're equal as shinobi now."

"But...you're still the leader of our Clan father..."

"And you're the Rokudaime Hokage's girlfriend, I think that puts us on even terms," Hiashi put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We've gone over this..."

Her cheeks flushed a bit red at that, but she nodded. "Alright..."

"And Neji, that goes double for you. You don't need to bow to me either," Hiashi said sternly.

"Yes, uncle," Neji said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I had heard about how well you two fought in the recent battle, you've made me proud," Hiashi said with a proud smile.

Hinata looked up and her eyes widened. "T-Thank you father!"

"I only have a short time before I'm deployed on the escort mission, so I need to make this quick," Hiashi said and returned to his stern demeanor. "Hinata, activate your enhanced Byakugan. I need to see it for myself."

"Oh, right father," Hinata said and she activated her Byakugan, and then her Keihatsu activated with the Yin-Yang symbol in each eye. She had managed to get some control down so the Eien Kaiten didn't automatically activate.

"...so it is true, the Keihatsu Byakugan," Hiashi said and a small smirk appeared on his lips. "It hasn't been seen or awoken by any Hyuga ever since the Warring Clans era, and it was rare then. Only our leader at that time, Hyuga Koki, could use it."

"Then why haven't we heard of it before uncle?" Neji asked his uncle.

"Due to its rarity, it was thought it had gone extinct through the years. Much like the Uchiha's MangekyōSharingan which hadn't been seen again since Uchiha Madara's time," Hiashi explained. "The powers depend on the user, the only universal ones seem to be the Eien Kaiten and the Magen: Kagami Do..."

"I also awoken the Hoderi-no-Mikoto..." Hinata said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"One of the Hyuga Guardian Deities...every Keihatsu user gets a different one though they are all roughly the same power, just with different abilities," Hiashi said as he leaned back. "If I could, I'd give you more lessons to learn to control this new power Hinata..."

"I understand that father," Hinata said and rubbed the back of her head. "But I will continue to train to control it!"

"I know," Hiashi put his hand on Hinata's head proudly. "You'll make me proud. You've made me proud for a while now."

Hinata's face lit up and hugged her father on impulse, and he returned it. Neji smiled at that before Hiashi surprised him and pulled him into the hug. He blinked in shock and looked up.

"You're part of the family too Neji, branch family or no," Hiashi stated with a smile. "You're stronger than me now, stronger than our entire clan Neji. And you've surpassed me Hinata."

"Thank you...thank you father," Hinata said in slight awe. "I'll keep getting stronger!"

"You flatter me uncle," Neji said as he breathed out. "But thank you."

Hiashi smiled and he looked up as the rest of his battalion arrived. A full detachment from the First Division with sixty ninja of the Jonin rank were all there from the various nations in the Allied Shinobi Forces. The Hyuga Leader was the leader of the detachment too and he glanced to see the medical and supply convoy preparing to move out. The civilian contractors of the convoy looked a bit nervous but were determined to get the supplies to the front lines.

"Alright, I have to get going now," Hiashi told his eldest daughter and his nephew. "After I'm done with this supply run, we'll talk more."

"Right father!" Hinata said eagerly.

"I look forward to it, uncle," Neji said with a smile as he bowed respectfully.

Hiashi smiled at the memory but his eyes narrowed as he went about the task at hand. His white eyes scanned the horizon as the convoy made its way down the roads. They were headed down the back roads in an attempt to avoid another ambush. The plan was to constantly change mid-route to throw off the enemy via constant communication with the Alliance Headquarters. Whenever a group of White Zetsu were sensed a new route would be transmitted right to the convoy. So far they had to do it nearly four times.

Despite the course corrections this seems a bit too easy... Hiashi thought as his Byakugan activated. Are the Akatsuki anticipating this strategy?

"Hiashi-dono, Headquarters is reporting another cluster of White Zetsu are up ahead! We're advised to move northeast up ahead to avoid them!"

"Understood," Hiashi nodded as as they changed direction right up at the fork.

While the convoy made its latest course correction, two shinobi kept a constant lookout. Being the level they were, they had erased their normal presence from the sensing abilities of headquarters and followed their prey slowly. The two original members of Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi and Kakuzu leaped to another vantage point.

"...I assume you refilled on your hearts since the last ambush, Kakuzu," Itachi said bluntly as his Sharingan continued to follow the movements of Hiashi's convoy.

"Yes, I'm at full power Itachi," Kakuzu said as he squeezed his hand into a tight fist. "Still reluctant to do this sort of thing aren't you?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed at that. "...seems my deceptions in life weren't as thorough as I thought."

"I lived for nine decades Itachi, you put on a good act," Kakuzu said as he glanced at the Uchiha prodigy. "For a while I was fooled, but you slipped up during the Ichibi extraction. Even at 30% of your power you should have defeated the Kyubi Jinchuriki at that time. From then I just waited for our Leader to put out a hit on you so I could collect the bounty."

"I see, I can tell from the tone in your voice you're disappointed you didn't have a chance to collect."

"Not that it matters anymore," Kakuzu said as he activated his Doton: Domu (Earth Release: Earth Spear). "At least this way I can collect on other bounties. That Hyuga...that's its clan head..." the Akatsuki treasurer seemed to smirk behind his mask. "50,000,000 ryo bounty. That will do well for my coffers."

"Even in death you're still the same, Kakuzu," Itachi said with a sigh.

"Hell runs on money. I've been brought back from there, might as well put some more into my bank account," Kakuzu explained as he cracked his knuckles. "Kabuto had already promised that if I'm not sealed, I'll be able to do as I please. I'm not even bound by his contract in this way, so even if he shuts the technique off I'll be staying."

Itachi's eyes narrowed but he didn't comment. "With those communication ninja, we won't be able to approach without being detected. Nor will our Zetsu troops."

Kakuzu seemed to chuckle. "I am already working out the details. After all, next to our leader you were the fastest of us Akatsuki."

"So you plan to send me in first as a distraction and eliminate the communication ninja," Itachi surmised and the Akatsuki Bounty Hunter nodded. "There is one problem with that, Hyuga Hiashi's eyes and sensing abilities will most likely detect me before I attack."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I will handle the Hyuga leader, you keep the rest of his grunts busy. It shouldn't be difficult for the man who slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan in one night, would it?" Kakuzu's eyes seemed to narrow in a mocking smirk. "After all, you do have the Mangekyo Sharingan and the same techniques Uchiha Madara had."

"...how much did you learn about me, Kakuzu?" Itachi asked with a slight amount of anger. "I never even revealed my third technique of my Mangekyo to even Kisame."

"It wasn't hard to figure out. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were said to be the same techniques Madara had before awakening his third and most powerful jutsu, Susano'o," Kakuzu said as he crouched. "I lived in the era of Madara and Hashirama, Itachi. I probably know more about the Uchiha than even you do."

"...enough talk. We have to get this done," Itachi said in resignation.

With that, the two reincarnated members of Akatsuki used a Shunshin to get into the midst of the convoy as they made another course correction. Hiashi scanned the area with his Byakugan just as Itachi created a Karasu Bushin to divide up the work. The Hyuga leader's eyes seemed to pulse as he turned.

"We have...!"

Before Hiashi could finish Itachi and his clone pulled out kunai and stabbed both communication's ninja through the neck then slashed through as blood showered onto their bodies. Time had seemed to slow down as the two communications ninja began to choke on their own blood as their comrades rushed to attack. The Uchiha prodigy spun and tossed a dozen kunai and lethally struck twelve of the defending ninja in the neck or heart.

Just as Hiashi was about to use a Hakke Kusho to at least deal with the clone his eyes warned him of an attack coming and he leaped back as a dark fist smashed into the ground and shattered it. Right before him was the Akatsuki bounty hunter, Kakuzu. He lifted his other hand and shot out his arm to grab the Hyuga Leader by the neck but Hiashi spun with a Kaiten to deflect it.

"...Uchiha Itachi and Kakuzu, two S-Class ninja and members of Akatsuki," Hiashi stated like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

"No offense, but I'll be taking your bounty now," Kakuzu said as he vanished at high speed.

Hiashi dodged the punch and the neck grab and kept moving backwards as he avoided each blow from the Akatsuki Bounty Hunter. He spun, ducked and then he charged chakra into his palm and slammed it upwards and deflected the Doton: Domu enhanced fist that was about to hit his head and then he pushed out both hands near point blank at Kakuzu's stomach.

"Hakke Kūhekishō (Eight Trigrams Air Wall Palm)!"

From point blank Hiashi unleashed a tremendously powerful air shell right at the Akatsuki member, strong enough to utterly destroy a large town or a significant portion of a small city. Kakuzu grunted as he skidded backwards, the Doton: Domu being peeled from his body from the force and then he threw out his hand and his Futon heart relocated to it. It opened its mouth and then fired a Futon: Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage) and a powerful tornado-like vortex of razor wind was launched out which counteracted the Hakke Kūhekishō which propelled him backwards. Before his momentum stopped he relocated his Katon heart to his left hand and pointed at Hiashi.

"Katon: Zukokku (Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work)!" Kakuzu yelled and shot a massive firestorm from it, and he controlled the chakra input to create blue white flames.

Hiashi's eyes widened. If I deflect that with my Kaiten I'll just suck out all the oxygen in the immediate area...I need to avoid it!

He crossed his arms and used a shunshin to avoid most of the flames but the sheer heat ignited the sleeves of his uniform. He rolled and before he could recover Kakuzu was already on him and his heavy, metallic fist smashed right into the Hyuga Leader's chin. Blood and a few teeth flew out of his mouth and he saw stars before the Akatsuki Bounty Hunter followed up with a knee to his stomach. Hiashi flew backwards before he managed to land on his feet and coughed up more blood. He panted a bit and wiped his lip.

"You definitely...live up to your reputation," Hiashi said as he managed to calm himself. "I haven't had such a fight in a long time."

"I assume that battle went more in your favor?" Kakuzu asked as he squeezed his fist. "You haven't done any lasting damage to me. I do admit that air shell attack was impressive-no one's been able to strip the Doton: Domu from me even temporarily before."

"You'll see what I can really do..." Hiashi said as he reactivated his Byakugan and glanced at Itachi and his clone which were easily decimating his battalion. If I could just neutralize the clone the rest of my troops could...wait a second...

From all around Hiashi then saw hundreds of White Zetsu converging on their location. Without the communication's to warn them the White Zetsu army made its move. Kakuzu smirked as he saw the look on the Hyuga leader's face.

"You do realize how screwed you are, right?" Kakuzu taunted. "Even if you somehow get the better of me and Itachi, there are hundreds of Zetsu in the area. You wouldn't be in any shape to fight them. Better to just resign yourself to your fate wouldn't you say?"

In response Hiashi charged right at Kakuzu. The Akatsuki bounty hunter focused his Doton: Domu again to engage him in a taijutsu battle. While Kakuzu had far more physical strength Hiashi was slightly faster and much more skilled even in his condition. He dodged and ducked each kick and punch and then slammed his palm several times into Kakuzu's stomach and chest to push him back and each time directly injected chakra into him. Kakuzu grunted as he skidded back and he stomped forward to headbutt Hiashi who charged chakra from his entire body and then spun and unleashed a Kaiten.

Kakuzu was buffeted by the rapidly spinning chakra vortex that Hiashi had created and was sent flying backwards. He managed to land on his feet but the Hyuga Leader was right on him and had taken another stance.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)," he uttered as blood dripped from his lip from the blows he had taken earlier. "Two palm!" he slammed his fingers right at Kakuzu's chakra points. "Four palm!" another barrage slammed into Kakuzu's chest. "Eight palms!" eight rapid fire pokes were unleashed right into Kakuzu's stomach. "Sixteen palms!" a barrage of sixteen blows hit Kakuzu's entire torso. "Thirty-two palms!" and then another barrage of thirty-two struck over Kakuzu's body. "Sixty-four palms!" And finally sixty-four simultaneous strikes hit Kakuzu and Hiashi finished the combo with a palm strike which sent chakra visibly bursting through his body.

Kakuzu staggered back from having endured those blows but the damage had been done. On his back...his Futon mask and his Doton mask suddenly cracked and shattered. Hiashi dropped to one knee, panting from the exertion after taking the damage from earlier on top of the combo and taijutsu fight. He focused but then the Akatsuki leader was already on him and grasped him by the neck.

"That was extremely impressive, two of my hearts at the same time. In truth the only time that happened before was with the Jinchuriki brat," Kakuzu said as he squeezed Hiashi's neck before he headbutted him with enough force to break the skin.

Hiashi panted as he felt the killing intent radiating from his opponent. With his Byakugan still active...in the distance he saw the ignition of black flames in the distance. Itachi had used Amaterasu either on the supplies or on the shinobi and civilians guarding them. Weakly Hiashi grasped Kakuzu's wrist and then sent a bolt of chakra through it. Kakuzu was forced to let go as his arm imploded from Hiashi's overload and ash and paper flew off it.

Hiashi charged chakra to his feet and used another shunshin to get into the main fray. He dodged the black flaming debris as he honed onto one of his targets. The Itachi he honed in on turned just in time to receive a palm strike in the chest. The Hyuga leader prayed it was the real Itachi...only for it to explode into crows right in front of him which all began scratching and pecking at him. He was then grabbed from behind and yanked back to Kakuzu.

"Now that was rude," Kakuzu said...his Raiton mask right in his palm and he pushed it point blank right at Hiashi's stomach. "Raiton: Gian (Lightning Release: False Darkness)."

And with that a bolt of lightning shot out of the mask right into and through Hiashi's body. The Hyuga Leader spat out blood as he was simultaneously impaled by the bolt and electrocuted. His body numbed and went limp. Kakuzu tossed him to the ground as the real Itachi appeared next to him with the White Zetsu's appearing from everywhere to finish off what little survivors of the rampage that were left.

"It looks like he gave you a bit of trouble," Itachi commented. "After all, he was able to destroy the clone I had created."

Hiashi felt his life fading but he couldn't die just yet. Weakly he reached up and gathered some of his own blood and he breathed in and out and drew a summoning seal on the ground, and then he drew another intricate fuinjutsu. His hand trembled as his vision started to cloud but he managed to focus what little chakra he had left into his hand and tapped both blood seals that he created before he lost all strength.

There...that is...done... Hiashi thought as the seals glowed. Hizashi...my beloved Hana...I'm...finally joining you... His eyes began to close slowly. Hinata...I should have been a much better father to you...I should have encouraged you...you've made me...just so proud... his breath began to slow as he felt cold extend through his body. Hanabi...you have so much promise...I'm just sorry I will never get to see it... Hiashi's heart stopped and he began to drift. And...Neji...I should have taken you in right after my brother's death...I could have quelled that anger of yours...a lot sooner than I did...but I'm...glad...you...moved...past...it...

And the life of Hyuga Hiashi fully ended there. Kakuzu reached down and felt his pulse and he smirked before lifting the Hyuga Leader's body up. Itachi frowned darkly as his comrade started to hum a bit, already thinking of the massive bounty that he was about to collect. With that the pair went their separate ways temporarily and the White Zetsu began their attack on the remaining members of the battalion and convoy with screams echoing through the area.

Allied Shinobi Headquarters, Kumogakure

Shikaku slammed his fist into the desk after he had watched on the sensor sphere what had just transpired. The ambush by two of the higher level Akatsuki members, Uchiha Itachi and Kakuzu had went off before any warning could be sounded. A had similar thoughts and he had smashed his desk so hard it shattered.

"Damn it, with the Hyuga Leader I thought we'd have a shinobi strong enough to guard those convoys!"

"...as strong as Hiashi-dono was, he wasn't an S-Rank ninja. He could have handled any White Zetsu that tried attacking but Itachi and Kakuzu are opponents beyond him," Shikaku said with a sigh. "True, he could have been called 'Kage-class' in life, but it'd be...a low one."

"If this keeps up I'll just have to guard the convoys then," A said with a snarl. "And I'd crush both of these idiots before they even knew what was coming!"

"...we have a more immediate concern now, Raikage-sama," Shikaku said calmly as he looked at the map and the sensor sphere. "The First Division needed those supplies."

"...I know. How much did Darui report they had lost in those last series of skirmishes and ambushes from the White Zetsu's?"

"More than they could afford to lose, that's for sure," Shikaku said as he mentally listed off everything. Nearly 5000 kunai and shuriken either shattered or broken in combat, over a thousand blades of all types rendered unusable, medical supplies dwindling from the repeated ambushes and skirmishes...

"We may have a bigger problem," Ao said from the sensor station. "I'm detecting a massive force moving across the ocean towards the First Division...

With that the sensor sphere swiveled to show the sea between Mountain's Graveyard and the Lightning Coast where the First Division was stationed. There were...tens of thousands of dots that appeared in perfect formation with some that had huge chakra levels. They were still too far away to determine what exactly they were however, but it was...

"...so far I've counted 30,000 White Zetsu total in that formation. It outnumbers the First Division nearly two to one," Ao said and a feeling of dread seemed to permeate through the room. "What's more, those gigantic chakra levels...the next battle will be extremely difficult."

A nodded and he stood up. "They are going to need as much help as they can. I'll head to back the First Division up personally."

"...as much as I don't like it, that would be the best bet," Shikaku said as he breathed out. "What about other locations? Has there been any change?"

"Gaara's Fourth Division has detected no activity at this time, they are still holding a defensive position," Ao reported. "Kakashi's Third Division is still engaged with the remaining Seven Swordsmen, despite being outnumbered the Swordsmen are being difficult to neutralize using guerrilla tactics. Kitsuchi's Second Division is holding steady and sending out patrols to deal with any White Zetsu that tries to enter their space. Mifune's Fifth Division has experienced little combat and has stretched itself in a holding pattern across Lightning, Frost, and Hotspring."

Shikaku began to rub the bridge of his nose. "I need to rethink the strategy then..."

Second Division, Land of Frost

There were several dozen sorties out around the Land of Frost now that were engaging the White Zetsus that had tried to infiltrate. Four to five man teams of the Second Division were sent out to either track or ambush their elusive enemy. In a very, heavily forested area Team Kurenai as well as Neji and Karui were engaged in battle with the White Zetsus.

Karui jumped and slashed as she charged electricity into her katana. "Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri (Cloud-Style Front Beheading)!"

And she slashed off a White Zetsu's head and it flew off into the air. Neji, now in a fresh uniform sidestepped each slash from the White Zetsu's swords that he was fighting with and his Byakugan warned him of an attack from behind. He ducked, slammed his palm once onto the White Zetsu's head that was attacking from behind before he kicked the other two into each other.

Kiba, now recovered from the injuries he had received in the first battle fought alongside Akamaru. He charged while on all fours and lengthened his fingernails into claws and he slashed into the White Zetsu's wooden armor and kicked them away as Akamaru caught one by the neck and immediately performed a Tsuga to tear it apart. They landed next to each other and Kiba smirked and flexed his hands for the next round.

Shino was idly commanding his swarm to attack the White Zetsu from a distance. Whenever one had gotten close, he tapped it and injected his nano-insects to eat it from the inside out. There were several piles of mush around him as his Kikai swarm attacked from above.

Hinata herself ducked and dodged wooden sword slashes from the White Zetsu's she was fighting and created a Rasengan in her right hand and a Rasenyari in her right. She spun and withdrew a finger to make the 'drill' around her forearm larger, sharper, and more penetrative. Hinata had learned to do this during a previous skirmish when a White Zetsu had merged and hidden itself in a rock formation. When Hinata withdrew more fingers, her Rasenyari became stronger and she used that to her advantage.

Wordlessly she and Neji jumped to cover each other's backs as the final group of Zetsu's appeared from the ground. Kiba jumped over them and dropped several blinding smoke bombs and both Hyuga jumped into the smoke. Hinata slammed her Rasengan into one of the Zetsus which sent it crashing into three more as Neji launched several Hakke Kusho blasts. After that assault, the few surviving Zetsus cut their losses and fled underground.

Kiba jumped. "We have them on the run! Damn, we kicked so much ass today guys!"

"Indeed, but this is just a skirmish and we caught them off guard," Shino said stoically as he pushed his glasses up.

"Still, feels good to see those white bastards running," Karui asserted as she cleaned her sword off and sheathed it on her back.

Neji was about to say something when he felt a burning sensation on his head. He stumbled back. "Damn it...what's going on with my seal...?!" He pulled off his headband and put his hand to his head after he removed the bandage from his forehead. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Neji-nii-san..." Hinata started as she pointed. "Your Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu (Hyuga Main Family Cursed Seal) is...is gone!"

Neji blinked rapidly as he went to find something to look at himself. Just as he was about to leave there was a puff of smoke at Hinata's feet and in its place was a scroll with her father's seal on it. Confused, she knelt down and lifted it up.

Dear Hinata,

...if you are reading this, that means I have passed on. I have made my preparations before this War has even started. I need you, Hanabi, and Neji to be strong for me since I won't be around for any longer...

I know this will be difficult, but...as of now Hinata, you are the 50th Generation Head of the Hyuga Clan. I know you will make me proud. The Hyuga Clan will emerge from this War with you leading it and it'll be stronger for it. Your kind heart, which I had...written off when you were younger is your biggest strength and it'll aid the entire Clan.

And as of now, Branch and Main family has no distinction. With my last act, I performed a jutsu which would remove the seals from Neji and our brothers and sisters of the Branch family will be freed from the curse which limited us. We are all one Clan now and are truly united...

I was hoping to see you more Hinata...was hoping to see more of your growth. I was hoping to see you get married...play with my grandchildren...but that is not to be. I will be watching over you...I love you Hinata. I know I don't say that enough, but I want you to know that.

Your beloved and proud father,

Hyuga Hiashi

Hinata looked up from the last letter Hiashi had sent her and tears were in her eyes. She felt her knees quake and she dropped to the ground as her teammates ran over. Hinata slowly began sobbing as she squeezed her hands into tight fists around the letter.

"Hinata! What...what's wrong?!" Kiba asked as he went to help her up.

"F-Father...he's gone...he's been killed," Hinata whispered as she gently put the scroll down. She breathed in and out a few times as she read her father's last letter again and again.

Shino put his hand on her shoulder as Hinata sobbed a few times, her vision blurred while the tears flooded her eyes. Hinata spent several moments sobbing and crying, near inconsolable by her teammates. She smashed the ground a few times with her fist until it began to get bloody and Hinata looked upwards.

Hinata then closed closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth a bit as she forced herself to stand up. She deliberately read the scroll once again and memorized its every word. Hinata rolled her father's scroll and attached a string around it before she slipped it right into her pack. She spent a few moments and collected herself as she wiped her eyes.

"I...I can grieve later," Hinata said as she breathed in slowly. "We still have a mission to complete."

"Are you sure Hinata?" Kiba asked. "We can..."

"I'm sure," Hinata cut him off as she reactivated her Byakugan. She closed her eyes and breathed out. "...please Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Neji-nii-san...we still need to finish. It'll help...clear my head."

"If you are sure, Hinata, lets move out," Shino said and he glanced at Neji. "And are you fine?"

"Yes...like Hinata-sama, I'll be fine in time," Neji said as he wrapped his headband around his forehead again. "Lets move out."

Shino, Kiba, and Karui nodded and they all leaped into the trees and headed towards their next location. Neji and Hinata were silent throughout the journey as they absorbed the information that Hiashi had died...the Branch Family had been abolished with the seal, and that Hinata was now the new Leader of the entire Hyuga Clan.

Konohagakure, Hyuga Clan Compound

While the War raged in the North against Akatsuki, in Konoha the rebuilding from Pain's gigantic Shinra Tensei was still in progress. At the Hyuga Compound which had been fully repaired in the wake of the Invasion had called an Emergency Meeting. The message that Hiashi had died, and abolished and destroyed the Clan's Juinjutsu had been just received. The young Hyuga Hanabi, only 12 years old now, was attending the meeting in her father's and sister's place. She had...been extremely shocked and saddened at her father's death in the War. Her cheeks were still stained with the tears of when she had found out.

"...as you have all found out," the head elder said as he addressed the council. "Hyuga Hiashi has passed and named Hyuga Hinata as the new Leader of our Clan. He also abolished our long established Main and Branch family system with the elimination of the Juinjutsu..."

"Is he mad?! What is Akatsuki wants the Byakugan during this war, there will be no assurance that our eyes will not fall into enemy hands!"

"We should immediately recall our people from the front lines so we can reapply the Seal to the Branch Family members!"

"Are you insane, we're in the middle of a War right now and we can't do that!"

"Another matter, Hinata-sama, despite her growth is still unable to lead us," another elder pointed out while he smoked a pipe. "Either Neji-if Hiashi-sama was planning on doing this, or Hanabi should have been named the leader given their superior ability."

Hanabi's eyes narrowed and she frowned. Onee-sama is stronger than you know you old fart! And its time to move forward, father made his decision!

"Right now, that isn't possible," the lead Elder said as he folded his hands. "With this War, it'd be impossible to bring our Clan Members back without looking bad to the rest of the Ninja World. For now, we'll...abide by Hiashi-sama's wishes."

"But sir!"

"Enough. This will be an evaluation of the changes that Hiashi-sama made. If they prove beneficial we'll keep them," he leaned forward. "If not, we'll begin making our changes."

All the Elders in the room nodded in agreement and Hanabi's eyes narrowed. The Council was dismissed and the youngest Hyuga Sister ran out as a few Elders began to confer amongst themselves.

Land of Lightning, Lightning Coast

The First Division was now gathered on the Lightning Coast and had built several fortifications to help stop incoming invasions. Black metal spikes had been constructed and the cliffs themselves had been remodeled into several walled tiers that had thousands of shinobi patrolling them. Darui leaned back and saw the waves crash against the beach where the black spikes extended into. Despite the shortages of supplies Darui wanted to be ready fully for the oncoming assault. He glanced back as what looked like a lightning bolt appeared and the Yondaime Raikage appeared and practically cratered the ground around him.

"Hey boss," Darui said with a wave. "We're just finishing our preparations. Even with the shortages we'll give a hell of a fight to Akatsuki when they come."

"There's no doubt you won't," A said as he rose from his crouching position. "The defenses look pretty solid."

"We're fully prepared to withstand and repel any assault, boss," Darui said as he walked with A to inspect the defenses. "And our people are ready."

A nodded and looked down the encampments to see the various shinobi of all Five Nations. Some were playing cards while they waited for their shifts, others were training in various jutsu styles, and some were just vigilantly watching over the sea. A bit further away, Tenko talked with Tenten and Akimichi Choza, the white haired Sage cracked a joke to keep their spirits up.

"...hard to keep laughing when supplies are so low," Tenten muttered as she checked her primary weapons scroll.

"Oh come on Tenten-san, don't you have more than enough in those scrolls?" Tenko asked and her eyes bugged out.

"A weapon specialist can never have enough!" Tenten yelled and shook him comically.

"Oookaaaay okay I get it!" Tenko insisted as he waved his arms around.

"Its alright Tenten-san, a good bit of humor is good before an upcoming battle, it cuts the tension," Choza said with a grin as he slammed the pommel of his staff onto the ground in emphasis.

"You're a veteran of the Third Shinobi World War, right Choza-sama?" Tenten asked as she dropped Tenko who was still dizzy at being shook so violently.

"Yes, my generation of Ino-Shika-Cho made its name during the Third Shinobi World War," Choza said as he looked over the sea. "We fought countless battles together against Iwagakure, each time getting by by the skin of our teeth. The most memorable battles were when we fought alongside Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash!"

"Isn't that the Yondaime Hokage?" Tenko asked and he rubbed his chin. "Not to mention Naruto's dad?"

"Yes, but for years I couldn't even tell on the latter," Choza said as he rubbed his cheek. "Minato was the strongest shinobi of all Five Nations, he repelled untold assaults from Iwagakure and even fought the Yondaime Raikage and Killer Bee-san several times over with the advantage every time."

"Wow," Tenko said with a grin.

"His legacy lives on in Naruto, not to mention his wife Kushina's," Choza said with a laugh. "I still remember the beatings she handed out to bullies back when we were all kids!"

Before Tenko and Tenten could ask more questions Darui and A had arrived at their location. All three of them immediately straightened up and stood at attention. The Raikage gave a nod to let them go at ease before he focused on Tenko himself.

"...rumor has it you're Jiraiya-sama's and Tsunade's son, is that true?" A asked him as he looked at the red lines under Tenko's eyes.

"Yes, that's true Raikage-sama!" Tenko replied and the huge Raikage nodded.

"Given that pedigree, I expect great things from you," A said and he patted the young Sage's shoulder.

"I won't let you down, Raikage-sama!"

"Good, good," A said as he glanced at the sea.

Before they could talk further an alert whistle was then sounded and several alarms went off to scramble the Division into battle readiness. Approximately ten kilometers from the coast, the Akatsuki force had appeared...nearly 30,000 White Zetsus. On top of dozens of high level Edo Tensei shinobi, including two with Kurama's chakra in their own, and...one with Gyuki's.

A immediately powered up, his Raiton no Yoroi flared around his body. "You heard the alerts, everyone to battle positions!"

"Yes Raikage-sama!" Tenten, Tenko, and Choza said before they leaped away.

The entire Division entered battle position and unsheathed swords from their backs and hips, pulled out kunai or other knives, or readied a volley of shuriken and Fuma Shuriken. The Medical Camps behind the front prepared for casualties as several shinobi used the Kage Bushin no Jutsu to increase their numbers. Darui took position next to A and glanced at the Raikage.

And then nearly five hundred meters from the coast the first White Zetsus poked through the waves with their Edo Tensei shinobi. The Battle of Lightning Coast will soon be joined!

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

Phew, first chapter done on the newest computer I've gotten. Now this chapter had two objectives: Hiashi's death and the set up for the next big battle arc. I hoped you enjoyed both. Hiashi I see as a changed father and person from what we saw from Part I when he was a bit of an ass, and Naruto is the reason of his change due to beating Neji in the Chunin Exams. Hope I made his death more meaningful by taking away the Cursed Seals from the Branch Members and abolishing the system so Hinata can lead it anew. Now I know this chapter is a bit shorter, but the next one will be a bit longer and even more action packed!