Hinata's silver eyes told her that the barrier containing her and Kabuto was much larger than the one trapping Sakura with the remaining Sound Four shinobi. She doubted it was a mistake on the part of Sakon or Ukon; she decided it must be deliberate. What she was not sure of, was why Kabuto was given more room than his three juniors.
Since the barrier had ascended, Hinata had not made an aggressive moves. Yakushi had thrown some kunai at her, to test her focus, but she simply blocked the knives without changing her expression, or her careful observation of him. Her behavior had started to grate on the renegade medic, and when he noticed her glancing at his replacement limb, he thought he understood her interest.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kabuto asked angrily, "Is it the new arm?"
"It doesn't look like a graft," Hinata noted warily, "Your skin and even bones are unmarked, as if you had never replaced your arm in the first place. I'm not a medical expert, but I would not have thought that was possible, especially since Naruto reported you cauterized the wound so you could escape."
"This might not be possible for medical shinobi bound by the restrictions the Leaf imposes," he agreed, "But between my medical jutsu, and Orochimaru's necromantic skills, we were able to regenerate my arm."
"You used Naruto's blood, didn't you?" she prompted dangerously, thinking she recognized a lingering aura around the appendage.
"He left enough of it on my clothes," Kabuto tried to pretend her insight did not rattle him, "But that was only a small part of the overall jutsu."
He formed a set of chakra scalpels in his left hand, to show that the arm was fully functional. He darted towards Hinata swinging horizontally with the three surgical blades, but she avoided him easily. He stabbed and slashed with speed and precision, and still she fluidly slid around his attacks. The Hyuga heiress hopped back, still watching him as she had before, to his continued annoyance. She continued to dodge his strikes without countering, while still studying his face with her silver eyes. As he started to prepare a water jutsu, Hinata suddenly spoke.
"Why did you do it?" she asked softly, as if afraid of the answer.
"Do what? Betray the Leaf?" he stopped, confused.
"No, I know that your loyalty was never with us," she shook her head, and placed her right hand over her left breast protectively, "Why did you help me?"
Understanding dawned on him, and he smiled darkly.
"You were already a wanted traitor, and you were preparing to invade the Konohagakure," she continued quickly, "So why would you take the time to help one injured girl, when your plans should have killed her anyway?"
"You weren't just 'injured'," he informed her smugly, "You were dying. If I hadn't interceded, you would have been dead in a week, ten days at most, invasion or not."
"Why?" tears of frustration formed around the bottom of her still metallic eyes, "I don't think it was compassion, not after everything I've seen and heard of you. Was it some part of your plans? Were you going to use me in some way?"
"Don't flatter yourself," he barked a laugh, "What possible use could we have had for you? You're a third rate ninja, and your father favors your sister."
"Was it for your experiments?" she pressed, "Last year, you told Naruto you wanted to study my eyes."
"That was a spur of the moment impulse," he shrugged.
"Then why?" she demanded. Though her outburst amused him, a small part of him was also unsettled.
"The truth?" he said seriously, his eyes hidden by the sheen of his glasses, "It was for my pride. There you were, the first daughter of the vaunted Hyuga clan. And even though the best and brightest of the Leaf Ninja Medical Corps had had over a month to fix you up, all they could do was delay the inevitable. And in five minutes, I was able to diagnose and repair the damage Neji did to your heart. I wanted to show them how weak and ineffectual they were. I helped you, to prove that I was superior. That's all."
Hinata was not sure how to react. For all her fears and worries, in the end she was just an incidental pawn in Kabuto's boasting. The pale beauty felt relief, anger, and sadness, all at once. Instead she just smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you for telling me," she said earnestly. Then her face turned stern, the hesitation drained away and her silver eyes narrowed.
"Shall we continue?" she asked. She dropped into her fighting stance, and darted forward, slipping past his waiting blades, and tagging his left hip. She continued past him, and drove her Gentle Fist laced fingers into his back, just above his right kidney. Pain flooded his lower back, but Kabuto ignored it as turn to face her. Before he could attack again, Hinata hit his right arm, disrupting the chakra scalpels he was maintaining.
'She's fast,' he thought anxiously, 'maybe even faster than Orochimaru is now.'
Kabuto dropped low, and aimed a heel kick at her knee. As he hoped, she jumped back, giving him the time he needed.
"Inu, Tatsu," he signed quickly, knowing he had only bought himself a few heartbeats, "Medical Art: Ki Line Jutsu."
He brought his left hand to his left hip, back, and right wrist, restoring the damage Hinata had done to his chakra network. While the young woman recovered from the dodge, she observed the technique. It was not as quick as the Chakra Pulse, and required him to manually restore each individual tenketsu, instead of just fixing the entire network. But it also required less energy to use.
Kabuto did not wait, but began signing again, as he had before she interrupted him with her queries.
"Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Ushi, I, Suiton: Fire Hose Jutsu," he intoned, firing the dense column of water at Hinata. As the liquid raced towards her, the Tokujo extended her arms and spun her body around.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin, "she countered, and the expanding dome broke apart the stream, though some of the liquid still passed through the barrier, soaking her. Kabuto kept up the pressure, drawing back in some of the water she had deflected, and pulling more out of the air and ground. Hinata continued spinning the chakra around her, disrupting the power of the attack. Finally Kabuto quit, but he was already signing again.
"Doton: Mud Cephalopod Jutsu," he slammed his palm into the ground. The mud created by his previous jutsu began to writhe towards Hinata, forming into the tentacles of a squid.
"Fireball Jutsu," she quick spit flames onto the ground in front of her, evaporating the water and partially drying herself with the backlash heat. Kabuto's jutsu fell apart, no longer having the liquid to sustain itself. Hinata straightened, her uniform still clinging to her curvaceous body in places. Kabuto regarded her with a new look of respect, and an unhealthy dose of lust.
'Is this really the same girl who quaked in fear at Neji's words?' he wondered, trying to tell himself that he wasn't worried. Then Hinata's eyes widened, and her head shifted so that she was looking past him. She charged forward, but her course wouldn't take her anywhere near him.
"Sakura!" Hinata cried out in fear, and then bit her thumb, spreading the blood to each finger tip. The pale kunoichi stopped just short of the Shishienjin, and slammed her palm into the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!" she incanted, and Sol and Luné appeared on the far side of the barrier.
"Help Sakura," she ordered them quickly, before turning to face the approaching Kabuto. The two squirrels drew their kunai shaped shortswords from under their sashes, and loped towards the closest Human, an overweight shinobi with a mohawk.
"That was dangerous," he told her, "turning your back on me to interfere with another fight."
"I never turn my back on anyone," she countered simply, "And I had to help my teammate."
"Suiton: Water Slice," he gestured downwards, and some of the remaining water became an extended blade around his right arm, cutting towards the young woman. She sidestepped easily, and also avoided the return strike.
'He is trying to kill me,' Hinata noted, surprised Kabuto would disobey Orochimaru.
"Doton: Stone Claws Jutsu," she countered, rocky talons erupting from the ground to grab at the renegade medic. For in instant, she appeared to have snared him. But then Kabuto vanished in a puff of smoke, and her jutsu was trapping a medium sized chunk of granite. Her opponent appeared on the far side of the enclosure. He threw a pair of real scalpels at her, and she deflected them with Ginmaki before racing towards him.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," she proclaimed, and dropped her hand back for the clone. A mass of light blue chakra swirled above her palm, slowly taking shape. The duplicate woman's hands started darting in, adding purple lightning chakra to the mix.
'It's like Naruto did, when we fought over Tsunade,' he recognize, the muscles in his chest clenching in memory of the pain, 'but not. It is different, stronger. I can't let her hit me with that.'
"Raiton: Rasengan," Hinata intoned, as the clone disappeared. She thrust the sphere towards Kabuto, who began frantically signing.
"Ninja Art: Energy Net Jutsu," he called out with a hint of desperation. A new barrier of condensed chakra appeared between them, taking on the form of a web of crisscrossed lines of green lightning. Sparks showered both of them as green lightning and purple lightning clashed. As it was designed to do, the Energy Net pulled off bits of the chakra in the Rasengan, channeling them away. But Hinata's technique was more powerful, and though the orb of swirling lightning was weakened, it still tore through Kabuto's defense. Watching his end approach, Kabuto placed his hands together in the same gesture Hinata had used earlier.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the renegade shouted, and seven copies appeared in the rapidly diminishing distance between himself and Naruto's fiancé. They threw themselves at her recklessly, grabbing for her arms and body to slow her down, or even just standing in the path of her upgraded version of the Fourth Hokage's jutsu. She struck at the clones with her free hand, destroying the ones who tried to slow her. And the Raiton: Rasengan took care of the suicidal copies.
But by the time she was done, the real Kabuto had escaped, moving behind her, and was preparing more scalpels. The solid surgical knives were easier and more stable for throwing than the chakra versions, if not as sharp, and he fired four of them at the teen. Hinata dismissed the Rasengan, not wanting to waste energy charging him with it again. In the same move, she stopped his attacks with Ginmaki again. But his projectiles were a distraction, as he readied his next technique.
Kabuto sliced open his thumbs, spreading a line of blood down each of his forearms. He began to sign quickly, and then slammed both palms into the ground. As he did, Hinata suddenly understood why their cage was so much larger.
Yakushi now stood on the one of the two heads of a giant snake. Though partially coiled, the reptile would have been just over eighty meters long if fully extended. Its left head lifted a little higher so it could look at Human standing on its right skull.
"Kabuto," the snake's two voices rumbled neutrally, and in unison.
"Keishi," the medic inclined his head slightly.
"Why am I summoned?" the beast asked.
"I am tasked with capturing this young woman," Kabuto answered formally, "And I request your assistance in incapacitating her."
"Are you having trouble with one little girl?" the snake seemed amused.
"She is heir to one of the legendary Dojutsu," the summoner answered, "and there is much more to her than her appearance suggests."
"We shall see," the scaled behemoth agreed. He started to lean down towards Hinata, when something else drew their attention.
"Back off, jerks!" a distinctly feminine voice ordered from outside the Shishienjin. Hinata felt the voice reminded her of hearing Naruto speak, and Kabuto and Keishi also turned to look. The woman who had shouted was standing between Naruto and four other figures. The kunoichi wore a tight, short dress-style shozoku, exhibiting her fine figure. She had white spandex shorts underneath to preserve her modesty. She had shimmering cyan hair hanging to the middle of her back, and though Hinata could not see the other woman's eyes, she knew what color they would be. She held a sword in her right hand, and assumed a defensive position in front of Naruto.
"We won't let you lay one finger on our son," another other figure agreed. Hinata's eyes went wide. Naruto's other defender had dark blonde hair, spiky on top and longer on the back and sides. He wore a long white coat, with a line of flames around the bottom.
"No way," Hinata gasped in amazement, "That's..."
"Is this true, Kabuto?" Keishi rumbled.
"I have no idea," the scarred traitor answered.
"If it is... That knowledge..." the snake trailed off twice before returning his attention back to Hinata, "That is for another time."
Hinata saw the snake dart forward to swallow her, and she flash stepped to the side.
"Quick and attentive," Keishi noted.
"She can see all around her with the Byakugan," Kabuto warned his ride.
"Of course," Keishi's unoccupied head nodded, "I remember now. I was still somewhat distracted."
Hinata dodged the next bite, growing worried.
'I doubt my Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams techniques, or even the Raiton: Rasengan, would penetrate that reptile's armored scales,' she considered her repertoire, 'The Odama Raiton Rasengan is probably too slow, and if it missed I would have spent to much chakra to fight effectively. And even if I summon them, none of the ninja squirrels are large enough to fight a snake this size.'
She was knocked aside, as a tandem attack by the two heads limited her avoidance options, allowing the left head to brush her as it passed.
'Summoning,' she thought, as she rolled back to her feet, 'I really shouldn't... But I can't think of any other options at this point. I just hope she will forgive me.'
She dove forward and to the side, evading the next attack while avoiding the deadly barrier. Hinata reached into her shozoku, and pulled out the medallion she now wore as a matter of course. It had been modified and embellished to hide its origins from those who might still seek it. She placed her fingers on the five points in the back, connecting to chakra sealed within.
"I'm sorry, but I'm in a pinch," she said aloud, "Will you help me?"
She heard the answer in her mind, and channeled a measure of additional chakra into the talisman to forge a path. There was a small explosion next to her, and a domesticated feline appeared, quite large for her breed.
"I think your squirrels might have been a better choice," Kabuto mocked her. Then his eyes widened when he noticed both of the cat's twin tails whipping back and forth angrily.
"It... it can't be..." he stuttered.
'Ni-ne,' Hinata addressed the gentle demon through the amulet, 'I would never ask you to hurt a Human, but how would you feel about playing with a snake?'
'I used to love hunting garter snakes, before...' the Bijuu trailed off sadly, then did her best approximation of a Human shrug and continued, 'But I haven't have much of a chance since I changed. It could be fun to try it again.'
Hinata felt the predator's instinct rising in the cat, and wondered if she had made a mistake in tempting the sealed demon. But then Ni-ne looked up at her.
'I don't have to kill the snake, right?' the Tailed beast asked, unbidden, 'Can I just pin it and bat its head until it passes out?'
'You don't have to kill the snake,' Hinata reassured the cat, 'But I should warn you that the barrier will burn anything it touches. I don't know what it will do to you, but it will kill the snake.'
'I'll be careful.'
Hinata altered her chakra connection to the amulet, visualizing turning up a faucet in her mind. She unleashed seventy percent of the demon's sealed power. Ni-ne's fur instantly went from blue-grey to cobalt blue, flickering with flames. The Bijuu also began to grow quickly; after only half of a minute, she was almost back to full size. Between the giant reptile and the giant feline, the previously expansive box started to feel a little cramped.
"This must be a genjutsu," Kabuto yelled, but there was no certainty in his voice. He placed one hand on the constrictor's skull, and the other before his face, and incanted, "Release!"
The Two-Tails did not change or vanish, and the cat started to stalk forwards. Keishi slithered back as far as he could, with a look of unconditional terror. Kabuto shared the snake's expression, and jumped off his summoned ally's head, as the feline tensed to pounce. He landed closer to Hinata than he had expected, and transferred his fear and anger to the younger woman.
"How are you doing this?" Kabuto snarled anxiously, "Is it those repulsive blank eyes, like how the Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails?"
Hinata looked mildly taken aback by the insult, but she recovered and shook her head. Then her eyes widened in surprise, and she ducked. Kabuto followed suit, barely in time, as the two-headed snake's tail whipped over them.
"Why should I tell you anything about the Two-Tails?" she countered as both recovered, "All you need to know is that Madara made the mistake of sending her to attack me, and now she is mine."
She kept her face fierce, hoping he was convinced. To help sell the bluff, and keep him from thinking about it too much, Hinata quickly formed a Rasengan in each hand, and charged him. He jumped backwards, briefly putting the snake's bulk between them. Hinata dropped the ninjutsu to try to vault over Keishi, but the constrictor slithered away, trying to escape the demon.
Ni-ne sprang lightly over the humans, and as she landed caught the snake's right neck gently in her mouth, and forced it the the ground. If snakes could cry, Keishi would have been sobbing as the Two-Tails lifted her left, front paw to strike his other head. So great was his alarm, that the summoned reptile failed to notice the demon's claws were retracted, and he was not getting burned.
"I'm sorry, Kabuto," the snake dropped his formal speech, "but I'm just not equipped fight one of the Bijuu. You're on your own."
With that Keishi reversed the summon, and disappeared with giant burst of smoke.
"That traitor," Kabuto's ironic rage was short-lived, as the Two-Tails cat demon turned to face the two Humans. The giant feline licked her lips, and Kabuto backed away, his mind racing down paths of action that always came to a dead end...