The Iwagakure ninjas were assembled near the Hokage Tower, readying themselves to complete their plan.
"Ready?" Kento looked at Isao who only nodded.
The black haired boy pulled out from his weapon pouch a bunch of explosive tags and prepared to set them in strategic spots.
"Tonight, you'll say bye-bye to this pathetic village, Lord Hokage." Isao muttered in a mocking tone while he launched the kunai with some other explosive tags attached to it.
The leader of the team made the signal and the aforementioned made a hand seal.
"Die." He smirked as he waited for the tags to explode, but he frowned when they didn't. "But what—?"
There was a girl standing over the big balcony at the tower. She stared down at them with a big smirk on her face. Hanako chuckled.
"Something must be wrong with your plan," she said, showing him the explosive tag she held in her hand. "To create a chain of explosives without wasting too much chakra you need to have a primer." She smirked evilly. Isao tightened his fists at her mocking tone. The rest of them only stared at her utterly confused.
"In what moment did she...?" Hanako concentrated her chakra in the hand she held the tag and it was slashed into two halves.
"I deactivated the explosion," she clarified. "The explosive tags are made of the paper from chakra bred trees. It reacts with the minimum sign of chakra, but generally it depends on the nature of the ninja. If I apply enough chakra, it will react to its nature leaving behind its explosive nature."
"So, that means you can also use wind?" Isao chuckled. "How fascinating!"
All the Iwagakure ninjas turned to look at him worriedly. They all knew about the info Shun had left them, but Isao was the only one who didn't want to believe it.
"Isao." His sensei hissed at him. "Do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Isao glared at him with narrowed eyes. He remembered it too well.
"I already told you it was a Jounin who caused that fire, there's no way this little brat could have done it." Hanako sighed when she heard him.
"I don't take Shun for the lying type—"
"He wasn't lying, just mistaken." Isao clarified.
"But he was right." Hanako butted in, calling the attention of the Iwa shinobi. "I was the one who caused that fire." She confirmed, taking in all the shocked expressions of the ninjas.
Hanako knew the moment she said it, there was no turning back. The Hokage had asked her to remain silent, but they had the right to know. All of them must've had a relative in that town that died on her fault. "If you're seeking revenge, I'm the one to blame not the Hokage nor the village." She tightened her hands into fists. Three Jounin and eight Genin with the strength of Chuunin, against one Genin. It wasn't going to be easy.
"I hate having you run from us like that." Hanako heard a voice say next to her, and she turned to find Shisui staring intently at the ninjas.
"I'm sorry," Hanako smiled softly. She was glad they had caught up to her. "I tend to be impulsive."
Shisui chuckled slightly upon hearing her. "Don't you think I already know that?" He looked at her for a moment. The rest of the team reached their location and pulled out their weapons.
"Oh? So you've brought backup, huh?" One of the Iwa Jounin murmured with a smirk. "Guess, we'll just have to kill you as well."
Hanako observed the ninjas in front of her. Everyone was in their stance, ready to fight; however, there was a certain Genin who called her attention. Isao looked back at her with an evil grin. "Last time we fought each other was in the Forest of Death," he said as he pulled a kunai from his pouch. "This time, I won't play around. I will use my full power with you. After seeing your match in the third test, I'm positive you can keep up with me."
Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she hissed through gritted teeth. Isao chuckled.
"Camouflage Jutsu," Hanako smirked.
"You do know that jutsu doesn't work on me right?" Hanako didn't have her Sharingan activated, but she could sense that Isao hadn't moved from his place. Then he laughed, and disappeared. Hanako widened her eyes as Kaichi was suddenly lifted from the ground and thrown against a wall.
"Kaichi!" Hyori called to him in a worried tone, rushing towards him. Hanako pressed her lips tightly. Isao had combined his speed with the camouflaging jutsu, making it harder for anyone to follow his movements.
"It may not work against you, Sharingan users, but I can't say the same about the rest of you," said Isao. Hanako cursed under her breath, looking sideways at Shisui. When he met her gaze, he nodded swiftly. Both Uchiha looked at Isao, and activated their Sharingan in sync.
Hanako concentrated her chakra on the soles of her feet and pushed herself back into the woods. She sensed a spark of chakra following her and moved away just in time to sense Isao moving past her. He had intended to stab her with a kunai using his supersonic speed, but she dodged. With a smirk, Hanako continued ahead in hopes he would follow her.
The Tsuchikage must have been a good distance away from the village at the time, so Hanako had to hurry so that she could catch up to him. Making sure she was a good distance away from the village, she made a seal with her hands and concentrated a big amount of chakra in her chest. "Fire Style: Majestic Fire Destruction!" Ever since Madara had taught her that jutsu, Hanako had preferred it over the normal Great Fireball because of its larger range. The Majestic Fire Destruction quickly covered her entire surroundings in the hot flames of the fire. Even the Konoha Genin had to find a place to protect themselves from the fire. Hanako jumped to the top of a tree to watch the flames burning brightly until they consumed everything in its wake. The sight brought memories to the girl.
Hanako walked through the dark passage of a cave with her Sharingan activated, careful not to trip over a loose rock. When she reached the end of the tunnel, she found herself in a spacious room. Madara was waiting for her. The room was so dark, Hanako barely managed to discern a bed in a faraway corner, and the wooden throne in which Madara was sitting. He had his eyes closed as he breathed deeply and rhythmically. Hanako wondered if he had been sleeping and decided to approach him. Close enough, Madara finally opened his eyes and looked up at her.
"You came," he said. Hanako stopped walking and tilted her head as he looked strangely at him.
"I thought you were sleeping," she commented curiously. He chuckled, shaking his head.
"When you sleep, there always has to be a part of you with your guard up, or else you might get killed while in Dreamland, young ninja."
Hanako rolled her eyes. "Aye, aye."
"Besides," Madara continued. "I sensed you coming from a mile away." To that, Hanako raised an eyebrow.
"You sensed me, you say? Are you a sensor?"
"I am, you should be able to tell. We sensors can easily identify those of our type."
"Type?" Hanako chuckled. "I'm sorry, does that make us the same type? Because I'm sorry old man, but I'm quite certain you're not my type."
Madara stared hard at her. "You're not funny, you know that?" Hanako clicked her tongue.
"You're not funny..." Hanako mimicked his voice in a mocking fashion. "Come on, Gramps. You have a sense of chakra but not a sense of humor?" She raised an eyebrow. She didn't get a response on Madara's part. At least verbally, instead she barely had time to dodge the big scythe coming towards her. "Jeez! Easy Gramps! You ought to be more careful while handling your cane!"
"Stop playing around." Madara's tone was final, making Hanako shut up at how authoritative he sounded.
"Hush...I can see life wasn't very nice to you," she muttered under her breath. Madara slowly stood up from his throne and walked towards her, with the support his scythe gave him. When he reached her side, he softly placed one of his calloused hands on her shoulders.
"Let's begin with the training," he said and Hanako nodded. Madara continued to walk past her, and she followed him closely until they reached a second area of the cave. Madara couldn't walk too far from the main room, he was still connected to the Gedou Statue.
Hanako observed the walls. There were numerous types of weapons hung up in exhibition, but only one managed to get her full attention. It looked like a big fan with three tomoes designed on its cover. She walked closer to it. "Is this yours?" she asked Madara as she grazed the fan with her fingers.
"Yeah, it's a Gunbai. Although it's understandable if you don't know what it is or what it does." Hanako inflated her cheeks as she looked away from him.
"Are you suggesting something?" Madara chuckled.
"Not at all. They rarely make weapons like this nowadays. Besides, a weapon like this one implies a lot of responsibility and power. You have to work more on your abilities if you ever want to use it." Hanako turned to look fully at the elder, with some difficulties since that room was darker than the previous one. "Let's start working in Ninjutsu," Madara said. "Do you have any other nature besides fire?"
"Wind," Hanako nodded. She didn't know any elemental techniques of the wind nature, however she knew she had an affinity towards it.
Madara's lips widened into a playful smirk. "I see..."
"Why don't we get started? Let's not miss your nap time, Madara-jii." The man chuckled menacingly.
"As you wish."
In seconds, Madara had made a series of hand seals which Hanako had trouble identifying even with her Sharingan activated. "Fire Style: Majestic Fire Destruction!" A big flame came out of Madara's mouth, which covered almost every corner of the cave. Hanako jumped and glued herself to the ceiling by concentrating her chakra on the soles of her feet. The fire jutsu had an amazing range of attack, she noted. It wasn't anything she had ever seen... it was majestic.
Hanako felt so drawn to the fire, it reminded her of the village she had burnt down. She hadn't noticed that her chakra had reacted protectively and surrounded her completely. It started taking the form of a skeleton, and it shined a bright green color. The rib cage enclosed her, and she realized it was keeping the fire away from her.
Hanako jumped from the ceiling and landed on the ground, the green chakra still covering her body. However, it disappeared when she suddenly felt a hurtful pressure inside her head. She fell on her knees, taking deep breaths until the pain finally receded. "What was that?" she croaked.
Madara walked in her direction. Hanako heard his slow and echoing steps as he approached. She slowly looked up at him, only to meet his playful eyes. "Are you sure you didn't understand what was carved on the stone?" he said in a mocking tone. "Because it appears to me that you did. I never thought that a brat like you could have awakened the Mangekyou." Hanako frowned.
Mangekyou? The hell is that?
"What are you talking about?" Hanako inquired, standing up slowly. She felt a little dazed, but she recovered quickly.
"You just resorted to using the Susano'o. That's a jutsu only an Uchiha who possesses the Mangekyou in both eyes can perform." Hanako narrowed her eyes.
"Ah...my head is starting to hurt again with all those names..." she muttered tiredly, rubbing the top of her head as if she were trying to alleviate the pain.
"The green chakra that protected you, that's the Susano'o." Madara explained with a sigh.
"And what's the other thing you mentioned? The Mangekyou..."
"Mangekyou." Madara was getting closer to exasperation. "It's the Sharingan's next evolution. Its power is explained in the Uchiha stone, but I'll talk to you about it some other time. Right now, I'm going to teach you fire techniques. Since fire is your first affinity, you'll be mastering them in no time."
The fire died down and the smoke started to dissipate. Hanako could still feel the chakras of the Iwagakure shinobi scattered in the forest. Her friends had engaged in combat with them. Isao's chakra was right behind her, and for a second Hanako almost didn't dodge his attack. He had pulled a kunai from his pouch and tried to stab her, but Hanako moved to the side just in time. He was still camouflaged to his surroundings, but she had no trouble perceiving his chakra. He might have been invisible, but even the smoke reacted to his fast movements. He moved his arm back and balled his hand into a fist. In a moment he aimed for Hanako's stomach, but she jumped away. Isao's fist collided with a tree trunk behind her, crushing the bark.
Hanako landed a few meters away from him, and observed him just as he undid his camouflaging technique and appeared visible once again. He gave her an annoyed look.
"That jutsu...so it really was you?" Hanako frowned. Was he finally accepting it was her? She didn't say anything as she watched him. He was breathing heavily, covering his face with his hands, and then he screamed in anger. "You stupid brat!" He looked at her with hatred filled eyes and launched towards her. Hanako moved again, watching as Isao went past her. He was so blinded by hatred that he wasn't able to think straight.
"It isn't fun...fighting you like this," Hanako muttered to herself as she kicked Isao to the side when he went to attack her again. He flew and crashed against another tree, breaking through the wood of the trunk. Without giving him a chance to stand up, Hanako hurried towards the spot where he landed and pushed him with her foot further into the ground, knocking him out in the process. She sighed. "Already done?" she smiled. "I can't believe I was afraid of you just one month ago."
"Where did you learn that fire jutsu?" Shisui asked. Hanako almost jumped at the sudden voice, but she just looked at him from over her shoulder with a plain expression. He was standing behind her, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She smiled.
"Are you done?"
"There are just a few of them left. I was worried about you, so I came—"
"There is nothing to worry about, I'm fine and done." Hanako turned towards Shisui, leaving Isao's unconscious body on the ground. Silently, Hanako was looking for the Tsuchikage's chakra. Shisui had said he should still be in the country, and not far away from them.
"And what will you do next?" Shisui narrowed his eyes at her. He already knew her by heart, and he was sure Hanako was already planning her next move. He just hoped she wasn't thinking about taking the Tsuchikage on her own.
Hanako didn't say anything, just shrugged. Before Shisui could stop her, she jumped away from him and hurried towards a group of people she sensed heading to the border. Shisui widened his eyes and tried to follow her, but he was interrupted by another shinobi from Iwagakure. He clicked his tongue and unsheathed his sword.
* * *
The Tsuchikage was on in his palanquin as he was being transported by four of his ninjas. It would be at least a five-day journey to get to Iwagakure but in less than twenty-four hours they would be crossing the border and getting out of the Fire Country. The old man closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He still thought about the match between the Senju and the Uchiha, that had brought back to him long gone memories. A battle between the members of the clans which were once known as the most powerful in the shinobi world.
"Hanako Uchiha, huh?" The man opened his eyes. "She reminds me a lot of that man." The Kage frowned. Suddenly, he felt a wave of chakra from behind and his lips tilted into a smirk. He activated his jutsu and flew out of his carriage. All the ninjas stared at him curiously.
"Lord Tsuchikage!" The old man started making hand seals.
"It looks like we've been followed." He commented with an amused grin. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!" From the ground a giant earth wall emerged that covered them from a fire jutsu that came towards them. The fire collided with the wall and cracked it due to its heat. After the fire dissipated, the earth wall crumbled down to the ground, turning into dust. "I'm surprised you managed to follow us here." He commented in a mocking voice. "For a child, you have guts."
Hanako chuckled at this and walked out from among the trees. "I should say it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lord Tsuchikage," she said with a fake smile until her frame became serious. "But unfortunately, that's not the case."
All the present ninja widened their eyes and got into a fighting stance. The old man crossed his arms over his chest and looked sternly at the girl for a moment. "You remind of someone I fought a long time ago." Hanako frowned.
"I don't care about the stories an old geezer like you might want to tell." She pulled a kunai from her weapon pouch. "The only thing I care about is for you to teach your shinobi to not play with fire unless they want to get burned."
The Tsuchikage raised a curious eyebrow at her. "Oh, yeah? How's that?"
"You told your ninjas to attack the Hokage mansion." Hanako narrowed her eyes at the flying man. "I thought the war was over and that you had signed a peace treaty." The Tsuchikage laughed at that.
"I don't see why a brat like you should be worried about internal relationships between the two villages. Leave this to the adults to deal with." The old man turned his back to her and started heading back to his carriage. "Go home."
Hanako tightened her hold on her kunai and bit her lip. She observed the Kage and before he got in his carriage, she launched the kunai at him, grazing his cheek. Time stopped. Everyone started at the old man. The Iwa ninjas were surprised for what had happened while Hanako only smirked. She felt somewhat proud for what she had managed to do. The Tsuchikage slowly turned to her.
"Girl..." he mumbled lowly. "Do you have any idea of who I am?" He inquired in a dark voice. The girl raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. "I am the Third Tsuchikage, the fearful Oonoki of Both Scales."
* * *
Shisui dodged all the attacks that were directed towards him and jumped away from the Iwa ninja, his eyes never leaving the spot in which the brunette disappeared in. He thought about following her, forgetting for a moment that he was still amidst a battle. A ninja had sneaked onto his back and was ready to strike before another one countered him and knocked him out cold. Shisui only heard the sound of a body falling stiffly on the ground, and he turned to find Itachi standing right behind him with a kunai in his hand and a shinobi lying at his feet.
"Thanks..." He muttered slightly embarrassed guessing what had just happened. He had let down his guard.
"No problem." Itachi just shrugged. "I'm used to watching your back."
"Don't get too cocky with me Itachi." Shisui muttered under his breath getting slightly offended at his comment but forgot about it too quickly. He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not like you have to do it all the time." Itachi looked at him amused.
"Don't I though?" He commented before looking around as if he were looking for something. "Where's Hanako?" He finally asked.
"She went after the Tsuchikage." Shisui said as he massaged the sides of his head trying to alleviate his imminent headache. "I swear... One day that girl is going to cause me a heart attack." Itachi widened his eyes. Hanako had gone after the Tsuchikage...alone?! He was about to respond but another voice interrupted him.
"I'm getting tired of you!" Right after that both Uchiha felt a prominent amount of chakra being molded. "Wood Style: Wood Trap!" Hyori's wooden ropes tied all the Iwa ninja together.
"Phew..." Shisui whistled. "I'd never seen a Wood Style user in action."
"Nice." Itachi smirked. Hyori blushed at this but turned away before anyone could notice.
"It was nothing..." Shisui noticed her action and started chuckling gaining the younger Uchiha's attention.
"What's so funny?" Shisui cleared his throat as he ceased his chuckling. He then shook his head as if nothing had happened.
"I'll just, go ahead and look for Hanako. Catch up with me okay?" He said before he disappeared into thin air.
* * *
"Oonoki of Both Scales?" The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of it." The old man started laughing.
"Of course not. How can a girl like you possibly know about me?" The Tsuchikage turned himself to look fully at the girl. "But don't worry." He added with a dark voice. "I'll just show you why I'm so feared." The man brought his hands together. Hanako narrowed her eyes when she felt him mold a great amount of chakra and took a couple steps back, waiting for his attack.
Suddenly her eyes widened when with her Sharingan she was able to see the amount of chakra the man was focusing on his hands. When he pulled them apart, his chakra transformed into a cube with a white sphere inside. The chakra was too shiny and intense, but it wasn't a reason for Hanako to look away from it. She gulped. All the Iwa shinobi stepped back utterly terrified. Onoki just smirked.
"It's over." He mused. In a second the cube disappeared from his hands and was now surrounding the brunette. Hanako widened her eyes even more now.
"What?!" She checked all the surrounding space. There was no escape.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" The white sphere exploded, turning into dust everything inside the cube before it disappeared. The Tsuchikage smirked, believing that it was over now. He turned around, ready to head back to his carriage when he heard a voice that froze him on his spot.
"That was close." His eyes widened at the voice. He turned around to find Shisui Uchiha standing there with the girl in his arms. "Sorry for being late." He said.
Hanako struggled in his arms and opened her eyes to look up at him. "Shi-shisui?" She then looked around; he had saved her from being pulverized. "Thank you."
Shisui simply nodded, putting her down. They both looked up at the Tsuchikage with determined eyes. He just chuckled.
"Shisui of the Body Flicker, the name does suit you." The Tsuchikage commented as he started turning the surrounding earth into shuriken, "However, I'm not done yet." He made a hand seal. "Earth Style: Earth Shuriken!"
There were thousands of earth shuriken heading at high speed toward them. Shisui, upon noticing this, hurried and covered the girl with his body, waiting for the impact of the countless weapons. Although it never came.
"Wha—! What is that?!" All the ninja accompanying the Tsuchikage yelled terrified. The black haired Uchiha pulled away and looked up, his eyes widening when he took in the skeletal figure that surrounded them. He then turned to look at Hanako and was surprised when he noticed her panting, but that wasn't even close to the surprise he had when he stared at her eyes.
"Hanako...you?" She smirked.
"This is...Susano'o." Or at least that's how Madara had called it, she thought. The ninja started attacking on a rampage, but all of their attacks were repelled by her Susano'o.
"Stop the attack!" Oonoki ordered. Everyone complied without remark. "This isn't the first time I see this jutsu. No matter what kind of attack you use, the Susano'o is an absolute defense." The man said as he focused his sight on the Uchiha girl.
"Why are you attacking us?! Why did you kill my father?!" Hanako screamed at the top of her lungs. She came all this way for answers, and she would get them. Oonoki observed her for a minute before he slowly descended to firm ground.
"Someone from Konoha sent us a warning of a team wanting to take back what was theirs. I supposed that was your father's team."
Hanako felt her eyes widen at his words. Someone alerted them?! My father said it was a secret mission, who did it?
"Perhaps someone held a grudge against him and betrayed him," Oonoki snarled. "Konoha shinobi might brag all they want about their camaraderie, but in the end we all know they're worth nothing."
Hanako wasn't listening to him anymore. Her mind was filled with more doubt than before. Someone else had betrayed her father, someone from the village she was protecting. What was she protecting then?
Her eyes burned once again and tears filled her sockets. The intimidating form of the Susano'o faded and Hanako fell to her knees.
"Your eyes, that look in them. You resemble him a lot." Oonoki dragged her attention back to him. "We will retreat, and we won't attack Konoha in the near future." He marched in the opposite direction to them.
"Wait..." Hanako, regardless of her exhaustion and all the chakra she had used, stood up. "Who are you talking about? Who do I remind you of?"
Oonoki stared at her. "Madara Uchiha." Hanako's eyes widened. Her mind wandered back to the old man she had met in that dark cave. Susano'o vanished.
"You know him?" she asked.
"It was a long time ago." The old man replied. "I suppose the situation within the Uchiha Clan is already tense enough. I don't see the reason why make an enemy out of you. However, it was interesting watching your fight. We'll meet again, Hanako Uchiha." And with that he left, followed by his ninjas.
Hanako watched the man as he walked away. His words still lingered in her mind. "I suppose the situation within the Uchiha Clan already tense enough." What did he mean by that? What situation?
She fell to her knees again, not having the strength to stand anymore. Looks like this is my limit... She smiled slightly when she saw Shisui hurrying towards her, and behind him the rest of the team running in their direction.
"I'm sorry, Shisui..." she muttered barely audibly before she was consumed by darkness.