Mari Makinami
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Chapter 7. Avenger
Using that little amount of chakra she had regenerated while she was asleep, Hinata activated her Byakugan to check her chakra system and tenketsu, only to confirm what she said just a moment ago.
She was dying.
For some reason, the realization of this fact didn't make the Hyūga girl any afraid or even nervous at all.
In fact, the girl felt nothing.
A void.
Perhaps she always knew that she'd end up like... Like this. Betrayed by the only person person from her clan about who she could still say that she actually trusted him.
It was true. She did. After all, this man basically raised her, protected her with his life for so many years...
This very man that has just killed her.
So that was her father's decision... To eradicate her. Her former guardian had little choice but to obey Hiashi's orders. But...
There was no regret in his eyes.
He wanted this.
He,of all people, ...
There was no way out now, she was dead. A walking corpse.
But apparently her damned father didn't want to make it any easier for her... Even in her agony, Hinata would know how worthless she was, being betrayed by every person she ever loved.
Although apparently Sasuke wasn't as calm about what was happening there as she was.
She gazed at the Uchiha, her eyes filled with detachment and aloofness, as he yelled in rage like she'd never seen him do before:
"No! Shut up, you idiot! How does it work?! Tell me, you ****er!" He kicked Kō in the face, making the man fall down to the dark green carpet, only to grab him like a doll again a second later, the Rinnegan eye dangerously glowing.
Was he reading his memories now just like he did with her at the very beginning of their short journey?..
But then the Uchiha suddenly frowned.
And it was... Weird. Despite her own condition, she was enchanted by the changes on his face as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, Kō's chakra becoming disrupted a second later.
He was using a genjutsu on her executioner. A very strong one.
And after the lessons they had together, she well knew what exactly it was...
She recalled the conversation they had a few weeks ago.
"Listen... I understand that you treasure the secrets of your clan deeply, even though you don't know much. And I respect it, even though by no means I respect your clan itself. Because my own clan is not any different. Which is why I'm not going to ask you anything about your Byakugan that you don't want to share. But considering that I'm probably the last Uchiha alive, you need to learn a little about my abilities, since we're going to work as a tag-team for quite some time."
She lowered her eyes to the grass and hemmed.
"As if it's any trouble for you to read my memories with that left eye of yours... And get all the secrets without my permission."
"Yeah, that's exactly my point. But there are two things that stop me from doing so."
She eyed him again with curiosity, though not saying anything in response, letting him continue if he pleased to do so.
"First, like I said – I respect your privacy and traditions you were raised along with. And second... I'm not really interested unless it involves your training. Make no mistake: Hyūga are no match for Uchiha, and even if it was any different, your secrets would be useless to any of us, since we would never want to change our dōjutsu for Byakugan."
The girl smiled, shaking her head a little. Not that it wasn't justified, but Sasuke was pretty prideful of his lineage, as far as she noticed. And she sort of agreed with him about the whole secrecy issue of her clan. It was totally unnecessary to be at such extent, because compared with the power hidden behind Sharingan, Byakugan was nothing interesting at all.
Well, at least in her opinion.
Frowning at her reaction a bit, he continued:
"Anyway, I'm prtty sure you are already familiar with base Sharingan abilities, since the descriptions of them in the books of Konoha's library are pretty detailed, so we're gonna skip this part." She nodded, agreeing. Every Chuunin read about them at least once... Well, those of their generation and their predecessors most certainly did.
"Mangekyō Sharingan, however, is a different story. It gives me three basic abilities – you've already seen some of them, the first one being Enton manipulation: it is more commonly known as Amaterasu. With my left eye, I'm able to summon black flames, and with my right one I can manipulate their shape and magnitude. They are extremely hot, and they can't be extinguished in any ordinary way. I can do it with my right eye, and I think there might be some complex seal that can manage it as well... But that's about it. That's why you should never, ever let it touch you. Once you got caught, you are dead. Remember it for good."
She didn't understand why he told her this. It's not like there was any other wielder of this doujutsu around, was he considering killing her?.. Or he was afraid that she might get hit by collateral damage?..
Yes, that had to be it.
Not only that, but she also desperately wanted to ask him how exactly the Sharingan evolved into Mangekyō... But the girl assumed that it was one of his clan's secrets he wouldn't like to reveal to her.
"The other ability is Susanō. It's my chakra manifestation that serves both as offensive and defensive. Depending on my current condition and the amount of chakra I have at the moment, it can be like his," A few purple, barely notable ribs formed of chakra appeared around his body, "Or like the form you've seen during the war." He turned the jutsu off. "It also gives me the ability to fly with it's wings if I need it. And one more thing about it... I didn't know that it was possible, but my ancestor, Madara, has used Susanō without actually having his eyes in his skull, so I suspect that in theory I could do it as well. This information might turn to be useful in future, because anything can happen in our world."
She gasped in awe, remembering how the Uchiha was able to cover the whole Naruto's giant chakra avatar when they took Obito down... With the Susanō sword delivering the deciding blow.
And with such abilities, along with his immense chakra reserves, skill and intelligence... Her new teacher was incredibly, absolutely impossibly strong even with his Sharingan alone.
She was afraid to imagine what he was capable of now that he had Rinnegan as well...
"And the last ability is the one I never used properly, so I want to train it, too. Tsukuyomi. Yeah, it's the weaker version of that jutsu Madara performed on the whole world." He said, seeing as the girl flinched when she heard the familiar name. "Using my right eye's power, I can draw anyone into the world of illusions where time flows differently: I may torture you for a week in there, and only a few seconds will pass here in our reality. It's very useful both for fighting and training: imagine reading a book in there for the whole day, getting all the information you need in just a split second? Sounds good enough, isn't it?" He smirked, seeing as she smiled, apparently finally understanding where he was leading this little lecture to.
"Y-Yes... I wasn't aware of something like that even existing..." She muttered, stuttering a little, but this time more because of the impression his idea left on her than anything else.
The man was truly genius.
"No wonder. The Uchiha clan has it's secrets, too. But anyway... Let's get started."
She gasped again, meeting the beautiful pattern of his Mangekyō, only to see the sky becoming bloody red a second later.
Sasuke used Tsukuyomi on Kō. Right after he read his memories.
But then something incomprehensible to everyone in the room happened.
After a few seconds of holding the eye contact with Kō, before the second man started yelling, suffering terrible phantom pain, a single tear came from Sasuke's eye, slowly flowing down his face.
The Uchiha was... Crying?
Why?
Because she was doomed?
Hinata doubted it. Even though their relationship was... Decent, considering what a complicated person he was, the girl knew that she shouldn't hold any delusions.
She wasn't dear to him. She wasn't his lover, his friend... Even his teammate.
Merely a failure of an apprentice. A piece of trash that he for some reason decided to give some pity.
And Sasuke wasn't the type of person to cry, at least not like this, not in public.
No, her upcoming death couldn't affect him that deeply. It had to be something else. Something he saw in Kō's memories...
Perhaps the fact that he realized who Kō was to her? The shocking realization of his terrible betrayal?..
After everything his own brother did to Sasuke, it would make some sense.
But...
The tear came out only when he used Tsukuyomi on Kō.
And the Hyūga man didn't start yelling and crying of pain the same instant when Sasuke used his jutsu on him. They talked, and since she knew how exactly Tsukuyomi worked, Hinata could say that their speech was pretty long in the illusionary world.
So Sasuke most likely reacted like this to something he heard from Kō...
It had to be very strong and important to affect the Uchiha like this.
But what could it possibly be?..
"Hinata... Collect yourself. You won't die anytime soon. This substance only works on those who possess certain genes, it is true, but the catalyst to the reaction is chakra. Lucky you, I've drained yours nearly completely before we came here, so we've got approximately ten hours to find a way to cure you. And I think I know someone who can help. So don't give up just yet..." She frowned as he talked, the voice of the Uchiha suddenly calm and full of resolve. Apparently her master knew what he was talking about, because for all she knew, Sasuke was anything but a delusional man.
Dropping Kō down to the floor, the Uchiha turned to Kiba who looked shocked, confused and raged at the same time, while Shino looked more intrigued than anything else.
Apparently the boy found the scene between Sasuke and Kō strange, just like Hinata, but he didn't want to say anything about it just yet.
"Now then... I'll put him under Rinnegan genjutsu, so you guys won't have to worry about him anymore. Shino is right: if we kill him now, the Hyūga clan will definitely get the information out of the two of you, even if you won't give it away willingly... And knowing with who she is, they'll be able to easily track us down, not to mention that me and Hinata will definitely be labeled nukenin for this. We can't allow them to find out what happened here. Thanks to this bastard's actions, you now know that what Hinata said to you is true. So you'll have to return to Konoha with him." Seeing as Kiba was ready to protest, the Uchiha raised his hand, stopping the boy.
"I also realize that you want to protect her, I'd do the same for Naruto or Sakura. But... The best way of protecting Hinata right now is our teamwork. I can assure you that I care for her, and I promise that I'll do everything within my power to save her. But for what I'm going to do, you guys are of no use. However, if you return to Konoha now... Under my genjutsu, this idiot right here is going to report his success in slaying Hinata, and you will confirm his words should it be necessary. This way, we'll be free from constant chasing of the Hyūga shinobi. And when it's settled, I want you to meet the Sixth and tell him, and only him, what really happened here this night. He will give you the information concerning our plan, since I have no time for it right now, but this way, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to pass through all this..." Sasuke stopped, seeing as the Inuzuka boy came closer to him, laying his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.
"Sasuke, I... You're right, we want to protect Hinata. But... After all the shit she told us... To be honest, some part of me wants to kill you... Especially after all the pain in the ass I had to suffer back when you left the village." The brown haired boy smirked, remembering that mission years ago.
"But now... I see that Hinata and you, there is a bond between you guys, and if she trusts you now, well... I guess I have to trust you as well? Hinata always was smarter than me anyway... What I'm trying to say is..." He grabbed Sasuke's shoulders and lowered his head, quietly muttering, which was very unusual for the Inuzuka: "Please, save her. And please, knock some sense into her too kind and forgiving head... Her father must pay. This shit has to be avenged. Even if we have no choice but to do what you told us to do now, if not anytime soon, fine... But it will happen. And she better do it herself. It will serve the bastard right."
Hinata flinched in surprise when the Uchiha suddenly clenched Kiba's forearm, smirking.
Kiba hated Sasuke ever since the moment the Uchiha left Konoha, and Sasuke... Didn't he despise people like the Inuzuka? And now they were... Getting along?
Was she hallucinating because of the poison?..
"Don't worry about that. I will prepare her for it, have no doubt. By the time we return, she'll be able to hand your sorry ass to you effortlessly, Inuzuka." Her teammate smirked, not saying anything in return as Sasuke turned to Shino. "And you? Do you agree?"
The Aburame crossed his hands on his chest, leaning on the wall.
"It's good to see that you're finally back for real, Sasuke." The Uchiha boy sighed in relief, opening the door to their room. "Hinata, dress up and get your stuff, we're leaving in a minute. We can't afford wasting any more time."
She slowly nodded, moving out from her spot.
Too many strange things were happening around her, so the girl actually doubted that all of it was real.
Getting her cloak from the hanger, Hinata was absorbed by the swirl of thoughts that just didn't click in her mind.
First, Kō's betrayal. Then his strange silent conversation with Sasuke. Now Shino and Kiba basically accepted the fact that she was Sasuke's... Girlfriend? But she wasn't!.. Should she tell it to them now, or would it make things only more complicated for them, taking even more time?..
It was so confusing that Hinata didn't know what to do and what to think.
Was she even going to survive this night?..
But then the sudden realization came to her along with unexpected peace.
It was all up to Sasuke now.
Her life was in his grasp, just like it was before, just like it will be from now on and forever should his idea of curing her succeed.
And that was also why she was going to blindly trust her master now.
Because even though her family betrayed her, even if Kiba and Shino could still do it, Sasuke couldn't.
Because you can't be betrayed by the man who you don't expect to consider you a person close to him.
He was allowed to use her, to do whatever he wanted, and that included everything about her - trading her very life as well.
Even if he just handed her to Hiashi now, that wouldn't be betrayal on his part. And she partly expected him to do so, since she knew he had every reason for it, considering how weak and stupid she was, doing nothing but bringing him trouble.
Any kind of relationship, be it family, marriage, dating or friendship, implies the mutual feeling of obligation, certain sets of rights and responsibilities.
Sasuke didn't ask for anything from her, he never did. And he also didn't need anything from her, of course.
In fact, until now, all he did was only giving. He never asked nor wanted anything in return.
She, on the other hand, couldn't imagine giving him anything that he could find at least remotely useful, compared to the things he did and still was going to do for her.
That made her owe him everything.
Simple as that.
And such relationship was perfect for her.
She didn't have to think, to suspect, to be afraid of anything at all.
Because she was ready for everything he could do since the very beginning. She was at his mercy.
And Hinata was going to follow him until her last breath.
Getting out of the room, ready to go whenever Sasuke was heading to, she looked at the four men that stood there, quietly talking.
All of them were very calm and collected, especially Kō, who apparently was already under the effects of Sasuke's genjutsu.
"About time, Hinata. Say your goodbyes, I'll be waiting for you outside the pub. See you, guys." He waved his hand to Kiba and Shino, turning around to go downstairs.
"Yeah... Take care, Sasuke." Came the uncertain reply from Kiba who was still a bit confused by the unexpected change in the relationship between their team and the Uchiha.
"Indeed. And don't worry, we'll act according to the plan." Added Shino, this followed by distant, satisfied grunting from the Uchiha.
The boys then turned their heads to the Hyūga girl.
"So... This is a goodbye. At least you'll be safe..." Kiba sighed, coming closer to Hinata and hugging her tightly.
"To be safe, I need to survive first." She pointed out, smiling a bit, not wanting to argue with the Inuzuka, though.
"Hey, drop such thoughts right now! There is no way in hell this dude lets you die! You should of heard him while you were dressing up, he..."
"He made it very clear that he knows how to save you, Hinata. And I think that he really cares for you, which is very surprising considering his past and what kind of a man he is... But it's a great pleasure to see him by our side again."
Cared for her?..
What on earth did he say to these two?
"Really? What made you think so?" She realized that she sounded too surprised and it could rise their suspicions, so she gave the boys a wide smile so that it would seem unclear if she was kidding or not.
And they swallowed her bait. Well, at least Kiba certainly did.
"Please... If I ever knew that our Hinata-chan would be able to melt this bastard's heart like you did, I would've forced you to turn your attention to him instead of Naruto much earlier. That moron never worshiped your kindness and caring anyway... But I wanted to ask you, how the hell did it happen? I thought your were going to confess to Naruto just before you disappeared, and now you're lovely-dovey with Sasuke?.. How come?"
Uh huh. So Sasuke decided that it's a good idea to support their impression of the two of them being lovers.
She giggled, but her teammates never realized the true reason of her joy.
She was right in her assumption. She was smart enough to not fail Sasuke, at least once, at least here.
"Uh... It's complicated, Kiba-kun... I guess... Uh... It just happened?" She blushed, lowering her eyes, surprised by her acting abilities deep inside. Since when she became such a calculative liar?..
But she liked it. It was like a game.
A game where she wrote the rules herself.
The Inuzuka laughed, resembling a dog barking just a bit, especially with Akamaru suddenly doing the same in unison.
"I guess girls just can't stay this bastard's charms, after all! Even you, eh... But well, I'm fine with it, as long as he loves you, too."
Loves her... Funny.
This thought alone was ridiculous to her.
"Anyway, I guess you should go... Oh, right, Shino is here, too. Wanna say anything to our dear Hinata-chan as well, bud?" He joked, turning his head to the Aburame whose face was impassive.
"Thank you for letting me do so, Kiba. How kind of you." He stepped closer to the girl, looking her in the eyes from behind his dark glasses. "I really hope that Sasuke is right. Stick close to him. Such care should be treasured, especially coming from an Uchiha."
Idiots. Both of them were utter idiots. They knew nothing, they didn't understand a thing...
They didn't know her at all, to think that they believed in this nonsense... That she could just sleep with a basically foreign man who she knew for only a few weeks...
That she could fall in love with him so fast...
At the moment, she was having a hard time fighting the displease of being near the two of them.
But she had to play it to the end.
This was nearly over anyway.
"Yes... Thank you, Shino-kun. I will. I hope to see you guys again..." She gave him a wide, kind, but a bit sad smile, before coming close to Kō, kneeling down and whispering to his ear so that only her former guardian could hear her:
"I know that you can hear me clearly now, even though your mind is being controlled... I must thank you for ultimately proving my conclusion right. This family, this clan... I hate all of you. And I will make you pay. You better pray that I don't live through this... Because if I will, by the time Sasuke is done with me, I'll be able to crush all of you. And make no mistake, I will." He didn't visibly react to her words as Hinata got up, giving Kō's blank face the last look of despise before waving a goodbye to her teammates and turning around, following Sasuke downstairs.
He was already there, waiting for the girl just like he promised, near the entrance to the building.
"So, are you ready to go?" He suddenly asked for some reason, as if she had any choice.
"Yes. Why?"
He shrugged, striding forward to the broad street.
"I thought you might feel sentimental about meeting those three... Are you feeling well?"
"Yes."
"Both physically and mentally?"
"I think so."
He turned his head to look her in the eyes, the Uchiha's expression being a little worried.
"Right... We'll talk about it later, when we get you cured."
"Why are you so sure it's even possible?" She finally asked, frowning. There were too many questions she had for Sasuke, but the girl wasn't sure if she was even allowed to ask any of them.
He smirked.
"As you could've guessed by now, I've used Ningendō to get his memories. There was a very detailed description of how exactly this poison works. It's effects are the stronger the purer your genes are. As an heir of your clan, considering how conservative Hyūga usually are, you're probably very pure-blooded, so normally it would kill you very fast and painfully. However, since you're nearly completely out of chakra, we have plenty of time to help you."
She still couldn't follow where he was getting at.
"Help me how, exactly?"
He gave her a surprised glance.
"To change your DNA, obviously."
Wha... What?.. This didn't make any sense...
"Uh... That's it?.. How is this actually possible?.."
To her further surprise and confusion, he smirked.
"It's not as hard as you think. In fact, I think it's pretty easy for the one we're going to meet soon. But it won't be an easy walk in the park for you. Should we succeed, you will still have to go through terrible pain for a while. Like I said, the poison affects you as strong as pure your blood is. Under normal circumstances, it would certainly kill any member of the Main House of your clan, but the Branch House members have a small chance to survive, even though they would most definitely get blind after being poisoned. And a half-blood would likely survive this, under guidance of a strong medic nin like Tsunade or Sakura."
She winced at the reminding of the pink haired girl. Hinata wasn't so sure if she should hide her true feelings concerning the kunoichi anymore.
"It would even affect me to some extent, since our clans are distantly related, but I'd probably only feel as if I caught a light flu or something like that. So be prepared. Consider it another part of your training... It will improve your endurance and will." Sasuke waved to a carriage driver a hundred yards away from them, asking him to stop by.
She knew that they couldn't use one of his hawks to travel right now, since they'd be too notable up in the sky for the other Hyūga shinobi that were assigned to search for her.
"What did you talk about? You and Kō, inside Tsukuyomi." She suddenly asked, peering at him searchingly.
For some reason, Sasuke flinched, clearly not expecting the question so soon.
And this reaction was the final proof for her that there was something off with their conversation.
It wasn't as simple as it seemed. Not at all.
"Not much... After I read his memories, there were things that confused me a little, so I wanted to interrogate him myself. Tsukuyomi seemed to be the best way of doing it, don't you think so?"
She nodded, reluctantly. He was clearly hiding something as the Uchiha choose the words very carefully to not reveal anything to her.
"But... If I may ask, Sasuke-san..."
"Hm?"
"Why did you cry? I've never seen you crying before."
She never saw him being embarrassed either, but the girl guessed that there was a first time for everything in their lives seeing as his cheeks reddened a tiny bit.
"He touched something personal when we talked. It's not necessary for you to know what exactly."
"Oh."
So this was it, huh? Something personal... What could it possibly be?
They waited for the carriage for a few seconds in tensed silence before he finally sighed, turning his head to Hinata and looking her in the eyes.
"It was about Itachi."
Itachi?.. She wasn't aware of the fact that Kō and Sasuke's brother actually knew each other. And that had to be the case, if Sasuke was telling the truth. Otherwise, what Kō could possibly know about Itachi Uchiha?.. Obviously it had to be something personal, just like her master said.
But what if he lied, after all?.. What if there was something else, something important?..
It was irrelevant, she decided. She trusted him, and if Sasuke thought that it's better for her to stay oblivious to the details of their speech with Kō, it was his decision, and she's going to accept and follow it.
Which meant that it was an end of the topic.
The coachman stopped his big, beautiful and rich-looking carriage before the two of them, gazing at the pair with apparent boredom.
"So, where do you need to get? I must warn you that my service is pretty expensive."
"It's fine. We're going to the Land of Rice Fields. We'll pay you twice as more than it costs if you make haste driving us there." Sasuke said, taking a pouch of money from his pocket.
The man's eyes widened.
"What?.. Are you insane, boy? Do you even know that that land is now called the Land of Sound, and is being controlled by Orochimaru the Sannin?.."
"It's fine. We're shinobi of Konoha. We will protect you should it be necessary, which I doubt, but we need to get there as fast and stealthy as possible."
The man gave him a long, thoughtful look, before finally sighing, giving them a welcoming sign with his gloved hand.
"Alright. Get in. Lucky you, my wife is from Konoha..."
The Uchiha smirked, not listening for the rest of his jabbering, opening the door of the carriage and letting Hinata get in there first.
In fact, he was rather worried for her condition. According to Kō's words, the poison shouldn't affect her at all in the next two hours, but the man might as well be wrong in his belief... That's why Sasuke preferred to keep an eye on her just in case. Without her chakra, she was just a fragile girl, and falling down, getting her head hit by the cobblestone road would certainly not help her in any way.
The carriage started going down the wide road, driving them away from Tanzaku-gai.
Both of the teens were absorbed by their thoughts, so they didn't talk much during the long travel. It was pretty usual for them anyway: both didn't like to talk much, as a matter of fact.
In approximately four hours, Hinata started to look sick, so Sasuke had to drain a bit of her regenerated chakra again to slow down the effects of the poison, even though it was going to make himself affected a little.
He never noticed it, but Hinata gave him a weird look when he did so. As if the girl was surprised that he actually decided to share her pain to make it easier for her, even though it was only a tiny piece of it.
In fact, Sasuke was now both assured and, at the same time, confused by what happened back in the town this night.
Of course, he wasn't going to tell her anything of what Kō said to him.
If she found it out now, it would ruin everything, and it would most probably kill her...
Or, to be more accurate, Sasuke doubted that she would want to live after hearing the truth.
So revealing it to her wasn't an option. At least not until he finished training her.
For now, she needed to walk the same path he himself once did.
Because talking to Kō made him realize the one thing he always overlooked.
He and her, they were very much alike.
The Uchiha now wondered what would've happened if their fates turned to be the opposite.
What if Kō was ordered to wipe their clan out when she was still a child? Would she become what he did become?
Would she be an avenger? A cold hearted murderer like he used to be?
And what if Itachi never did what he did? What if Sasuke grew up being protected and nursed by his brother? Always in his shadow? Always failing his father's expectations like he sometimes used to, especially compared to Itachi? And with his family around, which would make him nothing special since the very beginning, quite unlike the role of the sole Uchiha survivor he never became used to?
Would he be a spineless weakling like she was before they met that night a month ago?
Both were quite some possibilities, and now that he realized it, Sasuke knew that their meeting wasn't an accident.
It was fate.
He had to save her from herself, and now, after hearing what Kō said to him, he knew how exactly to make it.
Just like he originally intended to do with the world.
Destroy it, and then create anew.
Did it mean that Hinata was his world now?..
Sasuke smirked at the irony of this thought.
In a way, she was. She was his key to redemption.
A second version of himself that had a chance to avoid repeating the mistakes he did in the past.
And, on top of that, he had to find out the origins of the shinobi with the Uchiha crest on his neck that he killed back in Nami no Kuni.
And if it was possible...
No, it was too far-fetched yet to even think about it.
For now, he had to focus on these goals.
To save Hinata. To make her strong enough to overcome what lied ahead of her.
To find the truth about the dead man.
And do make it happen, he needed to visit his old teacher.
Orochimaru.
The Uchiha now wondered what the old snake was doing at the moment. After the war the sannin, along with team Taka, told Sasuke and Naruto that they were going to lay low for a few years, doing some experiments and other stuff the Uchiha, let alone Naruto, never cared for... But they also said that since Sasuke decided to side with Konoha again, they were going to support the village, too.
But did it mean that Sasuke could rely on him when it came to healing Hinata?..
Orochimaru wasn't a medic nin, and Kabuto was in Konoha at the moment, since he still awaited the judgement for his crimes caused by Edo Tensei...
But Karin should be there, so the two of them could pull it together, of that Sasuke was pretty sure.
The question was, would they want to help them?..
But he brushed this thought away the instant it appeared.
He was Uchiha Sasuke.
If he needed something, he asked for it.
If he was denied and still needed it, he took it by force.
So if they try to object, he would just control them with his eyes. Nothing new here...
"Sasuke... I..."
He got snapped out of his thoughts, moving his gaze from the forest behind the carriage's window to the Hyūga girl.
"Huh? What is it?" He asked, worried by her current appearance.
She looked bad. Her face was pale, much paler than usual, and sweat covered her forehead, wetting the strands of the girl's hair.
On top of that, she was holding her head as if she was having a strong migraine.
"I... I think... I'm going to..." She wasn't able to finish the sentence as she puked onto the floor of the carriage, nearly falling down, but the Uchiha was fast enough to catch her.
"Easy, easy, girl... Breath. It will be alright. We'll be there soon."
In fact, he had no idea where they were at the moment. And that was a bit of a trouble: even if he knew in which hideout Orochimaru currently stayed, it was pretty hard to find a road there, since he usually traveled directly through the deep forest, jumping from one tree to another.
"Hey, coachman! How far are we from our destination?!" He shouted, trying to not give his worries away. There was no need in letting the man know what was happening to Hinata."
"We're nearly there! Just another thirty minutes, and I think we'll be close... A mile away from Otogakure. Sorry, but I won't drive you there, I still worship my head and I have no desire of losing it anytime soon..."
Cursing, the Uchiha took Hinata onto his shoulder with his only hand and then kicked the door, jumping out.
Not listening to the yelling coachman since he left the money pouch inside, Sasuke used Amenotejikara to move as fast as he could.
Hinata was already losing conscious, so he had to hurry up.
Judging by what the man said, they were just three to five miles away from the hideout, and it was supposed to be somewhere to the south from that point.
Fortunately he turned to be right, and in just twenty minutes or so he managed to see the entrance in the cave near the small waterfall.
Rushing into the familiar dungeon, he jumped down through the stairways, only to bump into the white haired boy a few levels below the entrance, making him fall onto the cold, stone floor.
"Hey, what the **** are you... Oh, my, what brings you here at such time, Sasuke?.. And who is this chick?" Suigetsu grunted in pain from falling on his bum, instantly recognizing his former teammember.
"It doesn't matter right now. Where is Orochimaru? I need him as soon as possible. Karin, too."
"Woah, what on earth happened?.. Is she sick or something?.." The Hozuki curiously looked at Hinata who was now breathing hard, her eyes closed.
"She got poisoned. I need to save her. And the time is running out. Be quick."
Suigetsu blinked in surprise of the sudden passion in Sasuke's voice.
"Oh... I see. Alright then, go to the lowest level, and then to the left passage. Orochimaru-sama is working on some new seal there, so you will definitely find him in that hall. I will get Karin as fast as I can, I think the maniac was going to sleep last time I saw her a few hours ago... Oh, by the way..."
"Later." Sasuke jumped down again, running towards the sannin's laboratory.
Hinata dangerously coughed, spilling some blood, and then started moaning in pain.
So Kō was wrong, after all. It was spreading through her system faster than the man anticipated.
But Sasuke was there, at last.
Kicking the heavy wooden doors, he entered the big, spacious and well lighted hall where his former teacher was sitting at the big, round shaped table, writing something on a few scrolls at the same time.
"Orochimaru! I need your help!"
"Sasuke-kun?.." The sannin looked surprised, clearly not expecting a visit from the Uchiha anytime soon, especially with someone accompanying him.
Especially with a female.
And certainly not with a dying female that made him so unusually nervous.
"What happened?" He stood up from his spot, coming closer to the opposite side of the table where the Uchiha put the girl that started shaking, blood coming out of her eyes.
"She's a Hyūga. She got poisoned by Saigo no Nerumi, the substance that works on genetic level. It's rapidly killing her, and I need you to change her DNA - doing this might cheat this thing... While Karin will be healing her as you do that, to prevent her from dying. Can you make it?" He asked bluntly, looking in the yellow eyes of the snake sage.
Orochimaru put her his fingers on Hinata's forehead, wincing.
"Yes... I think it's possible. Are you sure it will work, though? How do you know that?"
Sasuke shook his head, shouting:
"It doesn't matter! It's the only thing that can work, so do the job right now!"
The sannin smiled at his former student.
"I can see she's pretty important to you... Fair enough, I'll do as you please. Since she's a Hyūga, I have a certain DNA sample that might not only fit in perfectly, but potentially enhance her abilities as well... Should she survive this, of course." He walked to the chest in the corner of the hall and took a test-tube with some red substance out of it, coming back to the girl. "I will have to put the Cursed Seal of Heaven on her to make it wokr, though. Don't worry, it can be your chakra that we'll seal into her, not mine. I don't fancy the idea of taking a body of a Hyūga girl anyway... Perhaps you would like to do that later on?" He smirked at the reaction of Sasuke: the Uchiha looked as if he was ready to kill him right there on his spot.
The doors of the hall opened again, with Suigetsu and worried, tousled Karin running in.
"What happened, Sasuke?! Are you hurt?"
"Come here, Karin... I need your assistance in healing this girl." Orochimaru uttered, smirking.
The Uzumaki kunoichi looked at the table, confused and irritated.
"I thought Sasuke was injured... Who the hell is this princess? She looks like shit..." She came closer, eyeing the Hyūga girl with apparent skepticism before snapping:
"And why would I want to heal her anyway?"
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