Everyone has darkness

It's time

Kumogakure no sato. Naruto's headquarters…

"Whew, that shit was tight!" Neji exclaimed, appearing along Naruto and Hanabi in a burst of flames.

"Tight? Tight?! That shit was… shit!" Hanabi replied. "We almost died out there!"

Neji shrugged. "Well, it's not my fault that…" He was suddenly interrupted when sharp metal covered fingers wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the wall.

"Not your fault you say?" Naruto asked dangerously.

Neji hasn't felt so much fear for quite a while. Blonde's sunglasses were gone; instead two burning eyes stared right into Hyuga's soul.

"I think otherwise!" The demon shouted and threw Neji on the ground. "You fucked up, Neji."

"No! I did everything you told me!" The byakugan user responded.

"If you did, you wouldn't end up like this!" Naruto shouted again, but then halted and sighed. "What really happened?"

Neji coughed few times and stood up. "Danzou… He somehow found out."

"How I wonder…" Naruto muttered.

"Maybe I was not the only one."

"What do you mean?" The demon asked.

"Maybe I was among their targets…" Neji started. "But due to my… situation…" He pointed at his forehead. "Perhaps I was simply the easiest one to check on."

"Makes sense." Hanabi said.

"Yeah, even if the seal wasn't removed, they could simply force you into speaking with its help." Naruto said. "Fine, I guess it can't be helped now anyway. Your ass is out of there, and I don't care about everything else. I've got other things on my mind right now…"

"Like what?" Hanabi asked.

"I having a… little journey ahead…" The demon stated.

Konohagakure. Hokage's office…

"Fuck… FUCK!"

"Calm down, Tsunade…" Orochimaru said, looking over some documents.

"Shut up!" The Hokage shouted, drinking her sake. "Hyuga was our only lead, and we let him escape! And he was rescued by one little girl, who single handedly killed two dozens of trained ninjas!"

"Yeah, that's a fuck up… But no, he was not the only one." The snake sannin stated. "Besides, why were you asking about his whereabouts? We already know he's in Kumo."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Well, it's because… Tch! No matter! Is Shikamaru's team out?"

"Yes, left this morning."

"Good, what about reinforcements?"

Orochimaru looked at the documents again. "Kazekage sent his army along with his sister as support. All in all we should be tied in numbers."

"And Iwa?" Tsunade asked.

"Nope, nothing."

The Hokage grimaced. "That old fool is playing with fire. Naruto might not be as patient as we are."

Orochimaru smirked. "You know, people in our age shouldn't use the word 'old'…"

"Yeah…" Tsunade muttered and her eyes widened slightly. 'Damn, it's almost slipped my mind that I'm covering my young age now, not my old one… shit…'

"Say…"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you forbid Sasuke and Sakura to leave?" The snake charmer asked. "They could be a great help."