The Jinchuuriki Alliance || REWRITE ||

STATUS CHANGE: KIDNAPPED

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

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The kunoichi cautiously stepped into the room, and at Senku's pointed look, slowly approached what looked like a metal box with a glass pane for a lid. Rising onto her toes in order to see what was inside, Naruko instantly dropped back down and started to back away, eyes wide and hands pressed tightly to her mouth.

"A little birdie told me that a little girl from Konohagakure found out how to remove the Hyuuga juinjutsu... a certain girl named Naruko Uzumaki," Senku's voice floated out from where he stood by the doorway, an eerily calm quality to his words.

Naruko was shaking, whether in fear or rage, she didn't know.

"We realized the seal's purpose the instant we saw it. We're very well-versed, you should realize. Konoha is home to quite a few Fūinjutsu Masters, so we were prepared for such a thing. But the Third Raikage... ah, he was never for it in the beginning, and only agreed to keep the peace. I am here to continue my father's work; I was but a teenager when the stasis was placed upon Hizashi Hyuuga's body and brought here, to the Ichinose family's secret underground lab." He looked a little too proud of this accomplishment, if it could even be called one. "Now, I assume you have figured out by now why I brought you here?"

Naruko started shaking her head. "No. No, I won't do it." She whirled around to face her captor, her eyes turning an electric-blue with a malevolent fury, standing out against the dim setting of the underground lab. "I won't help you find the Byakugan's secrets. I am a Konoha shinobi, and my loyalty is to my village."

Senku's eyes darkened as he took a threatening step forward. "No," he said softly, "you will do it. I am no fool, Naruko Uzumaki. I knew you wouldn't cooperate... at first. And that's why I took the liberty to do some research beforehand." His hand slid into his lab coat pocket and withdrew five photos. 

Naruko's breath hitched in her throat as she recognized the faces of her grey-haired brother and her two teammates. The fourth and fifth picture, however, displayed a redheaded Suna shinobi and a green-haired Taki kunoichi. Upon taking a closer look, Naruko saw that the backgrounds indicated the photos had been taken not during the Chuunin Exams, as she first assumed, but in their home villages. A cold pit of dread settled in her stomach.

"You see now, don't you, girl?" Senku's voice held a tinge of malicious amusement in it; Naruko wanted nothing more than to sock him for it. He tucked the photos away and leaned in close to her face. "I have men stationed and ready to kill them the minute I give them the order. And yes, I have accounted for Kakashi of the Sharingan and the redheaded boy's "ultimate defense", and allocated men accordingly." He leaned in even closer, until his mouth was right beside Naruko's ear. "Not a single one of them will escape with their lives."

Naruko's breathing remained steady, but her heartrate was another matter entirely. It was as if, at any second, her ribcage would shatter with how hard the organ was throwing itself against the cage. And for a moment, Naruko understood how Neji felt — a previously-free bird that had been captured and trapped in a cage against its will. The irony was not lost on her.

"So, will you do it now, girl?" Senku asked with a plastic smile, moving back. "If you can't, I have other... more persuasive methods."

Kurama suddenly spoke up, an urgent tone to his voice. "Kit, remember how you learnt how to summon Shadow Clones at specific, remote locations? And you remember what Yugito's apartment looks like? Well, then, summon me there!"