Cheysuli Challenge: Bunny #321

Note: This bunny is inspired by Cheysuli so all thanks go to her, I take no credit for this.

Neji's father has had enough. He takes two year old Neji and runs away from Konoha. Optional: You could have them end up with Orochimaru, but it's not necessary.

I chose to have them end up with Orochimaru but their time spent in Otogakure is touched on in memories and flashbacks because I wanted to do it this way.

Pairings: Sasuke / Neji

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It is said that he, the compassionate one,
cared for all the people---
He, the enlightened one,
continued to watch over the village---
He, the courageous one, fought alone to protect everyone,
it is said--- - Naruto Manga 121.

---~Chapter 1~---

So! It had come to this.

He knew this day would inevitably arrive, he just hadn't expected it would be so soon. He'd been caught off-guard, unprepared for this battle, but he could only blame himself because even though he knew this was going to happen, even though he knew he should have made himself ready, he chose to remain in denial.

He was now suffering for his soft-heartedness. His decision to pardon those crimes had back-fired and his mercy towards his old student had come back to haunt him and for the first time, Sarutobi regretted never killing him when he had the chance.

Enma was right, he was pathetic!

Now, it had come down to this. Kage of Leaf against Kage of Sound. Legendary Sannin versus Legendary Sandaime... The final battle between master and pupil.

Sarutobi maintained his firm grip against Orochimaru's shoulders, the simple task made difficult as he felt his life slowly inching away from him. Shinigami's(1) arm protruded from his chest and in the death god's cold fingers was clutched the soul of Orochimaru but the snake Sannin refused to be taken without a fight and in a last bid pitch of Sarutobi's life against his, he had summoned his Kusanagi(2). The legendary sword rushed to its Master's hand but Enma had managed to grasp it by the blade, but it wasn't enough, and the sharp sword punctured The Third in his back, piercing his body and protruded from his chest.

The Monkey King was unable to remove it completely since Orochimaru's, Senei Jyashu(3) restrained all movement and kept him anchored to the ground but he could prevent the sword from completely sheathing itself within his old friend and he would maintain his hold on the evil blade for eternity if he had to.

Orochimaru was desperate to escape the hold Shinigami had upon him. His ex-mentor had made a deadly gamble and cast a dangerous kinjutsu, the Shiki Fūjin(4), the very same seal the Yondaime used, in conjuction with the Hakke no Fūin Shiki(5) and the Shishō Fūin(6), to trap the Kyuubi.

He could feel it. The grip that death god had upon him, tugging at his very essence and the part of him that Shinigami had extracted felt empty, his arms were steadily becoming heavy and he could no longer cast any jutsu of his own.

'Annoying old man,' he thought. 'Why don't you just die already?', but Sarutobi refused to let go.
He was reaching his limit, he knew it and so did Orochimaru but he could not give up because he was no longer fighting for his life, he was fighting for the lives of his people. Every year shinobi were born and raised in the Leaf Village. They lived and fought to protect the village, were fighting even now and putting their own lives on the line to protect those that were precious to them even though they were not related by blood, and he had to do the same because to him, they were precious to him, the most important thing he had, they were...his family.

"Maybe I should force you to let my arms go," Orochimaru said, breaking the intense silence between them and he beckoned the sword forward a little more causing the old man to wince at the searing pain in his torso. "My ambitions will never stop and you will die here," he continued and summoned his Kusanagi closer.

"Ugh!" Sarutobi coughed, freeing more blood from his mouth to creep along his chin and splatter in tiny droplets by his feet. "I won't let your ambition influence this village any longer than it already has," and his voice, although wavered, maintained it's gallant tone and it pissed Orochimaru off.

He had been planning this invasion meticulously, going though every minor detail until he was sure he'd made it foolproof. He'd conspired how to go about obtaining the co-operation of Sunagakure by assassinating their Kazekage; knew exactly when to strike during the final round of the Chuunin exam and even decided which jutsus he was going to use for his battle with the Third.

In his most twisted fantasies he'd played out this moment frame by frame. Sarutobi on his knees begging, no pleading for his decrepit life and the life of his villagers as Konoha was brought to ruin around him. He wouldn't spare him that mercy though, he wouldn't be as weak as the old man was, he would make his death painful, yet quick...but he hadn't expected this, hadn't expected the old man would still have this much strength and it was only then that Orochimaru realized the fatal flaw in his plan.

He had underestimated Sarutobi.

"Shit! The old man that you are, do you have the strength, as the Sandaime, to save this village?" he taunted with a wide grin, hoping that degrading his ability would make him accept that the situation he was in was utterly hopeless and give up. "Look around you...I've ordered my subordinates along with the Hidden Sand shinobi to attack this village. Your Konoha's shinobi and even women and children will be completely annihilated. Konoha's destruction will happen here."

It should have been a statement of fact, Orochimaru was confident enough that his prediction would soon be realized but he hadn't counted on the old man's faith. His faith in 'the Will of the Leaf', his faith in himself and his faith in his people.

Sarutobi met his disdainful yellow eyes with the same confidence he had, and more. "Orochimaru," he said, almost pitying the ignorance his previous apprentice had obviously developed since abandoning the village. "You don't seem to understand that you should never underestimate this village's shinobi..."

***

Hyuuga Hiashi released his chakra to form the Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten(7) and the large sphere knocked away the sand-nins surrounding him, sending them flying, and he returned to his Jūken(8) stance, in the centre of the large indentation he'd made in the ground, just in time to watch as their unconscious bodies fell like rain upon the dirt.

"The Hyuuga is the strongest of Konoha, remember it well," he said, addressing the remaining sand ninjas who had been fortunate enough to be out of range of the attack.

"If they offer you no challenge, then I will be your opponent."

Hiashi turned to the source of the voice that originated from behind him to see a young boy, probably about the same age as his eldest daughter, Hinata, and the other Chuunin entrants.

He didn't recognize him as one of the examinees but he wasn't a sand-nin either since he wasn't wearing the generic uniform of a shinobi from Suna. His dark-brown hair was pulled back into a slack pony-tail that draped along his back and a few locks hung loosely to frame his round face. The plain, white kimono he wore was pulled away from his slender neck to expose small and shapely shoulders. It was bound at the waist with a violet obi and the thick material was cut about mid-thigh, so it resembled more of a long shirt than a dress and the lower half of his body was clothed in a pair of black pants tucked into black ninja scandals that reached just below his calves.

The blue hiti-ate he wore across his eyes also confirmed that he wasn't a ninja of Sand but was engraved with the 'Oto no Kuni' symbol, revealing that he was a ninja of Sound and still the enemy.

Hiashi scoffed as he raised his hands a little higher. 'What kind of game are they playing?' he wondered to himself. Not only was he, more than likely, an inexperienced Genin but he was probably blind too.

"I won't fight you," Hiashi declared, maintaining his stance just in case it was a distraction or a trap. "I won't fight someone who is disabled, and besides," he added with incredulity, "you're just a child."

The young boy smirked and he turned his head to face the man as if he could see him from behind his forehead protector and Hiashi wondered if he really could.

"Do not underestimate me," his new opponent warned and slowly took his stance, a stance that Hiashi was not familiar with. He didn't know what this boy was capable of but if he insisted on fighting him then he wouldn't go easy on him just because he was a child and at a disadvantage. He'd punish his stubborn behavior and show him why he could boast that the Hyuuga clan was the strongest clan in Konoha.

***

"In order to protect the village, all of Konoha's shinobi risk their lives and fight. In this society, true power is not attained from mastering all the world's ninjutsu. This is something I have already taught you." Sarutobi's grip tightened on Orochimaru's shoulders and his eyes closed into thin slits. "When there is something important to protect, a shinobi's true strength emerges."

His captive snorted. "What repetitive words."

"Hm...forget it," he said and shook his head sadly. Orochimaru was too set in his wicked ways and he knew that he would not change, could not be changed, by mere words alone. "I have no intention of forgiving you now anyway," he continued and a valiant grin embraced his elderly face. "For the one obsessed with jutsu I have an appropriate punishment for you. I'll completely take all of your jutsu."

Orochimaru stiffened, his eyes flew wide open and he was suddenly uneasy about what the old man planned to do next. "What did you say?"

This was it, the defining moment of every shinobi's life, the responsibility he had to fulfill as the Hokage to his people, the sacrifice he had to make as the martyr for his loved ones and Sarutobi prepared himself for the complete execution of the Shiki Fūjin.

A tortured scream escaped his thin lips and Shinigami lifted his knife into the air. Orochimaru's face paled as he watched, helplessly as that arm started to come down.

' It can't be!'

"STOP!" he screamed but the second those words left him his soul's arms were sliced through by the death god's unforgiving blade.

"SEAL!" and with that command the Third trapped Orochimaru's arms within himself along with his ability to use jutsu and his dreams of obtaining every technique known to mankind.

Orochimaru shuddered when he felt a tingling along his arms and he looked down to see his skin turn blue as the blood drained from his veins. 'My arms won't move,' he observed in panic.

Sarutobi panted, using the last of his strength to speak. "With that, you can't move your arms...Besides not being able to use them, they've been sealed completely." The Sandaime watched as the decay began to spread along his fingers. "You can no longer use ninjutsu," and the afflicted arms soon become heavy and dropped uselessly before him. "Konoha's destruction...looks like it has been stopped here."

"You feeble-minded old man," the snake Sannin screamed and was forced to watch the gluttonous death god prepare to devour their souls. "Give me back my arms."

"How foolish...Orochimaru," he replied, his voice and body growing weaker with each passing second. "That's too bad, because I can't. We will meet in another world...my apprentice," he assured him and a confident smile crept its way across his face.

'This dying old geezer,' he thought, cursing the old man and his perseverance. "How dare you, how dare you seal my jutsu."

Sarutobi felt his eyelids grow heavy and his body become light as his own soul was lifted from within him and sucked into the mouth of the death god that loomed menacingly behind him. He spoke, the last words of a dying man, and as his eyes closed his voice started to fade away on his final breath. "To where the leaves dance...and the fire burns..."

Sarutobi swayed and his body fell to the ground and even though his 'Will of Fire' had been extinguished the smile on his face remained as if to taunt Orochimaru, because even though he'd lost the battle, even though evil had prevailed, even though Orochimaru still had his life... Sarutobi had the last laugh.

'You shitty old man,' he raged to himself and kicked at the wrinkled corpse by his feet. 'What's so funny?'

Enma grieved at the loss of his dear friend, a human who was more to him than just his summoner. "Sarutobi...," he whispered sadly, "the least I can do is remove this sword."

The Monkey King extracted the demonic weapon from his limp form. He had fought valiantly until the very end and even in death he believed his body should not be defiled. 'To follow the path of the shinobi to the very end...,' he mused, 'was something that only you could do,' and after he gave his eulogy, for the man he held in such high regard, he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru winced at the painful sensations that ran along his cursed arms, the flesh prickling as if they had been burnt.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

He looked up at a concerned Sakon who had called out to him, one of his loyal members of the Sound Four who were now awaiting his orders. They hadn't expected it would turn out quite like this either and were uncertain of what to do next.

"The plan ends here," he said loud enough for all of them to hear. "The barrier is no longer needed. We're heading back."

"Yes sir!" they replied in unison and dispelled their Shishienjin(9) and the nearby Anbu and Leaf ninja who had been patiently awaiting the conclusion of the battle, watched expectantly as the barrier dissolved to determine its results.

***

Hiashi grunted as his body hit the ground. He fell at an uncomfortable angle and the arm that had been broken in two places cushioned his fall.

His opponent stood triumphantly above him, his head blotting out the sun directly behind him, creating a halo effect and obscuring his face within the shadows, giving him the illusion of a fallen angel.

"Is this the extent of the Hyuga clan, the strongest in Konoha? Pathetic!" he teased with a nasty scoff. "Your weak clan should have become extinct long ago along with this useless village."

The demon child stepped closer and Hiashi forced himself not to cower before him. As the Head of the main branch of the Hyuuga clan he could not show weakness before his enemies. The boy grinned wickedly and reached out a small hand towards him and even though his Byakugan could see the deadly chakra enveloping his palm he remained stoic and his face would not reflect his fear.

"Quickly! We must go!"

He was interrupted by the panicked warnings of another sound shinobi who then informed his comrades that Orochimaru was heading back and that they should retreat too.

The young boy from Sound straightened, completely disregarding his battered prey and turned to the other ninja from his village. "My work here is done," he replied flatly before joining the others and abandoning the clearing to make their escape from the Village of Leaf.

Hiashi lay, awestruck, at the boy's incredible power. He'd failed to heed his fair warning and had underestimated him and it had almost cost him his life. The Hyuuga leader pushed himself into a sitting position using his good hand.

'How could he be so powerful?' he wondered. His ability and skill were unlike anything he'd ever seen and he knew that child possessed strength greater than most of their own Chuunin combined and the fact that he took him on, one on one, and managed to overwhelm him while he had been unable to even scratch him made Hiashi morbidly believe that he may even be Jounin level.

He staggered to his feet and cradled his damaged arm against his stomach. His pale eyes wrought with apprehension as they stared at the horizon where the Sand and Sound nins had made their departure.

'Who was that child?'

***

The Sound Four easily made their escape from Konoha as well and were swiftly heading back to their Village hidden within Rice country. Kidomaru led the way, closely followed by Sakon with Tayuya and Jirobo behind carrying Orochimaru between them.

They sensed someone quickly approaching their little group but there was no cause for alarm since they recognized him as one of their own. Orochimaru turned his head to look over at the young boy that had fallen into step beside them and noticed the satisfied smirk adorning his lips and even though he was frustrated at the deterioration of his planned invasion he still felt somewhat triumphant that at least his protege had been victorious.

"From the look on your face, I can see that your special mission was a success," noted the Sannin. "Have you finally sated your curiosity?"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama," he replied. "It was just as I expected."

"I'm glad to hear that," he admitted with sincerity. "However, I'm still disappointed that you chose not to participate in the Chuunin Selection Exams. It's a shame you didn't, I had great faith that you would have passed." The boy said nothing to that and Orochimaru chuckled. "You would have also had the opportunity to see that Uchiha boy I've been telling you so much about. You may have even got the chance to fight him as well."

He had purposely said that to provoke the boy, knowing full well that he was jealous of his obsession with the Uchiha. His arrogant smile faded and was replaced with a deep scowl and Orochimaru couldn't help but grin.

"I don't care about the Uchiha," he snapped angrily, and it was true but just not because he envied the boy that his Master had developed a sudden interest in but because he had a personal vendetta against the Hyuuga clan. Orochimaru knew why his revenge was so important to him, knew why he despised that family so much and knew why he chose to go on his own mission than enter the Chuunin exams.

Orochimaru knew why Neji harboured so much hatred towards the Hyuuga name and it was that hatred that he fed off of.

-----

(1) Shinigami - death god
(2) Kusanagi - Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword: Long Sword of the Heavens
(3) Senei Jyashu - Sublime snake hands
(4) Shiki Fūjin - Dead Demon Consuming Seal
(5) Hakke no Fūin Shiki - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style
(6) Shishō Fūin - Four Symbols Seal
(7) Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten - Eight Trigrams Palms Great Heavenly Spin
(8) Jūken - Gentle Fist
(9) Shishienjin - Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment

Next chapter: Time Jump.