Disclaimer: as usual

Naruto and his fellow companions entered the woods near Nara's territory. They advanced slowly, walking among the carbonized logs and vegetation. The fire cracks could still be heard, and the atmosphere was humid and hot. Without any doubt, the smell in the air was burnt meat.

Ino forced her feet forward, dragging them through the burnt soil and the sharp stones. She was tired, worried, and her mind was filled with the fear of losing her teammates.

"Hey! Hey! I can see the house!! Look! Can you see the house?! Can you? Can you?" - Naruto shouted and immediately started to run in the direction of the Old Japanese style construction, but Sakura grabbed him by the neck with a fast jab (the poor kid almost chocked!).

"Moron! We can't simply run to the house like this! What if the enemy still lingers around here? Use your brain for a change!" - Sakura knocked Naruto's head (immediately a huge red bump appeared).

While the boy sadly rubbed his head, Sakura said to Hinata: "Can you see what is going on inside that house, Hinata-san?"

The Hyuuga girl nodded and activated her bloodline limit to make a detailed scan of Nara's property. Ino stared at Hinata, trying to read the other girl's facial expression, struggling to identify the smallest twitch of an eyebrow...anything that could mean "bad news" or (may the Gods listen to her prayers) "good news".

Unfortunately for Ino, Hinata was a trained Hyuuga and while scanning the area, she was emotionless. In her despair, Ino understood that as a bad sign. Nervously, she embraced herself attempting to stop her body from shaking. Even though her arms could hold her body, they could not hold her mind, which flew away to its darkest realms: Shikamaru couldn't be dead!! He is the smartest guy in Konoha!! But…the enemy is strong …Shikamaru is not good at hand-to-hand combat….He may be dead… .

And Ino's mind wasn't the only one trailing dark realms. In spite of their efforts, the scenario was too depressing to keep the spirits high.

"Hum…N-Naruto-kun….." - Hinata muttered.

"Ee? Hinata-chan? Do you see anything? Is Shikamaru alive?" - Naruto asked, moving his face so close to Hinata's, that she couldn't shun the blush. Avoiding his (too close) inquiring eyes, she said:

"A…a….I do see people in there…" - Naruto moved his eyes from Hinata's red face to the wreckage that once was Nara's house - "However…."

"However…….." - All the others said together, like forcing Hinata to continue her phrase.

"Hum…There is too much smoke and dust to identify the survivors….Nevertheless, I assume they belong to the same group, because they are not fighting each other….."

"That is not very helpful…We still don't know if they are friends or foes…Or how many they are" - Spoke Sakura.

Beside Sakura, Hinata whispered in a small voice 'I'm sorry'. Once again, the Hyuuga heiress was feeling the old weakness and lack of confidence.

As the team leader, Naruto decided to send three clones to check the burnt house. The team sat behind a large rock and waited to the clones' return. As the minutes passed without news, hearing each others breaths became unbearable. Sakura could feel the cold sweat wetting her clothes, making them glue on her skin. Naruto removed his jacket, tying it around his waist. Ino removed her sandals, which were completely destroyed by the mud, the rocks and the burnt soil. And Hinata tied her long indigo hair in a ponytail on the top of her head, and used her hands to remove the sweat drops that wet her neck and nape.

Half an hour passed by and no sign of the clones. Naruto was truly impatient and tried to go by himself after his copies, but Sakura and Ino grabbed him and tried to put some sense into that thick head of his.

"Don't do anything foolish, Naruto!" - Sakura said.

"Sakura-chan! In this situation, we can't afford to lose a minute!! And half an hour is already gone!! We are wasting time!! LET ME GO!"

"No way!!" - Said Ino - "Stay here or I'll take your mind!"

"That's a good idea Ino-pig! Although I think that taking Naruto's mind can drive you to insanity!"

"Shut up, Forehead-girl!! I can take his mind without getting poisoned by his dumbness!!"

"S-Stop fighting…w-we must remain united…." - Hinata poorly tried to calm her friends, but they kept arguing about the stupidest things. Why people argue so much!? Human beings argue about everything! Even in a moment like this, they keep calling each others bad names, saying these horrible things, and simply doing nothing to solve the major problem! Just like Hyuuga clan, arguing, arguing….and doing nothing! I can't stand this anymore…I…just can't….- "SHUT UP! DO SOMETHING USEFUL INSTEAD OF FIGHTING ABOUT EVERY SILLY THING!!"

Naruto, Sakura (pinching Ino's nose) and Ino (pulling Sakura's hair) halted and stared at Hinata. It was like they were seeing her for the first time in their lives…to be honest, they were not used to see the shy and quiet girl with such an angry expression…(and using that expression, she really looked a lot like her cousin Neji)

Hinata was also shocked with her own reaction. She covered her mouth with both hands and lowered her eyes repeating (uncountable times) how sorry she was for her overreaction.

"Ah..ah Ha ha….!! You don't need to be sorry, Hinata-chan!! Thankfully someone still has some sense in this team!! Good job!" - Cheerfully said Naruto, clearly not upset with Hinata's burst of anger

"(Phew…) Naruto, can't you 'contact' your clones to see what is happening?" - Asked Sakura.

"Nah…I can only 'see their memories' when I call them back…."

"Then, why don't you call them back?" - asked Ino.

"I tried, but it didn't work. I'm sure they are not dead, but I simply can't call them back….weird…."

"We'll have to check the place ourselves…." - Sakura stated, and the others agreed.

Carefully and silently walking, they approached Shikamaru's family house. The team had to do their best to hold their breath and avoid inspiring that poisonous smoke. As they reached the (destroyed) gates, no movement could be seen….

Dodging the dead bodies, they crawled to Nara's house insides. Hinata was having a hard time keeping her byakugan activated with all that dark smoke, causing involuntary tears to run through her pale face, washing the dust away.

When they were almost in the house, Naruto suddenly stopped, with a puzzled look on his face. The girls came closer to see what was going on, but they couldn't see what he was seeing…..

He smiled.

"Naruto? Are you OK?" - Asked Sakura.

His smile enlarged and he raised his head, fixing his eyes somewhere ahead.

Sakura and the other girls followed his stare and saw a tall and thin shadow approach, followed by the three clones.

"Aah….how troublesome was waiting for you guys….."

--

Refusing his wife's help, Hyuuga Hiashi sat down on the Leader's chair in the Council Room. Taking a long breath, he spoke with weak and yet firm voice:

"Now, what exactly happened during my absence?"

Kensuke, Hanzou, Kanoe and Sayaka stared at each other, waiting to see which would be the one to answer Hiashi's question. An annoying silence filled the room, and Hiashi's angry expression did not make it any better.

"So? I'm waiting. What happened in my absence?" - His tone positively indicated impatience.

"Aham…" - Kensuke cleaned his throat and took the lead (which was expected from the man that held the highest position in the Hyuuga Council) - "As Hyuuga lost your wise guidance, Hiashi-sama, the Council decided that Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama would take your place".

Hiashi's expression didn't change a bit as the older man spoke. The uncomfortable atmosphere was getting worse.

"Since the Ladies are young and have no experience, the Council would support and ratificate their decisions. However, Hinata-sama disrespected the orders when she sent Hanabi-sama to Konoha"

"What was Hinata's explanation for that action?" - asked Hiashi, without changing his mood.

"She said that the idea belonged to Hanabi-sama." - Quickly said Kanoe - "But we all know that Hanabi-sama is very clever and loyal to Hyuuga and its Council, and would never think in such stupid plan. Hinata-sama, on the other hand, is known for her inab…"

"Save your impressions of my elder daughter to yourself, Kanoe" - harshly said Hiashi - "I want facts, not gossips".

"Very well. As I was saying, Hinata-sama couldn't give a plausible explanation for Hanabi's disappearance." - Continued Kanoe, showing no signs of embarrassment due to Hiashi's early scold - "After that, disregarding Hyuuga's lack of water supplies, Hinata-sama allowed Branch house members to live inside the Manor, using Main Family's private rooms."

Hiashi pressed his lips, and swallowed, indicating that he was not pleased with what he was listening. That reaction did not go unobserved by Kanoe, who gave an inner smile. Hanzou opened his mouth, trying to defend Hinata, but Kensuke's voice was louder and sovereign.

"Hinata-sama, with the rebellious support of Soijiro, from the Branch House, initiated a dangerous action that consisted in placing explosives alongside Hyuuga Compound's walls."

"Her plan worked!" - Shouted Hanzou - "Stop talking about Hinata-sama as if she were reckless and dumb. She and Neji's plan saved us."

"Neji's?" - asked Hiashi.

"Yes. Neji, from the Branch House, son of Hizashi…" - started Kanoe.

"I KNOW WHO NEJI IS" - shouted Hiashi, positively furious - "What is Neji's part on this craziness?"

"He helped Hinata-sama all along….And I personally suspect that he is the mastermind behind the plan." - continued Kanoe, not moved by Hiashi's screams.

"Haven't I said that your personal opinions are irrelevant here, Kanoe?"

"With your pardon, Hiashi-sama, Kanoe's opinion is not entirely unfounded." - Interrupted Kensuke - "There are strong evidences that point to Neji's active participation on the plan. The technique used to make the explosive tags was created by the kunoichi called Tenten, which is Neji's teammate. Therefore, I, Hyuuga Kensuke, also believe that Hyuuga Neji, from the Branch House, was the mastermind of this rebellious act that almost lead Hyuuga Clan to extinction."

Hiashi took a deep breath and close his sole eye, showing much of his exhaustion and disappointment. Sayaka took a step forward, believing that her husband would faint anytime soon. But he didn't. Hyuuga Hiashi opened his eye again, and the flames of life force still shined there.

"My Lord, I beg your permission to tell the events as I witnessed." – Humbly said Hanzou, lowering his head.

"You have my permission" – said Hiashi, with a curious look in his eye.

"Sire, your elder daughter and your nephew did what they did to protect and save our clan." – started Hanzou. Kanoe burped a sound "humghf", but Hiashi raised his hand and said: "Continue".

"Hinata-sama warned the Council several times about the danger of postponing Hyuuga's reaction to the attacks. Her warnings proved reasonable as the enemy cut our water and energy supplies."

"Hanzou-san, the Council was fully aware of the consequences. But the safety of our clansmen came first. That is the reason why we decided to seek another strategy." – said Kensuke.

"There has never been an alternative strategy from the Council!!" – Shouted Hanzou – "Never!! You old people simply sat down and waited!"

"Insolent!! How dare you say that to me, the Head Councilman?? What do you know about the Council's decisions?" – Kensuke steadily walked towards Hanzou, who already activated his bloodline limit.

"Enough" – said Hiashi – "Hanzou, are you done?"

"…Er….No my, Lord, not yet."

"Then finish you story"

"Ahem…right. As I was saying, the Council had no plans. And when the enemies finally invaded Hyuuga's territory, the Councilmen and the Main Family decided to flee to the mountains"

"Is that true, Kensuke?" – asked Hiashi.

"No. We did not decide to flee, Hanzou-kun. Hinata's action allowed a large number of enemies to invade our compound beyond our defense power. Exclusively by her fault, the Council had to take the difficult and humiliating decision to retreat to the mountains, to save our noble blood."

"Retreat? You have been away from the battle field for so long, that you forgot the difference between 'flee' and 'retreat'. What you did was obviously 'flee', to save your noble asses." - Retorted Hanzou, in a poisonous tone.

"Amazing!" – Laughed Kanoe – "According to your 'battlefield dictionary', Hanzou, Hinata-sama's 'strategy' could also be understood as 'suicidal plan' or 'kamikaze attack', as many of our clansmen DIED following her stupid and irresponsible plan."

"You old hag…you were the first one to flee, you only think on yourself….Don't use your failed and ironic rhetoric to mask the truth I'm trying to tell Hiashi-sama!!" – Hanzou shouted, his face was red and his hands were fisted.

"Hanzou! Are you finished now?" – asked Hiashi.

"My Lord…I…I'm….I'm finish. But, please…." – and he fell on his knee – "I beg you. Don't listen to these two fallacies, believe in your daughters and in your nephew. Their only wish was to save our clan, to get help from Konoha. I'm sure that you would have done the very same thing…."

Hiashi stared at Hanzou's pleading figure and after a long silence, he said:

"No. I wouldn't."

--

Shikamaru had a deep scratch on his face with dark dried blood; his hair loose touching his not so muscled shoulders; and his chest was bare naked, revealing lots of bluish wounds. Not to mention the dark powder that covered his whole body, making he look like a miner.

"Hey, Naruto,….Too many people here. Call these guys back." – He pointed to the three clones that followed him, held by the shadow.

"Ooookkkayyy!!" – Naruto cheerfully said. Waving hands to all, the clones disappeared.

Seeing Shikamaru, Ino ran to him, holding him tight. Her head sank on his chest and she cried, sad and relieved tears. Shikamaru, at first, was scared by Ino's sudden reaction, but then:

'Ah…Ino…Come on…This..This is so embarrassing…….Girls are so troublesome…"

And as he said that, Ino's cries became louder and deeper:

"I thought (sob) I would never ( big sob) hear you say that again…(sob)….I thought you were dead…..I…I…would be alone and ….fight alone….."

"I'm okay….You see….I'm okay. Relax….Oh man…" – and he rested his head on her blond hair, returning her tight embrace.

Sakura was moved by the scene. She knew exactly how Ino felt, as she felt that way three years ago, when Naruto and Sasuke left Konoha. How afraid she was to think that her friends could be dead, or…worse…gone to somewhere that she would never be able to reach them….

Involuntarily, she cleaned with the back of her hands a few tears that insisted on falling down.

"Are you fine, Sakura-chan?" – Asked Naruto, looking at her with inquiring eyes.

'Uh? Of course I am! (cleans more the tears) I'm perfectly fine. It's the smoke…." – and Sakura smiled to her old friend, silent thanking him for being there for her.

Hinata felt no relieve at all as she wandered about the destiny of her teammates Kiba and Shino. She also feared for Neji and Hanabi.

Finally free from Ino's embrace, Shikamaru asked Naruto what was happening in Konoha. Naruto gave him a briefing from the current situation, including their plan to free the other clans.

Shikamaru, sat down near a paper wall and asked:

"Hum….so you sent Team Gai to Akimichi's…And we are to meet Chouji at the Memorial Stone."

"Right" – nodded Naruto.

"What if they never make it?" - asked Shikamaru.

"They will make it, I'm positive!!" – answered Naruto.

"Yeah, but we must have a plan B"

"I'm tired of plans…" – whispered Hinata. Sakura heard something and turned to the Hyuuga, with questioning eyes. Hinata simply waved her head.

"Well, if we reach Memorial Stone and see nobody there, we must leave a message and go for Aburame's." – said Shikamaru.

"But…and Hinata's team?"

"Naruto, we can't wait." – said Shikamaru – "We must get Shino's help."

"Why Shino? What about Kiba? He has Akamaru, which means extra help!" – argued Naruto.

"Have you ever considered that Akamaru is only one and might be dead by now?" – asked Shikamaru. All feared the possibility – "Aburame's insects, on the other hand, are many and worth for an entire army! Besides, as I understood, the objective is regroup the teams. With Shino, we can divide ourselves in two complete three man cells."

"Yeah, but not the original teams!!" – retorted Naruto.

"No, but we will have two members of each team. That already helps a lot. Also, we studied together and graduated together in the academy…we know each other."

"Shikamaru…you are…leaving Chouji behind?" – asked Ino with a sad expression in her face.

"I'm not leaving Chouji behind. I'd never do that to my best friend. But we must seek the best option to Konoha."

Hinata, Sakura, Naruto and Ino fell silent, listening to their own thoughts. But Shikamaru cut the silence:

"Moreover, I sure that Team Gai will never leave Akimichi's compound without Chouji."

And that was true. Team Gai was faithful to its promises and never failed in a rescue mission before. The kids stood up, ready to go. Shikamaru went to the manor insides for a few minutes and returned fully dressed, wearing the Chunin vest and with his hair tied in the traditional ponytail.

"Let's go?"

"What about your family?" – asked Ino.

"My father and the other Nara shinobis have already left to Konoha."

"…..why were you left behind? Don't tell me that you were too tired to go, Shikamaru…" – Ino pinched his ear.

"AAAA…nooo….My mom held me here!! She wanted to clean and treat my wounds …." – Shikamaru explained. Ino didn't believe and pinched even harder his ear – "AAAAAA…..That is the truth!! Ask my mom!!"

"I will ask" – Ino released Shikamaru's ear and disappeared in the backyards of Nara's house. Naruto came closer to Shikamaru and whispered in his ear:

"You can tell me. Is that the truth?"

"Unfortunately….yes. I fainted after the battle, and when I woke up, my old man and the others had already gone."

Ino returned with a resolute look on her face, followed by Shikamaru's mom.

"You better return alive, son! And tell the same to your father, that lazy husband of mine!" – Said the dark haired lady, pointing a finger directly on her son's face.

"Ok ma. Be safe yourself." – said the boy.

"I can take care of myself. Now, move your lazy bones and go do something useful for a change!"

As the kids left Nara's House (laughing at Shikamaru), Hinata asked:

"Hum…Shikamaru-san...How did your family managed to break free from the enemy's trap?"

"It is kind of troublesome to explain…..but….well…..They used some sort of jutsu that created fire balls as bright as the sun. They used five or more of it. Its' light not only blinded us but also reduced the efficiency of our kagemane. Knowing that Naras aren't good on direct combat, they invaded our lands. We fought hard, and then, I had an idea. I asked my mom and the other non-shinobi to get as much green wood as they could. That wood was placed in the center of the battle field. Mom set fire on it. Green wood makes a lot of smoke, so it was possible to shadow the fire balls' light and we could use the kagemane….well, you can guess the rest…."

"The clever Shikamaru saved the day again!" – said Naruto.

"Feh…It was not easy, though."

When they reached the Memorial Stone, Akimichi Chouji was already there, calmly eating chips.

"What took you so long? You had to take Shika from his bed?"

"Is it my impression, or you all are making fun of me today? How troublesome…" – said Shikamaru.

Ino gave Chouji the same tight embrace she did on Shikamaru, crying rivers as well. But now, she was happy: her teammates and best friends were alive.

"(sob, sniff) Asuma Team is back again!! Let's show those punks the power of the InoShikaChou!!" – cheerfully shouted Ino.

"Yeah!! Nobody can stop us!!" – shouted Chouji!

"Oh man…there they go…how troublesome….."

--

N.A.: Sorry, Sorry, and Sorry for the looooonnnngggg hiatus. I'll try my best to update this fic at a regular basis….

Keep Reading and reviewing!!

Thanks for the support.