Notes: A bit of explanation: this story has always been a mess. I had ideas for it stored in various places, and was very slow about bringing them all together. So it took me a while to realize I basically had an unposted chapter ready to go for at least the past year or so. And if I combine the various unused starts and finishes for the story, that might just turn out to be a final chapter. I guess we'll see.

Previously in Senjutsu for the Soul:

Shikamaru and Hana decided to withhold information from Hinata about her clan, and Shikamaru warned Sasuke to take better care of Hinata. Naruto's jealousy over the bond between Sakura and Shikamaru caused him to overreact. Shima was concerned that Itachi was progressing too quickly in absorbing nature energy. Naruto and Sakura reached an understanding, with him promising to prove his love to her. An unfortunate encounter with Ino renewed Naruto's determination to one day defeat the Nine Tails. Hinata learned that her clan had chosen another heiress. The long-missing Kō, now lacking his left eye, was found and assigned to Hanabi's security detail.

Senjutsu for the Soul

A Naruto Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 8: Sacrificial

Hinata woke up slowly, and instantly knew something was wrong.

First, even before she opened her eyes, she could tell that she was not in her bed, or in her room. There were certain scents she associated with home, and none of them were present.

Second, there was some sort of soft cloth tied around her head, positioned over her eyes. This would not prevent her from using the Byakugan, and she had to assume that anyone attempting to kidnap a Hyuga would know that. But she did not yet feel alarmed, or even in any danger, just confused.

Third, Hinata could sense that she was not alone, but still got the distinct impression that the presence she felt was not human. It did not seem at all hostile, at least, and after a few minutes of calm silence, Hinata decided to risk speaking.

"Hello?" she whispered.

At once, something soft and moist brushed against her left ankle, and Hinata fell silent again. After a short pause, the same pressure returned against her ankle more firmly, and this time Hinata felt sure that it had to be some kind of small animal. She could have used her Byakugan to be sure, but somehow it did not seem like a good idea just yet. And if nothing else, whatever the animal was doing felt strangely pleasant, so if it was slowly poisoning her or something similar, it was at least doing it in a painless way.

Suddenly, Hinata heard rapid footfalls approaching, and then someone burst into the room. She relaxed at once when the familiar floral scent reached her nose. "Sakura-chan?" she asked.

Sakura seized her hand at once, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad you're finally awake. You scared me, Hinata-chan. Don't do that anymore, okay?"

"I don't know what you mean," Hinata confessed. "Did something happen?"

"Yes. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Before we get to that, what's on my leg?"

"Oh, that's a slug," Sakura said helpfully. "Not a regular one, a summon. I don't know her name yet, but if you feel anything weird, she's trying to heal you. Although I don't think there's much to heal right now."

"Hello, Hinata-san," said a small voice from the direction of her feet. "Please don't mind me, I shall be done soon."

"Oh. Thank you very much," Hinata murmured to the slug. She turned her head back to Sakura. "Why do I need healing? Or why did you think I did?"

"Do you remember training with Mikoto-san today?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Hinata replied at once. "We were running on the mountain path. The short one, I'm allowed to do that with supervision. I remember feeling tired, but that always happens."

"That's it?" Sakura asked after a pause. "You don't remember anything else after that?"

"I... don't remember finishing the run," Hinata admitted slowly. "I suppose I must have collapsed?"

"If it was only that, you'd be at home instead of here."

"Where is 'here', exactly?"

"Nobody wants to say, but I feel pretty sure it's far outside the Land of Fire. They had to summon us here, plus my slug friend took one look around and assumed we were lost in enemy territory."

"Why are we here, then?"

"They wanted a specialist to examine you," Sakura explained, "but his team was away from the village on a mission. So they sent out a toad to find him, made him stay put, and had us summoned to his location. Apparently he's also a summoner, but not one of ours. So we couldn't just bring him to us."

"What sort of specialist is he?"

"Taijutsu, from what I heard. I don't really get what that has to do with you collapsing, or why Mikoto-san demanded him especially. She was convinced only he could help."

"And so he has," said a voice that Hinata instantly recognized as Itachi's. "Thank you for staying with her, Sakura-chan. I knew you were the anchor best suited for this task."

"Itachi nii-san?" Hinata gasped in shock. "But you were on a mission with Jiraiya-sama! Why are you here?"

"You ask a silly a question, Hinata," Itachi replied as he came closer, placing his hand on her shoulder. "What parent would not rush to his beloved child's side at such a time? Do you think me so unfeeling?"

"No, of course not! But... you were doing important work. Mikoto-san could have stayed with me."

"And normally, she would have, especially as worried about you as she was. But my mother feels that your current condition might have been due to her training, and I cannot help but agree. While I do not fault her for this, and assured her that you would not either, she feels completely responsible for this accident and chose to stay away. But I do think, and our specialist agrees, that this accident indicates you have grown past the point where my mother's training can benefit you, and in record time. I believe that congratulations are in order for you both."

Hinata was not sure how to feel about this as Itachi began to loosen the cloth around her head. While Mikoto's training had been quite difficult, she felt it had brought them closer, and did not want to stop it just because of an accident, and especially if Mikoto was blaming herself for it. The cloth was soon removed from her eyes, and Hinata slowly opened them, blinking several times. They appeared to be in a cabin, and Hinata was sitting in a small bed, while Itachi and Sakura stared at her from the left. There was indeed a small, green slug attached to Hinata's right ankle, and as she watched, a faint glow surrounded the slug, and a pleasant sensation fluttered through her leg, but it was brief comfort at best. She got the impression that the slug's chakra was either too weak or too unlike her own to do much good.

"What caused my accident?" Hinata finally asked. "And what was it, exactly, if not a simple collapse?"

"Do you recall our lesson on how the eight gates within the body limit chakra flow to various areas, Hinata?" Itachi asked. Once she nodded, he continued. "It seems you managed to open two of them, completely by accident. While this is not entirely unheard of, it is a matter of concern. I trust you remember why?"

Hinata nodded gravely. "Open all of them, and you die."

Itachi squeezed her shoulder gently. "Do not worry, Hinata. It would take years of difficult training before anyone could even begin to approach that final gate. What we must address now is that you clearly have the potential to open more gates, also without meaning to. This must be approached carefully."

"But why would I want to keep doing it?"

"Because we think this might be the answer you've been looking for, Hinata-chan," Sakura chimed in. "You've been searching for a specific training to increase the strength of your legs, and you smashed through two of these gates while you were running. There's an obvious connection there, and you need to look into it. You need to understand any power within your body that has this much impact on you. You know why, don't you?"

"Because it might help the rest of you," Hinata replied.

"And because it can only hurt you, to be aware of this great power and not learn all you can about it," Itachi added. "I can guarantee that your tenant will be closely monitoring anything that releases that much chakra, so even if you choose to remain ignorant, he will not."

There was a certain tension in the air when Hinata returned home, but it was immediately thrust aside when Naruto ran up and hugged her none too gently. From anyone else, it would have been too much affection, but then the rules never really seemed to apply to Naruto, and Hinata returned the embrace eagerly.

Sasuke kept his distance, which was normal, but even he made a point to pull Hinata's chair out for her at dinnertime. She gave him a big smile and lightly touched his hand. Sasuke grunted something that did not sound entirely unpleasant as he took his own seat, a hint of red in his cheeks.

Mikoto was strangely distant, and barely spoke at all throughout dinner. Remembering Itachi's words, Hinata waited until Mikoto rose to serve dessert, and followed her into the kitchen. "I'll have dessert out in a moment, Hina-chan," Mikoto said without turning around.

"I wanted to thank you, Mikoto-sensei," Hinata murmured.

"For a dessert you haven't tasted yet?" Mikoto asked with a weak laugh.

"For your training. For... everything you've done for me. I know you didn't have to. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate all the kindness you've shown me."

"Treating a sweet child kindly isn't something a mother expects or needs to be thanked for," Mikoto replied.

"But I thought I should," Hinata insisted, "because I'm not your child."

Mikoto's back went stiff.

Sensing she had said the wrong thing, Hinata tried to rephrase. "I m-meant, I'm not y-your child by b-blood," she stammered.

"I would kill anyone or anything that tried to take any of my children from me," Mikoto said softly. "Whether they had my blood or not. Do you really think I provide or care for you and Naruto any differently than I do Sasuke? Kushina was my dearest friend in the world, and it was our intention that Sasuke and Naruto become friends. I didn't know your mother well, but I suspect she would have been happy to know you have a devoted family to take care of you." Mikoto slowly turned to face Hinata, a stern look on her face. "You don't ever have to say it, Hina-chan, but I am your mother now. I will be until you don't need me to be, but that's a long time off."

"I think I will always need a mother," Hinata disagreed, reaching out to take Mikoto's hand. "Especially one like you."

"And you don't blame me for what happened to you?" Mikoto asked hesitantly.

"For making me stronger than I could ever become on my own?" Hinata replied with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Mikoto's waist. "Yes, that's entirely your fault."

Sakura woke up the next morning with the nagging feeling that something was different, and not in a good way. Shikamaru had always been the best at sensing potential or definite threats, and she trusted his judgment above all else on such matters. However, trying to get his opinion on anything at such an early hour was utterly pointless, so she would have to investigate herself.

Not surprisingly, everyone else in the house appeared to be asleep still, with the exception of Ino, who was not in her bed. This was not all that unusual, as Ino had many sleepless nights, either because of night terrors, or because the Nine Tails had decided to take her body out for a stroll. Even so, at least her father would have been wide awake on such an occasion, too gripped with worry to sleep. Ino must have snuck out in the middle of the night, then, which implied a level of skill that Sakura had never known Ino to possess, or at least to display in front of others.

Mildly concerned now, Sakura ventured outside and immediately found Ino standing a few feet from the door, staring up into the sky. Some of the concern melted away at once. While the Nine Tails certainly missed having his own body, Sakura had never known him to take over Ino's body solely for the simple joy of something like basking in the sun. Ino wouldn't have feared his controlling her nearly as much if that was all he made her do.

"Did I wake you, Sakura?" Ino asked without turning around. "Sorry. I just needed some air."

"You could have left a note, pig," Sakura snapped automatically. She didn't like to admit that she'd needlessly been worried about Ino, of all people. Even though Shikamaru continued to insist that there was a need, Sakura had proven slow to trust him on it. Ino couldn't exactly leave without Katsuyu's permission, which she would never obtain while under the influence of the Nine Tails. Actually, Ino was almost never allowed to leave, even with adult supervision. It was just safer that way for all involved.

Ino didn't even rise to the bait. "Sorry," she said again, sounding as if she truly meant it. "I wanted to, but the words wouldn't come out right, and I just gave up. I know that's not a good excuse, but-"

"You couldn't have woken someone up and let them know?" Sakura interrupted. "How many times have we been over this, Ino? Do you actually enjoy making people worry about you?"

"If I did," Ino said slowly, "then I certainly picked the right body to be born in, didn't I? The one that has virtually zero resistance to the Nine Tails and is also the most frail."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Some of that is your fault. You never train anymore, no matter how much we bug you about it."

"Because that's what I want, is for my body to be in excellent shape, so he can have even more options about what he makes it do. Thanks, but no thanks."

"Why do you always have to give up so fast?" Sakura demanded. "It's like you don't have any willpower at all! If you would just-"

"Do me a favor, Sakura?" Ino asked abruptly. "Just this once? Don't... let Naruto stop smiling, okay? I know I'm in no position to tell you how to treat him, but... don't let him stop smiling. It's the only hope any of us have. You don't have to love him, but make sure he's happy."

Sakura glared at her. "What the hell are you talking about, Ino? You're acting weird."

"Just promise me you'll do it. Please?"

"No. Not until you give me some answers."

Ino sighed heavily. "Somehow, I knew I couldn't count on you, even today. We'd be lost without Hinata, you know that?"

Before Sakura could reply, Ino suddenly sprinted away. Sakura hesitated and then followed. She caught up easily, and just when she was reaching out to grab Ino, the other girl spun around and actually tried to catch her in a genjutsu. Sakura would have laughed if she weren't so insulted. Instead, she easily reflected the genjutsu back on Ino, with a nasty little something extra to put her in her place. If Ino hadn't learned not to use people's own tricks against them without being an expert herself, now she would.

"You never think, Ino," Sakura sighed as the girl slowly sank to the ground, a blank look on her face. "And people who don't think really shouldn't use genjutsu."

"Well said, Sakura-chan," said a voice at her side, and she jumped as Itachi appeared right next to her.

"What are you doing here, Itachi-san?" Sakura asked.

He glanced at Ino. "I thought Ino might try something like this. The last time we spoke, I had a suspicion. But you seem to have things under control here."

Sakura beamed. That was high praise, from someone like Itachi.

"Which is why people who do think should learn to appreciate that things are not always what they seem," Itachi murmured, catching Sakura as she collapsed into his arms, firmly under his own genjutsu. With a tap on Ino's forehead, he canceled Sakura's genjutsu on her.

"I knew it," Ino snorted as she stood up. "She wouldn't even do me the one favor."

"Perhaps she will change her mind, afterward," Itachi suggested calmly as he lowered Sakura carefully to the ground. "With any luck, several things will change for the better at that point."

"Maybe," Ino muttered. She gave Sakura one last, lingering look, then followed Itachi as he hurried away.

Shino was even easier to liberate. Kiba and Chōji had taken to training at odd hours, and Hana and Shizune went with them, in case immediate medical attention was needed. The dogs were only too happy to go along, as Shino's scent tended to make animals nervous as a rule, even if they were accustomed to his presence. One simply didn't ignore something so poisonous.

As for Shino's safety, no one could actually get near enough to kidnap or harm him. And even if they could, perhaps the only thing more poisonous than Shino when he did not wish others harm, was Shino when he did. It was understood that the only thing Shizune's barrier really accomplished was to remind Shino not to get too close to anyone. If he wanted, he could have simply torn it down and killed them all. And it wasn't as if Shizune could safely pass the barrier herself. Shino's breath had only grown more toxic as his body grew, so nothing but Shadow Clones had even remote contact with him anymore.

So it was terribly easy for Shino to gradually create an underground tunnel in the back of the cave. When Itachi arrived, Shino merely popped out of a hole in the ground, and they were on their way.

Ino and Shino had never really been friends. They barely knew each other at all, in fact. They did, however, have one thing in common, something they shared with only seven other children in the world: they had both been cursed to carry a portion of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Unlike the others, however, there were no benefits to the tainted power as far as this pair was concerned. Every breath that Shino had taken since that fateful night had been full of poison, produced by his own body, and so highly toxic that even he was not immune to it. Ino had lived in near-total isolation at her own insistence, because she could never be sure when the demon inside her would emerge, take over her mind, and force her body to do things she would never even think of doing in her worst nightmares.

Itachi had thought that he was the only one that could save them from their pain, but as they approached him, flanked by his two Shadow Clones, he saw that he'd been wrong. Ino had a firm grip on Shino's hand as she lead the way up the path. Even from a distance, Itachi could see that her hand and some of her forearm had already turned a ghastly violet, no doubt from exposure to Shino's poison. But still Ino held on, because she knew that Shino had only ever been able to touch one other person who hadn't feared death, and he had been far too young to appreciate it at the time.

Besides, if Itachi's plan worked, all three of them would soon be dead, so what did a few minutes of discomfort for her matter? Even better, the odds of the Nine Tails wanting to control a body riddled with poison was very slim. On the other hand, Itachi had no idea how long Ino could survive Shino's poison, or if the Nine Tails would willingly try to increase what little resistance she might have against the poison naturally. In fact, it was far more likely that having the three of them die all at once was in the fox's best interest, because oddly enough, it was also in theirs... but only if Itachi was the one calling the shots.

"So is there some kind of ceremony?" Ino asked, staring at Itachi curiously.

"I doubt we'd have time even if there was," Itachi replied, staring pointedly at their joined hands. "But no. Once I initiate the process, I suspect the whole thing will take less than a minute. I have not been able to test it on anyone other than myself, of course."

"Okay. There's just one more thing I need to do." With that, Ino turned to Shino, yanked down his high collar, and planted her lips on his.

Itachi rolled his eyes. He'd suspected that would come into play eventually, but it was good that it hadn't any earlier. He wasn't sure Ino would have survived long enough after having inhaled that much poison. Really, it was lucky there was no time to do anything more than kiss, as he was sure Ino would have done that, as well. And Shino would have deserved every second of enjoyment they could squeeze out of the experience, although Itachi would have felt very awkward to have to witness it all.

Ino finally broke the kiss, her mouth covered in violet toxins. She managed a smile that was only partially a grimace, to her credit: the poison was already overwhelming her, but then it had been a good, long kiss.

With the combined ease of constant practice and his ability to learn nearly anything at twice the speed of an above average person, Itachi began to absorb the energy of the surrounding nature into his body... and then smoothly shifted to also take in the tainted power that he sensed within his two charges. Outwardly, he merely reached for their hands once he was ready.

The change began the moment their fingers touched his. They had no experience with absorbing natural energy, so Itachi forced the amount he had already gathered into their bodies. If they had been weaker, or perhaps untainted by a demon, the process could have easily driven them mad. But Ino and Shino had been fighting a demon housed within their own bodies all of their lives. By comparison, the violent transformation into a berserker would have been a simple thing to suppress. But this shift had no guiding purpose, no malevolent will to direct its path, and that would have made it an easier foe to conquer... if that had been the goal. But it wasn't. And there was only one possible path left, for a body entirely untrained in senjutsu: another transformation entirely, by no means violent, but far more permanent.

In minutes, there was no sign of the three humans. Where they had once stood, however, were three new stone toad statues: a large one, flanked by two smaller ones, but all with the curious addition of a fox's tail curled around their feet.

Itachi's plan was discovered rather quickly, although not so quickly that anyone was able to stop him. He had, in fact, left brief notes within easy reach of the remaining children, explaining what he had done, and why. Each note also contained an open invitation with instructions: to join himself, Ino, and Shino, if it all ever became too much for any of them to bear.

Each child reacted differently to the news.

Shikamaru withdrew from those around him, in order to think. He had only known that Itachi was plotting something, but he had never guessed it was anything of this nature. He did not blame Itachi, however, only himself. Perhaps if he had seen this coming, he would have been able to prevent it, although he had his doubts. Itachi was very clever, and neither Ino nor Shino had given any definite sign of the plan along the way. Shikamaru had known of Ino's desire to die, but he had never guessed that she'd actually found a surefire method, or that Itachi would help her carry it out. Overall, Shikamaru was more concerned by the fact that he himself had been blindsided, than by the actual deaths. He understood and even appreciated Itachi's reasoning, but the others relied on Shikamaru for guidance, especially now, and he did not like being caught without answers ready.

Sakura was furious. At Shikamaru, for not forcing her to spend more time with Ino. At Itachi, for tricking her. At Shino and especially Ino, for giving up and abandoning them. At Naruto and Kushina, for not finding a way to prevent this. And at herself, for being powerless to do anything, despite all that she'd learned.

Kiba, unable to handle his guilt at not being able to save Shino, needed to destroy something. He collapsed the rear portion of the cave where Shino had lived, using nothing more than his bare hands to carry out the task. It was the only grave-site he could bring himself to visit.

Chōji, oddly enough, handled the shock better than the others. He alone had known Ino's favorite flowers, and placed them at her statue each chance he got. He was also the voice of the reason that insisted they had become too separated, and that they could not afford to let it continue. Ignoring any protests, he approached Enma and thanked him for his training, then took Kiba's arm and joined Shikamaru and Sakura in Katsuyu's care. Though Chōji and Kiba were required to give up their rights as monkey summoners, neither was required to become a slug summoner, a rather generous gift even by Katsuyu's standards. For security's sake, however, they were restricted to her realm unless accompanied in some form by Katsuyu herself.

Sasuke took it the hardest, which was not entirely unexpected. That he seemed to miss Ino more was, however. The moment he was allowed, he visited Ino's room for several hours, and was permitted to keep her hairbrush. No one asked why he wanted it, or questioned it when he began to wear an armband with a few golden strands woven into it.

Hinata cried, of course, but after that, she began to focus on her training with an intensity that she had never displayed before. A mere month after the deaths, Hinata had learned how to open the two inner gates she'd accessed through sheer will, and seemed able to keep them open, slightly if not all the way, indefinitely, so long as she was around Naruto. Curiously, the skill did not transfer over when she was paired with any other anchor, which was as good as a guarantee that the two would become future teammates. And Sasuke was not so much unable to work with anyone else as he was unwilling. In any case, he knew what was in store for him at his mother's hands, should anything bad should happen to their beloved "Hina-chan" on his watch.

Naruto visited the toad statues every week, without fail. The three were, in his mind, all the inspiration he needed to master the powers within him. He needed no other keepsakes: he had Itachi's lessons, Shino's sorrow, and Ino's faith. He was the one that insisted on regular meetings, and not just some children visiting others, but all of them meeting at one time in Katsuyu's realm. It was a tall order, but the others supported his decision with little prodding. Katsuyu and Gamabunta agreed, reluctantly despite their friendship, and every slug and toad in sight were on high alert during such meetings. Though he no longer had any official role among them, Enma was not opposed to sending his subordinates as an additional security measure. This was seen as a good thing: the Hokage, if not the village, still cared what happened to them.

The three toad statues remained where they had been erected on Mount Myōboku. Moving them seemed unwise: Itachi had clearly picked the location for its remoteness, far removed from the mountain's usual flurry of activity, but easily protected if it came to that. And in any case, Gamaken and Gamaryuu were happy to stand guard over the site, so there was hardly a safer place on the whole mountain.

On a more curious note, Jiraiya had visited the toad statues the moment he learned of them, and immediately applied a seal to Itachi's toad. According to him, Itachi had effectively re-sealed the two children beneath an additional layer of protection: stone, which could not be undone by any known means. Furthermore, the children had turned to stone in the first place because, like Itachi, they had intentionally absorbed too much nature energy. But in the process, Itachi had also absorbed some of their demonic chakra, effectively making him the tenth person to simultaneously contain a portion of the Nine Tails. Apparently not even the Nine Tails had known how to escape the eternal stone, and Jiraiya's seal was just added protection, not that it seemed necessary. But he was willing to take no chances this time.

In other words, the only way for anyone to completely possess the Nine Tails would be an extremely complicated process. First, they would have to drain the demonic chakra from the surviving children. Then, they would need to discover a way to reverse the stone toad transformation... which didn't exist, as far as the oldest toad sages were concerned. Finally, they would need enough sealing knowledge to undo the seals left by Kushina and Jiraiya, and as a rule, people with that much combined sealing knowledge either no longer existed, or were known of by at least someone who was willing to talk for a price.

The most likely person capable of all of that would be an extremely talented toad sage, much like Itachi himself. But the likelihood of the toads choosing a summoner who could ever betray them was nearly impossible, considering they trusted so few people to begin with. Even among the nine children, only Naruto had been pre-approved for this honor, and only then because of his genetics, vast potential, and unquestioned loyalty to the toads. And perhaps most importantly, if forced to choose sides in the future, which was a real possibility, there was no doubt who any of the children would side with: Konoha, who had cast them out, or the summon realms, who had taken them in. More and more, toads would only be seen wearing the Leaf symbol outside of their realm. It was a subtle but notable difference, at least to those on the mountain.

Although no one blamed Shizune for being unable to cure Shino, she offered to leave, if the children felt she should. Not one did, and in any case, Shikamaru would have overruled them. He recognized that Shizune was technically an apprentice who had abandoned her master. She probably could have returned to Konoha on good terms, but as Konoha was not necessarily an ally at the moment, losing her to them would be a very bad thing. And despite her failure with Shino, Shizune was incredibly useful for healing virtually anyone else.

Inoichi was another matter, however. With Ino gone, his only real reason for staying was looking after Sakura. But between Yoshino, who mothered anyone who came within reach, and Shizune, who Sakura spent just as much time around, there was nothing for Inoichi to do. And even if there had been, he was so depressed about Ino that he probably wouldn't have been in the proper shape to do it. Just as bad, in his grief, he was becoming a negative role model for the boys. Sakura finally asked him to return to Konoha, and thankfully, he agreed easily enough. But the blank look in his eyes had not been at all encouraging, and Sakura had asked that news concerning him be left out of Shikamaru's reports on Konoha. It wasn't that she didn't care, but that she did, even though Inoichi obviously no longer did.

Continued in Chapter 9: Return

The jinchūriki return to Konoha.