[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 41.
...
...
The gazes of those present shifted back and forth, confused. None of them, except for those who had tried something, had been struck, yet they saw the bodies of the elders and the patriarch lying on the ground in various places, not understanding exactly what had happened.
However, one thing was clear: it all started the moment they activated the seal on Hanabi's forehead.
The girl had finally recovered, but she still had a weary look, unaware of the horrified eyes of the other elders upon her.
"She's doing something!" one of them concluded.
"She changed something in her seal!" others thought, since no one could see exactly what was happening. They only saw the elders being struck down one by one.
"..." Hiashi had been there the entire time, just as surprised as the others. He had handed the scroll to Minato a week ago, and Hanabi had met with him the entire week. He thought that perhaps Minato had done something, but he didn't know how.
Suddenly, several Hyuuga clan ninjas began to enter the hall, many of them from the main family.
"What is happening here?!" They immediately sought answers as they found several fallen elders and the patriarch himself.
"That girl... Somehow, she altered her seal to attack anyone who activates it!" one of the elders responded, still panting. "Since the seal on her forehead no longer works properly, I want her captured immediately!" He had reached this conclusion.
The clan's ninjas, following the order without hesitation, quickly advanced toward Hanabi. She, in turn, only watched in surprise. However, before they could even touch her, they were all brutally repelled without warning.
The ninjas' bodies were thrown far away, breaking through the hall's walls. The sound of debris and groans echoed through the place as more houses collapsed around them. Once again, silence settled among the elders.
"Even without activating the seal?!" the elders murmured.
Hanabi looked around, surprised at what had happened. She hadn't moved, nor had she done anything to attack. Like the others, she also didn't understand what was happening.
"She... no one can touch her?" That was the conclusion the elders ultimately reached, looking at the young girl with a mixture of fear and caution.
As the wounded were treated, the entire clan was already gathering around the hall—both members of the main family and the branch family. Everyone wanted to understand what was happening.
"Hanabi!" At that moment, Hanabi's grandfather entered the hall. His gaze swept over the fallen bodies on the ground before settling on his granddaughter. He approached her, concerned.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice filled with apprehension.
Hanabi only nodded. Even so, she noticed that everyone around her continued to observe her cautiously, not daring to come too close.
"Taili, tell me... What did your granddaughter do?" one of the elders asked, his voice overflowing with anger as he glared at Hanabi's grandfather.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Baky-sama," he responded cautiously.
"Don't give me that! Your granddaughter is doing something!" the elder retorted furiously.
Before he could say anything else, he quickly brought his hands together and activated the Caged Bird Seal on the old man's forehead. Instantly, Hanabi's grandfather screamed in pain, collapsing to his knees on the floor.
"Grandfather!" Hanabi shouted, running toward him.
But before her grandfather could continue suffering, it happened again.
No one saw the person approaching. They appeared out of nowhere and, with a single kick, struck the elder who had activated the seal. The brutal impact instantly shattered his nose, jaw, and teeth before he was sent flying, destroying another part of the hall. Just like before, the attacker disappeared before anyone could even see them.
The remaining elders were paralyzed. They didn't know what to do. Half of those who decided the clan's future were now fallen, injured in a terrifying manner.
"Grandfather, are you okay?" Hanabi ignored the commotion around her and focused only on her grandfather, who was breathing heavily.
She knew he was no longer at a good age. Suffering an attack like that could be fatal for him. Even though he had asked her to stay away from her friends, he was the only relative she had left. Besides, Hanabi knew that, deep down, he had always wanted the best for her—even if reality was harsh.
"You two."
Hanabi looked at the person who had caught her attention.
"Go home. There's nothing here for you anymore."
The one who spoke was Hiashi, his expression serious.
Hanabi felt her grandfather leaning on her shoulder and began to leave, while the elders and other ninjas watched cautiously, giving space without anyone doing anything to stop her.
"You let her leave just like that, after everything?" one of the elders asked, incredulous.
"What were we supposed to do? Something is happening here, and it has to do with Hanabi. Do you want to see more people from our clan being thrown away?" Hiashi retorted.
The elder who had questioned him simply nodded, agreeing with his reasoning.
In the end, Hanabi took her grandfather home, and no one else bothered them. However, she didn't sleep that night, expecting an attack from the clan at any moment. But, surprisingly, no one approached, although a few Byakugan eyes had kept watch on her.
After what had happened, everyone was focused on treating the wounded.
At Konoha's hospital, the doctors were shocked when they started receiving several members of the Hyuuga clan with severely bruised faces and some broken bones.
Nothing like this had ever happened before in the clan's history. In the end, the elders had no choice but to give up on their actions—at least for now.
Some clan members looked at the commotion surrounding Hanabi with admiration and even surprise. Others, however, glared at her with anger. Even though she was from the branch family, she had somehow insulted the elders by disobeying their orders—something unthinkable for them.
The next day, Hanabi felt afraid to leave her grandfather alone in the clan after everything that had happened.
"Go."
Hanabi looked at the old man, who stared at her with a calm expression.
"I don't know what happened yesterday, but you made your choice. Somehow, you managed to protect yourself from the elders. So don't worry about an old man like me. Go and follow your heart."
In the end, he smiled slightly, trying to reassure her.
Hanabi was still a bit unsettled at the thought of leaving him alone, but she nodded. She swore to herself that if anything happened to her grandfather while she was away, she would make those responsible pay.
Leaving the clan, she quickly headed to the meeting place, where she found Mikoto and Minato waiting for her.
Mikoto had a sharp gaze, while Minato looked satisfied to see her.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she replied, trying to avoid talking about what had happened in the clan, though she didn't know that the two of them already had an idea.
"That's good. Now we just have to wait for our contact… if he's willing to come out of hiding," Minato said.
They didn't have to wait long.
Just twenty seconds later, someone landed in front of them.
"Always alert, Minato," said the large Anbu ninja—large because he was fat—removing his mask and looking at Minato with a smile.
"You think you can fool me, Echo?" Minato replied, giving a sharp look to Furi Akimichi, whose codename was Echo.
"Of course not. But I've learned a few things since you left our squad in the war. I wanted to test you, but I can see it's still hard to deceive you," the ninja replied with a satisfied smile.
"Anyway, let's get going. We need to find the others. I'm sure they'll be pleased to see you. After all, at this rate, the Anbu squad is practically made up of almost all of us from the war team."
He paused before continuing.
"Of course, except for those who died… They will always be in our memories."
Minato nodded, feeling a dark weight settle over him as he remembered his fallen comrades. He took a deep breath in the end, trying to shake off the feeling.
"Let's go," Echo urged, moving forward.
Hanabi and Mikoto quickly followed him.
Shortly after, they arrived at a small house in the middle of the forest, in a more restricted area, different from the conventional training fields.
There was a man standing in front of the house. Minato recognized him immediately—it was the leader of the Anbu squad during the war, Alpha.
"You finally arrived," he said. "Now, come in."
He gestured for them to follow him. Minato, Mikoto, and Hanabi stepped inside the house, where they found a group of ninjas already gathered, all standing. The place had only a few furnishings, seemingly used solely for meetings. Everyone was wearing uniforms and masks.
"So, these are our new comrades?" a woman whom Minato didn't recognize asked, observing them closely.
"Well... looks like we have someone interesting here," another ninja commented with a smile. "The hero of the Leaf Village."
"We meet again, brat," said a member of the former Phantom squad—Blade—crossing her arms.
"Looks like we got our big guy back," Mirage commented with a grin, patting Minato on the back. "Now they won't be able to call him our mascot anymore. Soon enough, he'll be a full-grown adult!"
"Cut it out. You have no idea how much you're annoying him," Echo said, disapproving of Mirage's actions.
"I'm just greeting him, you fatass. The kid adores me," the woman joked, but it was clear that Minato did not appreciate it.
Mikoto, on the other hand, was glaring at the woman, almost activating her Sharingan, annoyed by her lack of awareness.
Minato moved past Mirage and also recognized Zelda, Blade, and Falcon, while the others had either already greeted him or were dead. Vortex, another surviving member, was not present. He was a Hyuuga, and Minato didn't know why he wasn't in the squad.
"Hello, everyone. To those I know and those I have yet to meet," Minato greeted, looking at all of them.
"Sensei..." Minato gave a special greeting to Falcon, his academy teacher.
"It's good to have you here, kid. I see that even those children I taught for just a year in the academy have grown strong. Welcome," he said at last.
"Alright, enough chatting. Let's go over the rules," Alpha interrupted, drawing everyone's attention. "This will be a bit different from how we operated in the war. After all, we were a tactical force and infiltration team. Working in the Anbu is different."
He looked at the group and continued.
"We will be a special force for both the security of the Village and the Hokage, as well as for assault missions. When the Village is in danger, we will be the arms that protect it. That's why I want everyone to pay attention to their roles in our missions."
The group assembled, joining the rest as Alpha began explaining more about the special force's structure.
They were no longer the Phantom squad, but they still had to follow Anbu protocols.
With that, Alpha assigned codenames to the new members.
Minato would keep his codename: Lumen.
Hanabi received the codename Wind.
Mikoto received the codename Valkyrie.
"Alright, let's take our positions within the Village," Alpha ordered.
Minato and the others had already put on their uniforms, cloaks, and masks, just like the rest of the squad. Everyone was ready to move out.
Thus, the group of twenty-four Anbu ninjas advanced toward the Village. Most of them were people Minato had never met before. They left, ready to begin their duties.
On the way, the newcomers received more instructions about the squad and the missions they would soon undertake, while Alpha took charge of explaining the remaining details to Lumen, Wind, and Valkyrie.
Raccoon Here:
Finally, it was time for a timeskip of a few months.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 224 - Kage Meeting 02.
Chapter 229 - What does it mean to be a ninja? What does a village represent?
Chapter 239 - We need to get stronger... 01.
Chapter 247 - Mastering Sage Mode.
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