Drkest
patreon
Severed Fates: Hyuga SI Ch 8
🕑 Added 2025-08-21 19:08:45 +0000 UTCChapter 8
Deep into the Night, Danzo found himself a guest in a rather secretive and lavish room of the Hyuga clan compound as he sat in front of the man who held the reins of the clan.
“I was unable to convince Hiruzen to part with the boy,” he spoke to the bald elder, who shared many of his beliefs and had sought his aid to handle his little problem.
The man was clearly irked by the news, as those white, pale eyes narrowed.
“So, what now?” he asked, and it was a minor setback, really.
“It will take some time. But I will take care of this problem for you,” and he would, but not for free.
“I just want you to remember your end of the bargain,” and the Byaukgan was one of the most versatile and rare doujutsu that one could yield. Yet, the Hyuga clan was overly protective of it, and despite his various inquiries, refused to part with even one shinobi who held the gift.
The foundation held a thousand shinobi, yet none of them held the Byakugan. But that would change as soon as he had taken care of this little problem for his old friend.
“Kill the boy,” Hittori whispered as he took a sip of his tea.
“And you shall have his brothr...”
0000
UZUKI YUGAO
She could still remember the time when she had been but a recruit. It was years ago now, but that one decision had absolutely changed her life, and Yugao had faced many hardships and challenges in her journey, but if she were to know that she would end up in the same place, besides the same person, she would not hesitate to bear all that pain and anguish once more.
The world of the ANBU was bleak and painful. Being an ANBU was not just about power and chakra it also demanded a strength of character and resilience that few shinobi possessed. It was a world of darkness and greys that forced one to face the most heinous part of the shinobi world.
And the darkness would have consumed her by now, if it were not for the man who sat beside her right now.
“They are giving me a student,” she told him, and sharing such secrets with a regular shinobi would cause problems, but he had lived in this world and knew of its darkness already.
“I have heard,” Hayate answered in his usual raspy tone, as they sat under the shade of a tree, their two swords resting in between them, as they enjoyed what little time together they could.
And once upon a time she had been given a mentor as well, a prodigy who had been younger even than her. And now she was to be given a student of her own, highlighting the scale of her progress.
“It is that Hyuga kid, right?” and Hayate was a former member of the ANBU himself, and though when it came to this life, there was no such thing as a former ANBU, for once you were an ANBU the title, the rank, the duties and the privilages all became a part of your life.
He may no longer don the mask, but that did not mean that he was no longer an ANBU.
“Yes,” and so she was not surprised when he already knew of her new apprentice's identity.
“That will be quite troublesome,” he whispered, making her frown as she turned to face him.
“Why?” for though she had taken but a glimpse at the boy’s file, he seemed a good enough candidate if not a bit behind his peers. But that was through no fault of his own, but a result of the Hyuga clan’s old and archaic traditions.
She saw Hayate raise a brow, contemplating whether he should say anything more or not, until he sighed and began with a cough.
“That boy comes with a lot of baggage,” and she knew of his history with the Hyuga clan, but from what she could remember, he had been kicked out of the clan.
“But hasn’t he been kicked out of the clan. He even gave up the name,” and his file mentioned the name Hikari Hizashi, for he had taken his father’s name, yet Hayate shook his head and scoffed.
“You don’t just leave your clan, especially if it is the Hyuga clan,” and she knew that it was rare, but Hayate spoke as if it were a very big issue.
“If the boy succeeds, it would be a slap in the face of the traditions and values that the Hyuga clan elders have tried to preserve. It is not in their interest for him to have a long and successful career,” and from the way he spoke, it was as if he was condemning him to death.
And as she looked into his eyes, she stilled as she realised that he meant precisely that.
Death.
“You are saying that they will try to kill him,” and Hayate nodded as he gazed at the moon above.
“Yes, they will,” but that was absurd.
“How can the Hokage-sama allow such a thing?” For the boy may have a thousand faults, but he was still a child—a child of this village.
“He won’t, but you must know that there are factions beyond the ANBU, factions that sometimes operate beyond the authority of the Hokage-sama,” and he spoke of the Foundation, which was Lord Danzo’s private army.
The ANBU hated the foundation and what it stood for, yet the Hokage-sama refused to abolish it, and continued to allow its existence even though it continued to serve objectionable orders, acting more as a rogue unit than a lethal force loyal to the village.
“The Hokage-sama has made the best decision he could for the boy,” Hayate added.
“If he is to survive, then the boy must learn, and he must learn quickly,” and there was no better place to learn than the ANBU.
And he suddenly pushed himself up, as he slid his into her own and broke her out of the trance.
“You will also have to look out for yourself,” and she nodded.
“I will,” and unlike him, this was her first teaching assignment.
“What do you suggest I do with him?” and she could recuse herself from the mission, or at least ask to be recused, but she did not want to. If the boy’s situation was indeed as dire and complicated as Hayate was making it out to be, then she wished to help him.
“GUGH! GUKH!” and Hayate coughed lazily, and despite hearing it a thousand times, her heart still ached as she saw him like that, for he had not always been like this, and that this condition of his was a result of a mission gone wrong years ago.
It was also the reason that he had put down his ANBU mask and joined the regular forces, though that did not mean that he was not still a menace on the battlefield.
“I would ask you to give up on the assignment, but I know that you won’t do that,” The Hokage-sama had entrusted her with this task, and she would rather die than disappoint him.
He showed that he knew her well, as he offered her his advice.
“Then the best thing that you can do is to teach him all that you know, and teach it to him fast,” and she wondered if this was why the Hokage-sama had given her but a year to train him, for perhaps that was the amount of time for which he could shield him from the wrath of his former clan.
“I will help out in any way I can, but promise me that you will be careful,” and she nodded.
“I will be....”
0000
HIKARI HYUGA
Hikari should have expected that the elders would not take kindly to his defection and would use their powers to get in my way. He had hoped that his uncle would have been able to stop their interference, but it seemed like he had underestimated the elders and their influence.
And of course, they had stopped him from enrolling at the academy, for him becoming a ninja would be a direct insult to them and their dogma. It could embolden others like him, others within the clan who were frustrated with the status quo.
Doing so would also put him in direct competition with the heir presumptive of the clan, Hinata. And while he bore her nothing but love and affection, the elder must have been fearful over a comparison springing up between him and her.
“Well, should have expected nothing less from those bastards,” he whispered as he kicked the stone on the ground, as he stood there in the empty training ground waiting for his ANBU liaison.
The village’s silence over the Elders' injustice had surprised him, but the more he thought about it, the more it began to make sense. After all, these were the very people who had let a child bear the weight of their failures.
The Hyuga were integral to the village, having become even more important than before after the Uchiha clan massacre. The Hokage could not simply make an enemy out of them, for one single shinobi, as talented as he may be.
In the end, the man had offered him a chance, and while the world of ANBU was brutal and filled with darkness, it provided him an opportunity to grow strong and to do so as quickly as he could.
And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was not the only person standing there on the training grounds, as a purple-haired kunoichi appeared in front of him in a blink. She made the end sound, no whisper, and had appeared in front of him as if a specter.
She wore a porcelain mask on her face, shaped like a cat, and had a katana strapped to her back.
Her uniform was pretty standard except for the red tattoo on her arm, which made him frown as a face and name came to his mind.
‘Could it really be her?’ he thought as he felt those eyes narrow at him.
“Are you going to be my mentor?” he asked, and the voice came as a whisper, soft and cold.
“Yes,” she began, “that is if you prove yourself worthy of becoming an ANBU,” and it was a challenge, and Hikari smiled, accepting the gambit.
“You need not worry about that,” he answered with a smile, and felt those eyes narrow.
“Cocky, aren’t you?” she taunted as they began to circle each other, and he shrugged.
“Confident,” he retorted, and they stopped at once.
“Then survive,” and her attack came as quickly and quietly as her arrival, as Hikari was forced to jump back, yet not before he found himself as a target for a dozen shuriken, and he had come prepared as well, as he took out a kunai from his pocket and parried them away, before suddenly the purple haired ANBU appeared behind him, and swung down at him.
Yet as the blade tore through his flesh, no blood came, and his body disappeared, only to be replaced by a log, as he appeared behind her, chakra already molded, signs already made.
And unlike the rest of his clan members, he had no qualms about using and relying on ninjutsu during combat. He could sense her still at the attack, as a giant orb of fire rushed towards her, though just before the fire could touch her, he saw a fine stream of chakra coat her blade as she whispered to the air.
“Ninpo: Dividing Moon,” and brought down her blade as his jutsu was torn apart in an explosion that scorched the ground.
BOOM!
“Ninjutsu as a Hyuga, do you have no shame?” she taunted, and he really did not.
“You see, I am no longer a Hyuga,” and with that, the bout continued, as Hikari was pushed to the brink many a time, as she tested his limits.
And just as the Sun set, he found himself battered and bruised and bleeding rather profusely from more than two dozen cuts and scraps left all over his body.
“Huh, Huh,” he huffed, as she finally stopped for a second, and lowered her blade.
“Are you tired?” she asked, and he smiled.
“Nah! I am just getting started,” and that was a lie, and they both knew it.
“Well, that is good. Because your training as an ANBU is just getting started...”
.
.
.
A few days later, a nervous Hinata Hyuga found herself in front of their homeroom teacher, Chunin Iruka, and asked about her cousin, whom she had not seen ever since he had been expelled from the clan.
“Hikari?” he asked, as the girl nodded.
“Yes,” and the chunin sifted through the files on his desk and frowned.
“I am afraid we have no one by that name in the academy...”
0000
Comments
IceAir
Does he still have the curse seal on his forehead? Imagine just walking around showing what's up with the Hyuuga
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
