My New Life is Harder Than Expected(Naruto SI-Waifu Catalog) (Patreon)

Chapter 25

“Hanabi Hyūga.”

Hearing the name, I felt an empty feeling settle in my heart before an immense wave of shame and guilt replaced it forcing me to close my eyes. In an instant every memory that I shared with Hanabi played through my mind with each one being more painful than the last.

‘I failed her. All this power and I failed to protect her. I was the one who sent them on that mission that would go on to claim her life.’ I thought in despair ignoring the burning feeling in my eyes.

‘It’s happening again.’ My thoughts continued to spiral vividly remembering a certain Oni and others under me dying due to my orders. ‘Shion…’

“…ari…”

“…K…ri.”

Too lost in my thoughts and despair I didn’t even notice the voices of those around me as they tried to grab my attention.

“Master, please calm yourself. Your Aura is starting to affect your surroundings.”

Hearing the voice of my newly named Ciel speak directly into my mind I finally snapped out of my despair and opened my eyes.

Upon opening them I noticed that my Aura, which should be deadly to most of them at this point since I was now a True Dragon, was slightly leaking out of my body and the only reason I hadn’t harmed them was due to a combination of me unconsciously keeping it from affecting them and my company defenses.

Realizing what I was doing I immediately reined in my aura noticing as I did that the part of the sofa, I was sitting on had disintegrated to nothing and I was now floating in the air with crossed legs. Then l finally looked at the girls taking notice that while they had moved away from me, they had only moved away from the reach of my Aura and were all currently looking at me with worried looks on their face.

“Sorry about that, girls. In my despair I almost hurt you as well. Please forgive me.” I apologized bowing my head at them feeling even worse at what I had almost done.

“Please don’t apologize Akari. None of this was your fault and no one here blames you.” Kushina said, fearlessly taking a step forward closing the distance between us and pulling my head into her chest.

That was all it took for everyone else to crowd around me and offer me their support with each one hugging one side of me ending up completely surrounded on all sides.

Moments later thanks to everyone I finally managed to calm down and my rational mind kicked in realizing that I had various ways of bringing Hanabi back to life and in fact had already purchased one. A while back I had bought the first purchase of Warranty Plan but the problem with that was that it would take 90 days until someone was revived and I refused to wait that long.

Even If I bought Express Delivery for 640 credits it still didn’t solve the problem that the resurrection would not happen until 3 days and I didn’t want to spend 840 credits for the 5-minute revival unless there was no other option.

Then there was the new magic I could now perform with my evolution to a True Dragon, the Secret Art of Resurrection but once again the problem with that was that the soul needed to still be in the body which I doubted as about half a day had already passed since Hanabi died.

‘Think damn it. What else is there?’ I thought in frustration before shaking that thought for a moment and thanking the girls for their support.

“Thanks girls, I’m feeling better now.” I mumbled into Kushina’s breasts thankfully loud enough that everyone heard me causing them to release me.

Looking up at them now that I was free, I offered them a smile only to blink in confusion as I found them looking at my eyes in awe and wonder.

“Akari…Your eyes...” Izumi muttered with her eyes not leaving mine sounding strangely excited.

“My eyes?” I muttered in confusion before finally noticing that vision had improved even more than when I activated my EMS.

Now curious myself I willed a bit of water to appear in front of me before freezing it ending up with a makeshift mirror and looking at my reflection.

‘How?’ I thought incredulously looking at the concentric circles covering my now purple eyes. ‘I thought it would take at least a decade for me to manifest my own Rinnegan based on how long it took Madara to get it. Hence the reason I was already planning to steal them from either Nagato or Obito, whichever had them at the time.’

“Ahem, that was my doing Master.” A lovely voice interrupted me.

‘Ciel? That was you?’ I thought curiously.

“Correct. When Master went through Harvest Festival, I made sure to also enhance anything dormant inside.” Ciel said with a proud tone almost begging me to praise her.

‘Haha I knew it. Ciel is truly the best~” I praised her thankful for her foresight before I dismissed the makeshift mirror with a wave of my hand and faced the girls giving them a smile.

“Well, it seems I’ll be seeing Hanabi again rather soon.”

“The Rinnegan…You finally awakened it huh?” Kushina said in excitement having already been informed along with Izumi and Hikari about it.

“The Rinnegan? You mean the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths?” Mei asked incredulously looking at my eyes more closely now.

“Yes, but that’s not important for now. Please let me know what else happened while I was out.” I said dismissing Mei’s question for now and forcing them to focus again.

“Actually Akari, now that we’re talking about Dojutsu,” Kushina continued with a curious tone grabbing my attention. “Based on the reports I received Hanabi had her Byakugan stolen by someone before she was killed.”

“What do you mean by that!?” I let out in a whisper with narrowed eyes my mind immediately thinking about a certain someone living in the Moon.

“Mmn as I just said. Hanabi had her Byakugan stolen and based on Hinata and Yakumo, the ones responsible bore a yellow moon symbol on their forehead.” Kushina further explained with a serious look in her eyes.

“Tsk, so it was him. He’s certainly ahead of schedule.” I muttered angrily with a click of my tongue. “Anything else?”

I was then informed about everything else that happened.

How a number of people had seen my clones dispatching the enemy Shinobi from the village. The pile of corpses that I hadn’t been able to get rid of numbering in the hundreds had also been discovered and credited to me.

Next how people had gone on a slight panic when I suddenly disappeared after the battle with Orochimaru which thanks to Mei covering for me it hadn’t escalated further than that.

Mei had informed the Anbu that I had overtaxed my body and had to retreat home before I lost consciousness which was later confirmed when Yugao and Anko had come to pay me a visit finding me unconscious.

Finally, the surviving Suna shinobi who surrendered were also wondering what had happened to the Kazekage and his family with them only knowing that I had done something to their leader.

Looking at Kushina, Hikari and Izumi afterwards to see if they had anything to add, I just received nods from them silently letting me know that they had completed what I had asked of them.

Unfortunately, our conversation had to be cut short since we had to get ready to attend the funeral that was being arranged for the fallen.

=====

(Several Hours Later, Funeral)

The funeral had been a somber affair with the sky reflecting the current mood of the village as they mourned the loss of the third Hokage and the shinobi who died in defense for the village.

Throughout it all, I found my gaze focused on the picture of Hanabi up there among the fallen and on the crying form of Hinata who was by her father’s side who had a somber look on his face. Even Neji appeared affected as he gazed into the distance with a lost look.

‘Finally…’ I thought in relief when the funeral came to an end and immediately made my way towards Hinata and her father who were already making their way back home.

“Excuse me, Hyūga-san?”

=====

(Hinata POV)

Hinata didn’t even acknowledge her father as he commanded her to follow after the funeral ended and just silently followed along. She was too scared and ashamed at herself at the thought of facing Akari, of receiving the same disappointed look her father had given her when he heard the news.

Not that Hinata could blame them as she would be disappointed in her too if she was in their shoes.

Thinking about her sister reality once again hit her with the fact that her twin was now dead and she would never see her again.

New tears fell down her eyes thinking about the fact that Hinata would never again be able to talk to her sister, never be able to share her doubts or fears with her. Never be able to discuss new ways in which they could get Akari-sensei to acknowledge them as women. And never be able to be there for each other for the ups and downs in their life.

None of that was possible now and it was all Hinata’s fault. She had failed to protect her sister when those weird men came and ambushed her team before taking Hanabi with them. By the time she and Yakumo had managed to find her sister again, it was already too late.

Hanabi laid dead on the ground with a hole in her stomach and with her Byakugan gouged out.

Hinata had broken down then and there as she held her sister’s still warm corpse and cursed herself for not being strong enough to protect her.

She had failed her sister, her team, her family and Akari-sensei.

If only she had been stronger then she would not have to see the devastated expression on Akari’s face as he mourned her sister during the funeral. An expression that Hinata had never seen on his face before and would forever be burned into her memory.

Then as if summoned by her thoughts she heard the voice of the person she was trying to avoid speaking behind them.

Slowly, tentatively Hinata turned her head catching sight of her father and Akari talking in hushed whispers. She was thankful that her father was currently blocking her sight of Akari’s face as she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face him yet.

A moment later she saw her father go completely rigid for a few seconds making her wonder what they were talking about before her father abruptly turned on his heel and made his way home again in a much more rapid pace than just a few minutes ago.

It was then that Hinata felt someone fall into step with her making her realize with a start that Akari was now walking next to her. Swallowing nervously Hinata gathered the last of her nerves and tilted her head up finally facing Akari with a fearful look on her face expecting to see him look down at her with a disappointed look.

Only…

“Hey Hinata, how are you holding up?”

Only that’s now what happened at all. Instead of the disappointed look she expected or even an angry one, Akari was looking down at her with a sad smile on his face with no judgement in his eyes at all.

When his words finally registered in her brain Hinata felt tears once again roll down her cheeks. He was not mad at her. He was not disappointed in her. He was still talking to her normally despite everything and even asked how she was.

Discarding all her fears Hinata threw her arms around the boy with her head coming to rest on his chest and let out a loud wail finally releasing all the pent-up emotions she was holding back.

“Waaaahhhhhh~ Akariii-senseeeiiii~”

=====

(Regular POV)

“Sshhhh it’s alright Hinata,” I whispered into the girls’ ear putting my arm under her legs and carrying her in a princess carry when I noticed that we were falling behind her father. “Everything is going to be just fine, trust me.”

Seeing Hinata in this state saddened me greatly and I had to shake away the wave of guilt that once more threatened to wash over me and instead did my best to comfort the girl in my arms.

It took a few minutes but eventually we finally made it to the Hyūga Compound where Hiashi lead us to a private room at the back. Entering the room with Hinata still in my arms I immediately noticed the dead body of Hanabi in the center of the room dressed in a beautiful white yukata looking as if she was actually sleeping and not in fact dead.

Hanabi was surrounded on all sides by white flowers no doubt from other members of the clan paying their respects.

“We have our own traditions when we bury our dead. Due to our bloodline we have to apply a seal on the body so the Byakugan is sealed in case of theft.” Hiashi absentmindedly explained with a quiet voice as he walked to the side of his daughter and turned around to face me with a serious expression on his face.

“Now that we have some privacy, mind explaining what exactly you meant when you said you could bring my daughter back?” Hiashi asked coldly looking at me with narrowed eyes.

Ignoring the man for now I set the much calmer Hinata down on her own feet again who was now looking at me with wide eyes after hearing what her father said.

“Sensei…w-what is father talking about?” Hinata whispered in a disbelieving tone.

“Haah I spoke the truth.” I said simply offering a brief smile to Hinata before directing a serious gaze at the man. “Tell me Hiashi-san, what do you know of the Rinnegan?”

“Rinnegan? A mere tale told to children.” Hiashi said blankly not looking impressed.

“Rinnegan?” Hinata quietly muttered to herself in confusion.

“It’s not a tale at all.” I said with a shake of my head before using Toggle to turn my Rinnegan on again since I had turned it off since I didn’t want to attract too much attention since you couldn’t deactivate the Rinnegan normally. It was a dojutsu that was permanently active at all times.

“I possess it after all.” I revealed silently observing the shocked reactions the father and daughter duo had at seeing my eyes change so suddenly.

“Gasp, sensei…your eyes.” Hinata let out looking up to my eyes in shock.

“…How?” Hiashi asked silently even activating his Byakugan to make sure he was not under an illusion.

“That’s a secret.” I said not wanting to keep that a secret for now. “The important thing though is that the Rinnegan has the power to revive the recently deceased.” I finally dropped the bombshell making Hiashi stagger in place for a moment before regaining his balance.

Hinata on the other hand fell down to her knees at such a revelation and tears were once more threatening to roll down her eyes as she looked at me with naked hope in her eyes. “Y-you m-mean?”

Gracing Hinata with a soft smile I nodded my head. “That’s right Hinata. The reason I’m here right now is that I want to revive Hanabi. What kind of sensei will I be if I don’t do anything within my power to protect my students?”

“What’s the trade off?” Hiashi asked with a serious voice interrupting our moment and causing Hinata to look at me with worry in her eyes now.

“Nothing life threatening.” I answered with a shrug only for Hiashi to narrow his eyes not believing that for a second. “Haah fine, the price for such a technique is my life force.”

“Y-your lifeforce!?” Hinata exclaimed in shock shooting up to her feet again and grabbing one of my hands with both of her own. “But sensei! That’s…”

“Not a problem for me.” I interrupted her looking down at her with a reassuring smile before looking at Hiashi again. “Due to my bloodlines, I have an abundant life force and the worst it will cost me is shaving a few years off of my life.”

“Why not use such a technique to revive the third Hokage? Surely the life of my daughter is worth less than that of the leader of the village?” Hiashi asked skeptically causing Hinata to look at him with a shocked look for suggesting that.

“Two reasons. One, the technique that took the Third’s life made it impossible for his soul to return to the land of the living even with the Rinnegan. And two, because I’m Hanabi’s sensei. She will always be my first priority.” I spoke clearly only lying about the first part.

A heavy silence settled over the room for a few moments before Hiashi let out a deep sigh. Then he got down on his knees and performed a full dogeza in my direction to my shock and the watching Hinata who never expected her father to prostrate himself in such a way.

“Forgive me for doubting your words, Akari-san. And if I may be so bold, please bring my daughter back.” Hiashi pleaded with a sincere tone.

“Father…” Hinata muttered in shock before shaking her head and stepping up next to her father and performing the same action. “Akari-sensei, I know I don’t have the right to ask this of you but please, please bring my sister back.”

“Please stand up you two, there was never the need to bow. I came here with the intention of reviving Hanabi for my own selfish reasons and was going to go through with it with or without your approval.” I revealed trying to get them to stop with the bowing as it was making me uncomfortable.

It took a few tries but I was eventually able to stop the two from bowing to my relief. In the back of my mind though I was glad that Hiashi had not changed much from canon and still cared deeply about his daughters and nephew even if he rarely showed it.

With all the obstacles out of the way I finally approached Hanabi under the watchful eye of Hinata and Hiashi and looked down at her.

“Time to return Hanabi. I still have many things I want to show and teach you.” I whispered bringing my hands up and performing the ram and snake seal.

“Gedo – Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Outer Path - Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique).”

Ignoring the huge amount of life force being drained out of my body that quickly replenished, I saw the King of Hell appear to the side before it opened its mouth and released Hanabi’s soul with it entering her body.

A moment later Hanabi’s form twitched before she slowly sat up with her eyes still closed and releasing a tired groan. “Sensei, is that you? I heard your voice.”

Ignoring the gasps and quiet sobs coming from behind me, I leaned down and slowly picked up Hanabi in a princess carry before kissing her softly on the forehead. “Welcome back, little Spitfire. I missed you.”

“Tsk, I thought we already went over this sensei. My name is not spitfire. It’s Hanabi.” Hanabi replied back in a tender voice as she snuggled further into my chest. “And I missed you too.”

‘Yeah, everything is right as it should be again.’ I thought letting my head gently rest on top of Hanabi’s feeling my despair at losing her disappear without a trace.

‘I hope you’re ready Toneri Otsutsuki. I’ll be paying you a visit soon. You have something that doesn’t belong to you.’