THE TIGRESS' LANTERN - A HINATA HYUGA FANFICTION

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: RETURNING WHAT WAS LOST

[Hidden Leaf Village Stadium - Before The Purple Barrier]

The Hidden Leaf Jonin stood before the barrier - waiting for it to come down so that they may aid their Hokage with the filthy snake that was once his student and Sannin - Orochimaru. The Sound Four: The Spider Shinobi - Kidōmaru, The Silent One - Jirōbō, The Flute Wielder - Tayuya, and the Conjointed Ones - Sakon and Ukon held the barrier up from the inside, and anyone who dare touched it would be burned to ashes. It had been silent for a while and no one dared make a move - all they could do was wait. One of the Jonin looked over his shoulder to the large figure of Zabuza - who stood there with his arms folded and eyes focused on the barrier.

'Why is he even here? He's been standing like that for almost an hour. Does he intend to take a shot at the Hokage if Orochimaru fails to kill him?' One Jonin questioned in his mind; he quickly turned his gaze when Zabuza looked into his eyes.

"I'm not here to take a shot at your Hokage if that's what you're thinking," Zabuza said as he looked back at the barrier.

"Then, why are you here?" Another Jonin asked.

"The reason my students and I are here is Orochimaru. Tigress' Network collected information that Orochimaru was going after the Hidden Leaf Village and the Sharingan - knowing how dangerous he is, Tigress insisted that we deal with him or at least prevent him from marking Sasuke with his Dark Mark." Zabuza explained.

"When you say 'Tigress', you mean Lady Hinata Hyuga, correct?" The Jonin asked.

"She discarded that surname and the pain that came with it when she left this place - she hates this village with every cell in her body but she knew she had to come here again if she wanted a change of killing Orochimaru; I don't blame her for wanting to get the mission done, but I wish she would calm down sometimes." Zabuza said. The Jonin opened his mouth to speak again but he heard a panicked 'LORD OROCHIMARU!' coming from Sakon; after a while, the barrier shattered and the Jonin watched as the Sound Four leaped away with Orochimaru in their grasp.

"I don't think so, you serpent!" Zabuza yelled as she pulled his sword from his back and leaped after them. Kidōmaru spat a web at Zabuza but the swordsman just slice through it; however, they were faster than him and managed to getaway. Zabuza growled under his mask at his failure but he still had something to do and returned to the battle sight - where the Hokage's Body laid with a smile on his face and a seal upon his stomach.

"So, Orochimaru managed to kill him after all." Zabuza said as he reached into his pocket.

"No, Lord Sarutobi used the Reaper's Death Seal on Orochimaru, but the serpent lived... I wonder what was sealed." One Jonin questioned.

"Most likely his arms or chakra. His arms appeared to be dead." Zabuza said as he walked over to them with something glowing in his hands, "Doesn't matter - Tigress told me to use this if the Hokage fell in battle." Before anyone could say a word, Zabuza knelt down and placed the sparkling crystal on the old man's chest - it became one with him and his body gave a glow...before everyone heard him grunt and weakly open his eyes.

"How?" One Jonin said.

"Impossible..." Said another.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Lord Sarutobi." Zabuza said, "I have a lot to tell you."

[Half An Hour Later]

"Hm... I see." The old man said, "So, you all were here to kill Orochimaru because Hinata discovered his plans to take the Sharingan and the village." The old man said.

"Yes, Hinata didn't like the idea of coming back here but she knew that it was the only chance we were gonna have a getting rid of that snake but he got away." Zabuza said with folded arms.

"So, I have heard. Where are Hinata and the one she calls her 'husband'?" He asked.

"They went after the One-Tailed Jinchūriki and his siblings. I think they should be arriving here shortly." The swordsman said.

"Hm..." Sarutobi exhaled in thought, 'To bring me back from the other side of the veil - Hinata has some dangerous power but at the same time, it is a miracle that she never turned to the darkness with it.' he thought