Shinigami no Naruto: Power of the Soul

by Rahlian

Part One: An eighteen-year-old Anko adopts a newly orphaned Naruto. Now, see what he will become, drawing on the power of his soul to overcome obstacles from all sides. NarutoxBleach, NarutoxTenten, NarutoxHinata, NaruxTen, NaruxHina Complete

10. Discussions

Chapter 10: Discussions

After three days of almost nonstop travel, the group reached the great white walls of Konohagakure no Sato, shining in the early afternoon light. When the great archway became visible, Teams Anko and Kakashi dropped out of the trees, slowing to a more sedate pace as they approached the gate on the dirt road.

Anko led the group to the guardhouse, showing her passport, telling the guard that they were returning from a successfully completed mission. The chunin on duty nodded, taking down the pertinent details before waving them in barely glancing at Team Nine's new equipment.

Naruto had his hands behind his head, fingers interlaced, savoring his first look at his home in almost a month. He was interrupted from his introspection by Anko. "Alright guys, good work on your first successfully completed mission. Normally, I would go and file the mission report by myself, but given some of the more unusual occurrences," she said, looking at her three genin, "I think we should go to the debriefing together." Without a further word, Anko spun on her heel and marched towards the center of town. Tenten sighed. She had really been looking forward to starting on her special project as soon as she got home, but it looked like it would have to wait, for a little bit at least.

Kakashi caught up to them a minute later after having dismissed his own team. Naruto was used to the looks of hatred, disgust, and tiny amounts of ki directed his way, but he was garnering a lot more attention than usual thanks to his katana slung across his back. He tried to shrug it off, but he still shifted slightly uncomfortably under all the stares.

Naruto gave a minuscule sigh of relief when they entered the Hokage's tower. Most of the ninja in the tower ignored him, either too absorbed in their work, or simply apathetic as to why his appearance had changed. Anko halted at the receptionist's desk outside the Hokage's office. The male chunin on duty didn't look up from his work, gesturing to one side, saying in a bored tone, "place your mission report in the basket, and the Hokage will contact you for a mission debriefing if he deems it necessary."

Anko stared down at the man. "I need to give my report in person. There have been some developments that I believe that he need be made aware of immediately."

The chunin looked up from his work. Looking back, he caught sight of Naruto, Hinata and Tenten. He knew the brat, and was actually one of probably the handful of ninja in the village who had respected the Yondaime's request that the boy not be regarded as the prisoner, but as the jailer. He had seen the boy often enough to know him on sight, and him and his teammates new armaments caught him by surprise. Bending down again, he consulted a small book. "Very well. The Hokage is free at the moment. You may enter."

Anko nodded gratefully, glad to have caught someone who would demand that they apply through the proper channels to see the Hokage. She hated political bullshit like that.

"Leave the paperwork on the desk Sano-kun," the Hokage gesturing to a free space on his desk. Anko coughed, making the elderly ninja look up. "Oh, I'm sorry Anko-san. I thought you were Sano coming in with more paperwork. I am relieved to see that you don't have any more paperwork. What may I do for you seem to have made it home unharmed."?" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, grateful for the interruption that Anko had provided.

"Teams Nine and Seven reporting for debriefing, Hokage-sama." The Hokage leaned forward expectantly.

"Very well, lets hear it."

Anko spread her legs apart and folded her hands behind her, easing into a parade rest as she told the old man about the events that had prompted her to talk to him personally. His eyebrows rose when she said that her team had been attacked by a small group of shinobi tentatively identified as from Oto on the way to Kirigakure, demanding that they hand the courier over, along with the other power that Naruto, Tenten and Hinata had awakened during the fight with a very abbreviated description of their abilities. He had noticed the three genin's swords, but had refrained on commenting on them, as he figured that they would be explained in due course.

He frowned slightly when Anko went on to describe their reception upon arriving in Wave, and sent a very direct look at Kakashi when Anko mentioned both Sasuke and himself trying to use their Sharingans on her team, to which Kakashi shifted slightly. His frown deepened in concern when he heard about Naruto's Kyuubi-induced berserker rage in his fight against the samurai.

"I will have to recall one of my students to have a look at the seal. It is my understanding that this was to happen eventually, but not so early."

"I appreciate the gesture Hokage-sama. I was planning on beginning to work with Naruto on learning about the seal now that it has gotten to this point."

"Hm... That sounds like an excellent notion Anko-san. Jiraiya can assist you in that manner also when he arrives."

Anko nodded. "However, I do wish to mention two things I noticed once I left Naruto at the bridgebuilders residence and arrived at the bridge with Team Seven already engaged to the enemy. Uchiha Sasuke contributed almost nothing to the fight, content to talk to the leader of the ninjas that accosted us on the way to Kirigakure. Tenten was able to overhear part of their conversation before she was detected. A number of disturbing things were mentioned, the least of which was that Takehiko, the ninja talking to Sasuke, referred to Orochimaru, several times, repeating how Orochimaru was stronger than anyone else in the village."

Hiruzen's eyebrows nearly vanished into his hair at those words. "Kakashi, is what she says true?"

"While I did question Sasuke about the man he spoke to, he was reluctant to answer any of my questions. He claimed it was a personal matter and refused to speak further. At the time, I was more concerned with getting Anko's genin, Naruto in particular medical attention than grilling Sasuke."

"I see," was the Hokage's enigmatic response. He frowned in thought as he motioned for Anko to continue.

"In the end, the man Sasuke was speaking to vanished and Gato, Zabuza and his apprentice Haku all died. That is all I have to say."

"Kakashi-kun, do you have anything to add?"

The Hatake shook his head. "Not at this time Hokage-sama."

Now he say back, folding he hands across his stomach, considering the implications of Naruto and Company's new abilities.

Sighing, he spoke to the four ninja. "I am going to have to report their new abilities to the Shinobi Council unfortunately. They will undoubtedly want to interview you," he said gazing at Naruto, "to determine whether or not your abilities constitute a new kekkei genkai or not although the fact that what appears to be the same power manifested itself in the three of you simultaneously implies otherwise. Then you will have to have all your powers recorded." The Hokage held up a hand, silencing the boy before he spoke. "I assure you, this is not to steal you abilities, but to have a documentation of them, in the astronomically low chance that similar power were to manifest in another outside Team Nine. Even then, only the most general description will be used. You will not have to give up any specifics about the mechanics of your abilities, just what you can do, in the most general sense. Every technique ever created has gone through this process, including the Nara's shadow manipulation, the Akamichi's size manipulation, even the Jyuuken has been recorded, again, only in the most general manner."

Naruto calmed down at this, hearing they weren't going to be a special case. "For now however, you are dismissed. You will be summoned, probably in the next couple of days, to speak to the council." The three genin and two jounin departed, leaving Sarutobi alone to his thoughts. "This is going to cause a lot of trouble." He had no clue how right he was.

Tenten and Hinata were dismissed for the day, Anko instructing the pair to return home immediately to recuperate. Naruto, on the other hand, she had plans for. She allowed her son to unpack his gear and get a shower before dragging him down to the den. "So, allow me to introduce you to what is going to be the most frustrating aspect of your schooling for the foreseeable future. Sealing techniques. Now that you have awoken the Kyuubi's power, we will be spending several hours a day studying seals. As a Jinchuuriki, it would be foolhardy for you to be ignorant of how the seal on your stomach functions." Pushing him down onto the overstuffed leather couch, she reached over the back and withdrew the first scroll. She unrolled it over both of their laps and started to explain the intricacies of the most complex type of ninja techniques.

Anko figured that she would focus mostly on the basics until Jiraiya could arrive, and then he could take over.

OoOoO

As soon as Anko dismissed her and Hinata, Tenten gave Naruto a peck on the cheek and was off at a full sprint. The oil-cloth-wrapped bundle was all she had been able to think of the entire trip home. She had not wanted to start studying it in the field, lest she somehow irreparably damage it. She wanted to take her time studying it, making sure she understood exactly how it operated, how to take it apart and put it back together in operational order. Her parents barely got a wave before she was up in her room and the object of her desire was waiting for her. Rubbing her palms together in anticipation, she took a deep breath to calm herself and unwrapped her prize. She almost reverently laid aside the last fold of oil-cloth, then immediately spoiled the atmosphere by seizing the rifle, now unwrapped, and jumping up and down in a fit of uncontrollable joy.

Regaining control, she once again laid the firearm down on her coverlet and took several minutes to review her notes painstakingly written out longhand in Wave.

After Teams Seven and Nine had finally run the last of Gato's thugs out of Wave, Tazuna, who had been elected to speak for the village asked if there was anything they could give the ninja for saving the village. Kakashi had politely declined any reward on behalf of his team, but Tenten had been eying one of the rifles. Now firearms were not inexpensive, but the owner of the gun had been more than happy to part with it.

Gato had attacked the village before the bridge had been completed, so the former owner of her rifle had given her some instruction on how to operate and maintain her gun. She had spent a good amount of time at the run-down firing range at the outskirts of the village learning how to aim and hit her target. So far, she had not been able to get more than a glancing hit at anything farther tan fifty yards, but she had the basics down, and now it was just a matter of refining her technique.

The last thing the man had taught her was how to manufacture her own ammunition, seeing as it was unlikely that she would be able to buy what she needed already made. Fortunately black powder was easy enough to make, the prime ingredients being sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter. There was a forge in the back of the house, and she figured that she would be able to modify one of the finer grinding wheels into a mill to grind up the black powder.

Withdrawing a small notebook and several measuring instruments, Tenten began to meticulously record every possible measurement as she slowly deconstructed the weapon. Everything was measured, from the length, width and thickness of the barrel, to the trigger, its guard, the nipple and the hammer.

Tenten was carefully examining the rear ladder sight when she was startled out of her perusal by a loud knock on her door. As soon as she was able to swallow her heart again, she told her visitor to enter. Kouseki took a second to look at the carnage laid out on a large sheet covering most of Tenten's floor. Raising an eyebrow he said "Your mother and I were wondering what was going on up here. You get home from your mission apparently unharmed, give us a wave and vanish up here for the rest of the day." And to her surprise, when she looked out the window, there was a tiny sliver of sun remaining visible. Reaching back to scratch her head in a very Naruto-like gesture she laughed.

"Sorry about that Father. I got this rifle a couple of days ago, and this was the first opportunity I have had to really study it. I guess I got kinda absorbed."

"Really? Where did you get it from?"

"Ah, one of the villagers we rescued gifted it to me."

"I see. Well, dinner is on now, but after would you mind showing me how it works? Maybe I can help you out somehow?"

"Well, I am just about done getting the measurements for it. I might need help to get some of the materials for the ammo though. I am going to need sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter for the gunpowder as well as some really stiff paper for the cartridge as well as some beeswax or tallow."

"Beeswax?"

"For lubricant."

"Ah." Stroking his chin for a few seconds, he examined the rifle spread out on the sheet. "You know this isn't going to be a very effective weapon for you to use when you have to fight. It takes a long time to load a rifle, and they are really noisy."

"Maybe right now, but I have an idea or two."

"Alright then. Exactly how much sulfur and saltpeter do you need?"

"I need about half a gram of black powder for a single shot, so a kilo of everything should keep me for a while."

"Okay, I can do that pretty easily. What about the materials for your gun? You going to make another or are you going to keep just the one?"

"Just the one for the moment, but as soon as I understand how this works well enough, I will probably want one or two more."

Picking up the barrel, he slid a finger inside and felt the rifling. Putting it down he considered the disassembled weapon. "Depending on exactly how complex some of this stuff is, I think I could make one of these in a couple of days. Can you make me a blueprint?"

"Yeah. Putting it together isn't going to be the hard part though. I also need to find somewhere to set up a firing range. The guy I got this from could hit a man-sized target at a thousand yards. Right now, I am having trouble with targets further than fifty. So I need some serious practice. Probably going to have to go to one of the outer training areas to get the range I need."

"If you say so. Anyways, dinner is on. I came up here to let you know before you sidetracked me."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute."

OoOoO

Naruto's eye jerked open as the blaring beep beep beep of his alarm clock forcefully ripped him from blissful unconsciousness. Smacking the off switch, he noted that the sun was already up. He lay in his bed for a minute, thankful that Anko had given him a reprieve from their early morning workout sessions for once.

Racing through his morning ablutions, he downed half a dozen ramen cups and waited impatiently for Anko to drag her sorry ass downstairs. He heard her thumping about upstairs so she would be down soon. When she stumbled downstairs he snatched her hand and started to bolt out the door.

Sighing exaggeratedly, she said, "Not this morning brat."

"Why? What's going on?"

"You got an appearance with the Council in ten minutes."

"Already? I thought they wouldn't call me up for another couple of days."

"Yeah right brat. They want to know exactly what kind of techniques you three have come up with, and want them down on paper."

"I still don't like how I have to hand over all my secrets to them just so they can write them down."

"That is tough brat. Even my personal techniques are recorded somewhere in the vaults. So don't feel like you are a special case here."

Scowling, he nodded slowly and followed her to the Hokage's tower, finding that Tenten and Hinata had also been summoned when he met them at the doors. Once admitted, they were directed to the Council chamber.

Squeezing him on the shoulder once for courage, she stepped back and let them enter the room alone. Naruto entered the room, looking around in curiosity. The room was rather Spartan, consisting of one oblong table for the Council, and a number of smaller tables around the wall, laden with coffee, tea, sweetbreads, and the like. The wall to the left was entirely occupied by a floor to ceiling window, displaying a panoramic view of the village. But right now, Naruto's attention was focused solely on the dozen or so men and women seated at the table.

He recognized a few of them, namely the Hokage at the head, the long haired, white eyed guy who was unmistakably a Hinata's father, a wild-looking woman who was probably an Inuzuka, a pineapple haired man that was obviously related to Shikamaru, a guy with shades and a high collar who was probably an Aburame, and a fat guy, who, judging by the swirly tattoos on his cheeks was probably Choji's father, or a close relative. There were a number of others he did not recognize, but realized that they were probably influential shinobi.

With a look that conveyed his sorrow at forcing the genin element of Team Nine to be here, Sarutobi called the meeting to order. "Genin Hyuuga-san, Genin Higurashi-san, Genin Uzumaki-san, you are called before the Shinobi Council because it is reported in the mission scroll for C-rank mission 90125842 you displayed heretofore unknown abilities in combat with four identified shinobi and two Kiri nuke-nin. Is this correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," echoed by his compatriots. Naruto was tempted to refer to him by his personal moniker, but refrained, realizing that antagonizing the Council here would not be beneficial to his case.

"Genin Hyuuga-san, Genin Higurashi-san, Genin Uzumaki-san, are these jutsu derived from family jutsu, or an unknown kekkei genkai?"

"No, Hokage-sama." Naruto replied. Hinata and Tenten had elected him their spokesman for the moment it seemed.

"Were these jutsu taught to you by a foreign shinobi?"

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Are these jutsu of your own original conception?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." At this most of the Council set to muttering. How was it that the demon brat could invent several techniques at the same time without anyone knowing? And that was completely discounting Hinata and Tenten. The Hokage rapped his gavel once, silencing the whispering. The Hyuuga at the table raised his hand, signaling he had something to say to the Council.

The Hokage leaned back wincing. "I yield the floor to Hyuuga Hiashi-san."

The Hyuuga Head stood up. "I propose an Order in Council classifying these new jutsu as general knowledge jutsu, to be taught as appropriate when ranked."

"Absolutely not." All heads whipped to Naruto who was standing at the foot of the table, arms crossed, eyes flashing angrily.

"Genin Uzumaki-san, you do not have permission to address the Council at this time. Please restrain yourself at this time." Hiashi turned to address the Council again, when Naruto's voice rang out again.

"Fuck that and fuck you." Naruto had shrugged Tenten's restraining hand on his shoulder. He was too angry at Hiashi right now to listen to reason. Everyone present gasped at the insult thrown at the head of the First Clan. The Hokage sighed wearily. He had feared that something like this would happen, but now that Naruto had brazenly insulted the Hyuugas, there was very little he could do for the moment.

"What do you mean by that, Genin Uzumaki-san?"

"I mean that you are discussing about taking my jutsu and teaching them to everyone in the village. Screw that. They are mine, and will remain so. The only people that I will teach them to are those I deem worthy and trust implicitly, and when the time comes, those of my family. The Nara's and Akamichi's weren't required to give out all their secrets when they first came up with their family jutsus, so I don't see why I should. Besides, I doubt that anyone else could learn my jutsu."

The Council sat there in shock. Naruto grinned internally. He doubted that anyone had spoken to them like that in a long time, if ever.

Seizing on the least part of what he had said, Hiashi addressed him again. "What do you mean, you don't think that anyone else could learn your techniques? You said that they weren't a result of a kekkei genkai. Plus your two teammates seem to have very similar abilities, so if they can manifest this new power others should be able to also."

"I am certain they are not, however, my new techniques are based on a power other than chakra that I awoke during the mission. It is possible that some people could awaken the same power as Hinata and Tenten have, but if they were to, I don't think that their power would be the same as mine."

"What is the name of this power?"

Naruto knew he should shut up now, but the Council had really irritated him, and he couldn't help taunting them. "It's called spirit power, and is drawn from a different source than chakra."

When he said this, everyone started talking at once, discussing the possibilities of the use of another energy separate from chakra. Naruto stood there, slightly shocked. Had they forgotten what he had just said about him not teaching anyone else his jutsu? Closing his eyes, he focused inwards, compressing his reiryoku and released it as spiritual pressure. All conversation ceased as the Council members felt what appeared to be an increase in gravity as the ground trembled ever so slightly.

"I thought I said that my techniques would stay with me. I don't care what you say, there is no way I am sharing them with anyone other than my family. I understand that a general description will be written, but that is the best anyone will get out of me." He paused and looked to either side, suddenly remembering that he was not the only one there. "I have no control over either of my teammates, so they could pass this ability on if they wished, but I am not going to share my hard won power with just anyone." Naruto let up on the reiatsu and suddenly it was easier for everyone to breathe. Shocked at his blatant display of power, the Council looked away from him, muttering about the Kyuubi brat getting too much power.

At the mention of the prisoner within him, his rage flared. He had turned to leave without being dismissed, but whirled back, focusing his reiatsu full force. This time the weight was at least a third greater, and the trembling was very distinct.

"Too much power? You think I have shown too much power? Trust me this is nothing compared to my real power. I could embrace the demon within me, and yes, I know about the Kyuubi that my biological father, the Yondaime Hokage, had sealed in me, and there isn't anything that you, anything anyone could do to stop me. You call me the demon brat, yet you know nothing of the difference between the prisoner and the prison! I am a loyal shinobi of Konohagakure, but I have little reason to love this place. Don't hold any illusions about how I feel towards you. Because of you, I have been hated my entire life, for nothing that I can control. I thank Sandaime-sama for trying to protect me with his law, but you managed to circumvent it anyways, by telling your children that I was dangerous, that I am to be avoided. The one flaw that the old man has is that he is too trusting, too forgiving. But back to my original point. Do you want to see a bit of my true power?" With that he brought up a hand, two fingers out, thumb folded over the remaining three. His visage twisted and bits of electricity began coalescing around his hand. His eyes shifted a shade or two darker and his hair stirred ever so faintly.

Alarmed, the Sandaime Hokage shot to his feet. "Naruto, stand down at once!"

Naruto turned to face his idol, who shrank back slightly at the hate and rage on his face. Holding his sparking fist pointed at the Hyuuga a moment longer, he released his power, the electricity dissipating and the weight lifting, black attire shifting back. "Hai, Hokage-sama." With one last sneer to the Council, he spun on his heel and departed. Everyone in the tower moved out of his way as they sensed the barely restrained power and simmering rage in the young man, black clothes appearing and disappearing as he struggled to control his temper. Tenten and Hinata exchanged an uncertain look, unsure what to do. Naruto had left but neither of them had been dismissed. The Council appeared to had forgotten about them so the Hokage made a shooing gesture, giving them permission to leave. Hopefully the Council would forget their presence at this meeting. Neither had uttered a handful of words, rather foolishly in hindsight letting Naruto have free rein on his tongue.

The Hokage slumped back in his seat after Naruto departed, ignoring the shouts that had erupted. He had never suspected that the blond boy held so much resentment for the Council. He had failed, it appeared. He had tried to shield Naruto from as much of the Councils machinations as possible, telling them of the Yondaime's last request, and when it was obvious that they didn't care, instituted the law that Naruto had mentioned. "I'm sorry Naruto," he whispered while the Council raged on.

OoOoO

Anko met them outside the double doors to the Council Chamber, left them soon after, saying that she still had some business in the tower. When the three remaining genin exited through the great oaken doors, Tenten took a breath and rallied her courage. "Naruto-kun," she said, in an unusually demure tone, "are you doing anything this evening?"

"Ah, not really Tenten-chan. Why, do you need something?"

"Well, not really. You see, the thing is, I was wondering if you would be willing to go out on a date with me tonight?"

"Sure Tenten-chan, I would love to."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Tenten's face bolted up, a nearly painfully wide smile splitting her face. "Excellent! Okay, you can come pick me up at half past six, don't be late. Pick someplace nice, Naruto-kun." Without another word she turned and skipped away, feet barely touching the ground. Naruto looked after her, wondering at his luck and walked away towards his apartment.

It wasn't until Naruto was unlocking the door to his house did he realize something. Well, multiple somethings. One, he had no idea where Tenten lived. Two, he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do on a date. Three, while he knew he was supposed to take her to some place nice, he hadn't a clue where to take her. He had only discovered Ichiraku's because he hadn't been able to find a restaurant that would serve him that day. Whirling around he ran to the two people he could trust to help him. Anko was completely off limits for this kind of thing.

He arrived five minutes later at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. He collapsed onto one of the stools, panting slightly. Teuchi approached him, leaning on the counter to talk to his only customer for the moment.

"Hey there Naruto. It's been rather lonely here at the stand without you to visit us? What happened?"

Naruto told Teuchi and his daughter Ayame of the mission to Kiri and Wave, glossing over the greater portion in favor of speed. Getting to the end of his tale, he told them of how Tenten had asked him out on a date tonight when they reached the gates. "But, uh, the thing is, I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to do. I was hoping that I could get some advice from Ayame-chan."

Ayame, who remembered the brunette with buns had clasped her hands together, with miniature hearts in her eyes. "Don't worry, leave it to me Naruto." Teuchi shook his head laughing softly. He lowered the security gate. He figured that they could afford to close the stand early once in a while.

OoOoO

Naruto was seriously starting to question the wisdom in asking Ayame for help. She had practically ripped her apron off, snatched his hand and went tearing across town, dragging him to his house. He had let them into his abode, and Ayame had gone to work. First she went into his room, searching through his clothes for something appropriate to wear on a first date.

A few minutes later, his bedroom looked like a war zone, all his clothes dug out of his closet and drawers, strewn across his bed and floor haphazardly. She had found an outfit that Anko had bought for him one day before the mission to Kiri.

Flashback no jutsu

It was a week after his first shopping trip for clothes. The team had broken early, Tenten and Hinata had been dismissed, but Anko snatched him by his collar when he tried to escape.

"And where do you think you are going, brat?"

"You said we were done for the day."

"Did I? Hmm… well I lied. You and me are going shopping again."

"Shopping! Shopping for what?"

"You don't have any formal wear."

"What would I need formal wear for?"

"Well, what do you think you are supposed to wear on a date? Do you think you could get into a decent restaurant in that?" She said gesturing dismissively at his training clothes. "And when I say decent restaurant, I mean some place other than Ichiraku's," heading off his argument.

Naruto gave up, just figuring it would be easier to let her have her way that fight her about it. Besides, she had a point he supposed.

Flashback no jutsu kai

Ayame held up the clothes, imagining what they would look like on him. "This will do I suppose. You really need some more clothes to wear outside of training Naruto."

He sighed and went into the bathroom to change. He emerged, a few minutes later, looking like a completely different person. He was wearing a red long sleeve button down shirt with grey pinstripes tucked into tan slacks with a black leather dress belt. Over that he wore his tan trenchcoat with the black swirl and tails symbol. Hurrying over, she hauled him over to the sink, turning on the tap and wetting a brush down. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't get his hair to lie down in any sort of orderly fashion. Giving it up as a bad job she stood back to admire her handiwork.

"My my you do clean up nicely, brat."

Naruto reacted purely on instinct, falling into a stance used when ambushed by an unknown number of foes in an unknown number of directions. Anko caught his chop easily, smirking wider. "That was pathetic, runt. That chop wouldn't have caught a civilian off guard, let alone me."

Naruto scowled. "What do you want Mom? As you can see, I am a little busy right now. We just got back from a mission, so you can't be here to drag me off to train."

"Well, if you are going to be rude, I guess I will keep the money."

"Wait, what do you mean, keep the money?" Anko was an okay parent, but he could never imagine her giving him a wad of cash out of the kindness of her heart, mostly because she didn't have one. He had never had an allowance before and couldn't imagine why she would start now.

"Your share of the pay for the completion of an A-ranked mission, and the bounties for Zabuza and Haku." Anko tossed him a voucher. We will have to go to one of the banks to cash that. Mission hall doesn't have enough money on hand for it. We will go down to the bank I use a bit later, and we can get an account set up for you." Normally, with C and D-rank missions, one could go directly to what many had termed the 'finance ghoul,' the lady who ran the accounting department, and deposit their vouchers directly into the special shinobi accounts kept in the tower. But with anything over C-rank, one had to go to one of the civilian banks to cash the voucher, and then deposit into the shinobi vault.

Naruto looked up at his mom and actually smiled at her, expression his gratitude in that one expression. Just then, he heard a discreet cough from behind him. Whirling around blushing furiously, he faced his other two house guests. Teuchi stood up and extended a hand to the pineapple-haired woman.

"It is nice to see you again Anko-san."

"Likewise," she replied taking the proffered hand.

"Sorry about barging into your home, but Ayame was helping Naruto get ready for a date," Teuchi commented.

"Now why didn't you ask your dear old mother for help? I would have been more than happy to help," Anko stated, leering at her student/son.

Naruto scowled. "And therein lies the problem."

Anko grinned before excusing. "Oh of course. I don't think I have ever heard him have a bad thought about you, Anko-san."

"I am sure that is true," turning an amused glance on Naruto, telling him that she knew that Teuchi was lying on his behalf, and was most likely going to pay for it. Her business concluded, she excused herself. There were people to bother.

Turning back to Naruto, Ayame began giving Naruto a crash course in dating.

OoOoO

'What have I gotten myself into,' Naruto was wondering. He had run over to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar at about one thirty. It was now edging on to five, and Ayame was still going strong. She had lectured him for two hours on proper etiquette for a formal restaurant, from how he wasn't supposed to wolf his food down, to make sure to make small talk with his date. There were a thousand things to remember, Naruto thought to his dismay, and each thing seemed like it was exactly the kind of thing that would get him and Tenten-chan ejected unceremoniously from the restaurant.

After that they had gone out to Teuchi and Ayame's house to grab a phone directory. From there they selected the restaurant that he was going to take Tenten out to, a western-style restaurant that Ayame frequented, knowing the manager there. After making a reservation, Ayame figured out where exactly Tenten lived, and called her. She handed the phone to Naruto as Tenten's father called for his daughter.

"Hello?" Tenten asked into the phone.

"Hey Tenten-chan, its me."

"Oh hey Naruto-kun, what is up?"

"I, ah, just wanted to let you know where we were going to go tonight, so you, uh, know how to get dressed."

"You aren't supposed to tell your date where you are going, Naruto-kun, its supposed to be a surprise."

"Err... okay then I guess... Oh, um, there was another reason why I wanted to call. The thing is, I don't really know where you live... Uh, so I don't know where to pick you up..."

On the other end, Tenten was turning a very Hinata-like shade of red. She hadn't counted on him not knowing her address. "Sorry, I kinda forgot to tell you." She told him her address, giving him directions from the Hokage's tower.

"Thanks Tenten-chan. See you in an hour."

"See you Naruto-kun." Naruto hung up the phone, exhaling a breath of relief. Well that was one hurdle passed. Tucking the directions in his pocket, he asked Ayame what was next.

"Now we gotta get you flowers." Naruto looked at Gama-chan in dismay. He was not going to like the severe diet that his wallet was going to be on, at this rate. Ignoring his look at his wallet, Ayame took his hand and led him out the door, allowing him to lock it behind him. Then she led the way to the Yamanaka flower shop. The door opened with a tinkling bell, and the girl at the counter responded with a mechanical "Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, our flowers are as beautiful as your love," continuing to read her magazine as she talked.

Ayame approached the counter, garnering the girl's attention. "Hello, we need a flower arrangement for my friend here," gesturing to the dressed up Naruto. The girl, Ino, Naruto seemed to vaguely recall, looked up and looked at him. Then looked at him again. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly. Was this Uzumaki Naruto? She barely knew the boy, mostly by reputation as the villages greatest troublemaker. Yet here he was, dressed up for a date, asking for flowers and nervous as hell.

She had been a year ahead of the blond shinobi, but she knew that he had a crush on her friend, Haruno Sakura. Surely she hadn't accepted one of his offers for a date? Immediately, she shifted into what her friends termed as her 'interrogator-mode." She blinked a couple times and looked at him through her lashes. "Who is the lucky girl, Naruto-san?"

"It's, ah, Higurashi Tenten, the weapons mistress," he muttered, averting his gaze. Ino didn't recognize the name, but she did recognize the description. Go figure. The girl had always struck her as too much of a tomboy to be interested in guys. "First date?"

"Kind of." She sat back thinking for a moment. Walking around the counter, she returned a few minutes later with a dozen flowers in her grip, shears in the other. White roses for innocence and pureness of love, and yellow dandelions for eternal devotion. Ino doubted that the blond boy knew the significance of the flowers, but his chaperone did, and she was sure that his date would. She wrapped them, trimming the stems to make them last longer, and completed the transaction. They both thanked her, and as soon as they were out the door, she was on the phone, dialing her best friend's number.

"What do you want Ino-pig?" came the voice.

"Can it Forehead-girl. You will never believe who just came in for flowers for a date." She was right, Sakura didn't believe her.

OoOoO

Taking a deep breath to attempt to kill some of the butterflies using his stomach as a playground, he knocked on the door resolutely, holding the flowers behind him. He knew from previous attempts to shop here that Tenten's father was one of the civilians that did not like him. He doubted that the man would allow him to catch a glimpse of Tenten if he were to come knocking with flowers in his hand.

The door opened, revealing the older mans sour visage. "What the hell are you doing here, demon?"

Uh, hello Higurashi-san. Is Tenten-chan home?" The weapons shop owner peered at the youth suspiciously. His daughter had been in her room most of the afternoon preparing for a date. He was sure he had warned her off the demon.

"Yes, she is. What do you need her for?"

"Ah, Anko-sensei said that we wanted to meet us all at the training grounds now for an emergency meeting."

"Well, Tenten is a little busy now. I will pass the message on." With that he started to close the door, but was interrupted.

"Hey Naruto-kun!" Tenten called from the stairs. Truthfully she had been waiting at the top of the stairs for twenty minutes now, in order to avoid just this event. Telling her father that she was aware of the meeting, she quickly made her way through the room and out the door, before he could question how she knew of an "emergency" meeting, and why she was going out all dressed up.

The pair quickly vacated the immediate area, and when they were several blocks away, Tenten hauled her date short. "Honestly Naruto, do you own anything other than your training clothes?"

"What? Oh yeah," Naruto said. He had come up with the idea to disguise himself into his more traditional garb, to avoid arousing undue suspicion. When he did, Tenten sighed in relief. She had feared that he was going to take her on a date in those clothes. Hopefully, he would avoid Ichiraku now.

Hesitating slightly, he brought his concealed hand from behind his back, handing the roses and dandelions to her. Tenten gasped and smiled. She doubted that Naruto had picked the arrangement, but the thought was what counted she supposed. She clutched the flowers to her bosom, drawing Naruto's attention to her attire. Tenten was wearing an ankle-length blue skirt and a pink blouse with frilly sleeves, tight enough around her bust to show her "assets" off, but not tight enough for her to poke through. The neck dipped low enough to show a pleasant expanse of pale bosom, showing a tiny bit of cleavage. Her hair was up in her trade mark buns, but she had a pair of ornately decorated chopsticks crossing through them. Her hair seemed shinier than before as well.

When Naruto had taken in her appearance, he grinned widely and said "wow, you're very pretty Tenten-chan," forgetting all of his earlier nervousness. He offered his arm to her, like Ayame had instructed him, and he lead the way to the restaurant. The waiter seemed to have some doubts about seating Naruto, and most of the occupants showered his with looks of disgust, but he brushed them off. He was on a date with a very pretty girl, in a very nice restaurant, and nothing was going to spoil the evening for him.

He decided as soon as he entered the eating establishment, that he would play the greatest prank that they had ever witnessed on them. He would be perfectly behaved, eating calmly and neatly, showing none of his usual boisterousness.

OoOoO

The evening had gone fantastically, Naruto mused, two and a half hours later, drowsing in his bed. They had staring off with onion ring appetizers, before he ordered a 64 ounce steak, and Tenten had ordered some baked chicken. The other occupants had stared unabashedly as Naruto exercised extreme self-control and behaved as a perfect gentleman. He had cut his meal into small bites and slowly used his fork to eat them. He drank his beverage at a sedate pace, not gulping it down in a handful of seconds.

They finished the meal off with slices of chocolate cake and a super-sized milkshake. Naruto paid the bill as he was supposed to, ignoring the flatness of his wallet. He would worry over that later. Smiling and thanking the waiter, he waltzed out of the restaurant, Tenten on his arm, grinning madly. That meal would be the topic of gossip for weeks to come. Anko, Kurenai, and Asuma dropped the Henges they had held throughout the meal as an elderly trio, rather surprised at Naruto's behavior. It certainly would warrant a good deal of discussion.

"Hey, pass me the binoculars," a certain pink haired girl whispered.

"Quiet Forehead-girl you are going to get us caught."

"It's my turn to watch, I wanna see too." Ino lowered the focusing lenses and sighed as she passed them to her best friend.

"Well, who'da thunk it, Naruto can actually act like a gentleman. I had thought that they would be driven out ten minutes into the meal, but they lasted the entire time."

"I know. I mean, he is nothing like how he was in the Academy. I wonder if he could be an impostor. That would explain why he was so good tonight."

"Why would anyone want to masquerade as Naruto on a date with Tenten-san?"

"Good point. Well, whatever the reason, it is certainly weird." Sakura passed the binoculars back to Ino-pig as she got up to shadow the couple away from the restaurant. Ino tucked them away and imitated her pink-haired counterpart. Unfortunately they parted ways two blocks before arriving at Tenten's house, Tenten leaned forward and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek, before departing. Naruto lingered at the corner a minute longer before heading home. The date completed, Sakura and Ino parted ways also.

Naruto gently caressed the cheek that Tenten had kissed, feeling oddly warm. The butterflies had departed hours ago, and now all that remained was a sense of peace. Naruto fell asleep with a smile curving his lips, playing that one scene over and over in his mind. He pushed the odd feeling that he had known the three elderly people eating in the next booth, and the unseen eyes that he had felt on him the entire time to the back of his brain. He would worry about those tomorrow. Right now was too pleasant to disturb with such thoughts.

OoOoO

Team Nine assembled early the next day. Anko was smiling like the proverbial cat that got the canary. Naruto shuddered. Whatever Anko had in store, it was bound to be unpleasant. "I got us another C-rank mission," she began without preamble.

"What?" Tenten exclaimed. "We just got back from a mission the other day! Aren't we supposed to have at least a week between C-ranks during peacetime?"

"Mmmm, yeah, but I get bored without something to do."

"You could, oh, I don't know, train us or something."

"Yeah, I could, but missions are more fun. And besides, we wont be leaving the village."

Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion. "What kind of C-rank is that then?"

"That would be telling." The four of them stood there, the genin, getting slightly uncomfortable, Anko still with that unsettling grin.

"Anko, why don't you show us our assignment?" In the early morning quiet Hinata's soft tone was loud as gunfire.

"Thought you would never ask! LET'S GO!" Anko punctuated that remark by flinging her arm towards the Hokage Rock. Hinata, Naruto and Tenten followed silently as Anko hummed a merry little tune to herself.

Five minutes later the group entered the gates for the Konoha Shinobi Academy. "Uh, Mom, what are we doing here?"

"Our mission."

"Yeah, I got that, but what does our mission have us doing here."

"Oh, this and that. You know." Naruto sighed once again and followed his mother into the building. She led her students down several halls and stopped before a door. "Here is our assignment," she remarked, opening the door with one hand and standing to the side, giving an unobstructed view of the room full of students within.

"You're shitting," Naruto deadpanned.

"Nope," she responded cheerfully.

Tenten strode in past the two to stand before the instructor's desk, quickly followed by everyone else. Before they had a chance to introduce themselves a very familiar voice piped up from the back of the room. "Hey Boss, what are you doing here? Where is Iruka-sensei?"

"Pipe down back there," Anko growled. "My name is Mitarashi Anko, and these three maggots are Uzumaki Naruto, Higurashi Tenten, and Hyuuga Hinata. We will be filling in for Iruka for the next couple of days."

"What happened to Iruka-sensei?" another one of the members of the Konohamaru Corps spoke up. The pigtailed brunette had at least raised her hand, if not waited for permission before speaking.

"That is not your concern. Now, for the time being, you will refer to me as Anko-sensei. Now, Iruka left some lesson plans behind, but it is mostly bookwork and that is boring. So we're going to go outside today. FOLLOW ME!" Anko waved her arm in a large circular motion and started to head towards the door when she noticed that no one was following her. "Well, what are you waiting for, GET GOING!" she roared, causing the entire room to jump. One by one the student filed past an annoyed Anko and into the yard. She immediately had Naruto use the Shadow Clone Technique to create one of himself for each student.

"What we are going to be working on is taijutsu and tactical thinking. One of the most important abilities for a ninja is the ability to think during a fight. In my opinion, this skill is severely under stressed here in the Academy, and I am going to be working to rectify that. Now, I know you are taught to try to use the environment. Tell me, what are some ways you could think of to use this clearing to your advantage in a fight?"

"Well," one girl said, putting a finger to her chin, "you could use the Headhunter Technique to capture your opponent."

"That is a good idea, but that is not exactly what I was talking about. You can use the Headhunter Technique on any solid surface. I am asking what about the environment itself could you use to help you." She waited a few seconds to see if anyone would answer and sighed when no one did. "As I thought. Well," she said looking around briefly, "I could pretend to get my feet knocked out from underneath me, and when I am on my back grab a fistful of dirt. When my opponent leans down to kill me, I would throw the dirt in his face, blinding him. Or I could use a wind jutsu to stir up all this loose dirt and dust, forcing my enemy to lose track of me, unless he has some sort of special sensory ability. But assuming he doesn't, I could then create a clone, run away, or attack, depending on the situation.

"Now, what I want each of you to do is pick a Naruto clone and spar. No jutsus, just hand-to-hand combat. The only way to win your spar is to find a way to use the environment to your advantage." The crowd of children immediately leaped up and snatched a Naruto to play with. Anko smirked. This was going to be fun. She stalked among the rows of students battling Naruto's barking out "encouragement." By the end of the day, Iruka's class, she had put the fear of God in the impressionable youngsters, many redoubling their efforts to defeat their Naruto lest they give Anko a reason to swoop down on them.

Tenten and Hinata stood off to one side, Hinata with her Byakugan active, keeping a keen eye on the Narutos, directing Tenten to dispel them when they got a little too carried away. It was good endurance training for Hinata and provided endless amusement to Tenten, trying to find ever more creative ways to "kill" her boyfriend. She just smiled all the wider when the real thing scowled at her. Absently she wondered if Anko was rubbing off on her.

OoOoO

Three days later, Hinata was in her room, having told the branch member outside her door that she was not to be disturbed.

Going to her desk, she withdrew the family finance ledger. When her mother had died years ago, she had been too young to take up her responsibilities as mistress of the house at the time, but now maintaining the ledger was one of her primary responsibilities. She was checking the numbers for some repairs that were being performed on one of the buildings belonging to the branch house when she was interrupted.

"I thought I said that I was not to be disturbed Io-san," she said to the female branch member that was stationed outside the door.

"Apologies Hinata-sama, but your father requests your presence in his study."

Hinata sighed. He probably wanted to lecture her about her status as a Hyuuga, how they weren't supposed to be weak, or something. Or about her new sword and the accompanying power. She prayed that it was the former rather than the latter. Still, she was surprised that her father had waited half a week to summon her. Usually she was directed to her father's study the instant she got in from a mission. Hinata had been applying every ninja trick she knew to avoid the head of the First Clan that she knew but it was only a matter of time. It was obvious that Naruto did not wish for their abilities to spread beyond Team Nine, but she didn't know how long she would be able to resist her father's inevitable wish for others to learn to access spirit power. She marked the column she was on and put the ledger away.

Hinata slowly opened the door and closed it behind her, allowing the branch member to escort her to the study. When she entered, she knelt in front of her father's desk, looking at the ground.

"You requested my presence father?"

"Yes I did Hinata-chan. Go change into something more formal, and return to me."

"What for Father?"

Hiashi looked at her directly in the eye and replied with a hint of smugness, "to meet your husband."

Hinata nearly went to her knees in surprise. "M-m-my hu-hu-hu-husband?"

"Correct. I am entering into negotiations with the young man this afternoon for your hand in marriage."

"Fa-father, what do y-you mean?"

"I mean that I am going to take you to meet your potential fiance. Now, return to me when you have changed your attire. You do not need to worry about impressing him, but certain forms must be followed. Now, do as I say."

"Ye-yes Father." Hinata quickly folded her hands and bowed low, before scurrying out the door. Apparently Hiashi had informed the Branch Hyuuga of what was going on before he had told her, or they had all been listening at the door because she was quickly escorted back to her room and dressed.

Clad in a multilayered kimono, Hinata found her father waiting for her in his study. Hiashi had also changed his outfit, from the loose shirt and pants into his own, slightly less formal kimono. Hinata fell into step with Hiashi without a word, half a pace behind and to his right. The group, Hiashi and Hinata flanked by a half-dozen Branch Hyuuga, garnered quite a few stares, as it was uncommon to see both father and daughter out in the streets in such formal attire.

Hinata's face gradually became more and more nervous and confused as they continued to walk. The section of town they were heading for was not exactly bad, but by the same token, there were better places to live than where they were headed. After about twenty minutes of walking, Hiashi turned down a well-used road that could probably use some resurfacing. Heart increasing in tempo with each passing step, she could barely hear the chime of the doorbell over the sound of her pulse in her ears when a servant pressed the dingy tan button. When the door opened and she saw who answered it, it was all she could do to lock her knees and keep her eyes from rolling up into the back of her head.

Frowning at the large group standing on her stoop, Anko asked the obvious question. "While I am surprised to see you here Hiashi-sama, what is going on?"

"Mitarashi-san, if we could please step inside, I am more than willing to explain everything to your heart's content."

Still eying the procession with a wary gaze, nonetheless, Anko stepped to one side and opened the door to allow Hiashi and company entrance. Once everyone was had entered, Hiashi asked "Mitarashi-san, if you could please summon your son, I would appreciate it, as my visit here is directly related to him."

Anko nodded very slowly and after showing him and his retinue to the living room, she went out into the back yard to fetch Naruto.

"OI! NARUTO! GET OVER HERE!"

Pausing in the middle of the process of systematically reducing half a dozen training posts to mulch with his zanpakuto, Naruto picked the scabbard off the ground and sheathed his blade. Carrying the sword in one hand, he caught the shirt that Anko tossed him with the other. "Hey Mom, what do you want?"

"Hyuuga Hiashi is sitting in the living room with Hinata, requesting to speak with you."

Frowning as he slipped the blue muscle shirt on he asked, "know what he wants?"

"No, but given that he came with a fistful of servants, there is something afoot."

Naruto quickly mopped the sweat from his face and brow before he followed Anko into the house. When the pair entered the living room, Hiashi and Hinata were seated on the lovers couch, mirror images of perfect serenity. Or at least Hiashi was. Hinata was twitching enough to give a medical professional cause to worry.

Keeping his face carefully neutral, Naruto spoke. "While I am honored by your visit Hiashi-sama, may I ask what it is that you came to see me for?"

"Please have a seat Naruto-san. This will be more comfortable without you standing the entire time." Nodding cautiously, Naruto did as Hiashi asked and lowered himself to the high backed chair across the coffee table from the couch that Hinata and Hiashi occupied. Once Naruto was comfortable, Hiashi spoke again. "Naruto-san, I have been lead to believe that you are cognizant of your biological parents identities. May I assume that this is true?" Wary, Naruto nodded. "Shortly before your father used you to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune away from the world of the living, he made a single request of me. We were not friends, but to say that your father was a man that I respected immensely is a poor way to describe how I felt to him. He asked that when you came of age, or when I deemed it appropriate, I was to offer you the full protection of my clan., and to that effect, I am here to offer you my daughter's hand in marriage."

Naruto blinked a few times, processing Hiashi's speech. "Uh, hold on a moment please. Um. A couple of questions. One, what prompted you to suddenly decide to fulfill your promise to my father just now?"

"My decision to honor my promise to your father was prompted by several Council meetings held over the last four days, convened in large part as a response to your outburst during your debriefing five days ago. Simply put, the Council has become extremely nervous and is highly concerned about the risk of you going renegade. As you said, you have little reason to love the Council, and that has prompted them to act. However, I have been able to convince the Council that I have the means to rein you in and gain a handle on you."

"By having me marry Hinata."

"Precisely."

"And you expect me to agree to this?"

"Yes."

That caught Naruto a little off guard. "Why? Why would I agree to this, when your express motive is to get a hold on me? On second thought, why are you even explaining this to me?"

"Because Naruto-san, this is the best way for me to protect you. Before you interrupt, let me explain. First off, let me start by telling you that you cannot understand how much the people who survived the Kyuubi's incursion hate and fear it. We threw everything we had at the thing, and it annihilated every single person to stand against it, save one. It shrugged every seal, every construct, every weapon thrown at it aside. There were ninja who were driven irrevocably insane by its aura. There is an entire ward filled with the men and women who lost their minds to it. Oftentimes, there was not a finger left of those who stood against the Kyuubi. The might of the Kyuubi was insurmountable. It took the greatest shinobi Konoha ever produced to draw even with it. The Yondaime was more than our leader, he was our father. With him leading us, there was nothing we could not accomplish. We had never been stronger. Many loved him more than their own blood, and a few even worshiped him as a divinity. Even the Sandaime, who was nicknamed the God of Shinobi wasn't greater. So when the Yondaime finally managed to seal the demon away, it was seen by many as an act of the gods. Believe me when I say that Konoha had never been closer to total annihilation than the day that the Yondaime died. So when I say that the Council will do anything to prevent the Kyuubi being unleashed once more, know that I am speaking the truth." Hiashi halted there and shook his head. "Forgive me, but I seem to have fallen off topic."

"No, I understand," Naruto replied weakly. Naruto had always known that his father was one of Konoha's most celebrated son, but to hear the terms of his death in such a way put it in a new light. "You say that you promised my father that you would offer me the protection of the Hyuugas, if that is so, then why did you vote to have me executed as an infant?"

Hiashi did not respond for several seconds and Naruto was about to voice his question again when Hiashi raised his gaze. "It is true that I voted to have you executed right after your father died. I have no decent excuse for my actions that day. The entire village was in a state of shock, and I think that many people, including those on the Council would say that they were not in full control of their emotions that day. What I did, I did in the sincere belief that I was acting in the best interests of the village. It wasn't long before I began regretting my decision, and thanking the Hokage for acting as he did.

"While it was never obvious, I have been helping you and you adoptive mother since the day that she took you in. Did you never wonder how smoothly that the adoption went through? How you were able to find a house for sale on such short notice? Excepting your tenth birthday, neither you nor your mother have ever suffered an attack upon your persons? It may not have always been obvious, but I have been watching out for you for a long time."

"If you have been watching over us ever since I was born, how was it that I got mugged in the first place?"

"A grievous oversight, I will admit, and one that was corrected as soon as I had found out about it."

"And what about trying to get my techniques classified as general knowledge techniques?"

"Well, that was poor planning on my part. I have told you that the Council has become somewhat nervous about your growing power, and have made a few comparisons between yourself and Orochimaru and Itachi. When it came time to have actually incorporated your techniques into the general pool, I would have fixed it so that the report would have said that there was no feasible way for anyone to learn your techniques. Having tried to spread those techniques to other, but failed due to factors outside your control, the Council would have had not choice but to classify them as secret techniques. But I never took into account that you would challenge me in front of the full Council as you did."

Eying Hiashi in a way that clearly stated that he was taking what he had said with a grain of salt or two, Naruto finally nodded.

"Well, what do you think that the Council would try to do if I were to refuse your offer then?"

"Imprisonment most likely. Nobody, not even Jiraiya-sama fully understands how your seal works, so I doubt that they would try to assassinate or execute you, but that leaves plenty of other less-than-pleasant options. But do not let the Council's potential actions be the only factor in your decision. I will not deny that if you were to marry Hinata-chan, I, and by extension the Clan, would gain considerable political muscle and reputation. By the same token, there are many ways I could use my increased influence to help you. You say that your dream is to become Hokage? Well, I can practically guarantee that you have the necessary knowledge and strength to qualify."

"You say that, but I am well on my way to doing that on my own. The Hokage has been grooming me for the position for years now, and as you have already said, I hold the most powerful monster to ever threaten Konoha."

"While that is certainly true, in order to become Hokage, your appointment has to be ratified by a vote of the Jounin. Do you think that you can do that without at least one Council member on your side?"

"Who the hell do you think I am? I am Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number 1 Most Surprising Ninja."

"Still, do you think that it would be best to start gaining support as early as possible?"

"You are not the only Council member I know."

"But I am the most influential."

"Everything else aside, I am already dating Tenten. What am I supposed to tell her? That I am dumping her so that I can be a Hyuuga?"

"What you do and who you see privately is none of my concern, provided that such actions do not negatively impact the reputation and standing of the Hyuuga." That caused Naruto to quirk an eyebrow. If he was reading Hiashi's subtext right, and he was sure he was, Hiashi had just given him permission to cheat on Hinata, as long as no one else found out about it. "I am coming to you, Naruto-san and as such, I am willing to make certain accommodations." Naruto pondered that for a few seconds.

"Well, in any case, I have to think it over. Has the Council given you a deadline?"

"Officially, no. But I will have to give them a decision within the next day or two."

"I will give you my decision tomorrow then."

Nodding in acquiescence, Hiashi rose and gave a brief nod to both Naruto and Anko before he made a sharp hand gesture and departed, servants heeling him closely. Anko escorted Hiashi and Company to the door, Anko returned to the living room and found Naruto staring out one of the windows with his hand clenched behind his back. "Any idea what you are going to do?"

"No, but this is something that I need to speak with Tenten with, I believe. I am going out for a while. I might not be back in time for dinner." Anko wasn't given the chance to respond before he was out the window and bounding across the rooftops.

Naruto made it to Tenten's home in about fifteen minutes. He pushed the door to the store open, the bell mounted above it jingling to announce his entrance. Luckily Tenten's father was not present, as he would have probably turned him away out of hand. Chichi however didn't mind leading him upstairs to Tenten's room, knocking on her door and inform Tenten that he was there to see her. Once Chichi had departed, with a reminder for Tenten to leave her door open, he folded his hands behind his back and stared at a wall. Tenten, who had moved to embrace him, halted, slightly put off by his seriousness.

"I just came from a meeting with Hyuuga Hiashi at my home." That caused Tenten to do a double take. One, Hiashi had met with Naruto at all was odd in and of itself, as the Hyuugas considered Naruto to be persona non grata in the first place. Second, if Naruto had worded it correctly, Hiashi had come to him, rather than the other way around.

"What did he want?"

"Essentially, to form an alliance between the Hyuugas and myself. In the form of marrying Hinata." Tenten blinked, not quite sure what to think of that. "And I am thinking about accepting." Now that was something that Tenten knew what to think of.

"I am sorry but I think I just heard you say that you are thinking of accepting a political marriage into the Hyuuga clan."

Naruto finally turned to face Tenten and unclench his hand from behind his back, instead sticking them in his pockets. His face was completely blank, wiped of any kind of emotion. "Yes you did, but before you say anything else, please let me reason it out for you." Tenten stepped back and sat down on her bed, hands gripping the edges. Naruto exhaled slightly and turned to look out the window.

"I have a couple of reasons for doing this. But I will say one thing off the bat, I will only do this with your consent. If you do not want me to do this, just say so, and that will be the end of it. Okay?" Tenten nodded slowly. "Well, the first reason that comes to mind for accepting Hiashi's offer is for protection. The Hyuuga are hugely influential in the right circles. The fact that you and I are a couple is not widely known, but it is only a matter of time before it becomes so. When it does, I know that there will be certain individuals that will try, I said try," he repeated at Tenten's sharp look, "to make your life more difficult. You are well aware that my mother and I are despised by a significant portion of the civilian population, and to a lesser degree, among the shinobi as well. Eventually this will affect you, but with the Hyuuga standing behind me, that doesn't have to be so." Here he paused and waited for Tenten's slow nod before continuing.

"Second, and somewhat more selfishly, it will give me access to some of the best sealing experts in Konoha. Hiashi's main stated reason for coming to me today was that the Council is scared of me. They do not like the level of independence that I have shown, and want to rein me in. Something happened to me in the Council chambers that day, I am not exactly sure what, and that scares me. You are well aware of the fact that the Kyuubi is sealed in me, and I think it was exerting some kind of emotional influence on me that day. Sure, I was a little peeved at them for trying to steal my secrets, but this was something else. It didn't feel like how the Kyuubi chakra normally does, but the effect were noticeably similar. Specifically how I went from zero to murderous in about two seconds. Had they said the wrong thing, I am not sure that I wouldn't have attacked them on the spot. I am not sure how it happened, because everything that I have read about the seals and the styles that mine is based on, my seal should prevent any sort of... emotional intermingling aside from when I channel its chakra."

"If this is true, couldn't you just go to the Hokage with this and have him tell Hiashi to let his sealing experts have a look-see at you?"

"I could, but that would place me in Hiashi's debt, and I really do not want to owe that man anything. This way, he is simply making sure that his subordinates are operating at peak efficiency."

"I suppose that is a good point, but it seems a little excessive just to avoid owing him."

"And if that was it, I would agree with you. But I have several more reasons, if you will hear them."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Alright. Well my third reason is mostly selfish. Hiashi has clout. If I wanted something, I have little doubt that he could get me it. Hell, he could possibly get the Hokage to have Jiraiya teach me sealing. Access to private libraries, experts in various fields of the ninja arts. Hell, access to the Hyuuga treasury is a reason in its own. I know that you have always wanted to go to Ichibana's. With an allowance as a Hyuuga, I could take you there any time you wanted to go. I could buy you jewelry, clothes, anything you wanted. Plus I could help my mom out, financially. She is a special jounin, but even so, sometimes she has a hard time paying the mortgage on the house, the utilities, food, equipment and everything else.

"Lastly, is Hiashi himself. Long-term, I can think of few men that I would want to oppose me less than him. Even if the Hokage does name me his successor and the Daimyo confirms me, I still have to pass a two-thirds majority vote of the Jounin. Seeing as the Hyuuga is the largest clan, Hiashi has probably has enough jounin under his command to prevent that, and that is only those in the Clan. Making an enemy of him now could seriously damage my chances. He has professed to have nothing but benevolent intentions towards me and my mother so far, but I do not trust him. He could be lying through his teeth about all of this in an attempt to curry favor with me. Should I refuse him outright, I think that it is entirely possible that he could drop this whole act. This clever thing about his claims are that they are totally unverifiable. Plus his kind have long memories."

"And to accomplish all of this, you would have to marry Hinata." At some point Tenten had stood up, and now she was looking at him with an odd expression on her face, with her arms crossed under her breasts.

"Yeah. If you are okay with this, she is going to be the next person I speak to."

"Whom you will be marrying."

Opening his mouth to say yes, a thought hit him suddenly. "Oh. I see. Tenten-chan, I love you. You and only you. You were the first to see me as someone worth loving. I have had other people acknowledge me as a person, but you are the first to have loved me for me. Before you, the only person I really had was my mother, and you know how she is. I cannot express what you mean to me, and no one, not Hiashi, Hinata or the Hokage himself will ever change that. You are first in my heart, and nobody will usurp that position. Trust me when I say that you are my most precious person and nothing anyone else says can change that."

Taking two steps forward, he wrapped his arms around Tenten. After a pair of seconds, she slumped into him and returned the hug. "What are you going to tell Hiashi? And Hinata?"

"Not too sure. But I have until tomorrow to think of something." Naruto loosened his embrace enough to pull back and cup Tenten's face with his hands. Moving in slowly, he planted a slow kiss on her lips. "I love you Tenten. Now and forever. If you doubt everything else about me, never doubt that."

"Sorry."

"It is okay. If our positions were reversed, I am not sure that I would be handling this as well as you are."

"Hm. I guess that you are lucky that I am such an open-minded girl then."

"I know. I have got to be the luckiest guy." Tenten just rolled her eyes.

OoOoO

The next day

Hiashi had turned up the next day, a little after noon, clad in nearly identical attire, again escorted by half a dozen Branch House Hyuuga. As soon as they had arrived, Naruto had asked to have a few words with Hinata in private. Both teens wet out to the covered patio in the back yard. Given how badly Hinata was blushing and how she was tapping her fingertips together, a nervous tic that he had not seen in quite a while let him know that Hinata was feeling almost as awkward about this whole thing as he was. He had thought about his speech for most of the night before he had come up with a satisfactory version.

"Hinata-chan, I know this has to be as weird for you as it is for me, so I am just going to play it straight. I am thinking of accepting your father's offer. But I will only do it with your consent and full knowledge of what it entails. I spoke with Tenten-chan last night, at length, and I want to give you the same chance that she had to refuse this whole thing. If you want, I will explain my reasoning behind this whole affair, or whatever you wish. Whatever your wishes are, just tell me, and I swear I will abide by them.

"Ah, Naruto-kun..."

"Yes?" he asked gently, giving her the chance to collect her thoughts and say what she wanted to say.

Taking a bracing breath, she released it slowly before continuing. "Naruto-kun, I understand that you wish to go through with this for your own reasons. I don't care what they are. The only thing that matters to me is that you want this. Maybe not for the reasons that I would wish, but I can accept that. The truth is that I have... that I have loved you for a long time, but always from a distance because I was never brave enough to walk up to you and say anything. The only thing I have ever wanted was to be able to help you. Until we were assigned to the same team, I was weak, cowardly, useless. But since we graduated from the Academy, I have been trying to change myself.

"I understand and can accept that you love Tenten. I am willing to accept the likelihood that you will never care for me like how you care for her. But I am your teammate, and your friend, no matter what. So, if you say that you wish for me to do this for you, then I will, because I am your friend."

"Hinata-chan, you do not have to do this for me. I would not want you to do this just because I tell you to. I will only accept your father's offer if you know my reasons."

Smiling gently she replied, "I don't mind. As long as it is you that is asking me, this is no burden. Just letting me help you is enough for me."

Naruto gave her an odd look out of the corner of his eyes, but Hinata ignored it. She was being useful to Naruto. That was the only thing that mattered. "If you are sure."

Hinata nodded. "I am."

"Well, I suppose we should go break the news to your father then." Hinata nodded and folded her hands over her waist, shadowing Naruto back out into the living room. Hiashi and Anko both rose as the pair reentered the room.

"Have you come to a decision?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes I have. With Hinata's consent, I accept your offer, Hiashi-sama." Naruto ignored the astonished look Anko sent him, instead focusing completely on Hiashi.

Nodding seriously, paused a moment before he spoke. "Very well. I will send for you once the paperwork has been filed. It should only take two or three days for the paperwork to go through. I will send for you when it has been filed properly." He glanced back to Hinata and raised an eyebrow with an unvoiced question. Hinata shook her head and Hiashi nodded slightly. With a curt hand gesture, he gathered the servants and let himself out.

"Well, that was interesting to say the least," Anko said to no one in particular.

OoOoO

Tenten was lying on her bed, her hair down, hands behind her head, contemplating the discussion she and Naruto had last night. She may have given her consent to Naruto's plan, but she was still unsure about the whole enterprise. Rolling over onto her side, she sighed. Worrying about it now wouldn't help anything. She had given her approval, such as it was, and now there was nothing to do but ride the rest out. But no matter how she turned it around in her mind, she could help but focus on the fact that Naruto was going to marry Hinata. She may have given her tacit permission, but she didn't like it much.

Tenten sat up when a knock sounded on her door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me dear," her mother's slightly muffled voice came through the wood. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Mom."

"Are you sure? You don't sound it." Tenten groaned. She swore that Chichi could give Ibiki a run for him money when it came to interrogation. Her mother evidently took her silence as permission to enter as she opened the door and sat down beside Tenten. "Is it boy trouble?"

Tenten eyed her mother warily. "What makes you think that it is boy trouble?"

Chichi smirked slightly. "Honey, kunoichi or not, at your age, anything that would make you sigh that much has to be related to a boy. Plus it wasn't until Naruto-kun came to visit you last night that you started getting so antsy."

Tenten twined her fingers behind her head and fell back on her bed. "What did Naruto-san do?"

"He didn't do anything."

"Really? I find that surprising."

"He didn't." Tenten sat back up and unsheathed Screaming Fang, cutting the air absently, barely noticing when the black kimono settled around her shoulders. "You know how my team and I awoke our new powers on our last mission?"

Chichi nodded. It had been her worst fear come to life to hear how her daughter had actually died and then been resurrected by her sword before chasing off the mysterious ninja. "Well, we were debriefed by the Hokage himself, and then had to speak to the Shinobi Council about our new powers. Naruto got angry and basically told the Council to stuff it. They didn't like that and had a meeting the other day. Apparently, the think that he is dangerously disloyal to Konoha, and in order to make sure that he doesn't go missing-nin on us, a marriage has been arranged for him."

Chichi winced. "And it isn't to you."

"It's to Hinata."

"That…" she trailed off, unable to properly voice her sentiments.

"It's wrong, that is what it is," Tenten suddenly snarled, leaping to her feet, blade still clutched in her grip. " That son-of-a-bitch of a Hyuuga. He sees an opportunity to increase his own power and he jumps on it. Naruto explained his reasons for going through with this, and I understand them, but... I mean, why do they have to do this to us? To Naruto? To Hinata? I mean, I know that Hinata likes him, but that still… Ugh." Chichi looked on silently as her daughter paced, violently swinging the sword in her hand, snarling incoherently.

"Well, when it comes to newfound bloodlines, the Council-" She cut herself off abruptly as Tenten focused her steely gaze on her, bringing sharp steel to bear.

]"Don't finish that sentence Mother. Don't you dare try to justify their decision. Naruto could just as easily marry me, but power hungry bastard of a Hyuuga thinks that they need even more power that Naruto and his ability would bring."

Tenten flopped back a moment later, fury worn out for the moment, rage giving way to tears. "Hush, Tenten-chan. I am sure that the Hokage is doing everything in his power to help you and your teammates out of this. You just have to believe in him."

A minute later, Tenten mastered herself and pulled out of Chichi's embrace, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. "Thanks Mom."

"It's what I'm here for dear."

A cough was heard from the direction of Tenten's open door. "Tenten-chan, one of your teammates is here to see you."

"Which one Dad?"

"Hinata-san." Tenten frowned for a moment.

"Bring her up here please." Kouseki nodded and walked back down the hall.

"Would you like me to stay?"

Tenten shook her head. "No, whatever she wants to talk about, it is something that we have to work out in private."

Chichi nodded uncertainly. "If you say so dear." Tenten nodded and motioned for her to close the door as Hinata entered. Hinata stood silently in front of Tenten, hands folded, as the elder Higurashi woman left.

"Hinata-san" Tenten greeted coolly.

"Hello Tenten-san." Tenten gave the grey-eyed girl an odd look at the polite address, but said nothing. If she wanted to be formal, then so be it.

"What is it that you want Hinata?" the bun-haired girl asked, slightly sharper than she had intended.

"I-I come with a pro-proposal for y-you." Hinata took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "I know that everything about this has to be unpleasant to you, and I do not wish for me or my family to make this any harder on you than it has to be. Therefore, I propose that we agree to share Naruto-kun."

Tenten stared at Hinata without saying anything. "Th-that is to say that we try to make the best of an unpleasant situation. I hold no illusions as to Naruto's reasoning. You are my best friend, and I do not wish my father's political machinations to come between us."

Tenten continued to stare at the increasingly fidgety Hinata, arms crossed under her breasts. After a moment, she relented and gestured to Hinata to sit in the chair at her desk. Hinata quickly pulled the chair out and turned it to face her teammate.

"I assume Naruto gave you his reasons for doing this?"

Hinata shook her head. "The only thing that matters to me is that he wants me to accept. I know he would never ask me to agree to my father's plan without consulting you first, so..."

"I... see." On second thought, she really wasn't too surprised. Hinata would do just about anything that Naruto asked of her, and marrying him was hardly the most onerous of actions. "You really do not have a problem with Naruto and I staying together?"

"I know that you are the one he truly loves. And although I do love him, demanding that he stop going out with you because of me would me denying him happiness, and I could never do that."

Tenten took a second to absorb that and had to struggle with the magnanimity of Hinata's decision. Abruptly Tenten lurched forward and seized Hinata in a hug.

"Thank you Hinata-chan," Tenten whispered in her ear. She pulled back, still holding the other girl by her shoulders. "I can't imagine how hard that had to be for you and I appreciate it." Tenten sat back and released Hinata, smiling, which Hinata returned.