Chapter 10

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Ninja Gaiden or DOA

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Special thanks go out to SPeCTeR-117 for ideas for new jutsus in this and upcoming chapters.

Last time:

'You'll have to tread carefully Naruto. Having strong mates also means they can be a threat to you if you anger them enough. I just finished healing you testicles recently or have you forgotten already?' asked the fox.

Naruto shivered. 'I guess you're right. I'll have to treat them all equally and not play favorites, especially where Ayane and Kasumi are concerned.'

'….'

'….Women are scary Kurama.'

'….Yes, kid. Yes they are.'

The Hayabusa Village

Hinata awoke in her tent all alone and groaned. Naruto had to leave at the crack of dawn that morning to go with the carpenters to get more materials for the village. When they found out he could simply seal masses of lumber into a scroll they all basically got on their hands and knees and begged him to help them transport stuff. Naruto had been embarrassed at their display but happily agreed to go with them this morning. She vaguely remembered him slipping out of her arms when it was still dark out and kissing her goodbye. She fell back to sleep after that.

She was rudely awakened by a senior ninja later in the morning asking for Naruto. She explained he was out of the village and asked him what the problem was and if she could help. It was then that he informed her that an emissary from the Black Spider Clan was to arrive later today around lunchtime to meet with Naruto. She quickly got up and dressed and headed to the Castle of the Dragon to find out just what the hell was going on. She was greeted by Momiji at the shrine and asked to see Ryu-sama about the Black Spider Clan.

"Kureha and Ryu-sama are having breakfast together and asked not to be disturbed." said Momiji. "Actually they've been rather secretive even since he got back for some reason. I wonder what's up." she grumbled.

Hinata activated her byakugan for a moment and the face-palmed. "They probably don't want to be disturbed because they are making out in the floor in there."

"WHAT?!" Momiji dashed in before Hinata could stop her only to find Kureha straddling Ryu playing tonsil hockey. Kureha shrieked and Momiji yelled before Ryu ordered silence and demanded to know why Momiji burst in without permission. Momiji was terribly embarrassed but said Hinata was here to see them about something to do with the Black Spider Clan. Ryu stepped out straightening himself up and went to talk to Hinata while Momiji and Kureha were having a quiet 'sisterly discussion.'

Hinata had an evil smile on her face and said. "Sorry to interrupt your session with our head shrine maiden but I heard that and emissary from the Black Spider Clan was going to be here to see Naruto-kun today. By the way, when is the wedding?"

Ryu narrowed his eyes to slits and said, "Not. One. Word." Seeing his intimidation tactics didn't work on Hinata at all (her smile just got bigger) he said, "Please?"

Hinata chuckled and patted his hand in a soothing manner. "Of course Ryu-sama but you owe me."

Ryu got a flat look on his face and said, "You know, I believe Naruto is rubbing off on you in a bad way; what is your price for silence?"

"I'll think of something." Hinata replied with a twinkle in her eye. "I can't hit you with too much at this point since your still recovering from finding out about Naruto-kun getting a harem."

Flashback….

Ryu felt revitalized being back home (and being with Kureha) and was up and around checking on the Hayabusa Village. He stopped to talk to Kasumi and found she was all right but that Torn Sky Blast really took it out of her so it would be several days before she was back up to full strength. He spoke to many in the village and saw the remarkable progress that they were making in rebuilding. Everyone was talking about his great victory over the Holy Vigoor Empire. The village was running smoothly and he saw that Naruto's clones were in every nook and cranny working on repairs. Ryu was glad he'd entrusted the village's safety to Naruto and Genjiro. After visiting the graves of the fallen he went to see Genjiro for an update about things. Genjro described the whole business with the Kusanagi, possible summoning and the involvement of the Black Spider Clan among many other things.

Then Genjiro added as an afterthought, "….Oh, and Naruto is getting a harem so we're going to have to build him a mansion or something but it's no rush."

Ryu nodded quietly and then his eyes steadily grew to the size of dinner plates as his brain processed 'harem' and 'build him a mansion.' With a smile behind his mask that screamed 'fake' he asked Genjiro to repeat what was said. Genjiro quietly explained that Momiji, Ayane, and Kasumi intended to marry Naruto along with Hinata. Ryu initially prayed this was some kind of joke but Genjiro directed him to Kureha to get the details on the laws. Kureha was a bit embarrassed about the whole situation and her involvement in it and Ryu face-palmed after hearing about Shiden-sama's machinations.

Ryu went to talk to everyone involved and found out that Hinata, Naruto and Kasumi were all angry at Shiden-sama but Ayane and Momiji didn't think it was all that bad. In any case, Kasumi explained to him that Shiden-sama (he noticed she did not refer to him as father) railroaded this through behind everyone's backs including Hayate's. She said the Mugen Tenshin clan was now politically committed to this move and she knew Jô-sama would have to go along with it to preserve their alliance and friendship or someone would suffer a massive loss of face. This harem business was all but carved in stone….

Flashback end….

"So tell me about the Black Spider Clan coming to see Naruto-kun." said Hinata. "Especially since he's not even in the village right now."

"He's not in the village?!" asked Ryu shocked.

"No, he wasn't aware someone was coming and left with the carpenters and workmen this morning to gather materials to continue to rebuild the village." said Hinata in an irritated tone. "If you needed Naruto-kun to be here then he needs to know in advance Ryu-sama. What does the Black Spider Clan want with him anyway? They've proven to be our enemies in the past and cooperate with the fiends."

Ryu sighed. "We honestly don't know but Obaba has sent a representative with two escorts that are to be here at noon. The letter stated she had a proposal for Naruto-sama and it needed to be delivered to him personally. They are coming under diplomatic truce so I couldn't just turn them away. The Hayabusa Village isn't strong enough right now to get in an all out war with the Black Spider Clan."

"I see; that is unfortunate." said Hinata. "When Naruto-kun comes home I'll direct him here to see you. In the meantime I'm going to talk to the girls in the harem and see what they think."

Meanwhile at the dojo….

Ayane had, in the last three days, talked to Kasumi in a fairly civil tone and showed her the Kimono Ayame gave her. She finally decided to ask her recovering sister about the butterfly pendant. She had invited Kasumi into to her guest room so they could talk in private. "Kasumi-sama, can you tell me about this item?" she asked holding up the butterfly pendant.

"Ayane, please just call me Kasumi like when we were children. We're sisters and going to be sharing the same husband as equals if I'm not mistaken." Ayane blushed slightly at the thought. Kasumi looked at the pendant that Ayane was holding so delicately. "Ah, you have Grandmother's butterfly pendant! Mom always said she was saving it for someone very special and kept it hidden away in her jewelry box. I've only seen it a few times. I should have guessed the very special person was you. Grandmother always wore butterfly patterns like you do from what Mom told me."

"Can you tell me about….our Grandmother?" asked Ayane hopefully.

Kasumi nodded. "She died when Hayate was really small so it was before you and I were born. According to Mom our Grandmother was a tough and strict kunoichi but doted on Mom as she was her only child. Mom said that….Shiden-sama was afraid of her and she put him through all kinds of hell before she granted him permission to marry Mom." Kasumi giggled at the thought. "Mom never really talked about her a great deal but I know that the kimono you showed me was picked out by her for Mom."

"Actually, now that I think about it, Mom's descriptions of Grandmother remind me a lot of you Ayane." The older sister mused. "She was described as silk on steel. While she was very beautiful from what I've heard, you never wanted to cross her. Next time we are in the Mugen Tenshin Village we should both sit down with Mom and ask her about Grandmother."

"What was her name?" asked Ayane feeling a connection to her late Grandmother through the pendent.

"Her name was Natsumi because she was born in the summer like you were." answered Kasumi. "I always thought I'd name a child of my own after her someday but now I think it would be better if that name went to one of your daughters. What do you think?"

Ayane blushed again at the thought of children. "I think I'd like that….Kasumi."

Kasumi smiled warmly and hoped that she and her younger sister would be close again someday.

With Naruto and the carpenters

They had travelled all morning to a designated patch of forest were they began to break out there saws and axes.

"So you've secured payment already and all we need to do is cut these trees down and take them back to the village?" asked Naruto.

The head carpenter nodded ad said, "That's right Naruto, let us cut them down and you can seal them up."

"Let me try something. Wind style: finger blades!" said Naruto as a blade of wind extended from each of his fingers and flew to five different trees cutting each down in an instant. Unfortunately Naruto wasn't a logger and didn't realize you were supposed to notch the trees first to control the direction they fell in. Hence everyone was sent running in terror as five trees fell in different directions. "Whoops! My bad…." said Naruto scratching the back of his neck nervously.

The group of carpenters just glared….it was going to be a long morning.

The Gates of the Hayabusa Village

Aoi and her two attendants Hiroshi and Hideo arrived at the Hayabusa Village at the appointed time. She saw Ryu standing there looking very intimidating but she quashed her fear and said, "Greetings to you Ryu-sama. I am Aoi-sama and I represent the Black Spider Clan. I have come at the behest of Obaba-sama to negotiate with Naruto-sama about clan relations. I'm surprised he is not here to greet us as well."

Ryu said, "I've come to greet you to make sure you are no threat to my village. I'm afraid I must ask you to hand over your weapons and submit to a search before I let you through these gates. If you disagree with my terms then go back from whence you came."

Hideo said, "You can't do that! We're here under truce!"

Aoi raised her hand to quiet him. "As long as Ryu-sama guarantees our safety in the Hayabusa Village we will happily comply."

"I give you my word as a Dragon Ninja that your safety is assured." At Aoi's nod Ryu sent guards forward and relieved them of their weapons. Ryu then motioned them forward. "I welcome you to the Hayabusa Village. Please follow me."

The three Black Spider ninja were quietly led through the village to the meeting area at the Castle of the Dragon.

Aoi had heard that the Hayabusa Village was in ruins from her Grandmother Obaba but saw things were well on their way to being repaired. What had it been, seven or eight weeks? Either Obaba's sources were wrong about the extent of the damage or the Hayabusa clan had far more manpower than she imagined. Unfortunately there was no way to casually bring it up with the Dragon ninjas without stirring up some really bad blood and the last thing Aoi wanted to do was get further on Ryu's bad side.

….

Far across the village Aoi and her companions were being thoroughly scrutinized by a pair of pearl like eyes. 'A strong kunoichi in a dress kimono and two middle ninja guards. Ryu-sama has nothing to worry about.' thought Hinata as she ate lunch with Momiji.

"What's up Hinata-chan?" asked Momiji. "You're eyes have been active for a while now."

Hinata answered, "Naruto-kun's visitors we discussed have arrived Momiji. After lunch I believe that we should go have a meeting with Ayane and Kasumi about this matter. We can't let Naruto-kun get hurt."

Momiji smiled. "The first 'official meeting of the wives' Hinata-chan? You normally do these things on your own although I'm happy you're involving everyone. We're all going to be one family after all."

The pearl eyed kunoichi sighed. "I'm afraid for all our sakes we need to be on the same page and present a united front Momiji. I'm still bothered somewhat but the four of us are pretty much going to be sisters in the future and will have to rely on each other a lot. We might as well start now."

"I agree entirely." said Momiji warmly, glad that Hinata was softening a bit on the whole harem idea.

With Naruto

Things were moving rather quickly. With Naruto and his clones using the new finger blade jutsu he'd learned from the scrolls from the sacred wilderness removing the branches and sealing up the logs was a snap. The carpenters were doing the actual cutting the trees down after Naruto sent five trees more or less flying this morning. Breaking for lunch the group concluded they should be done by that afternoon. It had been a productive day….

The Gates of the Hayabusa Village

At the entrance to the village an elderly man appeared and spoke to the two guards. Something about him put their minds at ease and they answered his questions without reservation. "Hello young gentleman, my name is Noh Akuto. I've travelled a long way to see the one known as the sage and I wish to speak with him. Last I heard he was in your village"

The guard to his left asked, "Do you mean Uzumaki Naruto? Some have referred to him as a sage."

Akuto increased the power of his illusions to make himself seem even more harmless. "Does he have blonde hair perchance?" he asked remembering the dying Goro's memories.

The right guard said "Yes! That's him. Let us dispatch a messenger to go find him for you."

"Oh, that's not necessary." said Akuto. "I have a personal message for him and I would love to see your quaint village for myself."

Normally the two guards would have restrained him but the illusions that Akuto wove about himself were too strong. They let him pass without argument and wished him a good visit. 'Weak minded humans. Now to find this sage and slay him. No one would expect a harmless little old man.'

Ryu and Kureha would have sensed something was amiss but unfortunately they were occupied with Aoi and her two attendants.

Akuto walked around the village and talked to many of the people that heaped praises on Naruto's generosity and helping the village. The disguised tengu was getting rather irritated though. Not only were they talking about Naruto like he was some kind of saint; no one seemed to know where he was. That's when he ran into a young boy named Sanji….

"You're looking for Naruto-nii? I don't know where he is but I bet Hinata-nee does. What right here and I'll go get her!" Sanji said enthusiastically as he took off light a bullet from a gun.

Akuto would have shot off after the boy so he could get the drop on this Hinata girl but had to amble along slowly because he was under the illusion of a very old man….

At the old dojo….

Hinata was standing with Momiji and Ayane and the still slightly sore Kasumi was sitting on the front steps discussing what an emissary from the Black Spider Clan could want with Naruto.

"Well it's obvious they want him to join them!" said Ayane.

Momiji nodded but said, "While I'm sure that's true why would they do it so openly? They could have snuck a message to him easier. The whole village is watching them now."

"It's either a distraction or a political maneuver. Whatever the case they don't seem to know that Naruto-kun's not even in the village right now." said Kasumi.

Hinata said, "It's probably a political maneuver. The apparent leader of the three Black Spider Clan members was a young woman about our age that was dressed very elegantly despite the fact she's a kunoichi. I could tell by her body type and muscle tone she's very physically fit."

"I wish I had your eyes." said Momiji. "What did she look like?"

"She's very attractive and has very fair skin and reddish-auburn hair." said Hinata in an analytical tone.

Ayane's eyes widened. "You don't suppose she's here to-"

"Hinata-nee!" yelled Sanji coming into the large clearing in front of the dojo.

Hinata turned to him and asked, "What is it Sanji? Is someone hurt?"

Sanji shook his head, "No, there's an old man looking for Naruto-nii. He seems nice but something's off I about him think. He has the same accent as you and Naruto-nii. Do you think he's from where you are?"

Alarm bells went off in Hinata's head and she activated her byakugun for a couple of seconds and saw a little old man surrounded by a genjutsu-like miasma in the shape of a hulking man with wings(?) coming around the corner obviously tracking Sanji. "Stay here Sanji and I'll talk to our guest. Momiji, could you please watch Sanji for a moment?"

Momiji was a bit puzzled but saw Hinata was alert. She tensed and kept a gentle grip on Sanji's shoulder. Ayane and Kasumi tensed when Momiji did.

Hinata went out and met the 'old man' in the clearing away from the others. "Good day to you sir," she said with a slight bow. She imitated Kureha's voice and accent so she would sound like a local. "I am Hyūga Hinata. Young Sanji said you were looking for Naruto-kun."

"That's right child, I'm Noh Akuto and these old bones have travelled a long way to see him. Could you tell me where he is?" he said sounding grandfatherly as possible. 'Is this girl blind? She doesn't act it.'

Hinata smiled, "Ah! I see you have the same unusual accent he has. Are you perhaps a friend from his home village?"

Akuto chuckled. "You have good ears. That's right my dear! It's been a long trip! I can't wait to see Naruto again."

Akuto looked and saw the girl's pearl like eyes had changed. The veins around them were bulging and suddenly a massive amount of power flared around her arms that looked like roaring lions. Akuto's eyes got wide and she quietly said "You are within my field of divination. Eight trigrams sixty four palms!"

Akuto's world exploded into agony as the seemingly delicate 'blind' girl unleashed hell upon him. His entire body felt as if it was being struck by bolts of pure energy every time she landed a hit and she was moving at blinding speed. He felt his 'old man' illusion shatter like glass as he started staggering back from the blows that hurt inside his body as well as outside. He cried out in pain as he toppled over with a spray of blood spewing out of his mouth.

He looked up through his hazy vision and saw the indigo haired girl seemed to be hovering over him like some beautiful angel of death. "So tell me 'Akuto' or whatever your actual name is, what were your intentions with Naruto-kun? You're obviously no friend of his." she said in her normal voice and accent.

The tengu was in too much pain and delirium to lie. "….So you are the sage. I thought killing you would be easy…."

Hinata's visage turned savagely angry at the thought of this creature hurting her Naruto-kun and she said "I'm sending you to hell right now!" as her lion fist struck his head causing blood to explode out of his nose, mouth, ears and eye sockets. His brain was instantly reduced to jelly.

….

'DAMN! I never, NEVER want to get Hinata mad at me!' was the collective thought of all who saw the Akuto the tengu get mowed down like wheat before a scythe, particularly the kunoichis present that were going to be in Naruto's harem.

Inside the Castle of the Dragon….

Ryu, Kureha, Genjiro and Aoi from the Black Spider clan felt the massive flare of ki associated with Hinata's ruthless chakra strike. They all jumped a bit and Hideo said, "What is wrong Aoi-sama?"

"Didn't either of you sense that wave of power?!" Aoi asked. When Hideo and Hiroshi shook their heads 'no' she wanted to hide her face in embarrassment at her clan mate's incompetence.

Genjiro was good at reading people and could tell that Aoi was as surprised as they were (and that the two with her were middle ninja at best). He still didn't trust her though. "Do you know something about this situation Aoi-sama?! Were you perhaps sent to keep us occupied while someone else attacked?" he demanded in a tone sharp as steel.

Aoi quailed. "No! I swear to you I have no knowledge of this. I am just as confused as you are." She briefly wondered if Obaba set her up to die. Aoi then steeled her resolve. "Ryu-sama, I will assist you in any way I can to deal with this threat."

Ryu looked hard into Aoi's Hazel eyes and this time he saw no deceit. The girl had played mind games with them ever since her arrival and refused to say anything except to Naruto-sama but on this matter she was being absolutely truthful. Aoi didn't have a clue as to what was going on and meant it when she said she would help them. Ryu finally nodded after a long stare-down. "Very well, Aoi-sama. You and your attendants may join us. Kureha, stay here and guard the shrine while Genjiro and I investigate."

Several Dragon ninjas appeared when Ryu opened the door. "Ryu-sama…."

"What has happened? Was there an attack?" asked Ryu in an authoritative tone while dreading the answer.

"A tengu infiltrated the village looking to kill Naruto." said a senior ninja.

'Oh no! I just got here and Naruto-sama's been attacked.' thought Aoi fearfully with a stricken look on her face.

Genjiro said, "A tengu?! We can't just stand here! Where is the tengu now? We must stop him before he-"

"He's already dead. Hinata killed him the moment she discovered him." said the same senior ninja. "I saw the body. The poor bastard never stood a chance in hell against her. I thought she was just a gentle healer all this time…."

Genjiro and Ryu were some of the few who knew that Hinata could really fight but singlehandedly slaying a tengu? It was unheard of! "Lead us there." said Ryu. "I wish to see the body myself. Aoi-sama will accompany us to see if this tengu is familiar to her."

As the group walk rapidly along Hiroshi said, "I thought tengus were just a myth."

Aoi glared at him and said. "Tengus are as real as you or I you idiot! Though I've never seen one it is said we ninja gained our powers trying to emulate theirs." He was about to say something else but saw the anger flash across Aoi's eyes and just lowered his head in deference.

The small group arrived near the old dojo and saw a crowd gathered at a respectful distance from what was obviously a large body lying in the clearing. As they got close enough to inspect it they saw the shattered body of Akuto, wings and all, lying spread eagle and broken on the ground in a pool of his own blood with his mouth opened in a silent scream of death. He was nearly seven feet tall and very muscular. The massive blotches on his skin showed where Hinata's jūken strikes ruptured and damaged his internal organs. Morbidly, other than chakra burns the surface of his skin seemed undamaged. They saw one severe chakra burn between his sunken in eyes that seemed to be the one that killed him though.

Aoi stood there in shock of both the creature and the horrendous damage it suffered. To her trained eye it appeared that every vital point and pressure point had been hit and destroyed internally. "What could have done this?" she asked not hiding the awe in her voice.

"Hinata-chan did." answered Momiji.

Genjiro asked "Hinata did this all by herself?"

Momiji nodded. "He never got a hit off. It was completely one-sided."

"I'm truly impressed. Hinata destroyed him utterly from the looks of it. Did he say anything before he died?" asked Ryu.

"You'll have to ask Hinata-chan, she was the only one close enough to hear his words." answered Momiji solemnly.

Ryu asked, "Where is she now?"

"She's in the dojo washing up. She wanted to get the blood off her." answered Ayane.

Hinata soon walked out of the dojo and saw Ryu and the Black Spider woman there. She bowed gently. "Ryu-sama. This being planned to attack and kill Naruto-kun so I dealt with him. I apologize for the mess."

"How did you find him out when no one else did?" asked Ryu.

Hinata looked at the body for a moment and said, "He was cloaked in the illusion of a little old man and I saw through it with my eyes. He had a similar accent as Naruto-kun and I so I feigned being a local and asked him if he was Naruto's friend. He lied that he was an old friend from our home village and that he looked forward to seeing Naruto again. As I could tell he didn't think I was a threat I attacked him when his guard was down. After I defeated him he confessed he had come to kill Naruto-kun. Then I finished him off with a jūken strike to the head so he would never harm anyone again."

"Killing a tengu is no small feat Hinata, even if you caught him with his guard down." said Genjiro.

"He was a threat to my Naruto-kun. He had to be eliminated." Hinata said in an iron tone. "I won't let anyone harm the ones I love." She turned to Aoi with her byakugan activated. "And you are?"

Aoi gulped as she felt the weight of Hinata's stare. 'This woman is dangerous!' "Ummm….I'm Aoi-sama of the Black Spider Clan. I've come to negotiate with Naruto-sama about an offer from Obaba-sama."

Hinata got uncomfortably close to Aoi and said, "I am Hyūga Hinata and I am Naruto-kun's head wife. Why don't you hand over those six senbon needles hidden in your obi? You could hurt yourself with them since they are coated in poison."

Aoi nearly panicked 'How did she know?' "O-of course Hinata-san. It must have slipped my mind they were in there."

Hinata's byakugan glare frightened her. "The sandals with the hidden blades need to go too."

"Certainly Hinata-san. I'll take them off right now!" Aoi said with a great deal of perspiration on her face.

"I'm watching you." said Hinata frostily. She turned to Ryu. "Ryu-sama, with your permission I'll be taking my leave. I'm going to study up on these tengu creatures in case another appears."

Ryu nodded. "Of course Hinata, I'm sure Kureha will be happy to let you borrow some books on the subject. Thank you for taking care of this problem." Hinata nodded and vanished in a body-flicker.

Inside the dojo….

Ayane, Momiji and Kasumi saw Hinata appear inside the dojo and hesitantly went to see her. "Are you alright Hinata-chan?" asked Momiji.

"I'm fine Momiji." said Hinata. "I just don't like killing. What is a tengu anyway? They didn't exist in my time."

"You took on something that powerful without even knowing what it was?" asked Kasumi incredulously. "Isn't that a little reckless?"

Hinata shrugged. "He was a threat to Naruto-kun and the village. I wasn't about to let him wander around and I didn't want to risk getting in a drawn out battle. Innocents could have been hurt or worse. We might have been able to take him but I knew I could at least deal a crippling blow to him if I struck him while his guard was down and his 'little old man' illusion was active."

Ayane smiled ferally. "So strike first, strike fast and strike hard?" Hinata nodded. "I like it! That should be the first Uzumaki family motto!"

Momiji chuckled, "That's quite a family axiom there Ayane."

"Look on the positive side." said Kasumi. "Between killing a tengu and disarming her that Aoi girl from the Black Spider clan is terrified of you Hinata." 'I know we all are.' she thought ruefully.

"That's true. She'll think twice before trying anything with Naruto-kun now." said Momiji. "She almost wet herself when you told her to hand over those senbon needles." she laughed.

Hinata smiled as the girls all laughed and thought, 'I guess this isn't so bad after all….maybe we'll all become real friends.'

A few hours later….

Naruto and company returned from their wood gathering excursion and the head carpenter was extremely pleased. Thanks to Naruto and his clones they'd done twice the work in half the time they normally would. Originally they planned to camp out overnight and come back in the morning but as it turned out they were back in the Hayabusa Village by three in the afternoon so it only took about ten hours total. Naruto in particular was happy because he had perfected his new jutsu on a small level which meant he could move on to the much larger and more destructive version of the jutsu. He wondered if he could further enhance it with sage mode.

When they arrived at the village gates a messenger came to see Naruto and informed him he had visitors from the Black Spider clan. Naruto was puzzled and asked why their enemies would want to see him and the messenger said he didn't know. Naruto quickly decided his best option would be to find Hinata-chan and clean up a bit. He was hot and sweaty from working on lumber all day.

At the Castle of the Dragon….

Aoi was nearly on her last nerve. The Dragon Ninjas had been relentless in finding out what Obaba-sama wanted with Naruto-sama. That Hinata woman with those eyes had chilled her to the bone as well. A messenger came in and informed them all that Naruto-sama was back in the village and was cleaning up to come and meet them. This was a huge relief to her. (Actually it was a huge relief to Ryu and the others as well. They wanted Aoi to deliver her message and get out of their village).

After a bit of waiting Naruto showed up with Hinata in tow. Aoi was prepared to give her speech to Naruto-sama and be as inviting as possible but Hinata's presence threw Aoi's entire game off. Sweating slightly at Hinata's byakugan glare she said, "Naruto-sama, we meet at last. It is such a pleasure to meet you in person as I have heard so much about you. I am Aoi of the Black Spider Clan and I bring you best wishes and a message penned by Obaba-sama herself." said Aoi bringing out a sealed scroll with great flourish. She held it out for Naruto to take and suddenly another Naruto appeared and accepted the scroll much to Aoi's surprise.

The shadow clone of Naruto examined the scroll for any poisons and opened it up reading the contents that designated Aoi as a 'gift' from Obaba-sama to the newly formed Uzumaki Clan. The shadow clone handed the message to Naruto and dispelled giving him the information. Naruto's eyebrows almost went through the roof as he numbly handed the scroll to Hinata to read. Hinata frowned and Naruto looked rather resigned. The two spoke in quiet tones to each other before turning to Aoi. "Are you aware of the contents of this scroll Aoi; that Obaba-sama is offering you to be my concubine as a gift to the Uzumaki clan?"

"Yes, Naruto-sama. I was informed before I left my home village." answered Aoi truthfully.

Naruto pondered as Ryu and the others stared in shock. "You do realize that politically I have no choice but to accept you whether I want to or not? Obaba-sama would come after me and my new clan were I to do otherwise."

"I would very honored to become a member of your house Naruto-sama." said Aoi shyly.

Naruto's killing intent soared causing Aoi to cringe and her two attendants to buckle. "Answer my question Aoi –and don't play stupid." he said in a tone that demanded compliance.

"I am aware that Obaba-sama really didn't give you a choice in the matter –but you are a powerful ninja and I would be happy to give you children." Aoi said meekly. Frankly, Aoi was frightened. At this close of range, Naruto's anger seemed more powerful than even Obaba's and that was saying a lot. Aoi really had no idea until now….

Naruto nodded. "I want you and your two attendants to wait outside while I discuss this with my allies." he said motioning to Ryu and the others. Aoi bowed timidly and led her two quailing attendants outside to stand with Ryu's guards. After the door closed behind Aoi; Naruto immediately pulled out silencing seals and placed them on the door and channeled chakra through them. "We can talk now." he said as he handed Obaba's letter to Ryu for him and the others to review. Ryu read:

Naruto-sama:

As the matriarch of the Black Spider Clan I wish to convey my best wishes to the newly established Uzumaki Clan. As my clan has unfortunately clashed with you already I wish to give you my heartfelt apology for those events. In reparations and as a gift to demonstrate my goodwill I wish to present my prized Granddaughter Aoi-sama to be one of your concubines and loyal wife. I understand you have already befriended the Hayabusa and Mugen Tenshin Clans and hope you will befriend the Black Spider Clan as well.

Regardless of your intentions as to remain neutral or become allies with the Black Spider Clan I wish for you to keep my beloved Aoi-chan as a gift in the spirit of friendship.

Respectfully,

-Obaba-sama

"That evil witch!" said Kureha angrily. "At worst she will have a right to a vendetta if you turn Aoi away and at best we have a spy in our midst if you keep her!"

Genjiro sighed, "That old woman always was good at politics. If you don't accept Aoi, Obaba will try to wipe the Uzumaki Clan out before it's even established. If you keep Aoi you'll have to monitor her constantly. I don't know how this can be made to work."

"My Father will be appalled but it looks like we have to accept her into our village." said Ryu gravely. "Naruto, regardless of whether you accept Aoi into your household or not, know that you have the full support of the Dragon Clan."

Naruto looked at Hinata. Hinata growled, "Once again we are cornered by political machinations. First Shiden-sama and now Obaba-sama. The other girls are going to hate this, especially Momiji. We should accept Aoi to protect ourselves from her Grandmother Naruto-kun but let me break the news to the others first so they don't attack her on sight."

Naruto nodded sadly in agreement. "No matter what we do it seems someone is always interfering. I'll tell Aoi she can stay but her two friends go home even if they are her personal servants. I'll let her know she can back out if she wants to."

Hinata shook her head. "You can but I doubt she has any choice in the matter. She is a kunoichi after all. I'm going to go inform the other girls of what's going on."

Outside….

"Aoi-sama, Naruto-sama is a monster! We should flee this place." said Hideo.

Hiroshi stated, "I agree with Hideo Aoi-sama. I have seen Obaba-sama very angry and it wasn't near that intense. We should take you home for your safety."

Aoi sat lost in thought and then said, "Obaba-sama has offered me to be Naruto-sama's wife. I shall do my duties and prove to him that he should treat me kindly. I am certain his anger is directed at Obaba-sama right now and not us."

"Are you certain?" asked Hiroshi.

"If I go back of my own accord it will leave me in disgrace or worse." Aoi said with a tremor in her voice. She realized this wasn't going to be simple at all and felt trapped. Her initial thoughts that she could easily charm Naruto-sama like she had other men in the past were totally quashed. Secretly….it also excited her.

Hinata appeared in a body flicker and startled all three of them. "Whatever you do; you are walking on the edge of a razor blade Aoi-san. I don't like the idea of an enemy in my household so make sure you figure out where your true loyalties are." she said coldly before she walked off briskly.

As the three watched Hinata walk away they heard the door open behind them and heard Naruto's voice say, "You may come back in now." The three Black Spider ninja came in quickly and felt the atmosphere was still tense but not quite as oppressive. "Aoi, I will accept you into my household as my concubine. Your two attendants will now be escorted out of the village and go back to Obaba-sama and report you are part of the Uzumaki clan now." He glared at Hideo and Hiroshi and the two cringed. "Tell Obaba that Aoi now belongs to me, not her. Now go."

Hideo and Hiroshi were swept out of the village before they knew it and came out their daze outside the village gates with their weapons piled in front of them. They saw Naruto standing in front of them with his arms crossed. His voice echoed, "Take your weapons and go. Do not return!" The two Black Spider ninjas cowered, grabbed their things and fled back into the Sea of Trees. What they didn't know was a carefully crafted genjutsu that amplified their confusion and fear was upon them from when Hinata 'appeared in a body flicker' until they got out of range. Hinata's lessons with her old sensei Kurenai certainly hadn't gone to waste….

"If the situation wasn't so serious I would think that messing with those two bumblers was funny." said Hinata. Then she sighed and looked at the clone of Naruto standing with her at the gates. "Please let Naruto-kun know they are gone. I'll watch till they are out of range." Naruto's clone nodded and dispelled. The regular Dragon ninja gate guards stood there a bit confused at the strange behavior of the two panicked Black Spider Ninja. Naruto's clone had been stern with them but the two acted as if the shinigami was hot on their heels. They figured it was something to do with Hinata since she was there the whole time despite the fact that Hideo and Hiroshi seemed unaware of her presence.

Back with Naruto and Aoi….

Aoi was confused as to what exactly had happened to her attendants. She expected them to be dismissed but the two seemed to leave on their own accord as if phantoms were controlling their movements. She asked, "Naruto-sama, what just happened to Hideo and Hiroshi? They did not seem like themselves."

Naruto looked at her for a long time as if he was considering telling her. Then he said, "Perhaps if you earn my trust I will tell you someday Aoi. For now we have to find a place for you to sleep."

Aoi asked bewildered, "Won't I be sleeping in your clan home Naruto-sama?"

Naruto shook his head. "It seems that Obaba's intelligence is off. I live in a tent with my head wife Hinata-chan. There is no clan home and none of my other wives live with me. For now I guess you'll be put up in the old dojo in a spare room or something where you won't get into trouble."

Aoi was too dumbfounded to reply….

Later with Hideo and Hiroshi….

On the way back to the Black Spider Clan's enclave, the two bedraggled ninjas sat down to make camp. Hiroshi said, "My god! Naruto-sama basically said he owned Aoi-sama now. Nations have gone to war over beauties like her! How can he not be simply entranced by her…?"

"I don't know." said Hideo. "The only thing I'm sure of is he's monstrous like I said earlier. I remember him telling us Aoi-sama belonged to him and the next thing I knew we were running from him with him telling us not to return. I wonder what Obaba-sama is going to think of all of this. I feel like we left Aoi-sama in the proverbial lion's den."

The two ninja sat worrying about their mistress until they finally fell into an uneasy sleep worried about both Aoi and what Obaba's reaction would be….

Back in the proverbial lion's den….

Hinata went to the three other girls in the harem and delivered the unfortunate and unexpected news that Aoi was joining the Uzumaki clan. The reaction was predictably negative….

Kasumi and Ayane managed to keep the normally easy-going Momiji from going on the warpath and gutting Aoi with her naginata. The slightly taller girl was royally pissed when she found out about the Black Spider ninja. Her first reaction to Hinata's news was "Let me kill her! Not all the way, but just a little bit!" It seemed the young dragon shrine maiden did not want to play nice and was angry enough to chew up metal and spit out nails.

For their part, Kasumi and Ayane were of like mind on the subject of Aoi. They didn't trust the Black Spider Ninja one bit but weren't going to slay her just yet. Given Aoi was a direct descendant of Obaba they figured they would wait until they caught her committing some act of treason (it was only a matter of time). Then they'd cut her head off with a rusty saw. It seemed the two estranged sisters got along amazingly well when there was a common enemy involved.

Hinata was concerned somewhat for Aoi's safety in this atmosphere. She'd already put the fear into the girl but Momiji seriously wanted to kill her. Hinata explained that such a move would cause a possible war with the Black Spider Clan and the Uzumakis couldn't handle that at this point. That somewhat pacified the others. Hinata didn't trust the girl because of her clan affiliation but decided it wasn't right to judge Aoi solely on just that. On the other hand it meant she had to deal with another woman wanting Naruto-kun's affections and that made her angry. Hinata had barely come to terms with sharing Naruto with girls she knew and now this Aoi chick shows up.

Naruto was at a bit of a loss, in spite of the fact it was a political situation he knew the other girls previously and would count them among his friends. Now he had a total stranger that would be in his life and she was with the enemy as far as he was concerned. He figured the real key with Aoi would be to make her take an oath that was sacred to her to change her loyalties to the Uzumaki clan and denounce Obaba. Perhaps he was thinking to simplistically but from what he could tell of Aoi she was a dedicated kunoichi and could become a powerful ally in the future if she could be turned to his side.

As for Aoi herself, she was very briefly introduced to the other girls in the harem once they'd all calmed down. Her best weapon (in her opinion) was going to be sex appeal with Naruto-sama. That was shot to hell. Unfortunately, all the women in his harem were extremely attractive. Looking at the other girls she realized that she had no advantage over them in the looks or body department. When Hinata wasn't giving her the glare with her pearl like eyes she realized Hinata was beautiful too. 'What gives? Is every woman he's with a hottie? This is ridiculous!' she thought upset. There was going to be some real competition here and she'd never dealt with that before. Becoming Naruto-sama's favorite would be a difficult task indeed….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, just as the girls seemed to be coming to terms with the whole harem mess the unknown Aoi is thrown into the mix making things even more volatile. What does the future hold for Obaba's temperamental Granddaughter (or does she even have a future)? Blue out. 10/5/14