Brief note from the author, be sure to swing by the forums on my profile. Enjoy
Haku might have only been a slave for a few weeks now, and most of that spent either sparring with her new master, or trapped in a scroll, but she'd been around people, and more importantly slaves to know how to read them. And the two that were working with her seemed to present an interesting possibility to her mind. It was little details that she caught onto most readily.
First they kept four cells open and clean instead of turning them into storage areas. This could have been simple foresight into her master's future captures and to save Haku the work of cleaning them out later. But she had overheard the one named Hanabi saying she hoped Naruto would let them decorate.
This could have been a simple matter of liking to keep the place looking more inviting, but it was impractical to have outsiders decorate for private cells like these. And thus a flag rose in her mind causing her to keep an eye on the pair.
The next thing she noticed was that they would slip up and call Naruto 'Master' instead of 'your master', or 'the master'. This could simply be put down as poor training, but for some reason she suspected it was more than that.
That was coupled with the interest they showed in her hand made collar from her Master. Since he hadn't registered his seal yet, he'd gotten permission from Kakashi to engrave it onto one of the blank training collars that the Lord Master had in one of his scrolls. Normally she'd expect some jealousy over having a custom made collar, unlike most masters that would just have a press stamp them out for them. But instead they seemed to be intrigued about the Master's mark, and she'd caught Tenten rubbing where it would rest on her own collar, right over Hinata's simple bunny-eared flame. From what Lord Master Kakashi had explained to her, the flame was part of all Hyuuga crests, and was thus named after them.
Her mind continued to process these clues quietly in the background, while she and the others tidied up the dungeons. It was about the time that she began sorting labeled storage scrolls from the unlabeled that a crazy, insane, and highly unlikely solution to the puzzle came to her mind. At first she simply wished to dismiss it, however there was something that one of her Justicar trainers had once told her that made her curious about the possibility of it being true. After all, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth.' made a lot of sense whenever Naruto was involved.
She finally got her chance to test the theory when she and Hanabi were storing the labeled scrolls onto the shelves so their labels were readable. "So... when is your Mistress going to be collared?"
"Oh sometime tonight I suspe..." Hanabi started before freezing in mid-sentence and blushing heavily. "Y... you weren't s...supposed to know..."
Haku simply smiled warmly at the younger girl and returned to work, wondering just what this sense of fear building in her chest meant. It wasn't that Master Uzumaki was just going to forget about her, right?
Right?
In the main office of the dungeons, Naruto had recovered from the emotional and mental bombshell that his father was none other than the former Supreme Master Namikaze. But thinking about it, he'd always tried to model himself after his idol, the self-same Fourth, so he should have suspected something when he knew he had the same hair and eyes as him.
This also brought up something that made him rather curious, and so like always he decided to ask. "Supreme Master... M...my father was the former Supreme Master, so I know why I was not given his surname... what a major blow it would be if I got captured or turned out to be submissive... but... why Uzumaki?"
Leaning back into his chair, the old man stroked his beard in thought before answering. "Never was there a doubt of you turning submissive Master Uzumaki... not in my mind at least. No, we chose the last name Uzumaki since it was your mother's surname, and since Kushina never legally changed her name, we could use it without any problems..."
"That... makes sense..." Naruto mused while rubbing his eyes in frustration. There was a lot that the Supreme Master wasn't saying, and probably a ton more that only his parents could have told him. But at least now he knew he didn't come out of thin air, there were names he could look up, scrolls and tomes of knowledge that could lead him to knowing his parents.
"Supreme Master..." Hinata spoke up quietly as she moved about nervously in her chair. "I... I remember that the Uzumaki were famous Masters and Mistresses in what was once the Land of Whirlpools... Is... Is Master Uzumaki of that clan?"
"As far as I know, Kushina was among the survivors from the Land of Whirlpools' destruction. She arrived here with several scrolls, techniques, and seals. There are several survivors out there, and I have been trying to find any that could be related to you... but without many positive results..." Sarutobi explained calmly while lowering his head. "She and your father met in the Dominants Academy, and it was there that they fell in love."
Naruto noticed that for some odd reason Hinata had a deepening blush forming on her cheeks, even as she seemed to shyly peek at him occasionally. He supposed it was nice to hear romance stories like that, but it really didn't help matters much right now. "Didn't my mother have her own enemies? I mean, either way I was gonna be hunted... right?"
"Well... there was the incident with the Kumo masters kidnapping her... but they have shown no other interest in you since then..." Sarutobi answered while shaking his head. "Other than that... we have heard of suggestions of other groups showing interests, but our best agents haven't been able to find out who..."
"So... either the known threats from my father's past, or the possible threats of my mother's..." Naruto answered quietly before putting his face into his palms. "I just can't seem to win, can I?"
Sarutobi gave a soft chuckle as he shook his head. "I would not say that Master Uzumaki... since you have advanced to Master level 1 in the shortest time we've ever seen before... and have a lovely slave... as well as..."
He simply indicated towards Hinata who 'eeped' quietly as she bulshed and shrunk down in her seat. "Y...yes... y... you have me Master Uzumaki... I... If you would collar me..."
Looking at the shy, blushing girl, who was herself looking down at her fingers poking each other, Naruto had to really consider what she'd just said. If he heard her right, she just offered to give up her Mistress status and become his slave, something that hadn't been heard of in years. Most times it was a Mistress and Master joining dungeons. But there was more than just the two dominants and their submissives to consider right now. "You... do realize that doing this would give me control of the future of the Hyuuga clan, right?"
"Y...yes..." Hinata answered while looking down at the ground shyly. She knew exactly what that meant, as the heiress of the Hyuuga line. As both of the daughters of the current clan-head would be under the rule of another master, the twelfth floor be given over to Naruto upon her father's retirement. But she knew something more. Naruto would do more for the clan in a few minutes as head, than the entire line of her ancestors and the elders had done in decades of control.
There was also the clans under their control to consider, but most of them seemed to be aligned to his beliefs, and she hoped none of them would object overly much, as she didn't want to cause trouble for Naruto. The Aburame saw the Hyuugas as the queen clan to their hive, and she prayed that the ceding of control to the mysterious floor thirteen would be smooth with them.
The Inuzuka were also of a like mentality, and given more to a pack mentality than a hive mind. Naruto might have a bit of with a couple of the younger members, but she knew that once he'd gained their favor there could be no clan more loyal. From what she'd overheard in the meetings her father had with the current clan head, her daughter Hana had definite appreciation for Naruto, and might just be willing to take up a collar under him.
Finally there was the Akimichi clan, who got a raw deal when one of their restaurants went under due to vandalism. Apparently as part of the deal for someone to take the property from them, they had to turn over their seat and dungeon floor. However, before the Uchiha could buy them out, the Hyuuga clan made an impressive offer, and turned the land into a prosperous business venture with the Akimichi running the kitchens. Most of the slaves owned by them turned out to be excellent chefs, and were given positions in accordance to their talents.
It had become even more profitable once it started making cinnamon rolls. After all, Hinata's love for it paled in comparison to some of the elders on the Hyuuga clan council. But that was a clan secret, so she wasn't about to bring that up.
A faint click alerted her to reality, just in time to see Naruto sitting back with a wide smile on his face. "There, it looks good on you..." Naruto stated proudly while admiring his collar around her neck. Sarutobi even held up a mirror for her to look into with a warm smile of his own. Shakily she took the mirror and viewed the collar about her neck.
She hadn't been rejected, she hadn't been laughed at. None of her fears were coming true, and all of her dreams were being realized in a simple clicking of a collar about her neck. She was Naruto's to do with as he pleased. "T...Thank you M...master... I... I hope this one serves you well..."
"I'm sure you will Hinata," Naruto answered with a bright smile, before holding up two collars and indicating towards the outside. "Now... would you mind collaring your former slaves? I have to talk to the Supreme Master a little more... Listen to Haku for now, we'll figure out positions later. Okay?"
"Yes Master, as you wish..." Hinata answered before practically skipping out of the room on cloud nine with the collars in tow.
Naruto smile lasted up until she left the room before he turned on the Supreme Master, his smile still perfectly cemented into place. "Supreme Master... should I be expecting a visit from one very pissed father soon?"
"No Master Uzumaki, instead if he arrives, he should be very pleased with you," the old man stated before pulling out a pipe and asking permission to light it. Naruto knew he was being polite, but waved him on, even sliding over the old ashtray he liked to use. After a few puffs of smoke, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Hiashi has known about his daughter's... disposition for a while, and even of her feelings for you. However, she was the clan heir, and as such had to be a Mistress. Her younger sister was to be a slave of their cousin Neji, however Hinata collared her first, the very night she became eligible in fact. The other girl, Tenten I believe, was a target of Neji's as she was accused of breaking into Hyuuga lands by the council. However, Hinata pulled rank and took the girl as her own. I shall have to pull up their scrolls, but I believe that Tenten shall serve as an excellent combat slave with your Haku... Hanabi looks to be a good one for running the show while you are busy... and Hinata..."
Here the old man broke off with a blush and a slight cough, muttering about how if he were only a few decades younger. He took a deep drag on his pipe before letting out a plume of smoke towards the fireplace, which seemed to suck it straight up. "Hinata from my observations and the Intelligence branch's dealings with her is a curious mix. In part she would be an excellent cook, but she also has skills in medicine, combat, and intelligence gathering... beyond that there is also her training as a mistress..."
Naruto considered the Supreme Master's words carefully for a few minutes, weighing his options silently before a smile broke out on his face. "That could work out very nicely..." he muttered softly while rubbing his hands together. "I think I know exactly what I'm going to do with her... I'm going to make her and Haku both into my right-hand slaves... Maybe Tenten as a third... at least for now..."
"That is a rare honor Master Uzumaki... most do not even consider giving their slaves such a trusted position any more..." Sarutobi mused, remembering his own right-hand slave. Oh how he missed her, the mother of his children, the love of his life, and one of the wildest rides in bed outside of the... oh he should warn Naruto about that... but he felt the young master could handle it.
"How has your... other slave been?" he asked, mostly to divert the nosebleed he felt building as his thoughts delved deeper into the pleasures Naruto would find if he ever attempted to fulfill that aspect of being a master.
"Kitsune? Oh she's doing great, really nice and docile, but she has some attitude issues that are being worked out..." Naruto answered before digging into his jacket for a few minutes and pulling out a scroll, unrolling it a bit he nodded to himself before handing it over. "Here's my report so far..."
Sarutobi took a moment to puff from his pipe before he took the scroll and tucked it under his arm. "Good... good, I expect you to keep me updated about her, and the rest of your exploration of Master Space..."
"As ordered Supreme Master sir..." Naruto answered with a sigh as he bowed his head, after all he was going to keep track of his tenants anyhow, might as well have a good reason to write it down, so he's not carted off to the funny farm if his notes are discovered.