Chapter 4: Opening of the tournament
The Welcoming Party was in its full swing when at the end of the last course being served Kushina stood up and giving Naruto one last look walked forward drawing everyone's attention to her regal form.
"Friends and above all, contenders. I want to further extend my gratitude to you all for in all of us being here we are writing history" began Kushina with a voice that went from sounding kind to stern.
"But history in the Land of Whirlpools is something that affects the whole world and as such we take it very seriously" continued Kushina narrowing her eyes and letting her gaze fall on each of the fighters that would try to earn her throne and become her son's queen.
"And to ensure that proper skill and honesty prevail I shall now announce the rules of the Tournament which my Son will oversee as judge of it" finished saying Kushina while nodding to one of her attendants who carried a thick scroll.
Kushina took the scroll and partly unrolling it she cleared her throat and said "There will be no Killing or intentional dismemberment! This is a fight between fair maidens and seeing their beauty marred or ended would be a great loss for the world. Not to mention that several are princesses so we don't want to be source of conflict somewhere else!"
Seeing that no one laughed Kushina continued "All fights will be limited to the stage meant for it. Violence of any kind beyond it will mean an immediate disqualification for the involved parties. So keep those claws away girls!"
No one laughed again making Kushina's brow twitch but giving herself some seconds continued "Falling from the stage, remaining unconscious for more than 10 seconds or publicly giving up will mean the contender's defeat. That's a no brainer I guess!"
That earned her a chuckle from way on the back of the hall but it simply made her blush bit with embarrassment and continue "Dishonor this bouts with external help, unregistered weaponry or underhanded methods will mean an immediate disqualification of the contender…"
Eschewing humor this time Kushina continued "Every bout is to last 60 minutes upon if there is no definite victor both will be given a temporarily defeated status in which case they'll get the chance to face a previously defeated opponent to re-enter the tournament in full"
"Every victor will have the right to grant her place to a previously defeated contender if she so wishes, but will take the place of the defeated instead and shoulder the consequences" continued Kushina seemingly getting tired of holding the thick scroll.
Reaching the end, Kushina sighed and declared in her loudest voice so far "Finally and as a last dissuasion rule…Given the need of the world to have Uzumaki in charge of the great powers located in the Land of Whirlpools, we have an urgent need of Clan members. As such, every defeated Contender who does not manages to return to the fight under the previously mentioned scenarios will be made a concubine to my son!"
That last rule made all the gathered maidens gasp in surprise while on the back a tray with beverages crashed on the floor and a very bewildered prince was being muffled by an awkwardly smiling Ten-Ten who did her best to not draw attention.
As Naruto was dragged away by Ten-Ten, Kushina continued "Knowing these rules and the consequences I ask once again. Fair Maidens from all corners of the known world, do you still wish to rise to the challenge?"
At first several of the maidens looked uncertain while a few seemed resolute enough.
Still Anko taking a bold step forwards said "What's being offered here is the power to forge our dreams and change the world…Guess that the risk for the greatest reward should live up to the challenge! So bring it on!"
Those words riled the crowd while it helped steel the souls of the contenders who one by one nodded their consent to Kushina and once all of them agreed the crowd cheered even louder for their entertainment was secured.
"Besides, the prince is quite easy on the eyes! I wouldn't mind a bite of that whatever the situation!" boasted Anko making the rest of the maidens blush uncomfortably.
Nodding her gratitude Kushina returned to her throne and declared "Then it's agreed. The Tournament shall begin in two days from now. Tonight feast to your heart's content Brave Maidens and toast for your fates are in your hands!"
With that the crowd cheered the contenders and were back to the merry making and start making bets with high stakes.
Seeing that several of the warriors were surrounded by crowds to know more about them, Sakura walked over to where Shion and Ino stood with cups of wine in their hands for apparently people wanted to know best the lower class warriors.
"Hey…heard you came from small kingdoms like mine" said Sakura already regretting her words for they sounded quite insulting and demeaning.
"Sakura from the Cherry Blossom Kingdom, correct?" said Ino matter of fact.
Shino snorted and on her own replied "Small yes, but quite famous and important. And after this charade will become a spiritual beacon for the whole world to join in peace"
"I am quite certain the tithe of your countless followers will be a nice bonus" commented Ino making Shion choke up with anger.
Sakura laughed awkwardly and moved apart from the bickering blondes. As she walked away she noticed how another blonde made her way to the plinth where a visibly upset Prince Naruto watched the ongoing feast.
Sakura remembered that this was Samui from the Cloud Kingdom and by the manner in which she swayed her generous hips, she could tell she was aiming to set the scales in her favor.
Samui approached the Throne where Naruto was looking away with a frown on his face and after eyeing his two companions cleared her throat to draw his attention back at her.
Naruto turned with an annoyed grunt which became a choke upon being confronted with Samui's rather large bust right at eye level making him slightly spill his wine and his face color up.
"S-Samui was it? H-How can I help you?" asked Naruto earning exasperated sighs from Ten-Ten and Hinata over his nervousness.
Samui's stoic face didn't contort at all and after taking her time to examine the Prince she sighed and said "I'll be cool and cut to the chase. I want to win and while I am fairly confident in my skills I feel that it's my duty to do everything in my power to ensure victory. And as such I am willing to let you partake on my body before time and guarantee my Kingdom's full cooperation in any and all matters"
That made Ten-Ten wide eyed while Hinata's mouth slacked and Naruto's eyes nearly bulge out of his head.
"W-What?!" stammered Naruto trying to make sense of what he was just offered.
"You being the matches' judge gives you a privileged position to determine the flow of a battle. What it is allowed, what it's not and what you decide to go unnoticed…" suggested Samui crossing her arms under her bust and pushing it up a bit.
"But of course, my body is not the only prize for you my Lord. My Kingdom is strong and with your influence it could become an enforcing arm of your will throughout the world. You are king of the greatest power on the world but at the same time you rule over these tiny islands. Someone like you could easily aspire to so much more"
That made Naruto swallow rather loudly and simply nod his understanding apparently satisfying Samui's intentions.
With that Samui departed from the plinth allowing Naruto to finally breathe in air he didn't know he needed.
"You are not falling for that do you?" asked Ten-Ten cynically with narrowed eyes.
"O-Of course not!" nearly yelled Naruto feeling guilty under Ten-Ten's accusatory gaze but if he was honest deep down he sure felt intrigued by the girl's proposal though in the end all girls present would be end up being his. Nevertheless what their places of birth had to offer was an entirely different matter…
Hinata sensed his arousal over the proposal and silently cursed thinking "If he just asked me I would gladly oblige…Still those girls…I can't just let it be!"
"I saw that!" suddenly yelled Shion walking up to the plinth with a large scowl and after examining Hinata's face, since it was suspiciously similar to hers, she almost threw herself on Naruto.
"I don't know what that Cloud cow offered you but I cannot only match it but improve it!" said Shion taking a hold of Naruto's right hand and landing it on her left breast making the prince color up again and being to stammer.
"As a Priestess from Demon Country I have skills that you won't find anywhere else on the world and I am willing to share those secrets with your people! So even though I am to become your wife, doesn't mean that I have to share anything with you! But help me and I will be in your debt" said Shion who retreated quickly upon noticing Ten-Ten's stern glare on her to back away from the Prince.
"Think about the things you could get from us besides babies!" whispered Shion going back to the celebrating crowd.
All the contenders, true to their skills and ambitions noticed what went on but instead of directly walking to Naruto to make similar offerings decided to bide their time and let things unfold further for there was no point at the moment.
That was it for Hinata who mumbled a quick apology and quickly left Naruto's side making Ten-Ten look at her with some compassion but her duties made her stay instead of going to give her some solace.
Hinata was walking back to her chambers but after a moment of hesitation she walked on reaching Naruto's and without warning drop on his bed taking a long breath to inhale his scent. Something she did every now and then in secret to experience her master through his smell.
"Those wenches…" Hinata growled slowly.
"They make offerings of flesh and glory but blind as I am I can see that it is all for their scheming countries" continued Hinata slowly rising from the bed.
"They care nothing about Naruto and would likely try to pry away from him his country and his power. Make of him a puppet instead of King!" thought Hinata aloud sitting up.
Standing up and walking over to Naruto's wardrobe she opened it and basked in the scent that invaded her.
"He needs…deserves a Queen that would love him and serve him unconditionally…someone who would take this country's best interest at heart in earnest in spite of the whole world!" hissed Hinata turning to where she knew a picture of Kushina hung by the wall.
"I was denied the chance by my father…but there are many ways to claim a crown if history is any example…right Lady Kushina?" lowly said Hinata with a smirk that would scare the hardiest warrior to the core.
Two Days Later
The great day had finally come and as expected an air of anticipation and excitement took over the whole city where crowds milled together hoping to get tickets for the Tournament of an age which would leave fate in the hands of the truly strong instead of the so called powerful.
Naruto, his mother and his entourage had already arrived to the arena with the contenders.
The first day would see 2 matches only as per the finer rules of the tournament dictated to put pressure on the contenders and more importantly, increase revenue for the Land of Whirlpools as much as possible.
With the crowd already filling the arena Kushina nodded to her son who with a long sigh and still somewhat annoyed over all of this, stood up and raising his arms demanded silence from everyone.
With silence reigning over the Arena Naruto's voice boomed "Welcome to the Tournament for the crown of Queen of the Land of Whirlpools! This is the first time in our history that the position of Queen is decided in such a fashion so let's cheer our brave contenders!"
With that loud trumpets blared their songs and with loud chains the gates of the Arena opened to make way for the Warrior Maidens to march in full battle gear earning a roar of excitement from the attendants.
The maidens climbed the ring and forming a circle they waved to the crowd with varying tones of excitement and nervousness.
Naruto once again lifted his arms on the air and said "Now without further delay, let the first match begin. Sasame Fuma will face Anko Mitarashi. Please every other contender leave the ring and stay by the walls of the Arena to bear witness to the fight"
With that Anko and Sasame were left alone on the ring staring at one another.
One could tell that were Anko seemed confident and actually eager, Sasame was a wreck of nerves and was visibly shaking making some people in the crow feel pity and cheer her on.
"You can kick her butt Sasame!" shouted Kagero from the front row making more people join her and steel Sasame's spirits for the battle.
"You look quite tasty little girl…you'll make a nice appetizer for our good prince over there once I am through with you" confidently said Anko licking her lips and adopting a graceful pose with her limbs slightly stretched.
Sasame didn't like her words and couldn't help but blush at the thought of becoming a concubine to the prince which she admitted was quite handsome.
"I-I won't give up! I have a clan to restore!" stammered Sasame hugging her body tightly and narrowing her eyes.
"Begin!" shouted Naruto letting the first match start.
With a shout Sasame spread her arms wide and to the surprise of many nothing happened but Anko still flipped backwards and if one were close to the ring they would have heard the wind getting cut by fine but steel hard strings.
Sasame continued to lash at Anko with her strings but somehow the snake enchantress managed to dodge every single of her strings no matter how close they came from latching on to her.
During one of her jumps Anko darted her left arm forwards and from it a coiled bronze skinned snake threw itself in Sasame's direction like an arrow making the kunoichi move her strings to catch the snake.
But the creature being alive contorted itself to dodge the wire and instead dropped to the ground beginning to slither in her direction making Fuma get distracted.
Anko took the chance and with dance like movements threw even more snakes that previously belonged to her attire which grew scarce with each attack.
Sasame by now switched to the defensive as she used her strings to keep the incoming snakes at bay and it wasn't long before she resorted to use on of her special moves.
"String Storm!" shouted Sasame twirling on the spot and using all of her strings managed to capture many of the snakes on them and then lash out at Anko who seemed slightly surprised.
Anko whistled once and the snakes coiled themselves around the strings and letting out some poison managed to corrode the metal and cut them.
"W-What?" said Sasame letting go of the strings and reaching into her clothes for a new set of the deadly tools.
"My pretties are not only well trained but also well bred" replied Anko as the snakes climbed on her body rearming her.
Sasame growled at Anko's sneaky ways and this time she brought up a scroll from where she sprung a lot of different ninja weapons.
"Steel storm!" shouted Sasame taking a hold of all the weapons around her and with some effort started to swing them around trying for Anko who once again began to evade with dance like movements and jumps.
Eventually one of Sasame's weapon struck Anko but instead of a scream she simply heard a loud hiss.
A Tanto Sasame had used found its mark on Anko's right arm but this was protected at the last moment by a snake that shielded her from the worse of the attack at its own life's expense.
"Now that was uncalled for don't you agree? You didn't even gave my pretty a chance at you" said Anko slightly angry over having one of her snakes killed.
"L-Like hell I'll give those worms a chance!" said Sasame lashing again at Anko with renewed vigor but to her surprise the enchantress became even better at dodging her and for some reason her string became harder and harder to swing around.
Eventually Sasame's strength gave out and her strings left her hands making the many weapons she was swinging drop to the ground in a loud clatter of iron.
"So it finally took effect? Took it long enough, you must have good genes and some handling with poison" said Anko as Sasame could barely remain standing.
"W-What did you do to me?" asked Sasame looking winded.
"Well, not all of my snakes remain on top of me you know?" said Anko pointing to Sasame's exposed ankle where a very small white almost translucent snake was firmly attached to her leg with a strong bit.
"H-How?" asked Sasame realizing her loss.
"That little fella's poison is quite interesting you know? Due to it not being very potent it has to be administered in large doses for it to make effect. That in turn makes it necessary that its prey feels nothing while receiving the poison. It has a potent analgesic which is why you don't feel anything correct? Plus its fangs are quite thin so at the most they feel like prickles on your skin" commented Anko letting her snakes fall freely from her body and slither towards Sasame.
Anko then clicked her tongue and the white snake detached itself from Sasame and slithered towards Anko who picked her up and kissed it gently on its nose.
The Enchantress then turned to Sasame and said "Well, I would normally put you out of combat by now but since you killed one of my darlings I guess it's only proper its kindred have a modicum of retribution, don't you agree?"
"W-What?!" gasped Sasame as the snakes Anko let go began to coil themselves around her and slither into her clothes rubbing her strangely sensitive body in ways no man or woman ever had.
Anko laughed and with a click of her tongue the snakes began to pour venom on Sasame, making them start to melt away earning a roar from the attendants and a mildly interested look from Naruto.
Little by little the poison melted the Kunoichi's entire attire but to her relief the snakes had coiled themselves around her body barely covering her breasts and nether region.
Anko smirked and clicking her tongue again the snakes began to constrain and move rubbing Sasame even more making the girl blush over the unexpected pleasure they gave her with their strange hard skins.
Sasame could barely move and all she could do was squirm while avoiding letting out moans of the increasing pleasure she felt and the whole crowd simply cheered on.
Little by little the snakes increased their pace making the girl start to push up her hips instinctively seeking more pleasure and finally in a loud scream she reached her climax and passed out with a shamed but otherwise contented expression.
Naruto was blushing profusely and needed a hit on the head from Ten-Ten to begin the countdown which went unchallenged to ten.
"A-Anko wins the first match! Congratulations!" finally declared Naruto nodding to the medics to begin treating Sasame.
Anko handed them a vial with an antidote and then turned to the rest of the girls who looked back at her defiantly.
"I wonder who will be my next meal?" said Anko walking to a lone corner and staying there looking unfazed after her battle giving the rest of the contenders an idea of what to expect from the following matches.
On the arena's seats Kagero looked quite sad but not surprised and after giving Anko one last murderous glare she quickly left the place to put her backup plan into action…
Once Sasame was removed from the ring and the crowd calmed down, Naruto stood up again and declared "The next match will be Shizune against Ayame Ichiraku!"
Shizune seemed nervous while Ayame didn't wait another call before leaping to the ring and bask in the cheering of the crowd who loved her confident nature.
Ayame was dressed with a white apron over a green short dress and armed with a large frying pan working as a shield and an oversized meat knife that worked as a sword.
Shizune shuddered at the idea of the strength needed to wield those tools easily but knowing she too had some strength shyly walked over to the ring.
Shizune was wearing a white short Nurse uniform which was actually made of metallic plates and chain mail. She then proceeded to put on a metallic cover for her mouth and a metallic nurse hat. She brought to the fore a gigantic needle that made many on the arena cringe over the thought of being at the receiving end of that thing.
Seeing both contenders ready Naruto shouted "Begin!"
With that Shizune leapt at Ayame who quickly place her "shield" in front effectively blocking her thrust.
Shizune lunged in once again expecting Ayame to block again but this time the brown haired cook jumped nimbly into the air bringing down her "sword" down in a savage motion that the nurse was barely able to block with the main body of the needle.
Taking the chance Shizune sent up a kick that landed on Ayame's belly making the girl twist away and land on her knees but on guard.
Shizune didn't let up and this time threw her needle with her full might making Ayame block with the shield and this time the needle spear point managed to go through rendering the shield useless to keep using.
Ayame took her sword with both hands now and charge at Shizune who was now unarmed and at her mercy. But the nurse dodged a swing that would have cut her head off and sliding on the floor managed to put both feet on Ayame's chest and kick with all her might.
Ayame was then thrown away and thanks to her quick wit managed to use her sword to anchor herself to the ring. But as she smirked over her clever play her shield was coming at her like a flying saucer and struck her right between the eyes throwing her off the ring.
"Ring out! Shizune is the victor!" shouted Naruto blinking at how quickly it ended the second match.
Shizune was still ready to fight having reacquired her needle and jumped in surprise over the cheering of the crowd. It took her a few moments to realize she had won over how nervous she was still.
On the arena seats Tsunade Senju jumped into the air celebrating Shizune's victory and yelled "Now we can pay half of our debts Shizune! Keep up the good work!"
The other contenders knew that the girl was nervous and insecure but her training was true and made for a relentless resourceful warrior worth enough to look out for.
"And that's it people, the tournament will begin anew tomorrow! Please enjoy the city and hopefully we will see each other again tomorrow.
At Night
As per the Tournament rules mandated, the losers were brought back to the palace and removed from their original chambers and located into the wing reserved for members of the royal harem which hasn't been used in several years.
Concerned over their health and current state, Naruto left to see both girls despite Ten-Ten's jabs at him all being too horny and Hinata's foreboding silence.
At the entrance he was met with two characters he hadn't seen in a while; His cousin Karin and his aunt Honoka whom he knew from his years in instruction to eventually take over the Clan and the Kingdom.
He knew that Karin was a good healer and a great tracker while Honoka's skill with sealing jutsus was only rivaled by his own mother.
Both belonged to distant branches of the clan so their claim to leadership was inferior to that of his mother and himself. Luckily neither seemed interested in leadership and like his mother enough as to serve quietly the Clan and the kingdom.
"Hey there Karin! Aunt Honoka!" said Naruto jogging to them but stopped when both stepped up barring his entrance to the Harem Wing.
Karin grinned and fixing her glasses in place said "Sorry Naruto, I imagine you can't wait to ravish those two but your mother said you are not touching them until after the Tournament is over and you have a wife"
"What?!" asked a blushing Naruto wondering why her mother would give such an order.
Seeing his confusion Honoka cleared her throat and said "So that you don't have any kids before its proper…It could make your succession line murky and subject to unhealthy rivalries"
"Oh…I was just going to check up on them since they took quite a beating back there" said Naruto feeling slightly offended that his mother thought him a lascivious monster that would attack two defenseless damsels.
"Can't you cut him some slack girls? Me and Hinata will keep an eye on him to make sure he behaves. He probably wants to have a taste of that Ayame's Ramen" said Ten-Ten in a friendly manner making the two red heads look to one another and finally nod.
"Very well, but we are cutting the family's jewels if you don't behave Naruto" said Karin making Honoka wonder what kind of thoughts the girl entertained.
Naruto simply laughed and said "No problem!"
With that Naruto and his companions entered the so far unknown part of the palace and soon caught wind of a delicious scent coming from the wing's kitchen.
Reaching it through smell alone they found Ayame already cooking a large pot of Ramen with a teary Sasame already eating from a bowl as if trying to choke up her grief with food.
Upon seeing Naruto though Sasame dropped her bowl to the floor and while trying to stand up slipped and fell on her rear making Ten-Ten and Hinata feel somewhat sorry about the klutz.
Ayame turned quickly and cheerfully said "Great, three more servings coming up, please take a seat!"
Naruto and Hinata did as requested while Ten-Ten helped Sasame clean up and calm down with a few reassurances.
"That girl don't look unfazed or depressed at all…" thought Hinata eyeing the ever cheerful and smiling Ayame serving three steaming bowls of Ramen.
Once Sasame was once again seating and avoiding Naruto's gaze, Ten-Ten took her seat next to the Prince.
Naruto then said "Are you girls alright? You took quite a beating out there"
"No biggie my Prince, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose" said Ayame placing the bowls before her "customers".
Sasame sniffled a bit and said "That woman's antidote worked well my Lord…She was just too much for me I guess…"
Naruto felt even more sorry for Sasame and wanting to get it out of his chest already he said "I am sorry girls…if not for my stubbornness you wouldn't have come all the way here only to become…you know what"
Handing over chopsticks, Ayame said "Oh don't worry my Prince. We were given one last warning to get out and neither back out. We accepted the consequences so there are no regrets there"
Sasame didn't say anything and simply kept eating away thinking of her cousin Kagero whom she hasn't seen so far yet since the battle.
"But you have to, you know, give me children eventually" said Naruto already wanting to start eating.
Ayame blushed a bit about that and said "Well, I always wanted to have a family someday and what's best for a mom but to know her children will be royalty! And if you ask me you seem to be quite a decent fellow"
Naruto looked up at the cheery cook and now fully appreciated her simple but still undeniable attractive that for some reason made him trust her quite easily.
Hinata noticed the change in her master's mood and thought "This hussy is even trying to win Naruto over even after she was defeated! And trying to earn my Prince through his stomach! How vile!"
Hinata then made to grab for her own chopsticks but "accidentally" dropped them to the floor prompting Naruto to pick them up while Ayame turned around to get new ones giving the blind girl a spot to act quickly.
She drew a tiny vial from her sleeve and uncapping it silently poured a few drops in Naruto's bowl before capping the vial again and concealing it.
She then thanked Naruto and Ayame's attentions and soon was eating from her own bowl while Naruto enjoyed, while he could, his own.
Like that Naruto dined away with his new concubines doing his best to encourage them and assuring them that he will always respect them and try to make things easier for them.
Ayame seemed delighted by the chance to work on her Ramen while at the palace's expansive kitchens and pantries while Sasame thanked his kindness and understanding.
As Naruto left the Harem Wing he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach and how this traversed southwards too quickly making the young Lord run towards the nearest restroom he could find making Ten-ten run after him while Hinata smirked.
"I am sorry Naruto but this is in the end for your own good" thought Hinata already imagining the words she would speak later with him.
After several hours of howling a quick bath Naruto finally arrived at his chambers with a pale demeanor and feeling emptier than ever in his life.
A soft rasping at the door though made him feel annoyed and said "Enter…"
The door opened silently and quickly entered Hinata already dressed in her night gown which this time made her look more alluring than ever making Naruto blush slightly and ask "W-What can I do for you H-Hinata?"
Hinata smiled content of at least being attractive enough to elicit Naruto's arousal but deciding not to bask in his reaction she quickly reached the bed and said "May I speak with my Lord for a moment?"
Naruto blinked and seating next to Hinata said "Of course. What's wrong?"
"I think…I think Ayame did this to you…" said Hinata sounding uncertain and remorseful.
"What?! Why would she do such a thing?" asked Naruto honestly surprised making Hinata grind her teeth slightly over how easy it was for him to trust others.
"Well…she now has to be your concubine and no doubt she isn't happy. Maybe this is her way of fighting back her situation" said Hinata placing a hand on Naruto's leg.
"Isn't that a bit petty? Besides I never heard of a cook who denigrated his own product!" said Naruto making Hinata frown over his resistance to believe.
"Well, she stated that she wanted to make the definitive Ramen…" began to say Hinata when Naruto stood up.
"Yeah! Isn't that awesome? Imagine if she succeeds!" said Naruto with stars in his eyes.
Hinata sighed in frustration but undaunted sad "And what if that Ramen has an ulterior motive?"
"Huh?" asked Naruto wondering what could there be about Ramen to be ulterior.
"Maybe she wants the Clan's powers to make it a way to control the people…" venture Hinata already regretting that obvious lie.
Naruto though took it for true and said "I see…you could be right. Thanks for the warning Hinata, I'll be sure to keep her in check and away from anything mystical. I'll also need to check on her Ramen to make certain it isn't poisoned any further"
Hinata couldn't believe he actually believed her and neither could she believe that Naruto was going to keep eating Ayame's cooking after what she did…
Not finding anything else, Hinata simply bade her farewell and decided to plot further with the pillow.
The Next Morning
The Maidens still in the competition woke up early to stretch their bodies and check up on their equipment before marching to the arena where they may or not fight that day.
Sakura, Ino and Shion were together fitting up their armor and exchanging a few words for apparently coming from lesser kingdoms made them kindred to one another in a strange way.
Hinata approached them holding a tray with light refreshments and a jar of cold water.
The girls thanked her attentions and sat down to enjoy the fine delicacies the blind servant offered them.
Ino was the first to notice Hinata's rather regal features and that she was by Naruto's side ever since she laid eyes on him.
"So what's your name? Are you a servant around here?" finally asked Ino drawing the disapproving glances from Shion and Sakura who knew to be more subtle about such questions.
Hinata didn't seem offended and replied "I-I am Hinata Hyuuga and I am Prince Naruto's personal companion, aide and bodyguard"
"Hyuuga?!" asked the three maidens as one for the name was quite famous since it belonged to the Ruling family at the True Fire Kingdom in the Land of Fire which was one of the biggest and wealthiest there.
"Y-Yes…" said a blushing Hinata making the maidens wonder why a girl of her caliber would be surrendered like that to Naruto without presenting her as a battling maiden in the tournament but a look to her ever closed eyes answered that question.
Falling into an uncomfortable silence Hinata eventually asked "May I ask something from you all?"
"Of course Lady Hinata" said Sakura while Ino and Shion exchanged glances knowing to be reserved before the daughter of high nobility.
"May I know what you pretend with the Crown of Queen?" asked Hinata taking the girls aback slightly but knowing a challenge when they heard it they answered.
"I will transform my Land into a beacon of peace and prosperity for the whole world to follow. My kingdom is small and tested constantly by brigands from neighboring countries. The teachings of my people can't be lost with such rabble" said Shion with almost fanatic conviction.
"My sole desire is to ensure the Cherry Blossom Kingdom endures the ambition of its neighbors and live in peace so it's people never stop smiling" said Sakura thinking of her beautiful land.
Hinata nodded at the two rather honest and heartfelt answered while turning to Ino who remained silent.
Feeling the blind princess attention pressing on her Ino simply said "It goes without saying that my desire goes along the same line as these two"
Hinata knew there was more to it and by Ino's tone she could guess it involved vulgar greed.
Hinata thanked the girls' honesty and wishing them the best fortune ahead departed to whisper lies into Naruto's ears for his sake…
Author's Note: End of chapter 4. Please read and review! Also thanks to Tachman for being my BETA in this story. Happy holidays to everyone and may next year be full of fortune!