The Orange Daimyo of Uzushiogakure

Chapter Six – Declarations and Distractions

Naruto stood outside the main audience chamber, with his heart hammering in his chest. He only had a few more minutes until the meeting, which he had moved up to today on his own authority. Taking a few calming breaths, the young blond tried to relax. Everything had been planned by himself and his godfather to give him the best advantage, and besides, what could the council do? According to the laws of Uzushio, and several cases of precedence, he was old enough to take command of his people.

At Jiraiya's suggestion, Naruto was wearing some of his finest clothing and even he had to admit, he looked pretty intimidating. He swallowed, focusing on keeping his face serious. It made him look older and more decisive. It was a practiced visage and he hoped that it would help his case with the council.

The time for the meeting arrived, and Naruto swept into the room with his white and orange jacket flapping silently behind him. He was careful to keep his facial expression hard as he glanced along the row of councilors. He walked past them and took his seat at the head of the table.

The head councilor, Hideaki, was the first to speak. "What is so urgent that your Highness felt the need to up the meeting time so suddenly?"

The blond ruler was careful to keep his face serious. He didn't particularly like the man's tone, but he didn't remark on this. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Councilor Mizushima. It's just a matter that I didn't think could wait for next week," he paused for a moment to look down the table before continuing into a somewhat rehearsed monologue. "I have decided that I'm ready to begin taking over my duties as ruler. I am very grateful for the guidance and help that the council has provided for me since I was inaugurated. You have all worked very hard for the good of Uzushiogakure, and it will be rewarded. I know I am young still, but with your excellent guidance instilled in me, I think I will be successful."

After his short speech ended there was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. "When would you like to begin to assume responsibility, my Lord?" councilor Hamasaki asked in a thin voice.

The young ruler didn't waver. "Monday. I would like reports from each of you about your various areas of management ready for next week so they can be discussed in detail at that time. The estate staff has already been informed. The formal announcement to the people will be for the week after next."

Most of the councilors looked stunned, and a handful were eyeing him somewhat darkly. "Are there any other matters that any of you would like to bring forward?"

The table remained silent. Naruto nodded curtly. "Okay then. This meeting is adjourned. I look forward to next week's discussion." Naruto pushed himself up from the ornate seat at the head of the counseling table and strode out of the room without looking back. The great wooden doors closed behind him but he kept his swift pace until he had reached his quarters.

Once safely behind the walls of his room, he leaned against his closed door, letting the serious expression slide. His face felt stiff. Keeping that serious look up was hard work! But the aching face was worth it. Everything had gone more or less the way that he and his godfather had planned it. The council was fairly stunned, and didn't have an argument prepared to present. By the time Monday rolled around, it would be a little bit late for them to begin questioning his decision. It might seem as if they were questioning his authority, and if something arose, he was definitely going to frame it as such.

Naruto slipped his white and orange jacket off and hung it up in a wardrobe not far from the entrance to his quarters. This left him in his nicest black long-sleeved shirt and pants set. It was expensive fabric, but it was also plainly cut. In fact, most of his clothes were of a simple design. He didn't ever want to wear something that would impact his ability to fight, and after a mishap with the first royal tailor, he had worked with the newly hired one to create some clothes that he thought gave off the right vibe. To him, that meant nicer versions of typical shinobi clothes and jackets of various colours that were not-so-loosely based on the Fourth Hokage's legendary coat.

Thinking about the upcoming responsibility was making Naruto excited and mildly nervous at the same time. He decided that spending some pent up energy training would be the perfect way to ease his mind. He stripped the fine black clothes off and tossed the wardrobe doors open. At the back was his original training suit, looking worse for the wear but still whole. It had been a several months since he had last worn it. Airi switched all of his classes to stealth training when he wore it, and while he was thankful for his current stealth skills, other classes were far more interesting in his opinion.

Airi was a on a short mission to the mainland to pick up some new refugees, so he would be training alone… With a wide grin, he pulled the suit out of the back and flipped the jacket over his shoulders. He slipped his arm into the sleeve and…it got stuck. He frowned and tugged his arm back out. Had it really been that long since he had worn it?

He thought back, and recalled that the last time he had worn it, which was quite awhile ago; it was already getting a bit snug. He sighed, guessing that his most recent growth spurt had finished the job of rendering the beloved garment un-wearable. He gingerly placed the jacket back on the hanger and pulled out the brightest other orange clothes he could find. Today's training session would be a memorial to his childhood training suit. Dressed in a bright orange shirt and burnt orange pants, he leapt off the balcony towards the training grounds.

The wrinkles on Hideaki's face deepened into harsh lines as a scowl formed. That damned brat of a ruler! How dare he pull such a ridiculous stunt! The uncomfortable truth was that out of nowhere, Naruto had twisted the situation to force the council to give him back some of his power. Hideaki was certain that the farce of council meeting wasn't solely Naruto's doing, but he wasn't entirely sure of who had helped him. His first thought had been his own goddaughter, but he quickly discounted this. Doubtless she cared about the boy, but she was a strong patriot, and wouldn't want Naruto to begin leading unless she thought he was ready. Airi had given him no indication of this. Besides, this had transpired while she was away on a mission…

Hideaki's mind worked far faster than those of the other councilors, most of whom still sat back in their seats, thoroughly shocked at the afternoon's events. "What are we going to do?" one of them finally asked, breaking the silence of the room that had began when the great wooden door slammed shut.

The question wasn't directed at Hideaki himself, but he presumed to answer for all of them. "The answer of course, is we must distract him. If we can get him to lose this bizarre sudden focus on leadership, we may still be able to regain total control. But right now he does have us at a disadvantage. We were unprepared for an event like this at this point in the game, and now if we try to reassert control by force, he could easily have us tried for treason."

"That is more easily said than done, Hideaki. How do you propose we distract him? He is a young man, not a child."

The head councilor spoke with confidence. "Exactly," he said, with a cryptic smile. "What is the best way to distract a teenage boy?"

The question hung in the air for a moment. "The answer of course, is a girl. That is our best bet at properly distracting someone of his age," Hideaki said, answering his own question. "Besides that, if he has someone close enough to him that he cares about, this also gives us an opportunity for leverage."

A few of the councilors looked mildly uncomfortable at this suggestion but said nothing. "What exactly are you planning to do?" one of them asked scathingly. "Have a celebration and throw kunoichi and civilian maids at him?"

"Nothing so crass. I propose an arranged marriage to strengthen an alliance with an allied nation. He can hardly say no to this, as it is something that our country legitimately needs. And whether or not he cares for the women, an engagement to a stranger will definitely be a distraction. This is especially true for our young Daimyo, as he hasn't had much contact with people his own age in a number of years."

The other counselors began nodding their heads at this plan as they thought it through themselves. Uzushiogakure was at the stage in their redevelopment that an alliance would be necessary. They weren't far from announcing themselves on the world stage, and without a larger supporting nation, who was to say that their previous enemies wouldn't return for a second time? It also helped that traditionally, the council did have a hand in picking the consorts of the previous Daimyo, especially in cases where there wasn't older family members in the picture. It seemed that in this matter, precedence was on their side.

"Did you have a country in mind, Hideaki?"

The veteran shinobi nodded, thinking back to his previous conversation with Danzo. It was time to call in a favor on that front.

The informal meeting in the wake of the Daimyo's announcement was thus concluded and Hikeaki hurried to his hidden office. It was time to send Danzo a message. The next meeting of theirs would have to be far quicker than either of them had imagined that it would be. Sealing a message in fuinjutsu to the side of one of his personal carrier birds, he sent the creature on its way.

He also began issuing instructions to a few of his most trusted men to find out who was behind helping Naruto with his little scheme. Surely the boy could not have planned everything alone, and Hikeaki wagered that it wouldn't be too difficult for his most trusted soldiers to track the culprit.

He sat back in his chair contemplating the day's events and compiling a list of the requirements that would be needed for the Daimyo's wife to be. She would need to be from a prestigious clan. She would also need to be someone who was weak minded; someone that would be easily led, and not politically cunning. It would also be helpful if she was a water, wind, or lightening nature kunoichi, to ensure the purity of the Daimyo's line…

These things were a tall order to be sure, but he was confident in his cohort's abilities. He felt certain that Danzo could find someone from Konoha that would meet these somewhat stringent requirements. As for the ladies' family, well, what clan leader wouldn't want their daughter in a political marriage with a Daimyo?

Hinata awoke from a deep sleep and stretched in bed, feeling content. She sunk comfortably into her bed for another minute or so, until the realization of what day it was dawned on her. The air was sucked out of her lungs. Today was the final spar. This evening, the Hyuga clan would officially have their Heiress.

The dark haired kunoichi flipped over in bed and tried to control her breathing with her face in the pillows. 'In through the nose, out through the mouth,' she repeated to herself. She wasn't sure why she was so anxious, as she was the only person in the compound who know for sure who was going to win the match. The past few spars, Hinata had purposefully gone almost all out against her little sister. Hanabi still won most of the matches, but Hinata took a couple wins as well. This was primarily for her sister's benefit. Hanabi might never forgive her if she found out that her beloved elder sister lost their most important spar on purpose.

She let a heavy sigh escape her lips. It was time to face her destiny and the burden that she was taking over from Hanabi. Steeling her resolve, she got out of bed and dressed herself in her best training gear. Hinata took as much time as possible as she prepared herself. Eventually though, there was nothing else that she could conceivably do before leaving her room. She glanced around her room until her eyes fell onto her pillow. She swallowed a thick lump in her throat.

Hinata walked slowly over to her bed and pulled her notebook out. She flipped to the last page and her heart skipped a beat as she reread her childhood scrawl. If she beat Hanabi in the spar there might still be some hope for her and the only boy she'd ever loved. But Hanabi's fate couldn't be hinged on the slim chance that she'd meet Naruto again AND that he'd somehow return her affection. No, this was her final goodbye to that potential life. "I'm sorry, Naruto." Hinata closed the book and placed it on her bed, not bothering to hide it under the pillow. A sense of peace washed over her, and she quietly left her room, closing the door behind her.

The feeling of tranquility didn't leave her as she headed toward the practice chamber with determined steps. At the outset, Hanabi would be secure in her new position as Heiress to the Hyuga in a little over an hour. Soon, all of her fears for the future of her little sister would be wiped clean. There was still a small part of her that was terrified that her father would change his mind and have her sealed, although she fought hard to remind herself that he had already stated to the council that whoever didn't lead the clan would be placed into an arranged marriage.

She arrived at the training room and entered quietly. There weren't many people there. Her father, her sister, Neji and the head of the branch family was there. There were also a few of the more experienced Elders in the room as well. All in all, there were probably around ten people who were preparing to watch the fight.

Hanabi was the first to approach her, with an uncharacteristic serious expression. The younger Hyuga pulled the older one into a tight hug. "Do your best Hinata," she whispered before pulling away. Hinata nodded at her sibling's words, before glancing at her father. He gave her a curt nod, nothing more.

The two sisters faced one another and bowed before taking their gentle fist taijutsu stances. Both activated their bloodlines, and awaited the signal from their father to begin the spar. It seemed to Hinata that they stood at the ready for ages without hearing the starting signal, when in reality was it was only thirty seconds or so. The afternoon already felt very surreal.

"Begin!"

Both of the sisters stood still for a moment after the word from their father, preparing themselves before moving. The girls seemed to spring to life at the same moment; they rushed each other, with Hanabi's speed slightly superior. Hanabi struck first, aiming a sharp jab toward her older sister's torso. Hinata deflected the attack, as well as the second one that Hanabi aimed at her face. For a minute or two, the spar was primarily Hinata blocking and deflecting her younger sister's furious advance, but once she was embroiled in the fight, Hinata began to see Hanabi's movements a little more clearly and began a counterattack. At first it was only a small swipe here and there in between blocking her sister's attacks, but soon the strength of strikes increased. Hinata finally saw a decent opening in her sister's defensive stance and unleashed an open fisted strike at Hanabi's forehead. Hanabi saw it coming just in the nick of time, but had to disengage completely from the fight to dodge it. She leapt backwards, sliding to a stop with one knee and one hand on the ground.

Hanabi remained crouched on the ground and made an odd throwing motion. It took a moment for her elder sister to see the nearly invisible chakra needles in the air. Hinata didn't really have a way to dodge the barrage, so she took a gamble on a technique that she was just starting to learn the basics of. Throwing as much of her chakra behind it as she could, Hinata attempted to release the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm technique. The blast that she released was relatively weak and unstable – it likely wouldn't have damaged an opponent – but it did disrupt the chakra of the needles enough to disperse them.

Hanabi jumped from her crouched position towards Hinata and aimed a downward punch that Hinata sidestepped away from. This left the younger Hyuga's defense open once again for her sister to take advantage of. Like before, the strike was blocked at the last moment and soon the fight had returned to how it had begun: with both girls attacking and deflecting attacks in close quarters combat.

Hinata felt butterflies in her stomach. It was nearly time for her to use her 'special move.' She had practiced and prepared this footwork for the past three years, and now it was time to use it. Worries of her father or Neji seeing that she had lost on purpose flashed through her mind, but she tried to ignore them. Hinata took a few steps back as her sister advanced. She slid her foot sideways a couple millimeters, and unlocked her knee joints, twisting slightly as she blocked Hanabi's latest attack. The force from Hanabi's blow and her carefully destabilized footwork resulted in Hinata being knocked to the ground. Her younger sister was instinctively fast, and within moments the match was over. Hanabi's wide eyes looked over the fist pointed at her older sister's face, filling with tears. Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled weakly at her little sister.

"Match to Hanabi!"

The area erupted into noise, but it seemed muffled to the two siblings, who hadn't yet moved from their final positions in the fight. A couple of tears fell from Hanabi's eyes as she stood up straight. Hinata surprised herself with how composed she felt. She didn't feel the familiar swelling of tears in her eyes nor did she feel lightheaded or faint. The only thing she really felt was relief. It was done. Hanabi was the next Heiress.

Several clan members converged on Hanabi, quietly cheering and leading her off to make preparations for next week's ceremony that would instate Hanabi as the official Heir to the Hyuga clan. The group left with her younger sister and they were closely followed by the rest of the spectators. Hinata's father was the last person to leave. She glanced up at him from her seat on the floor, expecting his usual harshness. Instead, she saw that Hishi wore a very particular look. He stared at her for a moment, but soon turned to leave like the others.

As he left the room, her composure cracked slightly. She had expected her father to be disappointed and maybe reprimand her as he usually did when she lost a spar against her younger sister…so what had that strange look been about? She bit her lip. Did her father suspect something? She quickly discounted this. He wouldn't have stayed silent on the matter when the two of them were alone.

Hinata got up off the sparing room floor and dusted off her knees. She had the rest of the day off to rest, but she had already made plans with Shino and Kiba. They were eagerly awaiting her arrival to find out the details of the fight. They would be disappointed to hear of the outcome, but her friends always knew the right thing to say to lift her spirits. With a final sad smile, Hinata left the sparring room and gently closed the door behind her before heading off to meet up with her teammates.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have outlines for the next three chapters finished, but I also have a few major life changes going on in the next few months (Including a new job and an inter-provincial move) so I'll do my best to update but please be understanding if it's slow! Thanks to all the people who read, review, fave and follow! It makes my day! xoxo

*** PS Solvdrage has new awesome stories out, GO READ THEM! u/1094449/Solvdrage ***