The Fourth Raikage grunted as he lifted a dumbbell weighing 500 lbs. while sitting in his desk's chair. This powerful shinobi named Ei was deep in thought as he wondered how the Hyuuga kidnapping he ordered went. Gaining more kekkei genkai users was his father's last order before appointing him the new Raikage.
Then that tough old bastard went and got himself killed defending Kumo's retreat against 10,000 Iwa troops after that damn village decided to disband their alliance at the end of the Third Great Shinobi War.
Ei did not have his now-deceased father's obsession with getting more kekkei genkai users to increase Kumo's might, but he had to admit he was curious about what adding the abilities of the famed Byagukan could do for his military.
Kumo was not well known for its sensing and tracking capabilities. Hell, Ei only found just one amazing sensor in Shia from the latest crop of shinobi coming out since the last Great War. When this peace treaty negotiation came up, the Raikage decided to take a chance and made the order to sneak one of his 'retired' jounin into Konoha as an ambassador. Now all he could do was to just wait for any news to come back to him.
There was urgent knocking at the office's door. Ei carefully put the dumbbell down onto the floor, which creaked loudly under the weight, since he didn't want to get berated by his lovely new secretary for destroying his office again. After a loud grunt of 'Enter!', a chunin in charge of the messenger hawks burst in, breathing hard with a scroll in hand.
"Raikage-sama, there's bad news from Konoha!"
"What?" the Raikage growled as he rose to his feet and moved to the chunin. Snatching the offered scroll and opening it quickly, he began reading. His mood began to darken with each line he read and, upon reaching the end, crushed the scroll in his closed and trembling fist. He then growled in rage as he slammed one of his massive fists into his desk. The strike easily obliterated it into splinters.
The chunin stood stock still, as if making a single movement would alert the enraged Raikage to his presence, but Ei only took a deep breath while the dust from the desk cleared and took a moment to think. He wasn't going to give up on this. Fortunately, the treaty that Kumo and Konoha signed was real and binding despite the true nature of the ambassador being revealed. He'd make use of that if he could find a way.
"Chunin! Send a message to our spies in Konoha. Have them find a copy of the report on exactly what happened with our guy! I need all the details, including any witness' background details. Fastest speed!" he barked in a tone that brooked no hesitating. The messenger chunin quickly nodded and sprinted out of the office like a bat out of hell.
The next day
The Raikage sighed in disgust as he remembered how he had to deal with the council yesterday assuring those lazy bastards that he would find a way to get something out of this fiasco. He was so close to using his Lariat on all of them and then adopt Konoha's style of military dictatorship. The council's pressure was part of the reason why he pulled the trigger on this kidnapping attempt.
After about thirty minutes, there was a knock at the door. Another loud 'Enter!' revealed the same messenger chunin.
"Raikage-sama, we got the information from our spies in Konoha." the man spoke quickly as he presented just two scrolls.
"Did they not have time to gather more files on other witnesses?"
"No sir. There was only one legitimate witness at the time of our ambassador's death. There were two others present but they were the clan head and his daughter so their accounts could be dismissed as biased in any court."
The Raikage's other eyebrow joined the first one at this interesting development. He took the two scrolls then sent the chunin out. He laid them out on his desk and took his time reading over the detailed account of exactly how it happened, and then looked over the witness' file.
His lips began to form a smirk as he reread the Konoha ANBU's report, and his many years of shinobi experience told him that it seemed to have left important parts out in some areas. Apparently there were some secrets involved with this incident that they could not carelessly put on an official report for even their own shinobi with high enough clearance to read over.
No matter, it would be their downfall. Without the whole truth, this report suddenly had holes. It was a long shot but Ei would take this as he buzzed his secretary into the office via the intercom.
"Mabui-san, get me the diplomat that worked with Konoha in the past…and clear my schedule for this morning. I have a long list of things to discuss with him." the Raikage ordered. The now named beautiful dark-skinned young woman affirmed with a silent nod and moved to make arrangements.
Ei then leaned back into his chair and sighed.
"This is truly an underhanded tactic. I actually feel bad about this…almost…but I need to succeed in this to make the inevitable international shitstorm from the attempted abduction worth it. If this works, we may actually get an intact body of the strongest and most pure male Hyuuga. That would provide solid results in our research compared to a female Hyuuga who was viewed as weak by her own clan."
"Argh!" The Raikage should is frustration as he slammed his fist on the table, breaking it. "This leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
Meanwhile in Konoha
It was noon when our blond hero was dragging himself to Ichiraku ramen stand after a long day of training, wincing in slight pain from his sore body.
Arriving at Ichiraku Ramen, he was greeted by Teuchi.
"Hey there! How's our hero doing?!" The middle-aged man called out boisterously from the kitchen as he saw the little blond sit at the counter. Naruto glanced around to check he was actually the one being spoken to and cocked his head in confusion with a foxlike expression.
"Hero? Did I do something, old man?" he innocently quizzed. Teuchi laughed uproariously.
"You sure did! You're too modest, or have you forgotten how you saved that cute Hyuuga heiress the other night? The whole village's abuzz about it!" the cook clarified. Naruto smacked a fist into the other hand in realization.
"Oh…ooh! That one! Actually I did forget about that." Naruto chuckled sheepishly.
A cute brown-haired young teenage girl came into view from the back of the stand. As soon as she saw the familiar mop of sun-kissed blond hair, she let out a happy cry and jumped over the counter, with speed that would shock an elite jounin, to snatch the boy into a bone-crushing hug before he could say anything.
"You're a hero! You must've been so awesome when you stopped that evil nin all by yourself and saved that Hyuuga girl! Maybe she'll fall in love and you two will get married…" the cute waitress rambled on as she squeezed her little brother-figure harder.
"Ayame-chan…you're killing our favorite customer, you know." the amused Teuchi pointed out to his daughter.
"Huh?" was her reply before she looked down to see the poor boy's blue face suffocating between her already budding breasts. She yelped and pulled Naruto away from her chest before apologizing sheepishly. Naruto took in a breath and chuckled at Ayame, his sister-figure.
"It was no big deal, Ayame-chan. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Naruto replied shyly with a hand on the back of his head.
It took them a while to settle down before asking an embarrassed blond for his order. He felt better immediately when he was told it was on the house for his heroics.
After eating three bowls, he wondered for a minute about what he was going to do today.
Maybe I should stop by the Naras and see if Shika's home. Naruto thought before jumping off the stool and walked in the direction of the clans' district, saying his goodbyes to the ramen stand owners.
A thirty-minute walk found Naruto speaking with the lazy-looking guards in front of the Nara compound. However, he was dismayed to discover the head family had gone out of town for a few days into the clan's giant nature reservation to catalog the deer population for research, as well as gathering supplies for medicine and other things. The blond let out a sigh and muttered 'troublesome' before thanking them and leaving.
The Naras thought about filing for copyright infringement upon hearing their signature phrase being uttered, but found it too…troublesome.
On the way, he passed by the Hyuuga compound's main gate and he was reminded that Hinata wanted to see him again soon. He shrugged on that thought and decided it couldn't hurt to see if she was available. Stopping in front of the gate's two guards, he made his request.
"Um, my name's Uzumaki Naruto. I was asked by Hyuuga Hinata to stop by when I recovered, and I was wondering if she was available."
The two guards narrowed their eyes at the blond boy and he had to hold back a gulp. Finally one of them spoke up.
"Uzumaki-sama, please remain here while my colleague steps inside to inquire about your request." the one on the left spoke professionally while the other slipped inside through the gate, apparently to speak to someone. A few minutes of terse silence passed between Naruto and the remaining guard until the front gate creaked open to reveal the other guard and one more man.
Hyuuga Hizashi stepped up to Naruto and bowed slightly. The surprised Naruto nervously returned the bow.
"H-h-hello, Hiashi-sama. W-we met the other night. I apologize if my stopping by here unannounced took you out of your busy schedule." Naruto respectfully said, mistaking the man in front of him for his identical twin brother, the Hyuuga clan head.
Hizashi could not resist an amused smirk.
"My sincerest apologies, Uzumaki-sama. We have not officially met and it was dark the other night, but please do forgive the confusion. I am not Hiashi-sama, but his twin brother, Hizashi." The boy allowed himself to have a closer look and he did notice that this man was wearing a hitai-ate on his forehead compared to Hiashi being completely free of any headwear.
"I was asked to greet you and take you to our meeting hall since that is where my niece is being trained by her father." Hizashi continued as he bowed and stepped aside for Naruto to enter the compound. The blonde stayed where he was, a little nervous.
"Um, Hizashi-sama…if they're busy, maybe I shouldn't bother them." the boy tried to respectfully back out.
"Nonsense, Uzumaki-sama. They are about to finish and Hinata-sama will have some free time afterward. In the meantime, I'd be happy to escort you until then." insisted Hizashi. Naruto reluctantly gave up and went inside with his escort.
The sight Naruto saw as he entered through the gate flabbergasted him. He was immediately surrounded by a gorgeous garden on the sides and a long and thin reflecting pool forward of him. The pool was filled with beautiful and colorful koi fish, and vibrant green and white lily pads peppered the surface. The inner gardener in him squealed like a fangirl as he observed all kinds of rare plants and flowers in the garden surrounding the entrance. This was a clear display of the clan's wealth, and also their appreciation for the beauty of nature.
As Naruto followed Hizashi around to the left side of the long reflecting pool, the garden opened up wide for him to see many impressive traditional eastern-style houses littering the enormous compound. This was like a small village within Konoha. The long and narrow reflecting pool seemed to almost split the entire compound estate in two with several ornate wooden bridges allowing access to either side.
However, Naruto seemed to notice the odd discrepancies between the houses on the left side of the pool and the ones on the right. He also noticed that he was being taken to a giant traditional meeting hall at the other end of the pool, opposite the main gate.
"Hizashi-sama…" he tried to speak before Hizashi politely interrupted him with a shake of his head.
"Uzumaki-sama, please do not refer to me with 'sama'. I am not the head of this clan. My brother is." he replied politely with a small smile.
"Ok… Hizashi-san then. But please, call me Naruto as well." They continued walking for a while before Naruto realised the similarities between Neji and Hizashi. "Neji's father." He thought
Unable to hold in his curiousity, he asked. "Pardon my rudeness but you are part of the branch family correct?" Hizashi smiled gently at the boy's observation.
"Naruto-san, since you may be coming here to visit more often, I am inclined to give you a brief history of this clan. That way, you will understand some of the things we do here." Hizashi spoke as the two walked slowly alongside the pool to the meeting hall.
"Since this village was founded and our clan moved here, our dojutsu, the Byakugan, was revered about as much as the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. In the beginning, we had to deal with our enemies trying to capture members of this clan to put the Byakugan to their own use…which is what you just saw happen with the Kumo nin the other night. Almost immediately, the clan leaders of that time came up with a seal. It would effectively protect our Byakugan from capture by permanently sealing our eyes if they were removed forcefully or death occurs. It worked brilliantly. With this method, it was almost impossible for any enemy to capture the Byakugan. It incurred a high cost, however." Hizashi paused to take a breath. Naruto was paying full attention, he may already have known about this, but this was a new perspective with more information.
"Total subversion for the ones who carry the seal. There are two groups in this clan: the Main and the Branch lines. Whoever has the seal belongs to the larger and more populous Branch line of this clan." Hizashi explained as he pointed to their left at the large collection of small but well-kept houses, then pointed to their right across the pool at the more luxurious houses. "Those who doesn't have the seal belong to the smaller but more powerful Main line, and they are in charge of the entire clan. The Main members usually are raised to control this clan, deal with politics, and other more important functions. The Branch members are allowed some freedom but they must obey whatever any Main member commands. If disobedience occurs, the Main member may decide to use a special hand seal to incur unbearable agony as punishment on the branch member. This can even lend to mental damage or death. Ever since the beginning, we have been separated; the Branch family forever serving and protecting the Main family." Hizashi finished and glanced down to see an upset-looking Naruto.
"That's too cruel…no clan should have to be like that! I never had a family or a clan, but I can't imagine relatives being forced to serve me just because we were born into this. We should all be equals." he muttered with a sad expression, thinking about how Neji had suffered thanks to the seal on his forehead.
Naruto had to hold his anger in and then he looked downcast and shook his head in frustration.
"Naruto-san, I am sorry this has upset you but I wanted you to understand a little of this clan's traditions when you see something here you may object to. Whatever happens here inside these walls, it generally would be best to not interfere and leave it for the clan's business. Now…we are here." Hizashi pointed out as they arrived at the main meeting hall's large double doors.
Hizashi opened one of the two doors, allowing Naruto to step inside, and followed him in. They moved down a hallway, and they could hear grunts and fists striking flesh. Hizashi opened a smaller set of doors, and Naruto finally caught sight of the training area. It was apparently set up as either a meeting or dueling hall with three cascading rows of wooden benches surrounding a very large flat square area set against the back wall. Naruto could see a small indigo-haired girl, in a black skin-tight training outfit, attempting to land a hit on a tall man wearing white training robes in the middle of the stage. They were obviously sparring.
The boy felt a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up to see Hizashi silently nodding his head toward a particular section of seating. He complied and followed his escort to sit farthest from the sparring so as not to distract either of the combatants.
Naruto could only watch in amazement as Hinata tried to hit her father with a flurry of fast - at least for him - and precise strikes aimed at his limbs. He was particularly impressed when Hiashi knocked her to the floor hard with a nasty downward palm strike to her cheek, but she immediately got up to keep trying to land a hit on her father. He definitely liked the guts she was showing, at least.
After a few more minutes of sparring, Hiashi suddenly held a hand up signifying that their spar just came to an end. The two fighters then straightened up and bowed to each other.
"You are improving, my daughter. You have managed to close one of my tenketsus earlier than last time." Hiashi commended as he seemed to flex his left hand. "Your kata need work, however. Practice them and we will train again tomorrow afternoon. For now, I see you have a guest." he stated as he glanced up at Naruto and Hizashi. Hinata was confused for a moment until her pale eyes finally locked with blue eyes after searching the meeting hall.
Her only reply was 'Eep!' as she instinctively hid behind her father's legs. Hiashi and Hizashi exchanged amused glances while Naruto was wondering what was wrong with Hinata after her complete 180-degree from a fighting badass to a bumbling introvert.
"Now, you should not be rude. Do not be shy and greet your guest properly." Hiashi smirked as he gently pushed his daughter around to his front. Hinata was losing her nerves and her eyes were wandering, looking at anything in her vision except for Naruto himself.
Hizashi gently nudged his charge to get the boy's attention. He then motioned with his hand for the boy to get closer to the girl and her father. Naruto complied, making his way down the steps to the main floor to stand face-to-face with a very nervous Hinata, who still would not look him in the eyes. With an incline of his head in greeting, Hiashi left them alone to talk some things over with his brother.
"Hello Hinata! I stopped by here to let you know I'm all right, since I thought you'd like to know that. By the way, that was some cool fighting you did! What was that called?" Naruto asked politely. Hinata blushed at having her martial art skill being called 'cool'.
"A-ano….w-we train in the G-gentle Fist. We use it to strike w-with chakra to i-inflict internal damage, instead of external like most other fighting stances." she bravely replied, but still unable to look him directly in the eyes.
"That's incredible! I guess that's why I saw that Kumo guy fall apart even though there was no damage on the outside. Your dad was really awesome!" Naruto exclaimed before he realized something.
"Wait…when I met you at that playground, you could have fought those bullies off, couldn't you?"
The question made Hinata flinch visibly and a cloud seemed to form over her head.
"I'm sorry, N-naruto-kun…I-I just don't like h-hurting anyone if I c-can help it." the pale-eyed girl mumbled as she looked dejectedly down at the floor while poking her two index fingers together.
"Well, that's no good. I'd hate for you to be hurt and if you could defend yourself, you should do it." Naruto admonished gently with a serious expression, and there was clear concern in his deep blue eyes. Hinata could not help but blush at that.
"I…do not know if I can, Naruto-kun." She blushed and looked down. "I'm not strong like you."
"Well of course not." Was the blonde's reply. This caused Hinata's face to fall before perking up at the sound of Naruto voice.
"You're strong like Hinata, so don't worry about silly things and keep doing your best!" Naruto said with a wide grin.
"I-I suppose you're right. I'll try my b-best next time." she replied with a shy smile, finally locking her eyes with his. Naruto gave one of his trademark foxy grins and nodded in approval.
"So…your uncle told me you have some free time after this. Do you want to play together or something?" he then tried to offer, hoping his new friend would say yes. Hinata nodded quickly.
"Ano…I-I'd like that. Just let me clean up and g-get changed." she replied with another blush and quickly made her way toward the changing room. Naruto looked after her departing figure until she was no more, before he turned to the twin brothers.
"Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-san, was that really the same person that hugged me out of nowhere the other night? Maybe she's got a twin like you two?" he curiously inquired as he was pointing in the direction of Hinata. The twins exchanged amused grins.
"I will admit that was a very rare occurrence for my daughter. She is rather shy and unwilling to stand up for herself in most situations. That was why I was impressed when I was told she actually made it difficult for the kidnapper before you rescued her." Hiashi admitted. The blond boy put a finger to his chin and his eyes squinted foxlike as he became deep in thought.
"She didn't do anything like that until she saw me sneak up behind the nin. I wonder why she suddenly tried so hard at that moment?" he innocently said. The two brothers raised an eyebrow each as Hinata picked that moment to return in a simple pink kimino. After some small talk, the two children excused themselves to go play together elsewhere and the twins were left alone.
"That little…he is already stealing my daughter's heart and he does not even realize it. I should teach him a lesson." Hiashi suddenly murmured to his twin in an annoyed tone. Hizashi smirked a little.
"He is only a child, brother. I doubt Hinata-sama realizes it as well. We should just let them grow and find out themselves." Hizashi advised and heard his brother let out a small sigh.
Not only that, but imagine the headaches our elders will give you when these two become close." Hizashi pointed out playfully and enjoyed seeing one of his brother's eyebrows twitch slightly at the mention of the elders.
"That comes with the territory of being the clan head, I suppose. However, have you noticed something about Uzumaki-san?" Hiashi inquired, changing the subject for now.
"Yes, brother. He looks like a young version of the Fourth Hokage and his somewhat mischievous nature reminds me of Uzumaki Kushina…! Brother! You don't suppose…?!" Hizashi would have completely lost his calm at the implications if he weren't shocked into silence upon seeing a very rare full-blown smirk form on Hiashi's lips. He looked truly devious.
"If you remember, we have had good relations with Minato-san, and we were privy to the fact that he and Kushina-san were in love and secretly married. You should also remember that we have not seen Kushina-san anywhere in the village for about six months until the Kyuubi attack. That day, we have heard the sad news of her dying along with the Fourth…on the same day young Naruto was born. It is possible that if she had been actually pregnant with that child, she would have kept any sign of showing hidden until after birth for security concerns. One last thing that could make this more believable; we knew Minato-san personally, and how could he have used someone else's newborn - even an orphan - to seal the Kyuubi? I see him trusting only his own child to carry the burden." Hiashi finished his deduction to his younger brother's growing astonishment.
"Brother, if that is true…" Hizashi sputtered before his older brother held a hand up for silence.
"It is just speculation without solid evidence. We should keep this information hidden for now, at least until this could be used as a bargaining chip against the elders should they object to my daughter's growing involvement with 'the demon brat'. They will not be able to resist the prospect of having our clan linked with the powerful traits of the lost clans of Uzumaki and Namikaze."
Hizashi nodded in agreement, before they turned their heads to Naruto and Hinata, who were running and laughing in the warm sunlight.