Naruto slowly turned the doorknob to the Hokage's office, face blank with grief. Entering the room, he locked eyes with a equally crushed old man.
"Jiji. Is he….?"
Hiruzen was taken aback by the question, not aware that Naruto knew of the secret.
"Don't tell me…" was all Naruto could squeeze out in trepidation. The Third's expression softened into sadness and simply shook his head no.
"I am sorry, Naruto-kun. I will tell you he died very bravely and with honor for what he believed in. He had no regrets. Beyond that, I cannot tell you the details myself. It is up to Lord Hiashi to offer more if you still wish to know." the suddenly frail-looking man tiredly admitted.
"He said that he was protecting his 'king'." Naruto whispered. "Jiji, what would you think if you had to sacrifice your own life for a cause? Would you be angry at the person who asked you to do it?"
The sandaime looked up wearily before answering. "I am the Hokage, Naruto-kun. I would lay down my life at a moments notice for this village. Like the Hokage before me, and the countless ninja that have given up everything for the peace we now live in. Hyuuga Hizashi gave his life to protect those he cared about, as you said say, his 'king'."
"I hear you have taken up playing Shogi with the Naras," He continued, I have heard them use this analogy many time before. "In many ways, a shinobi's life is almost like a game of shogi. You use strategy, tactics, traps, and sometimes sacrifices to win your battles. The only reason we do all of this is because we have to protect our 'King' no matter what."
Naruto, still deep in thought, slipped out of his chair and headed towards the door. "I see. I think I understand. I would say that the only reason I'd be angry with the person asking me to sacrifice myself is if I knew there were other options…other ways of solving whatever troublesome situation I was dragged into. However, if it was the only choice and I was saving the people I cared about, I'd accept it with a clear conscience."
With that, Naruto left the room.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. You will come to learn this is easily the worst part of being a Hokage." the exhausted and crestfallen village leader quietly whispered to no one in particular.
"Brat."
"What is it Kurama?"
"Do not blame yourself. That man was resolved to sacrifice himself to stop war from ravaging these lands once again, nothing you said could've stopped him. The power of a man protecting whats most important to him is incredible, you saw that for yourself during the war."
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"You couldn't do anything about it now, so get stronger! Next time, protect your 'king' at all costs."
The boy and the fox continued conversing within as he walked his usual route past the Hyuuga compound. The blonde took a moment to pull out of his inner conversation to check things out at the front gate.
He saw the guards were dressed in all black, and he could feel that the entire clan's mood was subdued even from outside the compound. He then bowed his head in condolences toward the guards. A little surprised, they returned the bow nevertheless. The boy then continued past at a slow pace, deciding he would give it a few days before it was alright to stop by.
"Uzumaki Naruto." a tight voice rang out from behind. Turning around in confusion, Naruto's eyes landed on a lone and slightly larger boy standing in the middle of the walkway ten meters away. He was dressed in all black with his long black hair tied together in a loose ponytail and the blonde saw that he had the pale eyes of the Hyuuga clan. He looked like his whole body was tense with coiled-up anger.
'Neji.' Naruto thought sadly.
He quickly shifted into an aggressive kata of the Gentle Fist.
"NARUTO! He intends to kill you! Get ready!" Kurama shouted, bringing Naruto back to reality.
"Uzumaki Naruto,I will make you will suffer as long as possible for my father's death!" Looking closely, Naruto could see the tears in his eyes.
before he could do anything however, Neji was screaming at the top of his lung to the high heavens as he clutched at his forehead tightly and was about ready to tear his hair out. He fell down and flopped like a fish in unbearable pain.
Naruto was stunned and utterly confused at this abrupt change in the situation, until he noticed an approaching man wearing the same black funeral robe as Neji. It turned out to be Hyuuga Hiashi holding one of his hands up in a seal.
He also looked pissed as hell.
The boy quickly connected the dots. The clan head had just activated Neji's Caged Bird seal to stop him.
"That's enough…please! Don't hurt him!" he tried to force out as loudly as he could, and was relieved when he saw Hiashi release the hand seal a second later. Neji's screams ceased abruptly and he was now gulping for air, apparently unconscious.
The Hyuuga clan head glared at one of the gate guards nervously approaching the three.
"Get this… moronic boy to confinement and leave him there for a month! No visitors except for me." he snapped harshly.
"I truly apologize for this unforgivable behavior from one of my clan members." Hiashi said sincerely with his head bowed, before letting out a weary sigh.
"Your brother's last wish, was for Neji to be taken care of, so please, don't hurt him."
Hiashi's eyes widened as his lips trembled, before he forced his stoic mask back on.
"You were there? You were with him? At the end?" Hiashi's voice was now trembling.
Naruto shook his head sadly.
"Right before that. I saw him marching to his death. He told me…He told me that he was dying for what he believed in." Naruto's eyes were now moist
A tear rolled down Hiashi's cheeks as he took a shaky breath. "We will speak of this later. For now, I believe Hinata wanted to see you." With that, Hiashi retreated to his private chambers. "To grieve in private." Naruto inferred. "He truly loved his brother."
Meanwhile
"Nee-chan, can we play games after dinner?" Hanabi childishly asked as she tugged at the sleeve of her older sister's black kimino. Hinata sadly smiled and rubbed a hand on her younger sister's head.
"I don't think we should do that so soon yet, Hanabi-chan. This is a day of mourning for our uncle." she replied as the girls made their way further into the living room. Hanabi had an impatient scowl on her face before it turned into curious scrutiny as she noticed Naruto, deep in thought.
"Who is that?" she pointed at the boy. Confused, Hinata just followed the direction her little sister was pointing in and yelped in shock as she noticed her savior.
"N-n-naruto-kun!?"
Naruto lifted his head and gave her a sad smile. "Hello Hinata-chan."
"Naruto? The one who beat that bad guy?" Hanabi inquired as she searched over every inch of the boy with her gaze. Hinata only nodded in response, and the little girl grinned wide.
"Then I'll call him onii-chan, since he saved you!"
Despite the serious situation, Hinata had to smile at her little sister's antics. Hanabi was already taken with Naruto apparently.
"I see you have discovered our surprise guest, my daughters." Hiashi announced, surprising the two girls with his voice. Hanabi recovered quickly, ran up to her father, and latched on to his leg cutely.
"Father, why is onii-chan here?" she somewhat demanded as Hiashi patted the top of her head. He had to hide a smirk at his youngest daughter already calling his new favorite blonde such an affectionate nickname. He wouldn't have to worry about both of his children getting along with Naruto now. He also noticed Hinata had the same expectant look on her face as her little sister, awaiting his explanation.
"Hizashi-san asked me as a last request to take care of Neji, and apologised if he lost himself to feelings of hatred. Neji Blamed me for his father's death and attacked me on sight."
"N-neji-niisan did this? Why would he blame Naruto-kun for uncle's death?" Hinata's stutter disappeared mid-sentence as she showed a flash of anger in her eyes. Hiashi did not miss this.
This boy is already doing wonders for Hinata's self-confidence. Note to self: fabricate reasons to get them together more often from now on. he thought offhandedly as he prepared his response.
"It was a misguided decision on my nephew's part to direct his anger about the loss at this child. Unfortunately, I do not think he will ever let this go until they meet in battle in the future and finish it." he spoke with resignation in his voice.
"Ano…t-that's terrible for you, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered as she dreaded the thought of her new friend being hurt again, especially by one of her relatives. Hanabi showed an angry yet cute expression as she devised plans to tell Neji off for this.
"I would like to talk to you, Uzumaki-san, alone." With that, both Hiashi and Naruto made their way to his study.
"Please close the door and have a seat, Uzumaki-san." Hiashi gently requested of his guest as he gestured with his hand toward a spot across the desk. Naruto quickly complied as he quietly slid the office door closed, before moving to kneel down opposite the clan head, who took a moment to clear his throat.
"I want to apologize on behalf of the entire clan for Neji-san's unprovoked attack against you. I have no excuse for his misguided anger upon you." Hiashi regretfully said as he deeply bowed his head. Naruto frowned as he thought for a moment.
"Hiashi-sama, is there really a need for an apology?" he replied softly while Hiashi raised his head in mild surprise. He continued quickly.
"Neji-san did say I was responsible for the events that led to your brother's death. What if that's right?"
"Utter nonsense. If that was actually true then if my brother had not taken my place, you would be responsible for my death instead. If you had allowed that Kumo nin to leave without any resistance, then you would be responsible for my daughter's unthinkable fate. There is simply no way to know what could have happened with the infinite amount of scenarios this entire event could have played out. My nephew lost his mother early in his life, and now just lost his father. In his grief, he apparently decided to direct his anger at someone, and you were unfortunate enough to be the target. I shall reprimand him most severely for this and ensure he stays away from you until he calms down." Hiashi assured his guest.
"Hiashi-sama, I'd appreciate it if you just let Neji-san be, and if he still wants to take his anger out on me in the future…let it happen. Train him more for it, even. I'll take it all and beat it back tenfold into him until he finally moves on." Naruto declared with a steady voice after a moment's thought, stunning the clan head.
"You should understand that he is the most promising prodigy of this clan in generations. He is much stronger than my brother and I when we were his current age. He was not joking about killing you. He will do it whenever he finds a chance." he pressed.
"That's fine with me, sir. With the training I just started, I'm going to be the strongest shinobi ever someday. I want to protect my friends and I can't do that if I'm too weak. I think it definitely will be a good match when we eventually meet." the blonde replied with a confident smile, showing no trace of hesitation in his blue eyes. Hiashi had to wonder if this child in front of him was way too mature for his age, or just simply excited about the prospect of a rival.
"Nevertheless, I will not allow any duel between you and my nephew within this compound and I will inform him any further unprovoked attempt on you will be punished more severely. The two of you will have to find a way to get an official match outside of this compound and that likely would not happen unless you both are enlisted in the shinobi force. I will not allow any less. Is that understood, Uzumaki Naruto?" he spoke sternly as he narrowed his eyes at the blond boy.
"Perfectly clear, Hiashi-sama." Naruto accepted with an incline of his head before continuing. "I hope this happens and he lets it all out. I'd hate for him to continue being angry with me for long, since Hizashi-san hoped we'd get along when we talked last night." he muttered sadly. Hiashi raised his eyebrow at the mention of his brother.
"Uzumaki-san, you have met my twin brother last night?"
Naruto nodded and quickly relayed what transpired between him and Hizashi in the park outside the Hokage tower. A long moment passed as Hiashi seemed to contemplate this.
"I see. I am glad he seemed calm and ready. I was worried he may have had regrets since this all happened suddenly." the clan head finally said with a sigh of relief. Naruto decided to satisfy his curiosity.
"Hiashi-sama, if it is ok…I wasn't told exactly what happened. I'd like to understand his actions." he asked with some apprehension. Hiashi allowed himself a small grin as he nodded and explained everything that happened.
Thirty minutes later, Naruto was clenching his fists tightly in anger.
"This isn't the Kumo that helped me during the war! Why? Raikage-oji?"
"I just understood he did all this to protect his 'King'." Naruto said.
"The shogi analogy the Nara clan likes to use? In my opinion it is a somewhat rigid description of a shinobi's situation in many cases, but I understand where you are coming from. Most of us have our 'King' we are willing to protect with our lives. Hizashi most certainly did it for that reason alone, and I was willing to do anything to protect my 'King' too before he took my place. You should understand Hokage-sama did not order either one of us to die for the village. I immediately offered myself upon hearing Kumo's demands, and it is only because my brother's desire to protect his loved ones was slightly greater than mine that I am still here and alive in front of you." Hiashi said thoughtfully as Naruto nodded soberly, his eyes downcast.
"It's still not fair. Kumo's going to get away with meaningless murder, and there's nothing we can do about it." the boy grumbled before looking up. "I will get an answer, Raikage-oji." He thought
At that moment, an ice-cold shiver went down his spine as he saw a truly malicious and devious smirk growing on the clan head's face. It was a truly terrifying thing to behold on one of the most powerful people in Konoha, and the young blonde had a feeling that someone was going to regret ever crossing this man very soon.
"I daresay that I have doubts that Kumogakure is going to get through this without any consequence, if all have gone as planned. Great minds think alike, and my younger brother had the exact same plan as I did when I was preparing to meet my death. I have seen a glimpse of what he was preparing with my eyes when he disabled me. I will say it was a good thing we regularly studied up on all diplomats' mannerisms and personalities, and I am confident that bumbling fool from Kumo would not check closely for anything on the body. It would be safe to assume that not getting the Byakugan will not be the only surprise for our dear friend, the Raikage." Hiashi replied smoothly with the malicious smirk still plastered on his face.
That expression was not even directed at Naruto, yet the boy was wide-eyed with terror at seeing this man's visage. He knew it would haunt his dreams for a while.
Kumogakure in Raikage Tower
The exhausted and battered ambassador had just returned from Konoha, and in record time too. Ei was displaying an amused smirk as the man told him about his harrowing experience with the Hokage's rage and the ANBU as he was chased and hassled by two of them all the way to the Lightning's border.
A few minutes ago, the large and muscular man handed the scroll with the clan head's body off to a lab assistant for processing down in the tower's basement. He should be getting news soon. To be honest, he should have been more ecstatic about this victory for Kumo, but he could not help but feel a little uneasy about something. He tried to dismiss it as the occasional paranoia, but a good shinobi simply did not survive long without being cautious.
"Oi…did you actually check for any seal on the Hyuuga body?" he suddenly asked the ambassador out of nowhere.
"Yes I did…on the forehead, right? It wasn't there when they removed his hitai-ate." the ambassador replied. Ei scowled.
There was that paranoia rearing its ugly head, and it was here to stay.
"Was this before or after death? Our reports on the seal says that it will disappear shortly after death." he replied with deadly calmness, having a feeling he knew the answer. The ambassador gaped at him in stunned horror, and his mouth flapped like a fish with no sound coming out. The Raikage clenched his fists and gritted his teeth just as the feeble man finally spoke.
"I-it was a-a-after death…GAH!" he choked out when the Fourth Raikage moved with insane speed to grab him violently by his neck. The huge man loomed large over him, leaning in close with an angry snarl.
"You GODDAMN FOOL! That was why they easily let this happen with only token resistance! That clan head had an identical twin that was branded and could have easily substituted with him! The clan head also has never been known to wear any type of hitai-ate inside the village! And you signed the FUCKING paper confirming that this body is Hiashi Hyuuga, not his twin. Now we can't even raise some uproar about this, else we look like the jackasses here, not them! You're the worst ambassador ever!" he raged at the man shrinking and shrinking in his grip with each word.
He groaned in disgust at this man's cowardice and stupidity, before swinging the now former ambassador around to throw him out through one of the floor-to-ceiling windowpanes at the back of his office. It shattered with a thunderous crack and the mountain wind blew in harshly, blowing papers everywhere and ruffling Ei's Raikage haori.
The large man grunted and spat out the window as he listened to the man's scream fading twenty stories down. A faint thud followed. He didn't care if the man survived or not as he sat down in the chair and leaned back with the wind buffering his tightly wound platinum blond cornrows around, resignedly awaiting the bad news from the lab as he rubbed his temples in preparation for an incoming migraine.
What he did not expect was a massive explosion shaking the entire building. It even shook him out of his chair.
After the explosion died away, Ei immediately rose to his feet and gritted his teeth. He figured he could guess where exactly the epicenter was as he turned his Lightning Armor on with a shroud of crackling lightning covering his entire body.
In the next instant, the office's door was obliterated into tiny pieces as the Raikage charged through, tearing up a gouge in the floor underneath him as he instantly flickered to the stairwell. Using a combination of amazing acrobatics and his armor's super speed, he bounded like a lightning down the twenty flights of stairs to the basement level. He made the basement door his next victim as he skidded to a stop upon arrival.
He had just gone down twenty stories from his office to the basement in under five seconds total.
It was chaos. Half the people were running around in panic and the other were running damage control with smoke, fire, body parts and broken equipment everywhere. An entire room in the center of the basement level had all of its walls blown out into other rooms.
Ei then deactivated his Lightning Armor and glanced at a bruised and battered person sitting next to him on the floor who just became aware of the Raikage's arrival.
"What happened here?" he asked with a neutral tone and his gaze was steady on the destruction, though he probably already knew.
"A-a v-very p-powerful time-delay explosive tag! Hidden on the Hyuuga specimen! It was activated when he appeared! Out of stasis from the scroll!" the disheveled lab worker stammered in broken sentences as he tried to shake off his daze.
The large man sighed heavily…totally exhausted with everything. He tried everything and still lost, yet he could not even bring himself to get angry with this. He brought this on himself by trying to deal a cheating hand. They just returned the same favor tenfold, and he was the one worse off in the end. He would bet the Hokage never knew of this…it was likely prepared by this Hyuuga on his own. He might as well cut the losses now before it got silly between the two villages.
The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure let out a defeated groan as he began helping the people in the basement level deal with the destruction. At least he had a very solid reason to tell the council to back the hell off about kidnapping more kekkei genkai holders.
Back with Naruto and Hiashi
Hiashi's devious smirk had been replaced by a neutral grin, as if the last few minutes were forgotten.
"Hiashi-sama, if I may speak freely…your brother was a vicious and evil bastard. Same goes for you too." Naruto muttered bluntly in awe.
"I did not get far in my political and shinobi career without some measure of trickery and backstabbing. I know better than anyone else that I am a 'vicious and evil bastard', and my brother deserved that description even more. Even in his death, he will remind them not to trifle with our clan again or they would pay a toll even heavier next time." Hiashi replied calmly as he continued to gaze over some more paperwork. Naruto had to let out a chuckle.
"May Kami bless his soul." Hiashi sighed.
"Just how the hell did either of you get your hands on some demo-class explosive tags? Even a kid like me know they were very heavily restricted after the last war." he quizzed curiously. Hiashi just turned and stared at the boy in silence with a blank expression for a long moment, as if he was waiting for the young blonde to just get it. He did finally get it and gave a sheepish grin.
"Right...powerful political figure with friends in high place." Naruto pointed out the obvious with an embarrassed chuckle.
They allowed a comfortable silence to settle in the study as Naruto went over what he learned for a minute. He finally decided it was getting late and he needed to get home.
"Hiashi-sama, I should get going. It's late-" he was about to politely dismiss himself when the study's door slid open to reveal a very sleepy and wobbly Hinata in her light purple pajama outfit with some white frills.
Everything fell silent as Hiashi stopped shifting his paperwork and observed his daughter with a blank expression while Naruto was surprised into silence by this sudden intrusion. Hinata looked somewhat out of it, shifting her gaze sleepily between her father and her new friend.
"There…you are. Naruto-kun…don't just walk off like that." she grumbled tiredly, while glaring lightly at Naruto through half-lidded eyes. Before the boy could say anything, she stumbled up next to him and flopped down to lay her upper half across his lap. She then hugged the blond tightly around his waist and one side of her head was fully pressed up against his chest.
Naruto was shocked speechless by this sudden action.
"Stay….you're warm." she mumbled into his chest before falling asleep again with a cute snore as his heartbeat lulled her back to dreamland.
He was stone still for a few long and uncomfortable minutes before he realized Hiashi wasn't making any attempt at admonishing or removing Hinata. He slowly glanced up to see her father had gone back to his paperwork like his daughter was not even there.
"H-hiashi-sama… may I politely inquire about what you are doing?" he strained to not let his irritation at Hiashi's feigned obliviousness show through.
"I am just going over the expenses reports for the entire clan. Only I can approve these or the clan would fall apart. What would they do without me..." Hiashi murmured with such blatantly fake innocence. Naruto swore he saw a ghost of a smirk on his face just now.
"My apologies if I am interrupting your very busy schedule, Hiashi-sama." he was impressed with himself for almost keeping the sarcasm out of his tone.
"However, as you can see with your all-seeing eyes-"
Ok, sarcasm is steeping in…
"- one of your precious daughters is cuddling up tightly against me, and I can't move." the boy finished urgently, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
"I have noticed this, but thank you for pointing it out. However I am very busy and cannot spare even a second. You will have to wake her if you wish to leave, or wait until I have finished and I can put her to bed then." Hiashi replied coolly without missing a beat. Naruto narrowed his blue eyes; he just knew Hiashi was smirking like a dastardly madman on the inside.
He sighed in defeat, but he wasn't going to play the clan head's game. He would just wake Hinata, who was sleeping with a heart-wrenchingly adorable expression, then apologize for rousing her and leave.
"I should inform you my daughter is what one would call the 'anti-thesis' of a morning person. She has been known to repeatedly use her Gentle Fist to fend off anyone from waking her up. Her caretaker and I can attest to that," Hiashi warned calmly as if he knew what his guest was thinking. Naruto stared quizzically down at Hinata's cute expression.
How could she be so dangerous? He has to be bluffing.
He decided to take a chance and tried to shake her shoulder just a slight bit. Before he knew it, there was a sharp whoosh and he stiffened and sweated comically as he now noted a small girl's hand, in a two-finger thrust, just an inch from his nose. The only thing that saved him was Hiashi effortlessly catching the hand by her wrist as if was nothing. Hinata's hand immediately went slack and slipped back to her body as Hiashi let go and went back to the papers with an amused smirk on his face.
Naruto trembled and sweated at how close he came to getting a strike to his face and this girl was now innocently cuddling up tighter against his chest.
Ok, I've changed my mind...this girl is dangerous!
"I am afraid my hand might slip next time, so I strongly recommend you do not risk another chance. She seems to be very attached to her sleep this night, Uzumaki-san." Hiashi spoke in a very amused tone. This truly was an entertaining evening for him.
Hyuuga Hiashi, you truly are a vicious, evil, and sadistic bastard. was Naruto's sole thought as he sat stone still with this cute and dangerous girl curling up even more and tightening her grip around his waist.
He decided he didn't want to risk another stray tenketsu strike this day because these hurt like hell.
It was two hours before a very tired and nerve-wrecked Naruto left the compound for his home, with the damn fox cackling at his luck the whole way.