Conflict

AU: I hope everyone is staying safe and well during this time!

Hinata paced back and forth slowly in front of the fountain in Naruto's indoor garden. She's been thinking a lot lately about the bet with her father and the day was coming sooner than she anticipated.

She hoped that all the training she's been through for the past 11 months would be enough to defeat her father. She's learned how to increase her speed, her strength, her use of her Byakugan, and she's learned techniques from training with the Uchihas and even with Naruto. She didn't want to defeat her father out of anger or out of revenge anymore...she wanted to beat him simply because she wanted to win the bet.

If she won, then she could provide a way of relief for her parents from their duties. She could pave a way for them to experience freedom for the first time, and even for them to experience true love. She wondered if her parents were even in love with each other. Maybe they would possibly be more affectionate towards each other if they had that opportunity to spend quality time together.

She also had to prepare herself to accept her fate if she did end up losing. Not having the Byakugan would strip her of her very pride of being from the Hyuuga family, but...she decided that she would be ok without it. She will just have to hone her skills in battle without relying on it if it came to that point. It was her fault in the first place for making a bet with her father anyways, so she'll have to humble herself and accept the consequences if she lost.

Letting out a small sigh, she stopped her pacing and made her way out of the garden and towards the throne room. She remembered Naruto informing her that they would have an important guest coming today by noon.

As she walked through the halls and entered the throne room, she nodded in acknowledgement of the servants who bowed to her and smiled at Naruto, who was already sitting down waiting for her.

"Who's our guest today?" She asked curiously as she took her seat next to him.

"A king from outside the empire."

Hinata blinked curiously. Wouldn't that mean that the king was not an ally to the empire? The kingdoms that chose not to fight the war 5 years ago had no interest in conquering and even declined to be a part of the Uzumaki empire. She wondered if this particular king had a change of mind about that...because what other reason would they be here for? "Did the king state the reason for coming here today?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not too sure either. When I got the scroll a few days ago, it simply stated that he wanted to pay the empire a visit. There were no other reasons in the writing."

Interesting.

Hinata's attention quickly averted to the throne doors when a line of unfamiliar guards walked in, forming two straight lines. Naruto stood up and flashed a welcoming smile to them.

"The Uzumaki kingdom is pleased to have your king as a guest here today."

One of the guards at front lowered his head in respect before speaking. "The honor is ours. We thank Your Majesty for allowing an outsider kingdom such as us to step foot in your throne room."

"Any kingdom, whether a part of the Uzumaki empire or not, is always welcomed here. Your king may enter."

The guards bowed in unison before parting a few feet away to make way for the king to walk through.

Hinata looked on curiously as the figure entered the throne room. The king had eyes hauntingly similar to the Hyuugas except for the fact that it was blue instead of lavender...how was that even possible? His hair was a dashing white color and his face held a stoic expression as he walked gracefully closer to them.

Upon reaching the steps of the throne, he stopped and bowed before the both of them. "...King Toneri of the Tsuki kingom. I would like to express my gratitude for Your Majesty's permission for me to visit."

"Of course. Any king is welcomed here...if they bear no ill intentions, that is." Naruto made a small chuckle. "I hope the travel here wasn't too indecent. I hear the Tsuki kingdom is far up the mountains, almost high enough to touch the moon. It really is a fitting name for such a land."

"The travel here was quite peaceful. With you as the Emperor over the 7 most powerful kingdoms in this region, there is no surprise that robberies and bandit attacks have lessened over the years."

"I am doing my best for this empire, and even for those kingdoms not part of my empire. Speaking of which...the Tsuki kingdom declined to fight in the war for power and also declined my allegiance 5 years ago. May I ask for the real reason why you decided to come to me today?"

"I have promised my father that in respect for my ancestors, I would choose to isolate the Tsuki kingdom from all affairs, whether it be war or allegiance. It is simply safer for the people of my land and also for me, as the sole survivor of my bloodline."

Naruto nodded understandingly.

"As for the reason I am here today..." Toneri raised his head and sharply turned his gaze over to Hinata, which caught both Naruto and Hinata by surprise. "...well...I wanted to come see for myself. I've been contemplating for months whether or not to come. Now that I see that the rumors are true, I should have paid my visit much sooner."

Hinata felt uneasy. What exactly did he mean? His piercing, yet almost seductive gaze made her extremely uncomfortable. She glanced over at Naruto and noticed his expression also changed.

He was no longer smiling and his eyes turned serious.

"So, King Toneri...what rumors are you refering to?"

"Why, of course, that your bride is none other than the beautiful Princess Hinata from the Hyuuga kingdom."

Naruto's fists clenched at the way Toneri's eyes bore into Hinata, as if he was infatuated with her. How dare such an outsider come and stare so disgustingly at his wife? It was the first time he's ever felt this way - he now understood perfectly why people could kill in a jealous rage.

"You come to my kingdom, step foot in my throne room, and stand before me, to come boldly proclaim your admiration for my Empress?"

"What is there not to admire? Any king who has not yet wedded a queen would fall in love at first sight if they saw someone as exquisite as her." Toneri simply smirked at Naruto's irritated expression. "...so, Emperor of the Uzumaki kingdom...whatever you name, whether it be every single person in my kingdom, my own castle, all the riches and wealth I've acquired both in my lifetime and from my ancestors, or even my bloodline's secret to our Tenseigan eyes...I will gladly trade any or all of that, in return for the Empress as my own-,"

Toneri didn't get to finish and everyone in the throne room, including Hinata, gasped in surprise when Naruto disappeared from his throne in a blink of an eye and ended up in front of Toneri.

Hinata's eyes widened at the orange aura seeping out of Naruto's body and she trembled at the immense power pulsing like ocean waves across the room. She's never seen this side of Naruto before...she knew now why people were afraid of him when they heard he was the fox child. She could feel the fox's energy down to the very core of her bones and she knew that there was no doubt Naruto could really destroy a whole kingdom if he wanted to.

Toneri, however, stood unfazed. "Ah...so that rumor is also true. You really do hold such a monstrosity inside of you."

"I will give you ten minutes to get out of my empire. By that time, if your feet is still even one inch inside of my kingdom, I will personally make sure you really are the last of your bloodline." Naruto's was low and firm as he threatened Toneri and pointed out the doors. "The Tsuki kingdom is no longer welcomed here."

Toneri's smirk disappeared and he matched Naruto's glare. "You think because you rely on the fox's power, that no one can match you. However, I pull power from my ancestors and gain strength from the moon's tides. While you feed off of that monster inside you, the forces of nature side with me." His eyes once again traveled over to Hinata.

"If you don't want to negotiate, that's fine. I assure the Empress will come to me on her own accord..." A small smile graced his face when he saw how Hinata's eyes flickered curiously. "...because I hold a secret to the Byakugan."

Hinata was astounded by how much this man surprised her in a matter of a few minutes of being in the room. How could he possibly know the secrets of the Byakugan? Was there also something in her family history that her parents never told her about?

"My Empress is not a trade item to be negotiated. She is human. She is my wife. Get out." Naruto hissed and with a wave of his hand, Toneri was swung backwards towards the door.

Toneri grunted, but stood his ground and ordered for his guards to step back. "...mark my words, Emperor. She will be mine." With those final words, he gave one last haunting gaze at Hinata before turning around and leaving through the throne doors.

Once the doors shut behind them, all eyes in the room turned to Naruto, waiting in anticipation of what he will do next. Hinata assumed that everyone in this court room has already seen this side of Naruto, judging by how stiff and frozen they stood at his aura. "Everyone else, out as well."

With no questions, the servants and court members immediately disbursed at that order.

Hinata softly cleared her throat and approached him once everyone was gone. "...are you...ok?"

Naruto turned to face her and though he was still slightly frustrated, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Yes. I apologize for the over reaction. I just needed him out of here...maybe next time I shouldn't agree to freely let in a king from outside the empire."

Hinata's hand tightened on her dress and she swallowed the air stuck in her throat before speaking again. "Do you know what secret he is talking about? Regarding the Byakugan?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and silently observed her face. Was she genuinely curious about that? "Hinata, you do know he said that just to bribe you, right?"

"I know...it's just that if he really does know a secret to the Byakugan, to me, it's something worth finding out. It is my bloodline's pride after all. And...if I can somehow strengthen my Byakugan, I could have better chances of winning the bet with my father."

Hinata wasn't sure how Naruto was feeling right now. His eyes averted away from her face and down at her feet instead. She silently hoped that he was not angry or disappointed in her.

"So you are going to go to him?"

Hinata's heart dropped at the sudden sadness in his tone. She stepped closer to him and embraced her arms around his waist, pulling herself intimately close to his chest. "Please don't think that way. We can both come up with a plan to get the secret out from him. If it's something to unlock a deeper power to my eyes, then I want to take a chance to learn what that secret is." Hinata was getting worried when Naruto didn't even bother to embrace her back. Whenever and wherever she gave him affection, he openly and gladly returned those affections.

But...he was just standing there.

It made her feel incredibly awkward and she suddenly didn't have the courage to look up at his face anymore.

"...didn't you see the way he was looking at you, Hinata? Like he wanted to devour you? It made me sick. I am not letting you near him, whether he knows a secret to the Byakugan or not." Naruto placed his hand on her arms and gently pushed her away from him. "I will not hear you bring this up again, understood?"

There was still a lingering desperation in her heart to convince him to help her get the secret from Toneri, but she didn't want to upset him any further. She also knew he was just worried about her...and this was also the first time she's ever seen him this jealous over her. She remembered that feeling of jealousy when she thought about Naruto liking Sakura, so she knew very well that it was not a pleasant did not want Naruto to dwell in that kind of negative mindset, so she pushed down her desires to be stronger and nodded instead.

"I understand."

Toneri rolled up the scroll and securely tied it to the leg of his snow-white owl. Hinata's face came to his mind and the sides of his lips curved into a devious smile.

"I surely did not mistake that curiosity in her eyes...if she truly desires to know what I know, she will come to me. I trust you will deliver this message by nightfall, little one." He ran his finger down the soft feathers of the owl's head before waving it off out of the carriage.

As he watched it fly out into the sunset back towards the Uzumaki empire, he couldn't help but feel as if it was fate - that Hinata would be rightfully his.

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