"In his mission to Nami no Kuni, Naruto took out a multimillionaire criminal named Gatō, and slaughtered his entire army of thugs and samurai in a span of a few seconds. It was reported that Kakashi and Zabuza, one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, both witnessed Naruto's skills, and it was reported that Zabuza himself wanted the boy as his successor," Hiashi explained. The elders and the other members of the clan started whispering to each other about this news, finding it hard to believe.
"Naruto is that skilled with a sword?! Since when?" Tenten asked in both amazement and disbelief.
"No one really knows. There was no record of him ever being trained in kenjutsu while at the ninja academy," Hinata replied.
"But you of all people spend the most time with him. Surely you must know something more about him that no one else knows," Tenten implied, putting Hinata on the spot as all eyes turned toward her.
"What I know is only what Naruto-kun allows me to know, and nothing more. There are some secrets that he doesn't share with even me, and I have to respect that as I learned to trust him," Hinata stated.
"How can you trust a shameless, girl-crazy, flirtatious pervert like Naruto? The fact that you, being an heiress, are even dating that trash mars the Hyuuga name. What's more is that Hanabi-sama even started following your lead in pursuing that fool. I couldn't find logic behind why Hanabi-sama chose to go down such a path in endearing herself to a commoner infamous for his womanizing behavior," Neji said rudely, trying to put down both Hinata and Hanabi in front of the entire clan and his team and sensei. Hanabi scowled visibly with a low growl, and looked ready to activate the Caged Bird Seal on Neji's head. Hinata closed her eyes and calmed herself though a darker part of her really wanted to hurt Neji right now. Gai was about to tell Neji off when…
"Whom my daughters date is neither your concern nor your business to meddle in, Neji. And if you disrespectfully step out of line in front of me again I will personally reprimand you severely. Am I clear?" Hiashi replied with a hardened tone that said that he was serious.
"Yes Hiashi-sama. I apologize for my rudeness," Neji said plainly, "If there's nothing more, I request that I be excused from this meeting."
"You will stay where you are, Neji. Everyone will leave after I conclude this meeting," Hiashi stated. Neji said nothing more as he reluctantly sat where he was.
"Neji does bring up a point, Hiashi. This son of the late Yondaime has been repeatedly reported to have been seen and caught peeping in women's bathhouses and flirting with many females both his age group and older despite being romantically involved with the clan heiress. He even openly reads those smut books that Jiraiya-sama is known to be the author of," one of the clan elders said.
"We've been troubled at how after all these years you've tolerated this behavior from the boy while allowing him to court Hinata and allow Hanabi to associate closely with him. The very fact that you allow your two daughters to be this close to this ill-mannered Genin despite knowing his perverted conduct has been an issue that we feel should be addressed promptly," a female Main House Hyuuga added.
Neji gave a small smile upon seeing that the clan elders took his side on the debate. It was no secret that Neji sought every chance to bring down Hinata's esteem, and with Hanabi involved, it was all the better. Hiashi was about to say something when…
"It is true that Father is aware of Naruto-kun's infamous reputation, and I'm well aware of it too," Hinata spoke up.
"And yet both you and your father are tolerant of this," another elder remarked.
Lowering her head, Hinata replied, "What did you all expect out of Naruto-kun after the lonely and harsh life this village forced him to live? Only a handful of people chose to get to know Naruto-kun for who he really was. Others, however, chose to pass biased judgment on him, with little to no knowledge about him.
"There was never anything about Naruto-kun that posed a threat to me or anyone else. The only threat was from our respected leaders and those in the council, who tried to manipulate everyone with lies and cover-ups concerning Naruto-kun, his heritage and clan, and how they didn't want him or those of our generation ever learning the truth.
"And because of this, Naruto-kun was subjected to being bullied, lied to by some he trusted, discriminated against and shunned by the majority of this village and even by those of my own age group. Countless people, both civilian and shinobi alike, looked at Naruto-kun as if he was a weakened version of Kyuubi, senselessly thinking that hurting him would allow them to get back at Kyuubi. Naruto-kun was starving for attention and affection, even if it meant getting yelled at or getting in trouble for whatever it was he did, so long he was acknowledged by someone.
"None of you in this chamber could begin to understand his tremendous anguish, sadness, and loneliness as a Jinchuuriki! So don't any of you dare stand here and judge him as if you know him! None of you here or anyone else in all of Konoha has any right to judge him, not after all he's been made to suffer through!" Hinata defended with tears running down her face and no sign of hesitation in her tone. Instead, she was seen wielding an inner strength no one in the clan had ever seen from her before.
Everyone who was present was surprised by Hinata's bold spirit. What was also noticed was that in her entire speech, not once did she stutter.
"I stand with Neesan on this matter a hundred percent," Hanabi spoke up, causing everyone to turn to look at her now. It was clear to everyone that the two sisters were in union with each other on the issue involving Naruto being a part of their lives.
"Over the years, I never understood why Naruto-kun was hated so much by those within and outside our clan, or why he was looked upon as a scourge to our community. I will admit that I was almost influenced by this village's poisonous view of Naruto-kun, but my curiosity and lack of knowing the truth moved me to want to know why Naruto-kun was treated the way he was by so many and why Neesan had such strong feelings and admiration for him before and after becoming friends with him.
"I had asked Neesan questions about Naruto-kun but she refused to answer any of them. Instead she encouraged me to ask Naruto-kun myself. I used to be angry at her for always doing that. But…after I stopped to really think about it," Hanabi allowed a few tears of her own to fall down her face and continued, "I'm happy Neesan did what she did, as it pushed me to get to know Naruto-kun personally, and over the course of time I became close with Naruto-kun. I didn't say it then, but I'll say it now: I love Naruto-kun! He's my best and closest friend!"
The Hyuuga of both the Main House and Cadet Branch House were truly stupefied at how great an influence Naruto had not only on Hinata but also on Hanabi. It went without say that both girls were truly loyal and emotionally attached to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, far more than any from both houses expected. And the fact that Hiashi supported his daughters only hammered the nail deeper.
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