The thought alone of seeing the looks on their faces was enough to put a bright smile on Hinata's face. Neji turned briefly to see Hinata's expression and wondered what she was so happy about. He decided to forget about it and continue escorting Hinata back to the compound.
(Back At The Inuzuka Meeting Pound)
Tsume finished explained everything that took place during the council meeting to all of the members of her clan. Nobody there could believe their ears, especially the younger generations. The older generation had a hard time believing the revelations about Honoka and Naruto's backgrounds regarding the Uzumaki clan, but they had an especially difficult time believing the truth about Naruto's parentage. When Kiba took a better look at Naruto, he felt completely stupid for never seeing the obvious resemblance between Yondaime and Naruto when he and so many others saw colored pictures of the man.
Was I that blind? How could I have not seen that? Kiba thought as he meditated on everything he was told. So much was going through his mind after hearing the entire truth about Naruto, his clan, his parents, his status as a Jinchuuriki, and the law Sandaime put in place forbidding anyone of the older generation from speaking the truth about Naruto being a Jinchuuriki. The same was true with Hana. She already knew about Naruto being a Jinchuuriki, but everything else was big news.
All this time Naruto is the son of the late Yondaime! Every one of us disrespected Yondaime by our mistreatment and disregard for his son, Hana thought as sadness and guilt started to settle in on her conscience. It was the same with many of the other Inuzuka clan members. Soon though, sadness and guilt turned to dishonor and shame. And dishonor and shame lead to anger and indignation.
"So how many more lies are the ever watchful eyes of our village's hierarchy telling?" Kiba remarked contemptuously. "They practically robbed Naruto of everything and let the villagers have their way and allowed them force him to live a cruel and lonely life as an orphan. And not only that, we were taught lies and half-truths while at the ninja academy all these years!" Kiba looked at his mother angrily. "And you were part of all this; you and all of the grown-ups of our clan! None of you stood for what was right and allowed this to happen!"
"Kiba, please," Tsume pleaded, "It wasn't like I wanted any of this to happen! Myself and several others of the Shinobi council tried to prevent this! But we were overruled!"
"Tried?" Kiba retorted, "From all that I've heard up till now, I don't know whether to believe or question the truth of your words or that of any of the other grown-ups of this clan!"
Tsume lowered her head, knowing that Kiba had every right to be angry at her and the older members of the clan.
"Kiba this wasn't made easy for any of us," Hana said, trying to defend their mother and the rest of the older generation of their kin, "Our hands were tied and as ninja we're bound to the authority of the Hokage and the hierarchy."
"Stop making excuses for them and yourself Hana-nee!" Kiba replied. "You're only saying that to quench your own guilt for not doing anything for Naruto either. I will admit that I wasn't friends with him at first because I was stupid enough to follow the crowd in how they used to mistreat and make fun of him. But in time, I did become his friend after getting to know him. I could easily see that Naruto is a good person despite what's been said about him.
"But I have never seen you, mom, or anyone else in our clan take so much as a step to even approach Naruto, because everyone chose the coward's way out and looked at Naruto as the monster that attacked Konoha!"
"Kiba," Naruto said calmly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand that you and all of the younger generation are appalled and outraged by the shocking revelations. We can't change the regretful events of the past, but we can still do something about the future."
"I suppose, but it'll be a while before I can look at any of the grown-ups with the same level of respect again after being lied to all my life," Kiba said.
Naruto replied, "I'm certain that the way you feel will be shared by many throughout the village. Even now, all of the members of the Shinobi and Civilian council were sent to inform their family and friends about the truth concerning me, Honoka-nee, and the Uzumaki clan. Jiisan will give a public address concerning this matter too. Facing my parents' enemies or not as a result, I made it clear that I want the truth about me and my family revealed to everyone."
Tsume looked to see the looks the younger members of her clan had on their faces. She knew that they were feeling the same way as her son was, while some were arguing with their parents about what was revealed to them. The Inuzuka matriarch had to calm her clan down and reestablish order.
"Listen everyone!" Tsume said authoritatively gaining everyone's attention. Everyone soon quieted as Tsume continued to speak, "It is true that we of the older generation of this clan have wronged both you and the Uzumaki, and I won't stand before you and make excuses for our actions. It shames me as the leader of this clan that I, under orders of the hierarchy, played a role in allowing your minds be filled with half-truths and lies about Konoha and its history involving the Uzumaki clan and Uzu no Kuni. For this, I am truly sorry and could only hope that in time you all will come to forgive us."
Tsume turned and went over to Naruto and Honoka. She stood before Naruto and to everyone's disbelief she got on her knees and faced him as she spoke, "As the leader of the Inuzuka clan, I take full responsibility for the wrongs my clansmen have committed against you and I offer you my sincerest apology for my sins against you and your clan."
Tsume placed her hands on the floor and bowed her head till it touched the ground and apologized, "Uzumaki Naruto, I'm sorry."
For a clan leader to make such a gesture in front of the entire clan meant that the clan as a whole was wrong in their dealings with the one they deeply offended. None of the Inuzuka elders moved to reprimand Tsume for her apologetic humble gesture. There were mixed emotions among the Inuzuka clan members as they were thinking about everything they heard and saw up to this point. Some didn't know what to think or feel. Others even went numb because so many things they were led to believe were all based off of lies.
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