Six months later, Naruto cursed silently as his alarm clock went off, his new duties requiring him to wake up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. Under Natsu's harsh regimen, Naruto's whole life did a complete 180, and not for the better. The constant mockery and degrading punishments from her had worn him down mentally. While failing out of the academy had already been a huge blow to Naruto's confidence, he still held on to a small thread of hope of becoming Hokage, thinking that if he trained hard enough, his mother would recognize his resolve and give him one last shot at the academy.
Natsu took that resolve and did a good job of crushing it. Being forced to work as a maid with a grueling 16-hour work schedule left him little if any time to train. Even if he sacrificed a few precious hours of sleep Naruto did not have clothes suited for training, and after accidentally tearing one of his uniforms he was severely punished by Natsu. To dissuade him from wasting any more time training when Mito returned from her mission, she requested his chakra to be sealed, explaining that it would get in the way of fulfilling his duties properly, to his horror Mito readily agreed. Drawing the seal on his lower back where he couldn't reach, Mito decided to add insult to injury and design it in the form of a blue butterfly, reminiscing a tramp stamp.
To make matters worse, Naruto was put on a strict diet to limit his energy intake, only allowed to eat a small plate of salad for every meal while being taught how to cook all sorts of mouthwatering dishes to serve Mito, never allowed to partake himself. After months of this torture, Naruto could barely recognize himself in the mirror. The muscles he gained after years of training slowly atrophied from disuse, and losing a lot of weight from the diet, going from being lean to dangerously skinny.
"Maid, as you know, Natsu's mission sadly ends today," Mito spoke, as Naruto carefully poured tea into their cups, his lip twitching as he resisted the urge to smile. "However, after asking a favor from Hinata, I found a way for her to extend her stay if she so wishes to," Mito said, handing a document to Natsu.
Natsu's hand trembled as she read it, "this..."
"Remember this is completely optional, I won't force you into anything," Mito got up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "However, Hinata did say it was a surefire way to make the clan elders too rid you of that," Mito whispered in her ears, making her eyes widen.
"I'll do it!" Natsu's eyes teared up in joy, stumbling towards a bewildered Naruto. She planted a swift kiss on his lip, ceremonially marking a significant transition in his life, before handing the document back to Mito who stamped it solemnly with the official clan seal.
"It's official! Welcome to the family, sis," Mito announced, her voice dripping with formality but her smile betraying genuine delight. She then turned to Naruto, who was rooted to the spot in disbelief.
"Congratulations!" Mito's voice was mocking, laced with a tone that implied he was anything but fortunate in this arrangement. "However, don't think for a moment that your position will change just because you're now bound in matrimony."
"W-What!" Naruto gasped, his voice a mix of shock and disbelief, "Married! But I didn't consent to this-"
In a display of authority, Mito flared her chakra, causing Naruto to stumble and fall awkwardly to the ground.
"As clan head, your consent is not required," Mito declared with a tone of finality, emphasizing her absolute control over clan affairs. "Natsu is now your wife, and effective immediately, you are relegated to a mere branch member, while Natsu ascends as the clan head of this new branch."
She then turned her gaze towards the Hyuga.
"She now holds complete control over you, free to command you without seeking my approval first. But let's set aside these formalities for now. Our first order of business is to remove that disgraceful curse mark," Mito announced, her voice filled with determination.
The two women walked away, visibly elated by the turn of events, leaving Naruto in a state of turmoil. He could only stare at the ground blankly, the gravity of his new reality slowly sinking in.