Naruto Imperium

by yoh1242

Banished from Konoha After everything He did and this was his fate but know more will he take things as it is. He will show them, Show them all. He will rise and he will put them in there place.

1. Chapter 1

The Naruto world that most people know is divided mainly between the nations of Fire, Earth, Lightning, Water, and Wind. These great nations balance each other, ensuring a relatively calm land. When conflict does occur, it is usually in one of the many border nations that divide these powers by the shinobi from the villages that exist in each land. There does exist however, a larger continent across the western sea far beyond the land of water. Long ago, the Sage of the Six paths himself went there to bring peace, just as he did in the elemental continent. Just over a month later, he returned, near death and told of a land of endless war with powers and beings that could easily destroy the Elemental nations. Even the Sage, armed with the Rinnegan and the Juubi's powers proved to be no match for these awesome creatures and mysterious powers. Before he died, the Sage gave one final warning,

"My sons. Beware. You must tell all who you meet of my words to you. Whatever may happen here in the East, you must never ever attempt to attract the attention of the Old World. For if you do, I cannot begin to comprehend the devastation that will be wraught upon the land."

But the warnings of the Sage have slowly been lost to the whispers of time. Secure in their superiority, many have lost the knowledge and wisdom to remember what a man who was known as the first God of Shinobi was subjected to over five-hundred years ago. The only saving grace that the nations of the East had was that the battle hardened and powerful factions across the sea were too consumed with fighting each other over territory or resources to project their formidable power elsewhere.

Or the Sage's prediction may very well come true.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

The cries of the two battling teens rang across the charred and deserted valley. The fight had been brutal to both participants. It had all started when Sasuke Uchiha, the last loyal Uchiha of the once famed clan had deserted the Leaf Village in pursuit of power promised to him by the rogue Sannin Orochimaru. A team of genin, led by the newly promoted chunin Shikamaru, had been charged with the capture and retrieval of the rogue Uchiha. The major obstacle to this was not only the head start the boy had, having left hours before, but also the fact that Orochimaru had sent his personal bodyguard, the Sound Four, to ensure that Sasuke reached the Sound Village safely.

Having to divide and forced into one-on-one battle, the only member to actually catch up to Sasuke was Naruto Uzumaki, jinchurriki of the dreaded Nine-tailed Fox.

During the fierce battle the two had exchanged devastating blows to each other ranging from punches and kicks to various jutsu.

But it soon came down to a contest of raw power. Naruto, drawing on the power of his tenant, had formed a Rasengan (spiralling sphere), a signature technique of the legendary Yondaime Hokage, while Sasuke, drawing on the power of his Curse Seal of Heaven, had formed a black Chidori (one-thousand birds), a jutsu created by the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan himself.

As their respective jutsu clashed, Naruto's Rasengan seemed to have the advantage. However Naruto was not trying to kill the traitor so he powered down the jutsu just enough to be non-lethal. Eventually the clash ended as Naruto's larger chakra reserves allowed him to sustain the high level attack for longer, where he then rammed the swirling ball of energy straight into Sasuke's stomach, causing said traitor to cough up a rather large amount of blood and pass out.

Once the dust had settled, Naruto hoisted Sasuke onto his back and proceeded back to the village to report his first S-class mission a success.

(3 days later-Leaf village)

The time since the successful capture and return of the last Uchiha had been a sight to behold. People had celebrated in the streets at the renewed hope of a revived Uchiha clan in the Leaf. many families had sent gifts and marriage proposals to Sasuke, who was currently confined to a hospital bed for injuries suffered.

Of course, when people heard that it was the demon child that had retrieved and subsequently almost killed the Uchiha, many called for his death. Eventually the ruling body of the Leaf had no choice but to convene to discuss not only the state of the village, but also the great public outcry.

-Council Chambers-

"I, Tsunade Senju, hereby call this meeting of the High Council of Konoha to order. Our first order of business should be the discussion of the damage present in the village at the moment. The Fire Daimyo has agreed to assist generously with financial and material support in order to have the village repaired as soon as possible. Also, several of our allies have been notified of the current situation and have graciously offered to send building materials and specialists to ensure a speedy recovery." spoke Tsunade, as she addressed the combined body of civilian and shinobi counselors, as well as the clan heads from all of the prominent shinobi clans, minus the Uchiha, which had not been filled for over six years, and the Namikaze, which had been empty for a decade.

Excited muttering soon broke out in the council chamber following this news. What could be better. Sure the village was damaged, but casualties were light and best of all it would cost the village next to nothing to be completely repaired. All of this was brought to a halt by the sound of a sharp crack on the marble-tiled floor.

"That is all well and good, Lady Hokage, but I believe, and many here would agree with me, that there is a more pressing concern that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible." spoke up Danzo Shimura, a veteran shinobi and currently the most prominent member of the Shinobi Council.

"And that would be?" asked Tsunade as she arched one blonde eyebrow.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Immediately the room went completely silent, as each person weighed their own opinions of the boy.

"I am afraid do not see your point, Danzo." she stated calmly, knowing full well what the old war hawk was trying to do.

"The demon injured the Uchiha. it must be punished." shouted one councilman, who immediately found himself the focal point of many dark looks, the most heavy of which came from the Hokage herself.

"Naruto Uzumaki is a loyal ninja and is responsible for defeating the Uchiha and bringing him back. By all rights the Uchiha boy should be the one punished, since he did attack a Leaf ninja and attempted to desert and turn traitor to the rogue Sannin Orochimaru." spoke up Shikaku Nara , father of Shikamaru the leader of the retrieval team and Clan Head of the Nara.

"Sasuke was under the influence of the Curse Seal. He cannot be held responsible for his actions." replied Homura, another of the Shinobi council.

"Also, there is no way the jinchurriki brat, who graduated dead last and through a fluke, defeated the rookie of the year without some outside help" supplied the last of the Shinobi council, Koharu.

Everyone stiffened at this. If the boy really could access the demon's power, what was to stop him from taking his revenge on all of those that had mistreated him, which coincidentally included a large number of the assembled people.

Tsunade by this point was beginning to panic. Despite being Hokage, even she couldn't overturn a decision made by the majority of authority figures in the village without there being claims that she was unfit and was ignoring a danger to the village, which could then be used as a premise to get the Fire Daimyo involved and remove her as Hokage. After that she would inevitably be replaced by some fool puppet of the Council or worse, Danzo.

"What do you propose we do Danzo." asked Hiashi Hyuuga, Clan Head of Konoha's most prestigous clan. He was still angry at the boy for humiliating his nephew, which in turn made the clan look weak.

"Exile."

Silence.

Followed by a chorus of cheers and shouts of approval that drowned out the minority that opposed the decision.

(Council Chambers- Next Day)

"Naruto Uzumaki. It is the decision of the Hokage, the Councils, and the Clan Heads of Konoha that you are to be banished immediately from the village," said Tsunade while she gazed sorrowfully at Naruto, who had barely had a chance to even heal from his injuries, and still had bandages covering parts of his body to further prove it.

Naruto for his part was not entirely shocked. he knew that there would be reprocussions for the injuries he had inflicted on Sasuke.

Especially not after what had happened earlier that day.

-Flashback-

Naruto, still clad in bandages, arrived at training ground seven to see both Kakashi and Sakura already present.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan!" he shouted. However when they looked at him, he immediately got a very bad feeling.

Sakura stalked up to him and slapped him.

"Baka! I asked you to bring Sasuke-kun back to me, not kill him." she screeched as she stomped her way over to naruto. As soon as she got within striking distance, her right fist shot out at astounding speed and delivered a chakra enhanced left hook straight to Naruto's jaw.

"SNAP!"

The sound of his jaw dislocating and the pain that followed weren't even felt by the boy, so engrossed was he in the shock that had taken hold of his heart.

Seeing his unresponsive state, Sakura took the opportunity to continue to savagely kick and punch Naruto in any vulnerable spotshe could reach with as much fury as she could muster. Once her rage had been sated Sakura spoke.

"Naruto if you ever talk to me or come near Sasuke-kun again, I'll kill you."

She then spat on his still and bleeding form, spun on her heel, and headed off to go see how Sasuke was doing.

Soon after, Kakashi approached Naruto's body, having deigned not to intervene in Sakura's physical tyrade against the boy.

"Naruto, I one told you that those who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. You,Naruto, are worse than scum." stated Kakashi coldly, after which he backhanded Naruto across the face and left in a Shunshin.

However, had he stayed a moment longer, he would have seen Naruto's face harden in a way no one who knew the boy would ever expect, and a hard glint entered his eye, turning once sea-blue orbs into glowing red pits of malice and hate that could only be brought about by extreme betrayal.

-End Flashback-

Naruto slowly raised his head to view the so-called wise councillors of the Leaf. When he finished his movement he spoke for the first time in almost a day.

"Very well, oh honorable members of the Councils. But, when you find yourselves in shit far over your head, do not ever come to look for me to aid you, because if you do, I will return your messengers in bodybags. I will be gone by the end of the day." he said in a dead, toneless voice devoid of any and all emotion.

With his piece said, Naruto executed a perfect sweeping bow and, much to the shock of the members present, Shunshined from the room.

"When did he learn that? I thought we ordered his training to be stunted as much as possible." spoke one Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka Clan and father of Ino.

Tsunade only narrowed her eyes.

(Later that day- Almost midnight)

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was extremely gifted in stealth. How else could he avoid detection when he played all of his pranks and was pursued by ANBU?

Now however, Naruto was using his skills to infiltrate the Hokage Tower, more specifically the Hokage's Office, Tsunade having retired to bed long ago.

Once there, he immediately discovered the safe hidden behind the picture of the Yondaime, who looked strangely familiar, and proceeded to crack the safe. What he found inside shocked him to the core.

Letters. Addressed to Him!

Naruto hurriedly broke open the largest one, accidentally cutting himself on the paper.

When he openned to letter, it read:

Dear Naruto,

I am the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, also known as the Yellow Flash. Now you must be wondering why I wrote this letter to you.

If you are reading this, then Sarutobi has deemed you ready to know the truth. You are my son, the son of the Yondaime Hokage.

As I write this letter, the battle against the Kyuubi is raging on so I don't have much time to write. I know I will not return alive from this fight. Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze my wife who sadly died giving birth to you, since she went into premature labour due to the Kyuubi's attack.

Know that both your mother and I loved you from the moment you came into this world and my only regret is that your mother and I'll not be there to watch you grow up. Both of us leave you everything we own in this world.

You also must know by now that I sealed the Kyuubi into you. Hopefully the village will have listened to my last wish and treated you as the hero that you are and that you've had a good life so far. But if my worst fear has come true and the villagers did not follow my wishes, and treated you like an outcast, then I'm truly sorry my son for any pain that you went through. I hope you can understand that I picked you to be the container of the Kyuubi for I could not go to another family and ask them to make such a sacrifice. While I myself was unwilling to do so, also the reason why I had you stay in Konoha and not move outside the village and taken care of by someone was in the hope that you would use the power of the Kyuubi to become the Guardian protector of the village, maybe even come to love it as much as I did, and also protect it from forces like the Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha. He is the one who fought against the Shodaime Hokage almost a hundred years ago and had the power to summon and control the Kyuubi. He is the one who summoned Kyuubi here to Konoha.

One more thing. if you should ever find yourself pursed, head West across the sea. That is where your Mother's family originally came from before they settled in Whirlpool. She has told me of a few things from there, one of which is that it is a safe place to hide since even Madara dared not venture there. Also, your Mother possessed certain abilities which can only be found in the Old World, however being away fromtheir ancestral homeland has severly weakened their bond with this power. Should you go there, you must seek out training in their arts. If you do not, you may destroy everything around you if you possess even a fraction of the powers her family was rumored to have.

My time is now up; know that I do love you and will never stop loving you. I wish you a long and happy life.

Sincerely, your father

Minato Namikaze

Naruto's fists tightened in rage.

'That idealistic bastard! All the suffering I went through just so this cesspool of a village could have its Grand Protector. Ha!'

Naruto then grinned evilly.

'However, Father,' he spat the name in disgust, since as far as he was concerned, the man was nothing other than a sperm donor, 'I will take your advice on hiding for a while. Both from this village and from the Akatsuki.'

Naruto then glanced over the other letters, filled with various things from jutsu to money to keys to the Namikaze Estate which he should have lived in from the beginning to personal heirloomsfrom both his parents. One thing that particularly caught his eye was a letter addressed to him from his Mother. It was very similar to the one from the Yondaime, he refusedto call the man his Father.

Dear Naruto,

I am the Kushina Uzumaki, also known as the Red Hot-blooded Habanero. Now you must be wondering why I wrote this letter to you.

As I write this letter, I am nearing the end of my life. You were very energetic and anxious. I don't have much time to write. I know I will not survive the birth complications.

First of all, your father's name was Minato Namikaze.

Know that both your father and I loved you from the moment we knew of you and my only regret is that I and Minato will not be there to watch you grow up. Both of us leave you everything we own in this world.

You also must know by now that your father sealed the Kyuubi into you. Hopefully the village will have listened to his last wish and treated you as the hero that you are and that you've had a good life so far. But if my worst fear has come true and the villagers did not follow his wishes, and treated you like an outcast, then I'm truly sorry my son for any pain that you went through. I argued with Minato for hours when he picked you to be the container of the Kyuubi for I could not stand the thought of giving you such a burden. I am ashamed to say that he managed to talk me down and convince me that it was the only way for everyone and you to survive.

For you see,we of the ancient Uzumaki Clan are not native to this are from the land to the West, also known today as the Old World. We are descended from an ancient family there known far across the continent for their combat prowess and magical abilities, the Rahls. When a part of our family journeyed across the ocean, we lost much of the powers and knowledge of our ancestors. I have however left youa gift. A scroll which contains all the recorded history of our family and all knowledge I have managed to collect on the various abilities of our families.

One more thing. if you should ever find yourself pursed, head West across the sea. That is where our family originally came from before they settled in Whirlpool. It is a safe place to hide since even Madara dared not venture there. Also, our abilities can only be found in the Old World, however being away from their ancestral homeland has severly weakened their bond with this power. Should you go there, you must seek out training in the arts. If you do not, you may destroy everything around you if you possess even a fraction of the powers our family had.

My time is now up; know that I do love you and will never stop loving you. I wish you a long and happy life.

Sincerely, your mother

Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze

"Mother." Naruto muttered sadly as he ran his fingers across her face on the picture that was enclosed in the letter.

Tears started to stream down his face. His eyes, once blue and clear as crystal, had become cloudy and murky from the large amount of tears that now welled up in them, far too numerous to be contained any longer.

Naruto sat there for several hours as he cried his eyes out. He had not cried so much since he was five years old. That had also been his one and only attempt at suicide. Damn fox.

Suddenly the door to the Hokage's office openned, revealing a shadowy outline. Naruto immediately tensed, prepared to run at a moment's notice. That all changed when he saw who it was in the doorframe.

'Hey Shizune." he greeted.

Shizune's face was covered in tear streaks. being the Hokage's secretary meant she knew what had happened and was deeply concerned over it.

Hey Naruto." she returned, then glanced over to the Hokage pictures and Tsunade's desk, where Naruto had put everything he had retrieved. She smiled sadly.

"So you know the truth. And you finally got what was yours."

Naruto was not shocked that she knew. Being the Hokage's assistant and apprentice as well as a licensed doctor, surely she would have figured it out as soon as she saw him.

"I'm leaving Shizune. Before everyone can try to destroy me tomorrow. I already have everything I own. I leave in one hour."

He cast her a suspicious glance and shifted his body in preparation for a quick escape.

"Unless you want to try and stop me."

To his shock, Shizune came up and gave him a hug and whispered in his ear.

"Be safe, Naruto."

And with that she got up and walked out, but not before giving one last smile to the boy who rarely got any, and shutting the door.

-Later-

Naruto had finally made it outside of the village and was on his way out of the Land of Fire and into the Land of Wind, when he heard someone he was not expecting to hear ever again.

"Hello, kit."The Naruto world that most people know is divided mainly between the nations of Fire, Earth, Lightning, Water, and Wind. These great nations balance each other, ensuring a relatively calm land. When conflict does occur, it is usually in one of the many border nations that divide these powers by the shinobi from the villages that exist in each land. There does exist however, a larger continent across the western sea far beyond the land of water. Long ago, the Sage of the Six paths himself went there to bring peace, just as he did in the elemental continent. Just over a month later, he returned, near death and told of a land of endless war with powers and beings that could easily destroy the Elemental nations. Even the Sage, armed with the Rinnegan and the Juubi's powers proved to be no match for these awesome creatures and mysterious powers. Before he died, the Sage gave one final warning,

"My sons. Beware. You must tell all who you meet of my words to you. Whatever may happen here in the East, you must never ever attempt to attract the attention of the Old World. For if you do, I cannot begin to comprehend the devastation that will be wraught upon the land."

But the warnings of the Sage have slowly been lost to the whispers of time. Secure in their superiority, many have lost the knowledge and wisdom to remember what a man who was known as the first God of Shinobi was subjected to over five-hundred years ago. The only saving grace that the nations of the East had was that the battle hardened and powerful factions across the sea were too consumed with fighting each other over territory or resources to project their formidable power elsewhere.

Or the Sage's prediction may very well come true.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

The cries of the two battling teens rang across the charred and deserted valley. The fight had been brutal to both participants. It had all started when Sasuke Uchiha, the last loyal Uchiha of the once famed clan had deserted the Leaf Village in pursuit of power promised to him by the rogue Sannin Orochimaru. A team of genin, led by the newly promoted chunin Shikamaru, had been charged with the capture and retrieval of the rogue Uchiha. The major obstacle to this was not only the head start the boy had, having left hours before, but also the fact that Orochimaru had sent his personal bodyguard, the Sound Four, to ensure that Sasuke reached the Sound Village safely.

Having to divide and forced into one-on-one battle, the only member to actually catch up to Sasuke was Naruto Uzumaki, jinchurriki of the dreaded Nine-tailed Fox.

During the fierce battle the two had exchanged devastating blows to each other ranging from punches and kicks to various jutsu.

But it soon came down to a contest of raw power. Naruto, drawing on the power of his tenant, had formed a Rasengan (spiralling sphere), a signature technique of the legendary Yondaime Hokage, while Sasuke, drawing on the power of his Curse Seal of Heaven, had formed a black Chidori (one-thousand birds), a jutsu created by the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan himself.

As their respective jutsu clashed, Naruto's Rasengan seemed to have the advantage. However Naruto was not trying to kill the traitor so he powered down the jutsu just enough to be non-lethal. Eventually the clash ended as Naruto's larger chakra reserves allowed him to sustain the high level attack for longer, where he then rammed the swirling ball of energy straight into Sasuke's stomach, causing said traitor to cough up a rather large amount of blood and pass out.

Once the dust had settled, Naruto hoisted Sasuke onto his back and proceeded back to the village to report his first S-class mission a success.

(3 days later-Leaf village)

The time since the successful capture and return of the last Uchiha had been a sight to behold. People had celebrated in the streets at the renewed hope of a revived Uchiha clan in the Leaf. many families had sent gifts and marriage proposals to Sasuke, who was currently confined to a hospital bed for injuries suffered.

Of course, when people heard that it was the demon child that had retrieved and subsequently almost killed the Uchiha, many called for his death. Eventually the ruling body of the Leaf had no choice but toconvene to discuss not only the state of the village, but also the great public outcry.

-Council Chambers-

"I, Tsunade Senju, hereby call this meeting of the High Council of Konoha to order. Our first order of business should be the discussion of the damage present in the village at the moment. The Fire Daimyo has agreed to assist generously with financial and material support in order to have the village repaired as soon as possible. Also, several of our allies have been notified of the current situation and have gratiously offered to send building materials and specialists to ensure a speedy recovery." spoke Tsunade, as she addressed the combined body of civilian and shinobi councelors, as well as the clan heads from all of the prominent shinobi clans, minus the Uchiha, which had not been filled for over six years, and the Namikaze, which had been empty for a decade.

Excited muttering soon broke out in the council chamber following this news. What could be better. Sure the village was damaged, but casualties were light and best of all it would cost the village next to nothing to be completely repaired. All of this was brought to a halt by the sound of a sharp crack on the marble-tiled floor.

"That is all well and good, Lady Hokage, but I believe, and many here would agree with me, that there is a more pressing concern that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible." spoke up Danzo Shimura, a veteran shinobi and currently the most prominent member of the Shinobi Council.

"And that would be?" asked Tsunade as she arched one blonde eyebrow.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Immediately the room went completely silent, as each person weighed their own opinions of the boy.

"I am afraid do not see your point, Danzo." she stated calmly, knowing full well what the old war hawk was trying to do.

"The demon injured the Uchiha. it must be punished." shouted one councilman, who immediately found himself the focal point of many dark looks, the most heavy of which came from the Hokage herself.

"Naruto Uzumaki is a loyal ninja and is responsible for defeating the Uchiha and bringing him back. By all rights the Uchiha boy should be the one punished, since he did attack a Leaf ninja and attempted to desert and turn traitor to the rogue Sannin Orochimaru." spoke up Shikaku Nara , father of Shikamaru the leader of the retrieval team and Clan Head of the Nara.

"Sasuke was under the influence of the Curse Seal. He cannot be held responsible for his actions." replied Homura, another of the Shinobi council.

"Also, there is no way the jinchurriki brat, who graduated dead last and through a fluke, defeated the rookie of the year without some outside help" supplied the last of the Shinobi council, Koharu.

Everyone stiffened at this. If the boy really could access the demon's power, what was to stop him from taking his revenge on all of those that had mistreated him, which coincidentally included a large number of the assembled people.

Tsunade by this point was beginning to panic. Despite being Hokage, even she couldn't overturn a decision made by the majority of authority figures in the village without there being claims that she was unfit and was ignoring a danger to the village, which could then be used as a premise to get the Fire Daimyo involved and remove her as Hokage. After that she would inevitably be replaced by some fool puppet of the Council or worse, Danzo.

"What do you propose we do Danzo." asked Hiashi Hyuuga, Clan Head of Konoha's most prestigous clan. He was still angry at the boy for humiliating his nephew, which in turn made the clan look weak.

"Exile."

Silence.

Followed by a chorus of cheers and shouts of approval that drowned out the minority that opposed the decision.

(Council Chambers- Next Day)

"Naruto Uzumaki. It is the decision of the Hokage, the Councils, and the Clan Heads of Konoha that you are to be banished immediately from the village," said Tsunade while she gazed sorrowfully at Naruto, who had barely had a chance to even heal from his injuries, and still had bandages covering parts of his body to further prove it.

Naruto for his part was not entirely shocked. he knew that there would be reprocussions for the injuries he had inflicted on Sasuke.

Especially not after what had happened earlier that day.

-Flashback-

Naruto, still clad in bandages, arrived at training ground seven to see both Kakashi and Sakura already present.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan!" he shouted. However when they looked at him, he immediately got a very bad feeling.

Sakura stalked up to him and slapped him.

"Baka! I asked you to bring Sasuke-kun back to me, not kill him." she screeched as she stomped her way over to naruto. As soon as she got within striking distance, her right fist shot out at astounding speed and delivered a chakra enhanced left hook straight to Naruto's jaw.

"SNAP!"

The sound of his jaw dislocating and the pain that followed weren't even felt by the boy, so engrossed was he in the shock that had taken hold of his heart.

Seeing his unresponsive state, Sakura took the opportunity to continue to savagely kick and punch Naruto in any vulnerable spotshe could reach with as much fury as she could muster. Once her rage had been sated Sakura spoke.

"Naruto if you ever talk to me or come near Sasuke-kun again, I'll kill you."

She then spat on his still and bleeding form, spun on her heel, and headed off to go see how Sasuke was doing.

Soon after, Kakashi approached Naruto's body, having deigned not to intervene in Sakura's physical tyrade against the boy.

"Naruto, I one told you that those who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. You,Naruto, are worse than scum." stated Kakashi coldly, after which he backhanded Naruto across the face and left in a Shunshin.

However, had he stayed a moment longer, he would have seen Naruto's face harden in a way no one who knew the boy would ever expect, and a hard glint entered his eye, turning once sea-blue orbs into glowing red pits of malice and hate that could only be brought about by extreme betrayal.

-End Flashback-

Naruto slowly raised his head to view the so-called wise councillors of the Leaf. When he finished his movement he spoke for the first time in almost a day.

"Very well, oh honorable members of the Councils. But, when you find yourselves in shit far over your head, do not ever come to look for me to aid you, because if you do, I will return your messengers in bodybags. I will be gone by the end of the day." he said in a dead, toneless voice devoid of any and all emotion.

With his piece said, Naruto executed a perfect sweeping bow and, much to the shock of the members present, Shunshined from the room.

"When did he learn that? I thought we ordered his training to be stunted as much as possible." spoke one Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka Clan and father of Ino.

Tsunade only narrowed her eyes.

(Later that day- Almost midnight)

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was extremely gifted in stealth. How else could he avoid detection when he played all of his pranks and was pursued by ANBU?

Now however, Naruto was using his skills to infiltrate the Hokage Tower, more specifically the Hokage's Office, Tsunade having retired to bed long ago.

Once there, he immediately discovered the safe hidden behind the picture of the Yondaime, who looked strangely familiar, and proceeded to crack the safe. What he found inside shocked him to the core.

Letters. Addressed to Him!

Naruto hurriedly broke open the largest one, accidentally cutting himself on the paper.

When he openned to letter, it read:

Dear Naruto,

I am the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, also known as the Yellow Flash. Now you must be wondering why I wrote this letter to you.

If you are reading this, then Sarutobi has deemed you ready to know the truth. You are my son, the son of the Yondaime Hokage.

As I write this letter, the battle against the Kyuubi is raging on so I don't have much time to write. I know I will not return alive from this fight. Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze my wife who sadly died giving birth to you, since she went into premature labour due to the Kyuubi's attack.

Know that both your mother and I loved you from the moment you came into this world and my only regret is that your mother and I'll not be there to watch you grow up. Both of us leave you everything we own in this world.

You also must know by now that I sealed the Kyuubi into you. Hopefully the village will have listened to my last wish and treated you as the hero that you are and that you've had a good life so far. But if my worst fear has come true and the villagers did not follow my wishes, and treated you like an outcast, then I'm truly sorry my son for any pain that you went through. I hope you can understand that I picked you to be the container of the Kyuubi for I could not go to another family and ask them to make such a sacrifice. While I myself was unwilling to do so, also the reason why I had you stay in Konoha and not move outside the village and taken care of by someone was in the hope that you would use the power of the Kyuubi to become the Guardian protector of the village, maybe even come to love it as much as I did, and also protect it from forces like the Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha. He is the one who fought against the Shodaime Hokage almost a hundred years ago and had the power to summon and control the Kyuubi. He is the one who summoned Kyuubi here to Konoha.

One more thing. if you should ever find yourself pursed, head West across the sea. That is where your Mother's family originally came from before they settled in Whirlpool. She has told me of a few things from there, one of which is that it is a safe place to hide since even Madara dared not venture there. Also, your Mother possessed certain abilities which can only be found in the Old World, however being away fromtheir ancestral homeland has severly weakened their bond with this power. Should you go there, you must seek out training in their arts. If you do not, you may destroy everything around you if you possess even a fraction of the powers her family was rumored to have.

My time is now up; know that I do love you and will never stop loving you. I wish you a long and happy life.

Sincerely, your father

Minato Namikaze

Naruto's fists tightened in rage.

'That idealistic bastard! All the suffering I went through just so this cesspool of a village could have its Grand Protector. Ha!'

Naruto then grinned evilly.

'However, Father,' he spat the name in disgust, since as far as he was concerned, the man was nothing other than a sperm donor, 'I will take your advice on hiding for a while. Both from this village and from the Akatsuki.'

Naruto then glanced over the other letters, filled with various things from jutsu to money to keys to the Namikaze Estate which he should have lived in from the beginning to personal heirloomsfrom both his parents. One thing that particularly caught his eye was a letter addressed to him from his Mother. It was very similar to the one from the Yondaime, he refusedto call the man his Father.

Dear Naruto,

I am the Kushina Uzumaki, also known as the Red Hot-blooded Habanero. Now you must be wondering why I wrote this letter to you.

As I write this letter, I am nearing the end of my life. You were very energetic and anxious. I don't have much time to write. I know I will not survive the birth complications.

First of all, your father's name was Minato Namikaze.

Know that both your father and I loved you from the moment we knew of you and my only regret is that I and Minato will not be there to watch you grow up. Both of us leave you everything we own in this world.

You also must know by now that your father sealed the Kyuubi into you. Hopefully the village will have listened to his last wish and treated you as the hero that you are and that you've had a good life so far. But if my worst fear has come true and the villagers did not follow his wishes, and treated you like an outcast, then I'm truly sorry my son for any pain that you went through. I argued with Minato for hours when he picked you to be the container of the Kyuubi for I could not stand the thought of giving you such a burden. I am ashamed to say that he managed to talk me down and convince me that it was the only way for everyone and you to survive.

For you see,we of the ancient Uzumaki Clan are not native to this are from the land to the West, also known today as the Old World. We are descended from an ancient family there known far across the continent for their combat prowess and magical abilities, the Rahls. When a part of our family journeyed across the ocean, we lost much of the powers and knowledge of our ancestors. I have however left youa gift. A scroll which contains all the recorded history of our family and all knowledge I have managed to collect on the various abilities of our families.

One more thing. if you should ever find yourself pursed, head West across the sea. That is where our family originally came from before they settled in Whirlpool. It is a safe place to hide since even Madara dared not venture there. Also, our abilities can only be found in the Old World, however being away from their ancestral homeland has severly weakened their bond with this power. Should you go there, you must seek out training in the arts. If you do not, you may destroy everything around you if you possess even a fraction of the powers our family had.

My time is now up; know that I do love you and will never stop loving you. I wish you a long and happy life.

Sincerely, your mother

Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze

"Mother." Naruto muttered sadly as he ran his fingers across her face on the picture that was enclosed in the letter.

Tears started to stream down his face. His eyes, once blue and clear as crystal, had become cloudy and murky from the large amount of tears that now welled up in them, far too numerous to be contained any longer.

Naruto sat there for several hours as he cried his eyes out. He had not cried so much since he was five years old. That had also been his one and only attempt at suicide. Damn fox.

Suddenly the door to the Hokage's office openned, revealing a shadowy outline. Naruto immediately tensed, prepared to run at a moment's notice. That all changed when he saw who it was in the doorframe.

'Hey Shizune." he greeted.

Shizune's face was covered in tear streaks. being the Hokage's secretary meant she knew what had happened and was deeply concerned over it.

Hey Naruto." she returned, then glanced over to the Hokage pictures and Tsunade's desk, where Naruto had put everything he had retrieved. She smiled sadly.

"So you know the truth. And you finally got what was yours."

Naruto was not shocked that she knew. Being the Hokage's assistant and apprentice as well as a licensed doctor, surely she would have figured it out as soon as she saw him.

"I'm leaving Shizune. Before everyone can try to destroy me tomorrow. I already have everything I own. I leave in one hour."

He cast her a suspicious glance and shifted his body in preparation for a quick escape.

"Unless you want to try and stop me."

To his shock, Shizune came up and gave him a hug and whispered in his ear.

"Be safe, Naruto."

And with that she got up and walked out, but not before giving one last smile to the boy who rarely got any, and shutting the door.

-Later-

Naruto had finally made it outside of the village and was on his way out of the Land of Fire and into the Land of Wind, when he heard someone he was not expecting to hear ever again.

"Hello, kit."

'Hello, kit.'

Naruto's head snapped up from his musings to quickly look around.

'Could that have been my imagination or...'

'It was me. Hold on.'

Suddenly Naruto was not in the trees of Fire Country, but some sort of sewer with rusty pipes, water on the floor, and what looked suspiciously like blood on the walls.

"Over here." the voice said as it directed Naruto to the far wall. Once there, he immediately recognized where he was. The Kyuubi's cage, inside the seal the bastard (Minato) had placed on him. He once more felt the white hot rage that threatened to overwhelm him every time he thought about what had happened to him and what the bastard had taken from and denied him.

"I sense your rage, boy. Believe me, I completely agree with your opinion of him. Although by all right you probably hate him more than me. I only temporarily lost my freedom, which I will regain once you die and I reform. You lost your family, your friends, your home, and your future. He even took your legacy, which is sealed inside your very blood. Foolish mortal." the giant fox rambled out, all the while watching as Naruto's blood began to boil more and more.

'Insolent child.' it thought, 'thinking that it can contain me. I'll simply drive him into a rage. And when I do, I can convince him to free me. I wonder what his soul tastes like.' The fox licked it's lips as it thought about all the different ways it could drive the child in front of it crazy to get free.

"Silence, beast."

The fox took a second to shake off its surprise at the cold and commanding tone only to immediately see red.

"You insolent little. I ought to..." it pettered off as it looked down, only to gasp internally.

Naruto stood at the foot of its cage, on the inside! But that was not the part that startled the beast. Neither was it the cold, icy hate-filled glare the boy was giving it. What surprised it was the absolutely massive amount of energy that was wrapping the boy like a cocoon. However, from what the fox could sense, the energy was not chakra. It gave off more of a chill and looked more like water charged with electricity.

At once before it's eyes its host began to change.

First the boy grew.

And grew.

And grew.

When he stopped, he was about 5'6; his form now decorated with geometric tattoos and rippling, chorded muscles. His hair had also lengthened into a silky curtain of reddish-black that stopped just above the base of his spine. His clothes had changed to a black muscle shirt and black pants, all of which was covered by a black long coat with red designs on it. On his feet was a pair of black combat boots. He now looked every bit the powerful warrior his family had once been feared as.

Next his eyes began to shift. The color shifted between Naruto's own now icy blue and a bloody red that was eerily familiar to the fox's own. Soon the colors began to fight for dominance before finally merging to create a deep, ethereal purple-black that shone with an unimaginable amount of restrained power.

The next thing to change was aura. Where once it was a bright and cheerful golden yellow, like the sun, it now darkened into the same color as his hair as it fluxed around his body, shielding him from the effects of the Kyuubi's chakra as it tried to corrupt him.

The last thing to change was the boy's very mind. The genetic lock that had been built into the seal to keep the changes that had occurred at bay broke, flooding the boy's mind with the collected knowledge of his family and their ties to the Gift.

After the energy around him had died down and the fox got a good look at the boy's new appearance, one word escaped its lips.

"War Wizard."

Naruto's head snapped up to meet the fox's gaze. The beast began to shuffle nervously, clearly uncomfortable being in a corner and it's way blocked by a boy who it had recently tried to purposely antagonize, only to now possessed the power to simply wipe it from existence.

Like a stain.

"War Wizard?" Naruto repeated, his expression contracting into one of intense thought as he accessed the new knowledge that had been downloaded into his brain.

-A wizard that is born with the gifts of both Additive Magic and Subtractive Magic and is proficient in many of the forms those take; abilities include but are not limited to lightning bolts, wizard's fire, teleportation, mind control, prophesy, healing, superhuman physique, and skill with all manner of weapons. A War Wizard's power is fueled by emotion, primarily rage. War Wizards are extremely powerful and must be wary of their abilities. Even a newly awakened War Wizard has enough power to sink a continent. - His mind supplied the information directly to his consciousness through what he now realized must be genetic memory, memory stored throughout generations and transferred to each new generation within the very building blocks of life.

'So my intense rage was the trigger for the awakening of my powers.' he thought.

That explained why they had never manifested themselves before. When Naruto was a small child and beaten, he was not emotionally mature enough to understand hate and when he got older, the Sandaime had always encouraged him to remain calm and forgive.

'That old bastard was in on it. They didn't want me to access my powers because with them I could destroy that cesspool of a village.' he realized in a moment of clarity. Of course the Sandaime would know who his parents were and what he would be able to do from the scrolls that the bastard had left. If a newly awakened War Wizard could sink a continent, then he could most certainly have wiped Konoha off the map. He had repressed Naruto's desire for revenge simply out of concern for the village, not Naruto personally.

Also, Naruto's powers gave him a detailed understanding of the Shiki Fujin that was used to contain the fox, as well as it's use of a sample of his mother's blood to suppress his own Gift. Although since she was not nearly as powerful as a War Wizard, the seal was overloaded. Only male heirs could be War Wizards, after all. Something the bastard had obviously not known or he would have gone to greater lengths to restrict his powers. (No offense girls, but I had to make a reason up, and the easiest I could think of was its War Wizard not Sorceress.)

He also became aware of what-or rather who-else was in the seal and how to trigger it.

He turned to the fox.

"You stay here and be silent. I will call for you when it is time."

The fox at first thought about attempting to crush the boy when his back was turned, but a sharp glare from Naruto over his shoulder accompanied by a crushing wave of power snuffed out any further such thoughts.

Naruto exited the seal and turned around. Locating the seal tag about midway up and centered directly on the middle of the cage, he willed himself up to it. Once he got there, he reached out and slipped his index and middle fingers behind the paper and began to pull. The sewer walls began to crack as the paper was torn and with it the seal.

The paper was almost halfway off when a strong hand with an equally strong grip latched onto his wrist. Following that, Naruto felt himself be pulled away from the cage and into another part of his mindscape that resembled a room one would expect to find in a daimyo's house.

The wall on one side was a sliding paper door while the other three were polished wood. The floor was covered in soft cushions. In the middle of the room was a raised platform with a shogi board on it.

On one side of the board sat Naruto.

And on the other sat the man Naruto hated above all others. The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Naruto immediately started growling. Even in the face of such hostility, Minato simply smiled.

"Naruto, my son, how have you been?" he asked with a smile very similar to the one that Naruto was so famous for.

Naruto by this point had managed to reign in his anger.

"How dare you ask such a question you bastard. I should obliterate you right now for your insolence." Naruto said with a cold voice and a hawk-eyed glare. (Naruto has taken on some of his ancestor's traits. See Adavism.)

Now it was Minato's turn to glare.

"Naruto, while I may have done some things that I am not proud of, I am still your father," he said in an attempt to intimidate his son.

This was the wrong thing to say. As soon as the word "father" left his mouth, Naruto reached up, grabbed his head by his hair, and proceeded to slam it repeatedly into the shogi board until the wood splintered. After which, he tossed the dazed former Kage into the far wall, which had just turned itself into solid steel.

Naruto rose to his feet and began stalking over to the newly made dent in the wall like a predator moving in for the kill.

"Listen to me, fool. You are no father of mine. Fathers protect their children. Fathers love their children. Fathers provide for their children. Fathers are there for their children. You were none of these. Therefore you are not my father and as far as I am concerned, you are just some bastard who supplied the sperm necessary for sexual reproduction." Naruto said as he brought his heel down into Minato's gut. "Given the choice, I would have rather never existed than be conceived by a man who would willingly turn his innocent newborn child into a weapon, strip him of his birthright, and condemn him to a life of servitude to a place that openly scorned and vilified his very existence." He continued to rain blow after devastating blow down on the man whose blood he shared. The sound of bones snapping, muscles tearing, and blood flowing was music to Naruto's ears as he re-enacted every vile beating and torture the villagers had used on him in an attempt to break his spirit. They all failed.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Naruto ceased his beating and returned to his seat, leaving the bloody and broken body of the Yondaime where it rested, embedded a good four inches into the steel wall, a clear testament to Naruto's ferocity.

After he had relaxed and gotten rid of the bulk of his anger, he waived his hand. Almost immediately Minato's injuries disappeared.

"Get up. There's no way you shouldn't be able to handle that if you became Hokage," he demanded coldly.

Minato appeared right in front of him in a flash, his fist cocked back and ready to slam into Naruto's head. Only for Naruto to catch it effortlessly before shattering the bones in his hand.

"Aaahhhh!"

Minato's screams reached even Kyuubi, who just hunkered down to enjoy the pain filled sounds of the man responsible for it's and it's container's shared fury.

"You insignificant fool. We are in my mind. Here I control all things." Naruto said as the space around them warped before clearing, revealing them to be inside the Kyuubi's cage.

"Naruto you must understand. The Third Shinobi War left all of the nations weakened, none more so than Konoha. When the Kyuubi attacked, we lost even more good people, myself included. I knew that Konoha would be attacked if I didn't do something. I could not ask another family to bear the burden of losing their children if I would not do the same. Besides, you would have been made the jinchuriki eventually regardless since only an Uzumaki could contain the beast, and your mother was the last except for you. So no matter what I did or didn't do, your fate would have been the same. Konoha needed a jinchuriki power to survive and we needed to make sure that a person like Madara, who is still alive, could not harm us. You were essential to the village's security. So please, why are you trying to unleash the Kyuubi?" Minato desperately tried to reason with Naruto.

"So you're saying that you only got my mother pregnant in order to have a future Uzumaki to contain the Kyuubi!" Naruto uttered in outrage, his anger causing the whole seal to rattle with its power.

"NO! I loved your mother. I didn't even know any of this until Sarutobi informed me." Minato hurriedly clarified, afraid of what his son's rage would do to the seal that he had already made unstable.

"Then you should have had someone else care for me instead of leaving me all alone." Naruto muttered before continuing.

"She must have known though. She should have just stayed single or better yet killed herself rather than let that pool of scum use her future child as some kind of weapon." he said as he closed his eyes in an effort to reign in his anger once more, although seeing the object of his hatred so close was severely testing his ability to do so.

"I felt the same way when I was heard of all of this." came a third voice.

Naruto, Minato, and even the Kyuubi turned to face the origin of the voice; all wondering whom else was in the boy's head.

Standing before them was Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, Shinobi of Konoha and Naruto's mother.

"You!" screamed the fox, unable to tolerate the presence of the one it was locked away in for so long. It raised a paw, fully intending on crushing the woman when an inhuman amount of killing intent and raw power slammed into its mind.

It soon shook off its surprise to look around and found Naruto glaring at it with white hot rage and boundless fury, his aura flaring around him and burning everything that it touched.

"Speak again without being spoken to or attempt to harm my mother and I promise you I will make your sealing the least of your problems for the rest of your miserable everlasting life." he said in a cold, emotionless voice.

Everyone, even the fox, could not help but shudder at the sheer ruthlessness and lack of any emotion in his voice. The fox only nodded in recognition.

"In fact, transform now. I tire of looking up sixty stories just to address you, and the intimidation and superiority factors you may feel are a moot point now." he commanded with a tone that brooked no argument.

A fire started around the fox's paws, quickly spreading across the entire creature, the flames oddly enough producing no heat. Almost as quickly as it had started, the fire stopped.

Standing in the space the mighty beast once occupied was a woman.

She was about 5'7,with blood red hair done up in complex braids, and full red lips on a perfect, aristocratic face. Her eyes were a startling blue, similar to Naruto's own before the change.

Her body was no less spectacular.

She wore a blood red yukata with grey smoke patterns around the sleeves held closed by a silver and white obi sash, with slits open on the hips, exposing her creamy white skin. Her feet were bare, showing off the same-clawed digits as her perfect, slim fingers.

"Beautiful." Naruto muttered with an appreciative eye.

Kyuubi only blushed. She had never revealed her human form to anyone, much less be complemented on it by what most women would consider the perfect male specimen.

This all did not sit well with Minato or Kushina for different reasons.

Minato thought that now in addition to Naruto's own powers, he seemed to be strong enough to force even the Kyuubi to bend to his will. Also it was clear he was attracted to her at least physically, which gave her the opportunity to possibly influence him into freeing herself.

Kushina's ire was much more...motherly. She had just gotten to see her baby boy for the first time in twelve years, and not only was he already in the 'all I can think about is girls' phase, but any attention she or Minato might have been privy to had been utterly crushed by his apparently extreme interest in the woman before him. Add to that the fact that he already despised both of them even more than the fox-lady and this all added up to a very unhappy Kushina.

"Naruto, sweetie. We still need to talk." she said in an attempt to regain her son's attention.

Naruto turned to look at her.

"What is there to talk about? How you allowed this idealistic fool to convince you to give up your only child for some ungracious village that would have turned on you should you have revealed your status as the previous jinchuriki? Or could stand by as your husband turned your child into a weapon and scapegoat? Or how about how you, you bastard, had cared more for a village that had gotten on fine far before you were born than your own wife and child? Or how about my childhood and subsequent hell growing up?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side, like a child that did not see the point of something and did not care about the answer.

Both parents could only hang their heads. He was right. Nothing they did would make up for the choices they had each made, and he had made it perfectly clear that he despised his father and held little more than tolerance for his mother.

"Son, we know we made some bad decisions in the past, but if you release the Kyuubi, then all the deaths and the pain will have been for nothing." Minato pleaded, not willing to risk fighting not only his son who could turn him to paste, but Kyuubi as well.

"But you said yourself that she was under the control of Madara Uchiha. Doesn't that mean that she not be held accountable for her actions. If a ninja is put under a genjutsu and kills his comrades, is he responsible?" Naruto asked in a philosophical manner.

Minato had no argument to that. He could not, in good conscience, condemn the fox for being put under the control of one of the most powerful ninja to ever live.

"What about the sacrifices of our family to contain the beast?" Kushina demanded with the same stubbornness for which Naruto was once famous.

"Don't. Call. Her. A. Beast. She is a sentient creature, the same as you or I. She deserves respect, even from you." he countered. He almost missed the cherry blush that lit up Kyuubi's face at someone defending her so passionately.

Minato frowned, but Kushina smiled.

"Does little Naruto have a crush on the big, bad Kyuubi." she teased. Much to her shock Naruto did not blush but said in a calm voice.

"I admit I do feel some form of attraction to her in a physical sense, but a truly emotional bond takes time to develop. I will not presume to think that this is any more than the basic attraction one feels for a beautiful woman."

Kyuubi's blush could be seen from orbit and would have made a certain Hyuuga green with envy.

"Well Kushina, our time is almost up. Is there anything else you wish to ask our boy?" Minato spoke for the first time in a while.

"Yes. Naruto, what do you intend to do?"

"Hmm." he mused. " Believe I will follow my original plan to go west. I will use the genetic knowledge stored in my mind to seek out our ancestral home."

"Good luck, my son. May we meet again in the next world. Know that no matter what, I am proud of you and wish you a long and happy life." Minato said as he started to fade.

"Bye my little baby. I'll miss you. I love you." Kushina said with tears running down her cheeks as she too began to fade, her heart breaking into pieces as her son observed her fading existence coolly.

Naruto felt his emotional wall begin to crack at seeing his mother so sad. At the last moment, he ran forward and enveloped her in a huge hug, reveling in the feeling of being in a warm embrace with someone who loved him unconditionally.

"Goodbye mother. I love you." he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Her tears of sadness turned to ones of joy as she returned the hug.

"Goodbye, my little maelstrom."

And suddenly, they were both gone, leaving Naruto and Kyuubi in the dark tunnel alone.

Naruto stood up, wiping the tear streaks from his face. He then turned to Kyuubi.

"I have a proposition for you."

She could only raise one delicate eyebrow.

"Oh. And what might that be, human."

"Your freedom."

That was the one response she was not expecting. There was no way this boy, no matter how powerful, could hope to break the seal made by the Shinigami itself.

"Let me clarify. I will give you your freedom, in exchange for one thing from you." he explained.

"What would that be?" she asked.

"You as a mate."

He could not have named anything in heaven or earth that would have surprised her more. No one had ever asked for he as a mate. The only demons that she would even consider as potential candidates already had their own mates. Although she had to admit to herself in a few years this boy was going to make them look like ants. Add that to the fact that he was kind, thoughtful, considerate, and every girl's dream guy and she didn't see much reason to refuse. Not to mention he would be a knock-out in a few years.

"I accept." she said with a huge blush decorating her cheeks as she held out her hand.

'What's wrong with me. This boy has made me blush more in one day than I have in the last three hundred years!' she wondered.

"Then I, Naruto Rahl, shall accept you as my first mate." he replied as he took her hand. However instead of shaking it as she expected, he used it to pull her into his chest. Her face began to darken as she put up a very weak and fake fight which ended when Naruto tilted her head to the side and sank his now aura enhanced canines into the junction of her neck and shoulder.

"Mine." he intoned as his aura began to seep into the connection, causing the mark of the Imperial Family to appear on the bite mark. It was a circle with an x-shape through it and in the center stood the infinity symbol. Written in an ancient language around the circle was:

"et ut imperii regis imperium in aeternum"

(May the Empire and the Monarch rule for eternity)

Kyuubi was certain that what the human was doing to her was going to cause unimaginable pain but to her surprise, as soon as his fangs sank into her neck an incredible wave of euphoria swept through her body made even stronger when he claimed her as his. She almost let out a whine when he detached his teeth from her, quickly wiping off the small amount of blood on his teeth.

"You may adjust this place to your liking." he said before his gaze became much more predatory. "I will return soon, my mate." he said in a sultry tone before fading away, returning to the realm of consciousness.

As soon as Kyuubi felt his presence disappear completely, she slumped bonelessly to the floor, a clear liquid running down the inside of her thighs.

'My God...' was the only thing she could think at the moment, too overcome with the sheer pleasure that his bite seemed to induce.

-6 Months Later-

"What now Drake?" Kyuubi asked as they stood before a large mountain peak. It had been an interesting half-year as the pair journeyed across the sea to the West. So far they had avoided trouble, primarily since if anyone found out that Drake was a descendent of the Rahl line or that he had recently made a blood bond with the Dragon King, Draco, then assassins, power hungry rulers, or God knows what else would not have stopped until he was dead.

Kyuubi took a rare moment to remember some of the things that had happened to her former host since their arrival in what they now knew to be called Albion.

First, they had journeyed across Wind Country and 'borrowed' a ship to get across the sea. It was during this time that Naruto had examined the seal for a way to free Kyuubi without negative effects. They had to wait a few weeks to get onto dry land first since the unsealing required enormous amounts of power and time to complete, both of which were unavailable in the rough Western Sea.

After reaching Albion and unsealing Kyuubi, they had proceeded to learn as much about the land as possible since Naruto's genetic memories of the place were from hundreds of years ago before the family had fled.

In one of their more risky moments, the two had agreed to exterminate a menace that had been killing the livestock of one of the local farmers in the village they were currently staying. Seeing it as a way to obtain the money needed for food, clothing, and supplies sice Naruto didn't think attempting to transmute ordinary metal into gold was good for staying hidden the two had volunteered. According to the farmer, the creature was seen in the forest. They had expected some form of animal but nothing like what they had found, which turned out to be a very, very large wolf. (Think big Akamaru 3x)

Naruto had fought and beat the beast, which had then followed him around, much to the villager's horror and Naruto's ire. He had tried many times to get the beast to leave, but it had always returned in the night and would be found at the door the next morning. Eventually after the fiftieth attempt to get rid of it, Naruto had acquiesced and named it Fenrir, which from his memories was a great wolf of destruction. Perfect.

This had garnered him quite the reputation as a fearless warrior and master tamer which had led to many people seeking him out to have their own animal problems solved. He would take many of them, earning himself quite the fortune, since most people who owned exotic animals were rich and paid extremely well.

This had all led to the greatest single event since Kyuubi's freeing. The Dragons.

They had been terrorizing a town that had sent a messenger to find Naruto and offer him a huge reward to deal with them. He had accepted naturally.

Once there he had proceeded to fight several weaker dragons, which had attracted the attention of the Dragon King, a giant dragon easily capable of crushing a village flat just with his size.

Kyuubi had been afraid for her mate until the most unexpected thing had happened. The dragon had spoken to Naruto. Apparently it knew he was a Rahl descendent and wished to form a pact with him, just as their ancestors had due to its respect for Naruto's valor and fighting spirit. When Naruto had asked what this entailed, the Dragon King had simply said.

"A bond sealed in blood."

They had agreed and Naruto had taken his family's name and as was custom with a blood bonding had taken up the dragon name Drake, to honor the Dragon King who had personally offered to bond with him. Such an event was unheard of, having happened only two other times.

Naruto, now Drake, had gained some very valuable allies that day as well as creating a new goal for himself. Having seen the destruction, war, and death that were ever present in Albion, Drake had made it his ambition to end it all.

Now here they were, standing on a hilltop above an enormous valley, with a mountain range on the other side.

"My memories tell me it's here, but buried. Lost to the whispers of time." he murmured, pacing back and forth. He waved his hand in front of him, causing the air to ripple but nothing more. He frowned.

"Damn. To be so ancient and yet still have the power to defy War Wizard magic, intriguing."

Finally having enough, Kyuubi's hand snapped out and grabbed his shirtfront.

"What are we doing here?" she hissed highlighting each word with a poke to his well-muscled chest. He hadn't really changed that much in the past six months besides growing taller, now reaching 5'11 and being slightly more built. The blood bond had given him tougher skin similar to dragon hide as well as increasing his already vast aura reserves.

Drake only smirked before leaning in and planting a chaste kiss on his Kyuubi's lips. Her reaction was to immediately let go of him in order to raise her hands to her face to hide the enormous blush she now wore. Deciding to humor her, he answered.

"The ancient capitol of this land rests here, beneath the earth. The once majestic floating city of Albion, heart of the Empire of old, is right before us."

-Immediate Music: Rising Empire-

Drake walked forward until he was at the edge of the cliff before raising both arms out, parallel to each other and perpendicular to his body. He then started to channel huge amounts of his power into the ground causing the earth to crack and rumble as wave after after wave of pure power shot into it. Soon, the land in the middle of the valley began to shake. The shaking then spread throughout the area as more and more crack appeared before finally a spire broke through the earth, rising quickly into the air as more and more of the ancient fortress took its rightful place in the sky.

As the city was finally free of its earthen prison, Drake fell back, having used a ridiculous amount of power to essentially tunnel and excavate an entire city.

"We must contact our allies. Tell them, the Empire has returned, and its time to let the world know." he said with a grin.

So began the five and a half year road to empire, started by the most powerful wizard of the age.

All was quiet in the forests surrounding the village of Konoha. The birds were not chirping, the various creatures that made their home in the woods were absent, even the predators that could be found at all times hunting were strangely absent. All was quiet indeed. Too quiet.

Then, from out of the dense foliage burst a horse. Black as night, with glowing red eyes, it was a terrible sight to see, a War Horse. Bred for battle, these beasts were among the strongest and fiercest of creatures, towering over most threats both figuratively and literally. At over eight feet tall with large powerful legs and long, flowing manes, they were the ultimate personal transport, capable of running for many miles at a time without requiring rest or food.

The man seated upon the beast was equally terrifying. Clad head to toe in gleaming silver plate armor and well over six feet tall with a hand and one-half sword on his left hip and a large kite shield on his back, the man radiated power and killer intent. His armor, which was obviously custom made and fitted, had gold veins running throughout which seemed to pulse and move like real veins. The man's lower torso and upper arm armor was covered by an expensive looking blue silk which fluttered in the wind as he rode through the forest at dizzying speed.

Immediately after five more men burst out of the same brush. They were not nearly as inspiring as the silver knight, but no less frightening to behold. Each man wore a leather breastplate the color of blood with a dragon head emblem etched into the front. On their heads they wore steel helms in the same design as the emblem with slits for the eyes and mouth. They wore chainmail over most of their bodies, with gauntlets on their arms and greaves on their legs capped by steel toed boots. They each wore a black handled one-handed longsword on their hips and circular shields on their backs, coated with the same emblem. They rode just as fiercely as the Silver Knight, their black cloaks whipping behind them in the wind.

These men were part of the Dragon Corps, the elite soldiers of the Imperial Army, tasked with only the most dangerous and vital missions of the were the best of the best, often tasked with the protection of the Imperial City or a member of the Imperial Govermental Body, or a dangerous assignment for the Imperial Army. They answered only to the Emperor, enforcing his will throughout the Empire and its territories. They were above and beyond all other units, except one, to the extent that even the lowest ranked Corps member could take command of a division with but a word.

The man in front of them was even higher. He was a member of the Emperor's Paladins, also known as the Twelve Peers, whose only mission was the protection of the Emperor. Each Paladin was the equivalent of a small army in terms of skill in both warfare and the magical arts. They were trained personally by the Emperor himself and possessed privileges that made even the Dragon Corps look like foot soldiers. If a Paladin had any reason to believe that someone was a threat to the Emperor, they could execute them no questions asked, and could not be punished by anyone except by the Emperor's direct command even if they should kill a member of the Imperial Senate or worse the Imperial Provincial Body which consisted of the leaders of the Empire's various institutions, races, and infuential families.

The Knight and his men had been given a mission by the Emperor himself.

"Go to the New World and deliver this to the leader of the country known as the Land of Fire."

He had given the knight a scroll (not Naruto world scroll, think Dead Sea Scrolls)and ordered him that under no circumstances was he to allow it to fall into anyone's hands,even if he must kill them to prevent it. This was the knight's first command as well as his first mission for the Emperor and he was determined to complete it no matter what.

-15 Minutes Earlier-

Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage, was in her office battling the greatest threat that man had ever faced, Paperwork. Normally it was bad, but today Tsunade was drinking even more heavily than ever due to the upcoming Chunin Exams that Konoha was to host in a few weeks. Several nations had applied, such as Suna, Taki, Ame, Hoshi, Kusa and strangely enough the new Yuki/Haru village. Even more incredible was that even Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri had applied for entrance. This would mark the first time in several decades that all of the major, and most of the minor,villages had gathered in one place since the end of the Second Shinobi War peace talks in Tetsu no Kuni. Speaking of Tetsu, even the leading generals of that country, which almost never involved itself with the Shinobi lands, had sent a message to the Fire Daimyo stating that they would be sending a high ranking general to observe this years competitors. So Tsunade was stuck in her office since even if Konoha was the current strongest village, they could not afford to insult or isolate any of the competitors that had applied or those that had requested visas to observe said competition.

A knock at the door brought Tsunade out of her reverie.

"What!" she yelled since being stuck with never ending paperwork had put her in a bad mood. Perhads sensing his leader's irritation, the chunin quickly explained, "Ma'am, Team Kakashi has just returned. Should I let them in?"

Tsunade sat up, her attention now focused on the doors. She had dispatched Team Kakashi in an attempt to locate Naruto. So far they had been able to keep quiet the fact that they had not only lost their jinchurriki, but also banished Naruto since he had many friends in many foreign nations who would look down on Konoha and probably sever all ties with them if they found out, none more so than Wave and Snow/Spring. They needed him here before the foreign dignitaries arrived since they couldn't use the excuse that he was on a mission because all missions were suspended by all participants and the only other option they had was an illusion, which no one wanted to play. It was times like these that Tsunade thought gave her the most gray hair.

As the team filed in, Tsunade took a moment to compare them to six years ago. Kakashi had changed the least, still one of the most powerful jonin in the village and a closet pervert, his Icha Icha firmly in place. Sakura had changed from the weak little fangirl to a capable kunoichi who could give most chunin and a few jonin a run for their money (Shippuden outfit). Sasuke had healed nicely from his battle with Naruto, as no visible scars could be seen. He was still and arrogant punk only now he was slightly more skilled. He had been furious when he had woken up in the Konoha hospital and told that not only did he lose to Naruto, but his Curse Mark had been sealed by Jiraiya. He had taken ssolace in the fact that Naruto had been banished though and made a point to remind everyone of that every day (Shippuden outfit). The last member was a replacement for Naruto, a boy named Sai who Tsunade had been pressured to allow on the team by the Shinobi Council, who claimed that Sasuke was now a prime target and needed extra protection.

"Did you complete your mission Kakashi?" she asked once the door had been closed. From the way the jonin's shoulders slouched, she knew the answer was no.

"No Lady Tsunade, we we not able to find any leads or traces of Naruto's presence anywhere. I'm sorry but it seems that he has disap-"

"Lady Tsunade!" shouted Shizune as she ran into the Hokage's office, nearly knocking the doors off the hinges in the process.

"Shizune, what is the meaning of this?" Tsunade asked, immediately picking up on the urgent aura her normally calm apprentice gave off.

"We have reports of some unidentified men in armor passing the village. They seem to be going around us and are headed straight toward the Fire Capitol. The reports say they are travelling incredibly fast on giant beasts and that their weapons and armor are unlike anything we've seen. The shinobi who reported this said the leader was wearing large silver armor that didn't seem to exude any chakra yet was able to pass right through the barriers around the village without setting any of them off. It was only chance that we spotted them." Shizune reported frantically. With good reason since chakra barriers were the main way for villages to detect covert threats, like a small party raid. For someone to possess armor that allows them to move undetected through the barrier, a raid directly into the heart of the village would be child's play.

"What do you mean by beasts Shizune?" Kakashi asked as he peeked over the top of his book.

"They appear to be similar to horses but far larger and faster. The shinobi who saw them said they were completely black with red eyes and could move extremely fast. We may be seeing a new breed of horse." she answered the cyclopian ninja.

Shizune turned to the Hokage for order confirmation, "Lady Tsunade what do you think we should do? Should we let them pass or try to apprehend them?" She hoped it wasn't the latter since from the description they recieved from the scout these men were not to be taken lightly; their unique armor was proof of that.

Sasuke decided to make his opinion known, as if it would sway the Hokage.

"I think we should capture them and aquire their armor, it could be invaluable if we could learn how to make it."

'Not to mention how useful it would be when I face Itachi.' he thought, his anger at his brother still burning brightly. Time had not diminished it, in fact it only seemed to have made it stronger.

"Hm," Tsunade said as she steepled her fingers in front of her face with her elbows on the desk, "I believe we should try to bring them with us quietly to see what they want, however if push comes to shove I want them brought here by force. We cannot allow a foreign and potentially dangerous group roam the forests so close to the upcoming exams.

"Kakashi, you and your team will leave immediately. Your mission is to intercept the foreign elements in the forests of Konoha before they can exit. I am authorizing the use of deadly force, but only as a last resort. I don't even want to imagine the political backlash if these people turn out to be important." Tsunade said as she glared at the members of the team. "Do you accept and understand what is expected of you?"

"Hai!"

-Forests Outside of Konoha, 15 Minutes Later-

"Commander, should we camp here for the night? Our horses have been riding since midday and it is nearly dark, they need rest and sleep, us as well." spoke the leader of the Dragon Corps soldiers to the Silver Knight.

"Yes Captain, we will make camp here. Send out the men in teams of two. Team one will scout the area, team two will gather fuel for the fire, team three will hunt for the meal, and we will set up camp." the Knight replied as he looked into the trees that surrounded them on all sides, a stark contrast to the Imperial Capitol which was surrounded by only walls and clouds.

The Captain saluted and marched off to give the men their orders. The Knight returned his gaze to the trees as soon as the officer left.

'I have a bad feeling about this place. Like if I let my guard down for a second, I'll be ripped to shreds.' he thought somberly. Suddenly the Knight's hairs stood on end. Years of being in combat and then as the Emperor's guard had fine tuned his instincts, and those instincts were telling him to jump, which he did. Once he was in the air he glanced back to the ground where a hand had emerged right where he was standing, obviously in an attempt to grab his ankle.

As he started to descend again he drew out his sword and put it in a reverse two handed grip with the point directly at the spot where the enemy's body should be. He landed thrusting the enchanted blade smoothly into the soft earth but no blood came out.

'They moved, and quickly. I would have been caught if I hadn't jumped.' he thought as he freed his sword from its earthen prison and flicked it to remove any stubborn particles.

"Commander we heard some commotion. Are you all right sir?" asked the Captain who had come rushing out of the brush after he and the men had heard the impact from the Knight's landing.

"I am all right. Stay alert, someone attempted to attack me and I barely could still be here and we cannot afford to be hindered, the Emperor is counting on us." he ordered.

The men reacted instantly, drawing out their swords and gripping their shields tightly. Without a word they formed up in a circle formation to give a clear line of sight in all directions.

The Knight walked over to the crater that had been made by his impact and placed both hands on the ground.

"Da mihi inimicus."

A pulse shot out from the Knight's gauntleted hands travelling through the ground and following the path of the unknown enemy who had attacked him.

'Futher, futher, futher.' he concentrated more, extending the range.

"Got you." he said as the spell located the unknown assailant. The man was dressed in some form of combat armor with a metal headband over one eye and silver hair. He seemed to be the one who had traveled underground, however there were three more with him.

'A girl and two other males.'

"Captain," the Knight called out, "send the men in that direction. The enemy is located fourty-two meters south of here in the treetops. I want them alive if possible, dead if necissary." he said.

"Yes sir." the Captain saluted and immediately began ordering them men into a column of two so that they could use their shields to defend each other and have a clear line of sight.

-Team Kakashi's Location-

"Whew!" Kakashi said as he emerged from the tree trunk only to see several strands of his hair fall from his head, followed by his headband, the fabric having been sliced cleanly in two.

Kakashi was immensely suprised. Not only was this warrior able to sense him while he was underground but almost succeeded in delivering a lethal counter attack without being able to see his enemy. That said nothing of the sword itself which was able to pierce the earth wall that he had managed to put up, which had given him the crucial second necissary to escape, effortlessly.

'This may be harder than I thought.' he mused to himself. It was obvious even from the short encounter that the enemy was extremely skilled and wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Kakashi-sensei what happened?" Sakura asked as she looked her teacher over for any injuries.

"The people we are to capture didn't take my little kidnapping attempt very well. If I had been one second late, I would probably be dead now." he explained, much to the shock of his team. Sakura and Sasuke couldn't believe that their sensei,who was a world renowned ninja, was almost killed by some foreign warrior. Sai thought so as well, and made a mental note to inform Danzo upon his return.

"What should we do? I doubt they'll be very cooperative now that we've made the first move." Sakura asked.

"They can't be that tough,I say we go out there and show them the superiority of Konoha shinobi." Sasuke suggested, his typical arrogance firmly in place.

Sai only remained quiet.

"Ok I've got it. We'll pretend that it was another group that attacked them that we're pursuing. When we get close enough, we can grab one of the men and use him as a hostage to negociate for the silver guy's armor." Kakashi said. Never let it be said that shinobi played fair.

-Back with Dragon Corps-

"Sir, we believe we've located the hostiles who attacked you. What do you wish to do sir?" the Captain asked as he turned to the Silver Knight who had been walking around the crater and muttering under his breath. Every now and then what looked like a heat haze would fly into the ground, but nothing else ever happened.

"I want them dead, Captain. They interfered with a messenger of the Imperial Will, which is punishable by death." he said, not turning his eyes from the crater.

"Sir!"

The men immediately formed rank and began to make their way to the tree that Team Kakashi was on.

Once they were a suitable distance away, the first four formed a shield wall while the last two drew out what looked like a club with a short tube on the end. He then lit a slow burning mathc and took aim, pointing the tube toward the tree where he could see Sakura's back. Once his sight was aligned, the man lowered the wick into the top of the tube.

"Crrrraaaccckkk!"

A sound akin to thunder was the only warning for the Konoha team before the small lead ball buried itself deep into Sakura's left shoulder, mere inches from her heart. Had she not moved at the last second due to seeing a slight movement in the corner of her eye, the projectile would have undoubtebly pierced her heart, leading to near instantaneous death, medic-nin or not.

As it were, once the bullet had hit its mark, she lost her footing on the branch she was crouching on and began to fall toward the hard unforgiving earth below. Had it not been for Kakashi's speed and quick recovery, she would have hit too.

"Sakura, what is it? What happened?" he demanded once they got ot relative safety, fear and concern taking equal parts of his tone as he gazed at the gaping hole in the pink haired girl's back. Sasuke and Sai were not far behind the, having taken cover once Kakashi had Sakura secured.

"I don't know. Whatever they hit me with is small, metal, and still in me? Ahhh!" she screamed as she attempted to reach her right arm over to examine the wound. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't think I will be able to continue. If I can't treat this soon, I could very well lose my arm." she admitted through gritted teeth, obviously uncomfortable with such a display of vulnerability.

" much for being a medical prodigy, you can't even heal such a minor wound. We should just leave you." Sasuke voiced coldly. None of this was helping in his ambition to kill Itachi, and this new weapon the enemy possessed seemed to be powerful. He had to find out a way to aquire one.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi scolded while Sai only looked on and Sakura winced from the cold and menacing tone the boy she had once adored had used on her.

"We need to retreat. Sakura is too valuable to lose like this. We will retreat to the village and inform Lady Tsunade of the enemy's strength, where she can decide what to do." he ordered in an authoratative voice.

"Hai!" they chorused, none liking the situation but not willing to argue with a superior officer.

"Let's go."

They all vanished in a swirl of leaves.

-With the Silver Knight-

"Sir, they appear to have retreated, should we scout the area?" the Captain asked.

"No." the Knight said as he turned in the direction the assailants had headed. "Let them go. Our mission is our first priority. Captain ready the horses, we leave now and we're not stopping until we reach this Fire Country's capitol." the Knight said as he began the walk back to the camp,the soldiers falling in behind him.

-Fire Country Capitol-

The capitol of the Land of Fire was a magnificent sight. Clad in gold and red and surrounded by lava flowing from an active volcano, it was truly a sight to behold, fitting its name as Kazan Toshi (Volcano City). The city was the home of the Daimyo's palace and the seat of government of the entire Land of Fire.

But this was not the reason that the Imperial Envoy was here.

The Silver Knight held up his hand even as he jerked the reigns of his massive steed. Behind him, the Dragon Corps soldiers slowed to a halt as well. The Knight dismounted before approaching the massive gate at the entrance to the city.

"Halt!" shouted a guard who began approaching. Once he was close enough the Knight began assessing him.

The man wore an elegant set of samurai armor decorated in red and gold with a short red cape on his back that had embroidery of the native symbol for fire.

"State your business here, stranger." He said, placing his hand on his sword.

The Silver Knight did not move for a long moment, prompting the gathered samurai and Dragon Corps to tighten their grip on their weapons. This atmosphere only intensified when the Silver Knight raised his hands and placed them on his helmet. The samurai watched as the silver clad man proceeded to undo a series of straps before removing the helmet.

The soldiers' breaths caught in their throats. The face underneath the helm was that of a man unlike any other. He had long silver hair that caught the light as it flittered out of his helm and eyes that could only be described as ice. His ears were slightly pointed, hinting at some non-human origins and his skin was porcelain white. The man turned and spoke in a voice of power and authority, "I am Gailen Wolfe, third of His Majesty's Paladin Guard and chosen envoy of the Emperor. I am here by Imperial Mandate to present this," he showed a satchel in which lay a single scroll with a ruby wax seal, "to your country's leader. I request entrance and an audience with your Daimyo." The samurai captain caught the slight accent when the man said the word, as if he did not have a true understanding of it.

"Might we see verification?" the captain asked while sending a silent signal to his men to be on guard.

"Of course."

Gailen reached behind him and produced a smaller scroll which was wrapped with a black ribbon. "I was told to present this in the event that further proof was required."

The captain loosened the ribbon and unrolled the scroll before gasping. It was a border pass that gave the group before him the right to travel through the Land of Fire with impunity and bore the seal of the Fire Daimyo himself.

The captain rolled the scroll back up before retying it. He then signaled his men to stand down before bowing to the knight. "My apologies, my lord, we were not aware of your arrival. If you will please come with us, I will escort you to the palace personally."

The knight nodded before mounting his steed once more and waited for his samurai escort.

He did not have to wait long as the captain needed only to appoint his lieutenant in charge and obtain a horse before they were off.

-Daimyo's Palace-

Gailen looked over the palace as he was escorted to the audience chamber where he would be meeting the Fire Daimyo. The Dragon Corps had been asked to remain in the entrance hall, accompanied by a contingent of the Daimyo's samurai guard. His own weapons had been confiscated and he was promised they would be returned when he left. He could not fault them; after all it was protocol even in the Empire to fleece visitors to the palace.

Crimson carpeting edged with golden lining filled each floor of the palace, the sides of the floor that were not clothed in carpet showed high quality wood, and the walls had rows of doors leading to different rooms. Where there weren't doors, there were paintings on the walls that depicted various landscapes and leaders. Gailen noticed that most of the figures bore the ceremonial robes of the Daimyo. Three however caught his eye; the first was of a deeply tanned man with slightly long black hair and a red headband, whereas the second had spiky white hair complete with a faceplate. The last however was the one that was the most shocking. A young man with slightly spiky blonde hair with jawline bangs and blue eyes who looked shockingly like the Emperor before he changed.

The samurai escorting him which included the captain from the gate stopped as he did.

"Is there a problem sir?" the captain asked.

"No. Tell me, who are these men?"

The captain looked to the pictures for a moment before speaking. "They are the Hokage of the Leaf Village. The black haired one is Hashirama Senju the Shodaime, his brother Tobirama the Nidaime, and the Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato Namikaze. Each of them was a powerful shinobi who were famous in their time."

"I see." With a nod the party resumed their walk.

-Throne Room-

Gailen and his escort approached the room and after knocking were let in. The room was lushly furnished and draped in all manner of expensive tapestries as well as other signs of wealth.

The Fire Daimyo himself sat on a wicker chair behind a veiled curtain, surrounded on both sides by samurai in heavy black armor and from what Gailen could sense, shinobi in the roof, under the floor, and concealed in the corners under some sort of illusion.

How trivial.

"Welcome." The voice came from the Fire Daimyo. "Please sit, I am eager to hear of this message from the Emperor."

Gailen stepped forward a measured three paces before bowing at the waist. "Lord Daimyo, I am Gailen Wolfe, servant of the Emperor of Albion. His Majesty sent me to deliver this to you personally. He made it very clear that I was only to give it to you myself." He said as he stepped forward. Immediately several of the samurai drew their swords.

"You insolent fool! You disrespect the lord of the Land of Fire. No one may approach the Daimyo." The apparent leader said as he came forward, sword raised as if to strike the Emperor's Paladin down.

"Takemaru." The Daimyo's voice sounded through the room. "Sheathe your blade. I am sure our guest meant no disrespect. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. However, I kneel but to one man, and I am here on his will. Were I not, I would have killed your guard for his impudence." Gailen said, before revealing his left hand which arced with electricity. The samurai, Takemaru, gulped as he only now realized how close he came to death. The Silver Knight stepped forward and presented the scroll to the Fire Daimyo who reached one hand through the curtain and took the offered parcel.

"Ah! So the Emperor himself sends one of his most revered warriors to deliver such a simple letter. Oh well, I appreciate all the trouble he went through. Might there be anything else?" the Daimyo asked after a short while of reading the parchment.

"Yes. On the way here I was attacked by several individuals bearing this symbol." He drew a spiral with a single triangle on one end and a line on the other, resembling a stylized leaf in the air with a single finger.

"I see. Takemaru send a message to Konoha. There will be severe repercussions to those who attacked a messenger bearing not only my protection, but who is also a bearer of an Imperial Mandate from the Emperor of Albion." The Daimyo ordered.

Takemaru bowed deeply from the waist before leaving to do as ordered.

"Sir Gailen, please accept my apologies and assure the Emperor that these things will be dealt with. Also take this with you to give to your Emperor."

Gailen stepped forward and took a scroll sealed in ruby wax with the seal for the Fire Daimyo. He then bowed slightly before turning and leaving.

'Konoha has much to answer for. But to attack an Imperial messenger…'

-Three Days Later, Konoha-

"Lady Tsunade, we've got trouble!" screamed Shizune as she burst through the Hokage's office doors.

"What is it now Shizune! Can't you see I'm busy?" this was perhaps not the most accurate word to describe the scene Shizune had stumbled into. The Godaime's definition of busy was once again taking a break from her work to drown herself in sake.

"The messenger division just received this urgent letter from the Fire Daimyo. He is furious. Apparently those warriors who injured Sakura were on a diplomatic mission from a foreign nation and had been guaranteed safe passage through the Land of Fire by the Daimyo himself. Apparently they met with him and he had to apologize on our behalf, and now he's out for blood."

"What!" Tsunade yelled, slamming her sake bottle on the desk even as she sat up.

"It says that a missive was sent from the capital about it."

Tsunade began furiously leafing through the outbox before locating what she was looking for. A single sheet of paper with a stamp on it for 'denied' which also bore the Seal of Fire. Obviously Tsunade was drunk when she saw it or it would never have been treated so unceremoniously. A sweatdrop appeared on both Tsunade and Shizune's faces. "Ok, how about this. The letter was never received and must have been lost in transit." Tsunade said as she set the missive alight.

"A-Anyway, I also received word that the nation that sent the messengers has requested permission to attend the Chunin Exams. They apparently don't want to enter a participant, merely observe. They also have spoken with the Fire Daimyo and in exchange are offering a prize to the winner of the tournament. They have also sent missives to all of the Daimyo of the other contenders and they have agreed. They will arrive at the start of the exam in ten days. They also have requested that Konoha as the host send a contingent of three shinobi to escort their Emperor. They sent this," Shizune stopped here to unseal several gold bars before resealing them, "as payment."

"Very well. Call for Jiraiya, Asuma, and Anko." Tsunade said.

-Four Days Later, Council Chambers, Court of Albion Imperial Palace-

In the halls of the Imperial Council one could find both the great amphitheater of the Imperial Senate which made laws that affected those throughout the Empire and the Grand Hall of the Imperial Provincial Body. Both organizations had been created by the Emperor himself over three years ago after he raised the Imperial Capital of Albion into the sky in an effort to give a voice to the people of the Empire.

The Imperial Provincial Government was made up of twenty-six representatives who were elected through a system of direct election from among the prominent families of the various provinces. The number was chosen by the Emperor since even if half of the Empire wished to approve an action, then it was useless as any motion made by the Provinces required a two-thirds majority. While the position of Imperial Representative was a prestigious position and one could make many changes if they played their hand correctly, ultimately all power rested with the Emperor himself, as he was the first, last, and only say in all matters executive, legislative, and judicial. So while the Provincial Government could decree, the final say in all matters of state boiled down to a yay or nay from the crown.

The Imperial Senate was another breed entirely. While most if not all of the Provincial Representatives were human, the Senate was much more diverse. Members from every race were represented equally here. The King of Dragons himself was a member, as was the High Elder of Elvenkin, the Lord of the Vampire Coven, the Alpha of the Werewolf Tribe, and the leaders of various institutions ranging from the Ministry of Science to the Agricultural Ministry. The Emperor himself was the representative of the humans of the Empire as well as the Wizarding High Council and the Ministry of War. While power and voice here was distributed equally, and was probably the most open forum in the Empire being the only place a leader may question the Emperor openly, there was one leader whom no one was ever willing to cross. Viktor Stratt, the head of the Emperor's Special Dispatch Ministry and the most accomplished warrior in Imperial History. He was one of the first to ally with the Emperor and was feared far and wide as a ruthless and powerful warrior and a brilliant tactician. He was also a vampire of nearly six hundred years.

The slight murmuring of the assembled leaders immediately ground to a halt as the doors to the Throne Room swung wide.

All present rose from their seats and stood facing the giant doors of the Throne Room as a soft thunk echoed throughout the hall. Slowly, the Emperor himself appeared from within the room, clad in elegant red and purple robes and in some places golden armor. The crown of the sovereign was placed firmly upon his head, a gift from the Elven Clans in thanks for his assistance. With it he could command all the forces of the Golden Army.

Last to enter was the Red Queen, the only woman to ever lie with the Emperor.

After the Emperor sat upon the throne, the murmurs began again until Gailen himself entered the chamber at the ground floor almost a hundred feet below the assembled leaders. After he reached the center of the room he turned to the Emperor and knelt.

"Hail, Your Majesty. I have returned after fulfilling your orders. I delivered your message to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and he sent me this for you." Gailen set the scroll on a pedestal where it was then transported to a similar pedestal next to the Emperor's throne. After the Emperor read it, he rolled it up and set it on an arm of the throne.

"Well done Gailen. I see that my assigning you to this task was correct. As your reward, I hereby verify your appointment to the Paladin Guard. Come and join your brothers of the sword." As these words were spoken a great rattle resounded throughout the Chambers. The cause was soon made clear as eleven men, each with unique armor, entered the room and surrounded Gailen who now knelt on one knee, his sword held in his hands in front of him. The leader, Alex, who was clad in golden armor stepped forward and raised his double sided lance.

"Do you Gailen Wolfe accept the oaths and responsibilities of the title Paladin? Do you forswear all allegiance to any other person, group, or organization in service to your Emperor? Are you willing to sacrifice your life to serve your Emperor and if necessary, give your life for that of your Emperor?"

"I so swear!"

These oaths, spoken before the gathered Lords of the Senate, were more binding than even the greatest of magics. A great applause went up at these words. The noise was thunderous and shook even the marble columns of the Great Hall.

-Two Day Later-

The squad of Jiraiya, Asuma, and Anko had finally arrived in the Empire after several days of travel. After having crossed the borders of the Land of Wind and reaching the ports, they had initially been stumped as to how they were going to convince someone to take them to the Empire, only to find that an enormous cruiser had been sent with orders to bring them to the Empire. Naturally they had attempted to gather intel on the Empire and even the ship itself which was far more advanced than anything in the arsenal of any major country, even Mist. And naturally they were ordered to remain in their cabins with armed marines stationed outside their doors.

After a day at sea, they arrived at harbor, where they were immediately piled into a train and sent inland. After another few hours and several complaints about the treatment, they arrived at their destination.

A lake.

Far from impressed, they had initially thought that this had all been a joke and they were in for more rides.

Such ideas were extinguished when several large dragons landed in front of them. Several jutsu were let lose in the confusion, none of which even dented the scaled hides of the lizards. Imagine their surprise when they were told that they were to ride the beasts. When asked why, the lone rider with them had merely pointed up.

No jaw had ever dropped lower. A city in the sky, hovering above a lake. Incredible.

-Now, Imperial City-

Naruto was walking along the garden terrace of the palace as he spoke with Viktor about his impending visit to the Elemental Nations. His oldest friend seemed to think that members of the Special Dispatch might be needed. Viktor himself had already made it clear that he was going. The only question now was whether some of the aptly named 'Death Dealers' would be accompanying him.

"Your Majesty!" Naruto turned his head to see a man running towards him. He was wearing the armor of the Dragon Corps along with a black cape which marked him as a captain. He ran forward before bowing deeply with his hand over his heart.

"My apologies for interrupting your meeting, but there is a long white haired man who wishes to see you, he says he is from Konoha and a representative of the Daimyo's party." Naruto signed in annoyance; he turned to Viktor.

"Our talk will have to wait for now my friend." The man bowed and walked off to perform his duties. The young Emperor walked with the other man down the long hall to see his old 'sensei'.

"Is there something wrong Your Majesty?" he asked.

"We shall see," he muttered to himself, the proceeded to continue walking. "Have the Paladins present."

The Corpsman nodded before turning down a hallway.

Finally, he reached the doors Great Hall. Two of the Dragon Corps pushed open the doors for him and followed him into the room, taking up positions on either side of his throne, swords ready.

"So, you are the envoy from Konoha. Tell me your names, Konoha shinobi."

"I am Jiraiya of the Sannin, this is Asuma Sarutobi of the Sarutobi Clan, and Anko Mitarashi, a special-jonin of Konoha. And its good to see you, Naruto."

Asuma and Anko looked shocked, while the Dragon Corps and Paladins drew their weapons. No one disrespected the Emperor in such a manner.

Naruto gave the man a heated glare, his voice filled with both anger and hate as he growled out the man's name. The glare told the members of the Paladin Guard that this man was trouble, and readied themselves against him.

"You tempt fate, Sannin."