Council Room

"Seems like everyone is here, so let us begin." Naruto said, kicking off today's meeting.

As he scanned the room, most of the council was here today. There were a few scheduled absences today, All Might was proctoring an exam at U.A. High school, Tony Tony Chopper was always away at the medical center and Son Goku was away for an indefinite period of time in what was referred to as "Saiyan Business".

"Who's going to go first?" Naruto asked.

A young woman with orange hair, who sat closest to Naruto, stood up first. Her hair was relatively long, hanging down almost the entire length of her back. She had a slim, hourglass figure. Her large, round, brown eyes gazed at Naruto first, before she looked down at her documents to give her report.

"All equipment items have been purchased for the Unification Festival. I took your advice Naruto and didn't hold back on the spending this year. We were in the black last quarter so there was money left over to spend for the necessary items for the festival. I managed to get some pretty good deals for the decorations this year, so there are a lot more of those going up on the buildings this year. Also, a few more food vendors were added for this year. The merchants also did very well this past quarter. We will likely see a profit of 100,000,000 ryo just from the merchants alone, which puts us ahead of schedule in terms of the future plans. We are also expecting a record attendance this year for the Festival, so profits should be up from the billion ryo we made last year. Those are the more pressing issues that we discussed last time. I know you hate reading reports, but I have the rest of them on your desk for Lelouch to read," the woman finished as she smirked at the last part of her report. She put her documents back into her binder and sat back down.

"Tch, smart ass. Well I'm glad there will be more vendors this year. We don't want a repeat of last year when your husband and Goku nearly cleaned us out on the before the week was over, Nami," Naruto retorted.

Nami's official title was Director of Finance. She was selected because of her expertise with money. Miu Furinji was chosen by her to be her assistant. Though she enjoyed being in control of the money, Nami hated the title. She told Naruto, that she would only accept the position if she could be called the Finance Mistress. Naruto obliged, and Nami took the job soon thereafter. Naruto couldn't believe that she took the job just because of a name change.

Next to Nami sat her bubbly husband, Naruto's good friend and General of the Seas, Monkey D. Luffy. Like his wife, Luffy didn't want his title to be Directory of the Navy, or General of the Navy. He wanted something a bit cooler. He didn't want to sound like he was leading marines. He came up with General of the Seas, to which Naruto accepted. What was wrong with these Strawhats and names? Luffy's position made him the General of the entire Navy of the Western Empire. It took some getting used to for Luffy at first, but he quickly found that he liked being in command of others, even though he would usually pass those decisions off to Dutch or Rock, his second in commands.

Next to them usually sits Tony Tony Chopper, but he rarely attends the council meetings due to his obligations at the medical center. Chopper is the Medical Director of the Western Empire. Chopper's second-in-commands were Ma Kensei and Akisame Koetsuji.

Next to Chopper sits Naruto's five generals. Zaraki Kenpachi, Kisame, Roy Mustang, Integra Hellsing, and Naruto's brother-in-law Lelouch. They are responsible for the West's large army that they have built up over the past few years and also the border patrol. They are all battle tested, and know what it takes to win a war. However, before they can take any action, they must go through Naruto or Euphemia first. In addition to the generals, each general has their second-in-command that they have in case they are absent for whatever reason. Kenpachi has Yachiru Kusajishi, Kisame has Himura Kenshin, Roy Mustang has his wife, Riza Hawkeye, Integra Hellsing alternates between Alucard or Seras Victoria, and Lelouch has his sister Cornelia.

Rounding out the table are Naruto's advisors, Hayato Furinji, Jiraiya, and the absent All Might. Other important members of the Empire that don't hold council seats are Sanji, who is the Culinary Director. His second-in-commands are Yukihira Soma and Nakiri Erina. Nina Einstein is the Director of Science. She was specifically chosen by Euphemia to lead the science department and her assistant is Rintaro Okabe. Both Euphemia and Nunnally helped run the civilian side of things and had their own council.

At first, Naruto hated the idea of having any type of council. He knew all too well that the councils in the East had more power than the Kages, themselves. However, he understood that he couldn't run the large country by himself, so he needed people he trusted. He chose people that he had fought with during the war and had come to respect. These people were extremely loyal to not only Naruto, but also to the people of the West. They were considered heroes during the war and were trusted to keep the peace that they had all helped bring to the West.

"Who's next."

Roy Mustang was the next to stand up. He looked extremely tired instead of his usual stoic self this morning. His bloodshot eyes and large bags under them was a dead give away that the man had not slept in some time.

"The southern border rebels led by Father have been put down, rather quietly I might add, by the squad we sent in. There were no casualties on our side and the Elric brothers and Kallen are due to make their return by sunset. That is all I have to report, the full report will be on your desk, hopefully by the end of the day," he explained as he sat back down with a loud huff. Naruto nodded at his report.

"Someone must be tired from all the crying last night, huh?" Jiraiya joked, the Toad Sannin noticing the unusually short report coming from the Flame Alchemist.

"You can't even imagine all of the crying I had to put up with last night. It's only been a week, and the kid is already driving me nuts!" Mustang said in defeat, which raised laughter from the rest of the council, including Naruto.

The next few reports were the same old, same old. Kisame talked about the incidents that occurred at the border and that it was dealt with almost immediately. Kenpachi mentioned about the expected arrivals of their out of town guests that were expected to arrive within the next few days. He mentioned that the accommodations were already set, and that security around those areas were air tight.

As Kenpachi finished, Naruto arose from his seat. It was time to make an announcement that was years in the making.

"We will need to add a new group to the list of expected visitors," Naruto said, throwing Kenpachi and the rest of the council off.

"As you know, we have been in contact with a few of the Eastern countries over these past couple years. Well, it was only a matter of time before some requested an alliance with us. Just like we predicted, my former home has requested an alliance," Naruto said as an eerie silence fell over the room.

Everyone on the council knew the circumstances of Naruto's arrival in the West. The jinchuuriki was very honest about his past. All of the council knew of Naruto's recurring nightmares that he suffered from. There were times when he would not show up to council meetings because of them and Euphemia would take over for the day. They all knew the pain and hatred he felt towards his old home. Since year one of his reign, Naruto implemented a working plan to complete his mission, which was to destroy Konoha. The planning for that mission was accelerated when Naruto had met some of his former friends in the East as he made some diplomatic trips.

Flashback

About a year into his reign, Naruto came to understand that there would be people who would come looking for him from the East. He knew that he was still in the Bingo Book and was a very profitable target. There were rumors of him and his appearances in the West. He knew Eastern countries and shinobi would try and come to the West, looking to get rich quick. He also knew that word would get out to the East of the West's stability and that Eastern countries would try to scout out this new power. So instead of letting the East come to them, Naruto made the West's presence known in the East first.

He set up merchant shops and trading outposts in the East. Valuable goods that weren't found anywhere in the East were available for purchase in these shops. In addition, different food products and restaurants came from the West and set up different locations in the East. Word started getting out about the valuable goods that came from the West and many different Eastern countries were interested in its materials.

After they were established, Naruto made an effort to visit these merchant shops to see how they were doing and the progress that they were making in the East. Of course, as he was still a wanted man, Naruto wore a Tengu mask to conceal his identity. In addition to his disguise, the council made sure Naruto was well protected. Mainly due to Euphemia's insistence, they created a special guard that would protect Naruto at all times. It was mandatory that anywhere Naruto went, there would be two of his special guard with him.

The first two that were chosen to be apart of the special guard were two ronin samurai that Naruto had met during the war named Jin and Mugen. The two samurai were originally paid to kill Naruto by one of the warring warlords. They clashed with Naruto, who was able to hold his own against the two samurai in kenjutsu. Eventually, Naruto persuaded the two samurai to join him in his quest for peace, also promising to give them as much sake and booze they desired. Naruto also allowed Fuu to accompany them, much to the chagrin of Jin and Mugen.

The next person that was chosen was Yusuke Urameshi. Naruto and Yusuke became good friends over the course of the war. Yusuke admired Naruto's goal of peace and was actually the first one to nominate Naruto for Emperor. He was chosen because of his long range Spirit Gun.

Roronoa Zoro was chosen due to his skills with a sword and also because of his high tolerance for pain. He was Naruto's first choice as one of the special guard squad, but Zoro declined at first, citing his need to be with the Strawhats. However with Luffy's blessing and at the insistence of his wife, Nico Robin, Zoro accepted Naruto's proposal. The only thing that he wasn't allowed to do while guarding Naruto was give directions.

Shigure Kosaka was chosen due to her strengths as a weapons master. Being able to turn anything into a weapon gave her the versatility that Naruto needed among his special guard. She was also allowed to bring her pet mouse Tochumaru, who was regarded as a special member of the guard.

The final member of the guard chosen was Deku. At the request of All Might, Deku was chosen because of his hand-to-hand combat ability, will and determination that he exhibited. This also allowed the young hero to gain more field experience. If he was unavailable due to his class schedule, Gon Freecss would fill in for the necessary mission, considering he was free from his Hunter duties.

Once his special guard was set, Naruto started his inspection tours of his merchant houses and trading outposts. It was here, that he would finally see some old friends from the past.

The first of his former friends that he saw was the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Naruto was taking a tour of a merchant facility near the Land of Fire with Jin and Mugen, when he came upon the battle between Asuma and his squad against the infamous Zombie Combo. Things looked bleak for the Konoha shinobi as Hidan was about to start his Jashin Curse Ritual on Asuma. However, Naruto stepped in and immediately killed the Zombie Combo. His use of fuinjutsu allowed Naruto to make the two Akatsuki members mortals, and easily killed both with a Rasenshuriken.

The Akatsuki were also a major threat to the West that needed to be eliminated, and Naruto saw his opportunity to kill two of the most powerful Akatsuki members. He had been making sure to keep tabs on them, tracking their every movement through Jiraiya's spy network. They would also be dealt with soon enough.

Both Ino and Choji arrived just as Naruto was disposing of Hidan. An unconscious Asuma laid on the ground with a very weak, but still standing Shikamaru covering for him. He saw how easily this masked stranger dispatched two of the strongest Akatsuki members. Shikamaru was unsure of the strangers intentions, and was on alert.

When Naruto was finished, he turned to the Konoha shinobi. He remembered both Shikamaru and Choji defending him all those years ago from the others. They both still considered Naruto as their friend and fought to protect him as much as they could. However, Naruto remembered the hateful and spiteful words from Ino. His anger boiled up inside of him, seeing the blonde arrive on the battlefield.

Shikamaru, even his weakened state, tried to make small talk with this strange group that appeared out of nowhere. He was trying to determine whether the group was friend or foe, while also trying to think of an escape plan should they need one.

"Thanks for your help," Shikamaru said, as Naruto and his two guards never took their eyes off the Konoha shinobi.

"Never seen you around before. Which village do you come from?" the Nara asked, as Choji and Ino remained on guard.

"None," was Naruto's response. Shikamaru felt a strange presence coming from the masked stranger. The voice also sounded familiar, but the Nara couldn't put his finger on it.

"Well can you at least tell us whether you're friend or foe? I mean, we would like to assume you are friendly since you helped our sensei," Ino interjected, as Naruto twitched a bit in anger.

"Assuming things are we? I can tell you for a fact that we are neither friend or foe," Naruto replied, the anger evident in his voice. The Ino-Shika-Cho picked up on his change of tone and were ready for anything at this point.

"Well if you're not our friend, then we will see you as a foe," the Yamanaka responded.

"You should've let the Nara do the talking. Your voice annoys me, fangirl," Naruto said as that drew the ire of Ino. She readied herself for battle and was prepared to use her clan jutsu on the masked stranger.

"No wait, Ino!" Shikamaru managed to yell out, but it was too late. The masked man threw a special kunai on the ground near the group. He teleported to the kunai in a flash, and slammed a kick into her face before she could react. Shikamaru and Choji were forced to help their teammate and got into formation. They would try to use their teamwork to defeat the masked man.

However on the inside, Shikamaru had an uneasy feeling about this, "He teleported to the kunai almost immediately. That wasn't what I think it was, was it?" he thought to himself.

Before the Ino-Shika-Cho knew it, the entire ground around them was filled with kunais. The Nara didn't know it at the time, but what he was thinking was spot on. Naruto had learned the Hiraishin, the jutsu created by the Nidaime, but made popular by his father before him.

Naruto had learned the jutsu by accident. As he was undergoing fuinjutsu training with Jiraiya, Naruto made a mistake with his Kanji character writing. He wrote it on a kunai and threw it at a dummy target, wanting the kunai to explode. Instead, Naruto teleported to the kunai and landed face first into the target. Jiraiya couldn't believe what he had seen. Naruto had just used his father's technique, by mistake. Jiraiya and Naruto trained to see how far he could go using the jutsu. After a while, Naruto improved his hiraishin distance. He was able to travel about a few countries distance away, and also was able to take about twenty people with him, though he would wear out extremely quickly.

Back to their fight, the new Ino-Shika-Cho never stood a chance. Naruto jumped around and teleported to each kunai with ease. He knocked out Ino and slammed a little Rasengan into her body. She was bleeding profusely on the ground while Shikamaru and Choji tried to deal with Naruto. Naruto appeared behind Choji and knocked him out with a chop to the neck which left Shikamaru by himself again. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was nowhere to be found. Shikamaru took out a kunai, readying himself and searching frantically around the area to find Naruto. Jin and Mugen could only laugh, knowing exactly where their boss had gone.

In an instant, Shikamaru felt a kunai at his neck. He looked down at it, while his opponent appeared behind him out of nowhere.

"It seems Kami is on your side today Nara Shikamaru, for I am in a good mood . However, I do not think next time, you and your squad will be so lucky. I would hurry and make sure the blonde bimbo over there gets help quick. You don't want your teammate bleeding out do you now?" Naruto teased the lazy shinobi as Shikamaru dropped his kunai.

Naruto then appeared by his two guards, as Shikamaru stood there, frozen in the spot he stood. The Konoha shinobi watched as the masked man and his two companions vanished in a yellow flash. It was safe to say, the Nara got out of dodge quickly.

When they returned to Konoha, Shikamaru gave his report to Kakashi. Kakashi and the elders were stunned by the Nara's report. They needed to know immediately if this masked man was an enemy or a foe. Kakashi sent out his available chunin and jonin squads. Their orders were to bring in the masked man for questioning should they find him. If needed, deadly force was allowed.

When Naruto returned home, he knew the predicament he put himself in. Konoha shinobi would be searching for him at all times. Euphemia was a bit worried for her husband, putting himself out there like that. For Naruto however, he couldn't wait for the next group of Konoha shinobi he would meet. However, he also made sure to ease the nerves of his wife.

Team Guy was the next unlucky group to meet Naruto. A few weeks after his encounter with the Ino-Shika-Cho, Naruto was finishing up his last stop in this current inspection tour. He brought along Shigure and Deku for this tour.

Team Guy minus Guy himself, had been inspecting a few of the West's merchant shops themselves, seeing the items they produced and tried to maybe gauge their power levels. They observed a masked man down the road, who was accompanied by a young woman with raven hair and a shorter young man in a jumpsuit who sported green hair.

The group decided to quietly follow them, hoping that they'd maybe get an idea of their strength and where they were headed to next. As Team Guy followed, Naruto knew they had company. He kept walking, looking to lead Team Guy into a trap. He brought them into a isolated location, far away from the main path where it would be easy to see and hear them. Naruto then stopped, which caused Team Guy to do the same. Naruto sent Shigure and Deku ahead while he waited. Eventually, the two disappeared into the distance. Naruto took a deep breath before turning around.

"You can come out now, Konoha shinobi," he said as Team Guy appeared out of the trees.

"Enemy shinobi, you are hereby ordered to come with us for questioning," Neji said, as Naruto looked unfazed at his former friends.

"I have done nothing wrong," was Naruto's reply, forcing the Konoha shinobi to ready themselves.

"You harmed Konoha shinobi in battle. That is enough for us to bring you in," Neji answered back.

"I was merely defending myself," Naruto replied.

"If you do not come peacefully, we will be required to use deadly force," Lee said as Naruto took a fighting stance.

"Well then, let's see how deadly you can get." he smirked under his Tengu mask.

That's all it took for Team Guy to move in. Neji and Lee came up with a frontal attack, while Tenten stayed behind for support using her weapons mastery.

Tenten released a powerful array of weapons at Naruto out of her scrolls. Unfortunately, Naruto was much too fast for that. He shunshined out of the way easily. Neji and Lee combined tried to land a hit on him, however, Naruto deflected each shot with ease. He figured he needed to separate them, and jumped back to create some distance. He then let out a strong whistle.

Out of nowhere came Deku, his punch just barely missed an unsuspecting Neji. Tenten was about to change targets to Deku when Shigure popped out and swung her staff at Tenten. The Konoha weapons master dodged while trying to pop a scroll to get her own weapon out. She wouldn't get that chance. Shigure gave her no time and was on her every second. She hit Tenten with a combination attack, landing a blow to the abdomen and then the back of the neck, knocking the weapons Kunoichi out.

Lee was having his hands full with Naruto. The masked man was able to keep pace with Lee's taijutsu. Naruto was able to land shot after shot on Lee, finding holes in the taijutsu specialist's defenses. As Lee was focused with protecting his upper body, Naruto started to go lower. He started to pepper Lee's leg, the same leg that Tsunade healed years ago. Eventually, Lee's leg gave out and snapped after taking a kick.

He fell to one knee, barely being able to hold himself up and defend himself. He received a swift kick that he barely managed to block in return. Unfortunately, the kick knocked Lee back so far, that it dragged his entire leg across the ground, causing more damage. He grabbed his leg, yelling out in serious pain, and was now out of the fight.

Naruto then turned his attention to Neji, who seemed to getting all he could handle with Deku. It was now time to give the Hyuuga an ass whooping.

Naruto jumped in front of an attack that would've landed on Deku and easily caught it. He forced the Hyuuga back, causing Neji to get a little off balance. The two stared down each other.

"It seems like fate doesn't treat you well today, Hyuuga," Naruto taunted Neji.

"I do not believe I am resigned to any fate. I learned that from a good friend a long time ago," Neji responded.

"Oh? A good friend? Do you Konoha shinobi abandon those you deem good friends?
Naruto asked, the vile seeping in his voice.

"We do not abandon our comrades, especially in their time of need," was Neji's response.

"Not according to Uzumaki Naruto."

At this, Neji froze. Uzumaki Naruto. This masked man knew Naruto.

"How do you know Uzumaki Naruto? What have you done with him?" Neji asked, rage building inside of him.

"I haven't done anything with him. He's just a "good friend" is all," Naruto said as he air quoted the good friend part.

"Please tell us where he is, we need to know that he is alright," said Lee, who was crawling near Neji.

"Oh I'm not sure I can do that. Plus, I don't think he wants to associate with people like you any longer. You know, he told me about the two of you. The Bushy Brows and the Hyuuga. How much of his time he invested in you two. The great lengths he went for the two of you. Yet when he needed you the most, you repaid him with silence. I can't believe he wasted his precious time on the two of you," Naruto spoke, anger and rage reaching a boiling point in him. Neji and Lee could only look down in disgust at themselves for their actions. They knew they didn't back up Naruto during his time of need, but were working to rectify those mistakes. This man knew Naruto and he possibly knew where Naruto was. This was their shot at redemption.

"You will tell us where he is or so help me kami I will beat it out of you," Neji said as he got back into his 64 palms stance.

"Well, start praying then, Hyuuga," was Naruto's reply as his figure poofed into a log. Neji used his Byakugan to try and find him, but he wasn't in the surrounding area. What happened next was almost pure deja vu for Neji. Out came the masked man from the ground underneath him, landing a chakra empowered uppercut straight to Neji's jaw knocking the Hyuuga out cold.

Lee was the only conscious one left. Naruto however, let him stay that way for now.

"I hope you find someone to heal that leg for you, Konoha shinobi. That injury isn't going to heal as quickly as the last time," Naruto said as he and his companions walked off into the distance, leaving Team Guy behind.

Team Guy was found by their sensei and a back up team that was sent to look for them. When they returned to Konoha, Lee found out that his leg would heal, but the recovery time would be much longer since Tsunade was the only one that could perform the surgery and allow the leg to heal faster.

Neji and Tenten gave their report to Kakashi, who under pressure from the elders and the council, was forced to put the masked man in the Bingo Book. Naruto was the first person in history to have himself put in the Bingo Book twice at the same time. He was ranked an S-class shinobi, and had a fight at your own risk warning attached to his name.

The last and final group that Naruto ran into was Team 8. Naruto had brought along both Zoro and Yusuke for this tour, which would be Naruto's last for a while. They had just finished their last stop on the inspection tour and were prepared to eat Naruto's favorite meal before heading back to the Empire. As they got their food, the group was interrupted by the arrival of Team 8. Naruto was getting extremely annoyed with these run ins with his former classmates. He would have to leave a strong message with this one.

Kurenai and her team confronted the masked man, who looked prepared to eat a meal. She was not one to usually interrupt someone while they were eating, but she had her orders.

"I hate to be rude and interrupt, but we will need you to come with us. You are wanted for questioning by our Hokage for harming Konoha shinobi in the Land of Fire," she explained as Naruto just broke his chopsticks and was prepared to eat.

The young Emperor sighed, "the food is going to get cold. I better end this quick," he thought.

He got up from his seat, turning his attention to Team 8. He saw Kurenai, Kiba, Shino and Hinata prepared to strike.

"You know, I hate being ordered around by people who have no business bothering me. Also, for the millionth time, I did not harm your shinobi out of randomness, I merely was defending myself," he said.

"That's no excuse. Now come with us buddy, or face the consequences," Kiba spoke, him and Akamaru ready to strike at any moment.

Naruto let out a loud groan. He then started to weave hand signs at blazing speeds. When he was done, everyone was waiting for something to happen. A few seconds went by and still nothing. Kiba saw this opportunity to strike.

"I don't know how you managed to knock out the others, but you aren't as strong as they said you were. My turn now!" Kiba said as he and Akamaru launched at Naruto.

"Gatsuga!"

"Kiba, no!" yelled Kurenai, unfortunately she was too late.

Naruto easily caught both Kiba and Akamaru by the head and slammed them into the ground, leaving them unconscious.

"You must learn to teach your students patience, or they'll never make it past the age of twenty," Naruto said as he stared at Kurenai.

Shino started to weave his signs and his swarm of bugs came from under his sweater. Unfortunately, they started to drop like flies, literally.

"My signs were for your bugs Aburame. I swear, your team must be the most predictable team that Konoha has sent out to get me," Naruto said as he grinned maniacally under his mask. "It's my turn now," he said as he launched a few kunai in the air.

He teleported to each kunai, jumping in between them at record speeds as they made their way near Team 8. They didn't even know what hit them. Naruto knocked out Shino with a chop to the neck while he grabbed Kurenai simultaneously by the back of the neck and slammed her to the ground. He left both unconscious as he stood up and observed the Hyuuga, who was in her fighting stance, preparing for anything.

He studied her. He felt something was different about her. She didn't seem like that shy and nervous girl from before. In all honesty, Naruto didn't really know how he felt about Hinata. He always saw her as a shy person and she would always end up fainting while he was around her. Though she never defended him, Naruto felt very differently about her, leading him to spare her, for now.

He turned around and walked back to the ramen, confusing both Hinata and his special guard. They kept a watch on the Hyuuga, while Naruto sat back down to eat. He checked the temperature of the bowl, grinning under his mask that the ramen was still hot. He was getting ready for his first bite when,

"Spirit Gun"

Yusuke shot at barrage of kunai that was headed for Naruto. Yusuke shot down most of them in the air while Zoro finished off anything else that was left.

A squad of ten Anbu, Danzo and Sasuke made their presence known. Hinata went to check on her teammates while the arriving group moved in.

"Of course my future wife is the only one standing. I know beauty and power when I see it. You will provide me with strong offspring," Sasuke said to Hinata, who ignored him completely.

"You have made quite a commotion my friend. I see you can handle your business quite well," Danzo started as Sasuke observed the masked man sitting at the counter.

"You know, I can get you off the hook from these other idiots if you join me. Having a powerful person like you under my command would help make Konoha the strongest country the world has ever known," Danzo finished as Naruto didn't even acknowledge the old man. In fact, he was preparing his first bite of ramen when the bowl exploded. The soup and noodles go everywhere. Naruto was furious. A good bowl of ramen gone to waste. He got up quickly, looking to see the culprit of this atrocity.

He saw the Uchiha grinning, "You remind me of this dobe that loved ramen. Too bad he was weak and got banished."

"Interesting you say that Uchiha, because I swore I heard that this "dobe" defeated you in battle. I also heard that he got banished because he beat you up too much," Naruto taunted, causing the Uchiha to flare up in anger.

"Who told you these lies?! I'll kill this person myself if I have the chance!" Sasuke yelled in anger.

"I know for sure they aren't lies Uchiha. I don't think Uzumaki Naruto is one to lie about these things."

"The dobe? Where is he? Take me to him, so I can finish him off once and for all,"

"Hmm...let me think about that…..How about fuck no? I think that was the answer you were looking for," Naruto said, causing the Uchiha's anger to boil over.

"Now now, if you know where that demon brat is, it would be wise to tell us. We outnumber you here. You don't stand a chance against us," Danzo interjected, liking his chances.

"Hmph. Is that a challenge old man? How's about this? Why don't you, your pet Uchiha, and your little goon squad over here just fuck off? No one orders us around. So if you know what's good for you, you would turn around and leave before you do something you regret," Naruto threatened.

"Well, have it your way," Danzo said as he signaled his ROOT anbu to move in.

Just as Naruto predicted, it wasn't good for the Konoha shinobi. Though they were outnumbered twelve to three, the Emperor and his personal guard took it to the ROOT anbu. Danzo was too busy trying to unwrap his bandages when he was knocked unconscious by the back of Zoro's sword.

In the meantime, Naruto and Sasuke squared off. Naruto noticed that the Uchiha hadn't improved much since the last time they fought. Three years of house arrest and being forbidden from shinobi training would do that to a person.

Naruto took advantage of this and toyed with the Uchiha. He didn't even have to use any ninjutsu. Taijutsu was all he needed to knock out the Uchiha. Naruto started off low this time, kicking the Uchiha in the legs and most likely breaking them both. He then went to work on Sasuke's midsection, then his arms until the Uchiha couldn't stand any longer.

Sasuke was in major pain. He hadn't felt pain like this before since the last time he faced off against Naruto. He dropped to his knees, unable to stand anymore due to the damage that his legs took. He was nearing the point of unconsciousness, when the masked man grabbed him by the hair and forced Sasuke to look at him. He couldn't do anything to stop this, since both his arms were broken.

"Look here you little shit. I'm tired of you Konoha shinobi coming after me like this. Tell your Hokage that if he wants his village to remain standing, he will leave me the fuck alone. It would be wise to do so, since I'm the Emperor of the United Western Empire. If he doesn't comply, I will burn Konoha down to the ground," Naruto said as he knocked the Uchiha unconscious.

With no food, Naruto decided that it was time to return home. He would have much planning to do. Before that, he noticed Hinata still standing. She observed him, also hearing what he had told Sasuke before he knocked him out.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Hyuuga. I do hope we meet again on better terms," Naruto told her as he put his hand on Zoro and Yusuke's shoulders and then they vanished.

When the shinobi's from Konoha got back home, Hinata gave her report to Kakashi. When the Copy Ninja found out that they had been targeting the Emperor of the United Western Empire, he immediately took his name out of the Bingo Book. Kakashi was also perplexed about the news that the Emperor knew Naruto and that most likely, his sensei's son was in the West somewhere. Unfortunately for Kakashi, he didn't know for sure that Naruto was in the West. He wanted to go, but he was still holding out hope that Tsunade would give him a full confirmation that Naruto was there. He needed to send word to her and hoped that she would answer him back soon.

End Flashback

"The Konoha group will be here by the second day of the festival. I assume they'll arrive by nightfall. We will make the necessary preparations for them, yes?" Naruto asked as he directed his attention to Kenpachi who gave him a head nod.

"Good. Then it is settled then," Naruto said before a hand rose up from the Flame Alchemist.

"Forgive me for the skepticism here boss, but do you think this is still a good idea to invite them during the Festival?" he asked.

"Yes it is." Everyone looked towards the door as Euphemia stepped in the room followed by Nunnally and Shigure. The rest of the council stood up at attention as the Empress made her way to the side of her husband.

"It is time they pay for their sins. When they learn who they're dealing with, they will run and hide like cowards," Euphemia finished as Naruto agreed with her sentiments.

"This will also allow me to face my demons of sort. When this is all over, we will prepare for the next stage of the plan. Am I understood?"

"Yes Boss!" was the reply he got from his entire council.

"Good. This meeting is adjourned. You may return to your duties," Naruto said as he acknowledged his council and walked out of the room with his wife, Jiraiya and Itachi. Most of the council waited for him to leave, before they all huddled up together.

"Okay, who wants to bet that Naruto kills somebody from his hometown when they come here?" asked Nami. Everyone raised their hand.

"I said get back to your duties!" Naruto yelled from down the hall. Immediately, the council dispersed and returned to their assignments.

"1,000 ryo minimum," Nami yelled aloud, to no one in particular.

A/N: Last flashback chapter. Thank God. Now we can finally get on with the story. Review if you wish