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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Naruto that I put into this story except for my own OCs. Neither do I own any of the character in any of the crossovers I do. I'm just using them in this fanfiction and I have no money so don't bother suing me. You'll just lose money instead of gaining any. And remember to leave a review!
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Never Saw It –
"You're putting too much effort," Shasti said as she blocks each of Naruto's blows. She's giving Naruto lessons in sword play using training swords. The training swords are much heavier then the combat swords, as they have strengthen the sword user's arms.
"Well you're the one using two swords," Naruto said as he grips his sword as he stops his attack.
"You should use a shield," Shasti said.
"A big tower shield?" Naruto ask. The Tower shields are made out of a heavy alloy called Titanium. It's strong enough to block bullets and small bombs. They use in in just about everything. (1)
"No a small fighting shield since you're a fast on their feet type. But remember sword play isn't a real needed skill. Well not at my level, as while, I once managed to deflect a bullet shot at me, it's something that, I didn't think could work," Shasti said.
"You deflected a bullet?" Naruto ask.
"It was during a raid on a supply train. A bandit fired a bullet at my face, I had my sword in my hand at the time. I reacted swinging my sword in front of me, and somehow managed to hit the side of the bullet. I duck out of the way as he fired the rest of his bullets at me. Do not try to deflect a bullet like, I did just to show you can. It's like catching a bullet with your hand. You just might, I do mean might be able to do it but don't take a chance when there's no need," Shasti said. (2)
"Hey Naruto you should train with me in learning how to fight with a gun," Kim said having watched the training with Ron.
"Or how about working with the big guns," Ron said as he works well with the cannons.
"No thanks with the cannons," Naruto said to Ron then he turned to Kim. "But don't you just aim and shoot?"
"Yes you do but during the heat of battle, you need to be trained to be able to fight without succumbing to panic fire. I have seen soldiers fire wildly in a blind panic with an enemy standing a few feet away without being able to hit them. I train by hunting wild game, to be able to take aim on a moving target," Kim told him.
"Or by hitting clay disk," Shasti said.
"We learned how to hit moving targets at the school," Naruto said.
"But let me guess they didn't try that hard to teach you did they?" Kim ask.
"No they didn't," Naruto said.
A shout of pain got everyone's attention as Shino held his hand that was bitten by Tanker the armadillo. Shino was hiding underneath some target dummies, when Tanker smelling the bugs inside of him went and bit his hand. With him are Kiba and Hinata who were hiding underneath with him.
"I was wondering when you kids were going to show yourselves," Shasti said.
"You knew we were there?" Kiba ask.
"I was born in a part of the empire where hunters still are able to track animals by the smallest imprint of the animal. I learned from my grandfather how to track and see signs that others wouldn't notice. I can tell what species, sex, its age, how fast it is traveling, whether it is alone or with another animal, its physical condition, whether and on what it is feeding, and the time of day the animal passed by. Tracking you ninjas is the same as tracking an animal for me," Shasti answers. (3)
"Wow," Kiba said as his dog Akamaru as well as the other clan dogs do most of the tracking for his clan.
"And the rest of you can come out now," Shasti said as she scans the area.
Coming out from their hiding places are the rest of the rookies along with their teachers. As well as Gai and his team, who had tagged along. Once they learned that Naruto was learning how to fight from the Romans they were all interested in learning what kind of training it is.
"Trying to see how we Romans fight?" Shasti ask all of them.
"Can you blame us?" Kakashi said as he stood with the older ninjas.
"I'm just showing him a thing or two. Besides basic training is a lot different from what, I'm showing Naruto. If Naruto wants to join he could always join the army when he's older. I even write a letter of recordation for him," Shasti said.
"Trying to get Naruto to leave the village?" Kurenai ask.
"Why not? It's not like there's anyone there that is worth it," Naruto said.
"Really now aren't you the one who dream of being the Hokage?" Asuma ask.
"I have a new dream now and it's away from you people who only think of me as the fox," Naruto said.
"Naruto we're your friends," Ino said remembering what Kurenai said about trying to get Naruto to remain loyal to the village.
"No you're not, none of you are," Naruto said then he turns to Shasti. "I'll be at the mess hall."
"See you later," Shasti said as Naruto walks off.
"Why are you trying to get him to turn his back on his village?" Kakashi ask.
"Well as you can see by eating here instead of your village. Naruto doesn't have to worry about having his food being edible, even with Frank's cooking, if it would be poisoned or tampered with, if it would be stolen from him, or if he would enjoy it. He didn't know when his next meal would come from. Many times he would have to get by eating the bugs and rats that infested his apartment just to survive day to day," Shasti said listing things off from the top of her head.
"Naruto did that?" Hinata said horrified as the rest of the children. The adults all look away in shamed.
"It's the reason why he's shorter then the rest of you kids. Daphne the camp's doctor, he's suffering from malnourishment. We're fixing that by actually giving him real food to eat," Shasti said.
"And you people think he would remain loyal to a place that makes him live like that?" Kim ask.
"That's just asking for him to turn on you," Ron adds.
"And have any of you seen where he's force to live?" Shasti ask them.
"No," Sakura said.
"I drop in on his apartment to see him after, I met with the council. The door's lock was broken so, I check to see if he was okay. I checked the bedroom first. The bedroom was clean, saved for rumpled sheets, but was almost as bare as a bone. Above the bed hung a flag with the Konoha leaf symbol on it, and next to the bed there was a small, ratty side table that held an alarm clock that looked as if it had been put together from spare parts, which was the truth."
"Next was the bathroom that was also clean, but it was clear that it was in desperate need of repair. The pipes were rusting, the tiling cracked, and the caulking crumbling. The small kitchen was even worse. The counters were clean, but cracked, misshapen, and off-level. The floor had tiles that had come apart from the others, causing dangerous sharp points. A single table stood in the room, chipped, stained, and with one leg broken."
The living room held only a strained mat and a crate, with a bookself with books that were picked up from the trash. The wallpaper was peeling, and the ceiling water-stained. The carpet looked as if someone had taken a knife to it, padding sticking out of the various openings in the material. Everything inside the apartment looks as someone had been trying to keep everything clean but couldn't maintain it."
"That's when I quickly realized with horror that the reason why everything was in disrepair was because only Naruto had been living here and that he's been trying to keep everything clean ever since he was left there by himself. All of this time he's been living in that decaying apartment all by himself trying to live in it. Having to do all of the cleaning, repairing, and cooking by himself as a child who was barely six years old at the time. It was no wonder he acted like a child all of the time, before meeting us because when he should have been acting like one he was trying to be an adult," Shasti explains in great detail.
"In plays and stories, I have read. That's a very good reason for a revenge story if, I ever heard one," Ron said.
"Now even if you people try to show kindness to him. There's no way he ever accept it. It's been used on him too many times before," Kim said.
"There's still time to make it up to him," Gai said.
"You're on the losing side. My side has done nothing to him but treated him like a normal kid. While you people only saw him as the demon your 4th Hokage sealed within him," Shasti said.
"The 4th Hokage wished for the village to see him as a hero," Kakashi said.
"And what a great job you people have done with that. Why that fool thought you people would follow with his wishes it beyond me. His son will be much safer with us then you people," Shasti said.
"The 4th is his father?" Ino said as shock went through all the ninjas.
"That's what, I figure as Naruto looks like a younger version of him. His face is on that mountain for all to see. Anyone who doesn't just see him for the demon can see the likeness," Shasti said as she points to the 4th's stone face. "Did you people never saw it?"
"They do look alike," Neji said as he looks at the 4th's face and compared it to Naruto's face.
"You people are fools," Ron said.
"You're greatest hero trusted you people to look after his son. Which you have made his life hell. This will look very badly for you people," Kim said.
"And I already sent a message back to our main base. The word is going to spread," Shasti said to the horror of the older ninjas who knew what that will mean. While the younger ninjas are all wondering if the 4th Hokage is really Naruto's father.
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At the Hokage Tower -
"Butcher used that jutsu disabling jutsu of his. While the chakra still flows through the body, unless one has a blood limit it's trap inside the body. Then he lead them into a ambush the Roman's setup. They hit the Akatsuki with cannon fire, followed by riddling their bodies with bullets, then hitting them with poison gas. Then to make sure they're dead the Romans cut off their heads," Jiraiya said reporting to his old teacher. Once he heard about the slaughter he went to the Land of Waves to find out if the rumors are true. He saw the heads of the Akatsuki members killed in the attack, preserved in glass jars, with preserving fluids.
"Is it really Butcher?" the Hokage ask.
"He's the one who told me how the Akatsuki were killed," Jiraiya said remembering his encounter with his old foe. "He's now working with the Romans. And you know very well what that means for us."
"With Butcher to cancel out or jutsus we will have to fight the Romans head to head. We can't fight them on their terms, they will slaughter us," the Hokage said.
"Only way, I can see us being able to beat them. Is by getting all the hidden villages to band together to fight them together," Jiraiya said.
"Easier said than done. With Butcher having joined the Roman's I fear some villages will see it as a reason to join them. If even Butcher decided to join the Romans rather then fighting them, shows which side is going to win," the Hokage said.
"What about the Romans that are here?" Jiraiya ask.
"They're here to meet with the Fire Lord. He'll be here by tomorrow, Shasti the commanding officer is going to try to get the Fire Lord to willingly join the Roman empire. We can't make a move against them till then. Any attack would be seen as an act of war," the Hokage said.
"If they do than they won't have to fight us. Because we are the military force for the Land of Fire, if we were to attack it would make us a rouge village," Jiraiya said seeing how smart the Roman's are playing.
"They have been doing this kind of thing since they began building their empire. They know exactly what cards to play," the Hokage said.
"What about Naruto? Surely he be able to turn the tide for us if it comes to battle," Jiraiya said.
"The Romans are trying to get him to switch sides," the Hokage answers.
"What!" Jiraiya shouted. "How can he switch sides, what about his friends and the village that sees him as a hero?"
"If you have acted like his grandfather you would know what his life is like," the Hokage said.
"What do you mean?" Jiraiya ask.
"He's not seen as a hero. But as the demon," the Hokage said to the horror of Jiraiya.
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At the Roman HQ -
Butcher is with Frank the druid as they work together. Butcher had recovered the scroll containing the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. The limit of the technique is that it can only bring back to life those who have been killed or have died, as long as there's a body to go back to. Which is why he has asked Frank to use his magic to help him.
"For this magic to work, I will need something of those two's bodies to use to create a body," Frank said.
"The spell will create a new body for them right?" Butcher ask.
"Yes I can make two new bodies. Normally this spell is used to make a copy as soul infusions have never lasted more then a hour before the body breaks apart. It's used to find out who's the one who kill the person that's been brought back," Frank said. (4)
"You need something of theirs to bring them back right?" Butcher ask.
"Yes a piece of their real bodies to do so, blood, bones, hair," Frank said listing them off.
"Looks like my collection is going to come in handy then," Butcher said.
"Collection?" Frank ask.
"Yes you see, I have a tracking jutsu that allows me to know where my target is. The times that, I have to chase after someone who managed to escape me. I use the jutsu that homes on in on them. I just need a piece of their bodies to use. I mainly used whatever body part, I cut off or the blood on my blade. The last time, I fought both of them I rip some of their hair off in our fight. I was planning on using it to track them down, before I heard about their deaths. I kept their hair as a keepsake of that pair in a scrapbook," Butcher said.
"But it will take awhile for me to get everything ready, as least two days. I have to mix everything just right or it won't work," Frank said.
"I waited this long, I can wait a couple of days," Butcher said.
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Land of Fire -
A line of soldiers waited as the camp's cook with some helpers served them their ration. Naruto is helping in the field kitchen as he gotten to like learning how to make his own meals. He also gain a taste for bacon as it's an important food staple because it has lots of fat, salt and protein, and could keep for a long time without spoiling thanks to the curing process used to make it. And Frank the cook showed him how to make a sandwich. (5)
"Naruto chop those potatoes up," Frank shout to him. Clouds of steam pouring off open topped, fifty-five gallon cook pot, of a stew of meat, vegetables and marrow bones, seasoned with a dash of salt. Frank crack some eggs into the stew to add more flavor.
"Right," Naruto said grabbing the basket of peeled potatoes he has been peeling. He walk over to a table with a cutting board and began chopping them.
"It's always the same soup. It's just plain water with hunks of rotten bread floating in it. What I wouldn't give to eat some real food," a soldier said.
"This joint's philosophy is 'quantity over quality'. I mean, yeah it fills you up and all, but it tastes like garbage," another said washing down the meal with some soda. (6)
"All there is to eat here is that thin broth and moldy bread. We soldiers don't live like the aristocrats," said a soldier who saw how nobles lived and ate as she has been to a noble house hold to help guard the place during a party.
"It doesn't taste too great, but it keeps your belly full. Oh well. Ever since that last blow to the head, all I can taste is color anyways," another said taking a bit of his ration.
"It's not so bad," a woman said as she digs into her meal.
"I can't believe you. You gulp that slop down as if it were a gourmet meal," a soldier said watching the woman globing down her meal.
"Gods, this food makes me sick. Gotta eat it, though. Gotta put met on my bones. No one likes a soldier who looks like a stiff wind could carry them away," a man said.
"If only this food tasted half as good as it smells," another adds.
"Ack! What's in this soup? Did someone confuse a cooking pot with a chamber pot? How do they eat this garbage?" a soldier said to another.
"Look at those maniacs pound their food down. We have to water everything down so we'll have enough to go around. And then they have the nerve to complain that it's bland!" a kitchen helper said to a woman as she serves the soldiers waiting in line.
"At least you guys get to eat 3 meals a day," Naruto said as he give the bowl of chop potatoes to Frank.
"Hear that you people should feel lucky," Frank shouted to the soldiers as he dumps the potatoes into the stew pot. He stirs the stew a bit before scooping out a bowl full and hands it to Naruto. "Here kid go and eat."
"Thanks," Naruto said as he walks over to an empty spot at the mess table. He grabs a loaf of bread, an apple, and a cup of grape flavored soda.
Sitting down, Naruto began to eat his meal. Since he started staying more and more in the Roman camp he's been eating better then he ever had in his life. Sitting in a crowded mess tent, being surrounded by people from a different land. He felt more connected to them then he ever did back in the village. Because they only saw him as a kid and nothing else.
He knows that one of the reasons the Romans are treating him like this is because if he switch sides they wouldn't have to deal with the powers of a demon. And even if he does have the demon rip out of him, he would have to find a way to make a living in strange land. He could join the army when he gets older, but since he was trained to be only a ninja there wouldn't be much use for his skills there. He would likely find himself working in one of those factories he was told about. But it's still a better place for him then staying in a place that only sees him as a weapon and a demon. Because it be a life for him where no one would ever look at him thinking he's a demon, he just be another face in the crowd. And maybe he'll find something that he never had but always wanted. A family that loves him.
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Author's Notes -
1 – The Romans were very skilled in alloys, as some alloys they created have lasted up to this time. And without a fall they only gotten better. They have figured out how to mass produce titanium like how today it's easy to mass produce steel. The titanium is of a different makeup but is stronger, since the Roman's been working with it for over a hundred years. How did they figured out how to mass produce titanium? They just did. As a tribe in South America figured out a way to work with platinum which is hard to work with even with modern tools. How they did it is lost to history as the Spanish Conquistadors work all the tribe members to death in search for gold. So just go with it.
2 - Deflecting a bullet by hitting the side with something made out of metal like in some fiction. The thinking is sound but you should never try it in real life.
3 - It's a rare skill nowadays but there are people who can track animals and people that good.
4 - The Druids magic can bring a person back to life. First they create a copy of their body, then used another spell to infuse the soul into the new body. As long as there's a body, which has to be created using a piece of the real body to do so. And it doesn't matter how long the person has been dead, as long as there's a piece of the original body to use. But it has never lasted more then an hour before the body is broken apart. Which makes bringing back the person back to life is to find out if they know who killed them. Or if the person has information. And if the person is really who they are pasted down in stories. The spells are costly and hard to find items so it's not used often.
5 - Sandwiches are a completely unknown to the Element Countries, as they have buns instead. And a bun is a piece of bread with other foodstuff in it, it's completely different from a actual sandwich.
6 - The first drinkable glass of soda was made by Joseph Priestley, a minister, philosopher and friend of Benjamin Franklin. In 1767, Priestley lived in Leeds, England, right next door to a brewery - which you might think sounds wonderfully convenient, but actually means that most things in your house end up smelling of yeast and malt - although, if you've ever been to Leeds, you'll know your clothes smelling of yeast pretty much makes you posh. Actually, in Leeds, clothes pretty much make you posh. Priestley was given permission to perform scientific experiments above the vats in the brewery - a flagrant violation of modern health codes, but apparently not frowned upon at the time. He found that when he held a bowl of water above the brewery gases (which he claled "fixed air"), they infused the water, making it bubbly. Priestley excitedly shared his new beverage with his friends, but he didn't realize (or didn't care about) its money-making potential. The creation of soft drinks would have to wait for future (and more "financially motivated") innovators.
The Roman's in my fic discovered it added flavors to it and started the soda craze. As soda last a long time in glass bottles. The Roman's are around Civil War era tech but their tech is much different as there's electrical power, full metal like replacement body parts. The main power is stream but they're also looking into other fuels as well. Remember different world so it's not exactly like the Civil War era tech, as Romans did have a steam engine but it was more like a lava lamp then a tool. Till someone got the idea to use it to power a machine. And since they have trade with China which used rockets as a weapon, the Romans took the idea and made some changes to it and made it their own. The Roman trade network brought together the goods, the skills and the languages from India to Britain and from the Baltic to Sahara. So they will have some tech that one wouldn't see in Civil War era as their empire never fell apart. The Civil War era tech is just the baseline of what the normal Roman lives, while those living in major trade ports and cities enjoy more steam punk level tech. As you wouldn't find an advance computer factory in a rural setting, but in a place where all the items needed to make a computer can easily be ship to.
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