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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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Treaty –
In the office of Governor Crocker, she sat at a meeting table with the Roman commander of the invasion force Drake, they're with one of the hidden villages leader's. Orochimaru came to the Roman fort to work out a agreement for his village to join the Romans. With the fall of the Mist Village and the enslavement of the surviving villagers, many of the lord's of the land are now looking towards joining the Romans. Even the Rice lord is looking at what the Romans have to offer, as compared to funding a ninja village, it would cost less to join the Romans. (1)
"As you can see the contract states that, you remain as leader of your village and over sees the needs of your village. In exchange your village will aid us as we will aid you in times of war. Roman trade goods will be open up to your village, in exchange for surplus goods from your village as well as taxes," Crocker said laying down the treaty.
"I will also be able to get some of medical equipment?" Orochimaru ask.
"If you're referring to the Hephaestus replacement limbs, those will be included once trade opens up. Besides you have to know about how the human body works as well as knowing about machines to be able to use them," Drake said.
"I have already study the human body. I can learn about machines as well," Orochimaru said.
"I can tell you're planning on replacing your whole body with a machine to live forever. But even for those who done that to the point only their brains are the only things left. It won't make you immortal," Drake said.
"Really?" Orochimaru ask.
"They do give a longer lifespan but you can still be killed, and parts will need to be replace every few years. Also the fact the you can't feel anything with a Hephaestus limb, has lead to some people who went with replacing their whole bodies with metal, be driven to kill themselves or went mad," Crocker explains. (2)
"And the first test subjects for full Hephaestus replacement parts, went mad and killed themselves or destroyed everything around them," Drake said.
"Test subjects?" Orochimaru ask.
"We use people who we're going to kill for their crimes as test subjects. All new machines and medical devices are tested out first before they can be sold to the public," Crocker said.
"The only ones who can handle a full body transplant are the ones who wanted to. But even then it takes time for them to adjust to their new body. It also helps that they had replacement limbs done to them before hand so they would have a feel for it," Drake explains.
"And while the brain is still preserved, it will break down like all things. We simply don't have the tools needed to keep the brain alive just yet. The only way to make it last if for the head and most of the torso to be left," Crocker said.
"I see," Orochimaru said.
"Also we already know about your history. We learn it from Butcher who told us all about you," Drake said.
"If someone like Butcher saw that fighting you would be a losing battle, I would be a fool to try to stand in your way," Orochimaru said. "The way of the ninja is deeply imbedded into the way of life here. Many will fight tooth and nail to save their way of life. Their pride and the way of the ninja is on the line. Years of breeding and years of training, made all but useless thanks to the advance weapons that allow, anyone to kill an S rank ninja."
"Things change, no one can stop it. People will always want to improve their daily lives, which will be given to the common people. When faced with an impossible situation one should change the rules of the game," Crocker said.
"There's also the issue that you use to run with those ninjas we killed awhile ago," Drake said.
"I was quite shock when, I heard you killed two of them so easily, and all but two later," Orochimaru said.
"We're looking for the two but with only two of them left, they won't be showing themselves anytime soon," Drake said.
"If they do, we can always call Butcher to handle things," Crocker said.
"Are you're sure that you'll be able to control him? I fought him and, I barely managed to survive," Orochimaru said.
"We're paying him and giving him a place back in the empire where he can live out his old age without any worry about ninjas trying to kill him to make a name for themselves," Crocker answers.
"From a report Butcher would had been killed if the gun a boy name Naruto aimed at his face was loaded. If he goes rouge, enough bullets to the head will kill him," Drake said.
"Good point," Orochimaru said as having his head smash would kill him.
"Are the terms to the treaty agreeable to you?" Crocker ask.
"Yes they are," Orochimaru said seeing the paper.
"We can't supply you with weapons just yet but we will share the replacement limbs plans with you," Crocker said.
"I also understand there's a man who can use magic?" Orochimaru said.
"Yes Frank the druid. But magic is a very hard skill to learn and to use," Drake said.
"But that's how Naruto's parents were brought back to life," Orochimaru said.
"Yes it was. We're currently looking through the scrolls that your old group had in their vault, as well as the vault of Mist," Drake said as with the test of mixing jutsu and magic together has already causing a stir.
"How did you enter? The vaults are protected by powerful jutsus that even, I would have to be careful not to set off," Orochimaru said.
"We simply broke through the wall," Drake said. (3)
"Oh," Orochimaru realizing that he better have the walls of his vault reinforced.
"Butcher told me that ninjas are so obsessed about showing how damn smart and powerful they are in creating jutsus that they often miss things right in front of them," Crocker said having talk with him.
"How so?" Orochimaru ask.
"Like with the tail beasts. You ninjas have been stuck with just sealing them into living beings that you have never tried anything different. The most powerful demon we had to face is like the tail beasts of these lands. We couldn't kill it so we simply sealed it into a statue and then broke it into hundreds of pieces. The demon can only be freed if the statue is made whole again as even broken the pieces used the endless energy of the demon to power the seal, using it's own strength to trap it. The pieces were either dump into the sea or used as filler when making cement for the roads. The head the only intact piece, with the lower jaw missing, is displayed in the palace of the emperor," Crocker explains.
"Wait wouldn't the demon be able to be freed that way?" Orochimaru ask.
"No for we simply saw them as a problem to get rid of while your people have been trying to use them as weapons," Drake said. (4)
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At the Roman Camp in Land of Fire -
Naruto was training, or just doing camp work while dress in heavy weights. Kim is having him work on the camps growing garden while wearing training weights. Kim said that working in the garden while wearing weights will strengthen his body. It's training from hell but is better then the ones that ninjas put themselves through to make themselves stronger, according to Butcher. (5)
"You call this training?" Butcher ask Kim.
"Yes as this kind of training is what young soldiers are put through to build up strength. I did this kind of things when, I first joined. Repairing roads, cutting away overgrowth and building new bridges. They're known as Labor Engineers who help keep the empire running," Kim said.
"It looks more like using soldiers to do jobs around a city," Butcher said.
"Yes that's one of the jobs that soldiers do in the empire. For large projects like a new sewer or tunnel, the army is sent in to do it. It dates back to the beginning of the empire, where the army built roads behind them as they march. And it also keeps the road network running smoothly as the army uses new soldiers to maintain them. And helps to grow enough food for our people, as there are plenty of government run farms that uses fresh soldiers as field hands. In fact some soldiers just stay as Labor Engineers for one reason or another, the higher rank soldiers who oversee the younger ones, are the ones who just stayed with the L. E. instead of going to basic training," Kim explains. (6)
"The training that all ninjas go through usually leaves broken bones, cripples, and death," Butcher said.
"So you ninjas think that repeatedly breaking bones and beating people makes them stronger?. Beating a horse to near death doesn't make a great horse, just a very crippled one," Kim said.
"I agree with you there. I came from a small ninja village with a leader that believed in training from hell. But all that did was left the village with such a small number of ninjas that they were all wipe out during one of the ninja wars. Simply because there's too few ninjas to fight," Butcher said. "In fact I found out that the last leader of the Mist village made the training practices deliberately meant to harm the village. The leader was under the control of the Akatsuki."
"Reminds me of the Spartans," Kim said.
"Aren't they the warrior race that after they lost their slaves are reduced to making mock plays of their past greatness?" Butcher ask.
"Yes they are. You met Kratos right?" Kim ask.
"The trainer?" Butcher ask.
"He's a Spartan who trained himself in the old Spartan ways. But his kind of training is all but worthless in the modern army. The only training we use from the Spartans is their hand to hand fighting and straight to the point killing ones enemy," Kim said. "Besides that hard brutal training they did was defeated by a softer one." (7)
"How's Naruto?" Kushina ask as she and Minato walk up to them.
"He has a green thumb. He should just the Labor Engineers for farm work or run a farm himself," Kim said.
"Besides he has given up on the ninja way," Butcher said.
"It be for the best," Minato said seeing that the ninja way only gave his son pain.
""I'm sure he'll do fine," Kushina adds.
"You two need to keep talking to him. Both of my parents were never around when, I was growing up. It's just now that I'm an adult that they're even trying to get to know me. Too late for that as, I'm out of the house with my own life," Kim said. "Naruto is still at the age that where having you two to support him is still has a need. He doesn't need you two as ninja masters to teach him, but as parents who will support him till he's old enough to take care of himself."
"But of course the problem is that thanks to you two. He already has been taking care of himself when other kids could act like kids. By the time he was aware of the world around him, he was already an adult for he was already alone," Butcher said.
"You're enjoying this. Watching as we try to gain the love of our child," Minato said.
"Of course I am. That's the whole reason why, I brought you back to life in the first place," Butcher said.
"Enough Butcher," Kim said to him.
"Fine," Butcher said as he puff away in smoke.
"You two just need to stop being ninjas and be parents. All you been doing is trying to bribe him with training or trying to open himself up by talking about ninja stuff," Kim said.
"What do you mean?" Minato ask.
"Why don't you do something a parent would do. Why don't you bake a cake for him," Kim said.
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In Frank the Druid's lab -
Frank is busy as he prepares a mixture in an iron pot. The trouble with magic is that the potions for spells need to be fresh and it's hard to tell when one goes bad. So druids like himself have to create new potions for spells all the time. He's joined by Orochimaru who wanted to talk to him.
"So that's a healing potion?" Orochimaru ask.
"Yes but as you can see it's very hard to make," Frank said. "One mistake and there's no telling what it would do."
"So you use the same energy as we ninjas do but in a more complex way," Orochimaru said.
"I already heard from Butcher that you have been trying to find a way to make yourself live forever. And that you been jumping bodies. That may extend your life but will stop working later," Frank said.
"What do you mean?" Orochimaru ask.
"The more you jump to one body to the next, the more often you have to change them, and that you leave a bit of you behind till there's nothing left to jump," Frank said.
"You druids have something like that?" Orochimaru ask.
"Yes but it's outlawed for a reason. As you must have already discovered that the body you have taken over rots away faster then the one before. And that your true form can't be maintained without a host body," Frank said. "And don't even bothering looking for it in any magic text. All copies have been destroyed and the people who knew about it are long dead."
"What about living forever?" Orochimaru ask.
"I know a spell to do it. But of course nothing is free," Frank said.
"What's the cost?" Orochimaru ask.
"That while you will look young, your body with still age. You become weaker, your body breaks down, you lose your hearing, eyesight, lose your mind, all the things that come with old age. Your body will look the same as it did when you became immortal but that's it," Frank said.
"Immortal but cripple," Orochimaru said.
"Yes and others that will make you live forever but with many drawbacks. Like one that does give you everything but if you get your head smash into paste, you're just a headless body that still lives. Then there are the ones that because of one mistake went nightmarishly wrong," Frank said.
"I see," Orochimaru said seeing that magic wasn't the way to living forever. But if he could find a way to extend his life or put his mind into a machine, he'll be able just to wait till someone or himself figures a way to live forever.
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At the Roman Camp in Land of Fire -
Naruto enters his tent for the night, only to find something waiting for him. On the night table is a small cake with a note. Naruto opens the folded piece of paper which read.
'For your hard work today' love mom and dad.
Naruto look at the cake and back at the note. He changed into his sleeping clothes and climb into bed. The next morning after Naruto left to do his camp work, Minato and Kushina peak into the tent. They found the cake still there with only a bite taken out of it.
The note Naruto left read.
'Need to learn to bake.'
"At least he accepted it," Kushina said chuckling remembering all the times he had thrown away their little gifts to him, mostly ninja gear.
"There's that," Minato said wondering it they would be able to earn their son's love. But to do it they would have to stop thinking like he's a ninja in training and just their son.
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Author's Notes -
1 – The cost of running a ninja village, where even the food needs to be treated to build stronger bodies of ninjas. Would be a massive cost for the lords who fund them. While under Roman rule unless heavily taxed to the point riots spring up, the taxes wouldn't hurt as much as funding a ninja village.
2 - I would imagine that not being able to feel anything would lead people be driven mad or kill themselves. Also without being able to feel anything, they wouldn't know how damage their body is.
3 - Remember if the door is too strong, just break through the wall. For most people put all the protection on the door but forget that a well protected door doesn't matter. If the walls are much weaker then the door.
4 - Remember the Roman seals work like the dragon balls. The dragon can only be summon if all the dragon balls are found. Same thing for the Roman demon seals, the demons can only be freed if all the pieces are put together. And just because the ninjas never came up with a better way to deal with their demons, that no one else would. Since the ninjas use the human containers as weapons while the Romans were just looking for a way to get rid of their demons and not trying to use them as weapons of war. The ninjas are like people trying to catch man eating animals so they can be used as weapons, and the Romans only see the man eating animals more trouble then they're worth and simply killed them all. So that's why the Romans are better at getting rid of demons as they're not the ones who are trying to use the demons powers as they simply see it more trouble then it's worth.
5 - Anyone who does gardening as in growing your own food, will tell you it's hard work. Even more so by wearing training weights, like in Dragonball, where the Turtle Hermit had his two students work as labors instead of putting them through the kind of training from hell you usually see in anime and manga. Which leaves both students more mentally stable, without long term damage or crippled. Besides the choice between training that repeatedly breaks your bones in the thinking it will make you stronger even if it more likely cripples you, to weight training and working on a farm, where you can rest when you need it unlike the other training where you train till you drop. Which would you pick?
6 - For large government projects the empire uses the Labor Engineers to build them, instead of hiring labors to do it. As the Romans have a large army, that in peace time needs to earn their keep. So fresh soldiers are used as laborers to repair the road network, farming fields, or work in government warehouses shipping supplies, while wearing weights to toughen them up. So that after a year of this, they're more then ready to take on basic training. Or stayed with the Labor Engineers maintaining the buildings and roads that allow the empire to continue running. And for those in the army if you had work farming fields or all take while wearing weights, you would have a strong body that would be able to go through basic training easier. As farmer muscles do better then the body builder built in basic army training.
7 - For an interesting historical subversion you can't go past the Sacred Band of Thebes. A company of elites composed entirely of paired homosexual lovers, one older and one younger, who being thus bonded would theoretically have a lot more invested in keeping the soldier standing next to them alive and thus fight harder in their defense (and be more prone to berserking at the enemy's expense if their lover fell). And it worked. Not only were they one of the most feared companies in ancient Greece, but Thebes triumphed in the Battle of Leuctra over a larger force (5-7,000 vs 10-11,000) by use of a hitherto-unforeseen battle tactic, in which the Sacred Band were instrumental. The enemy crushed and humiliated by the Sacred Band in this battle? The Spartans. Yes. They defeated The Spartan Way with The Power of Love. So there's no saying that gays would never make good soldiers.
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