Still stuck at home, DAMN YOU COVID! But at the very least I'm making up for lost time lol! I mean this had been like what four chapters? Five?
Oh well! Enjoy
Small Council Room
Naruto looked over a map of Westeros with a frown, as it stood they were against the Lannisters, Tyrells, Arryns, Greyjoys, and possibly the Martells as well if they decided to engage in war. On his side he still had the Baratheon, Starks, and Tullys. In the end they were out matched, but they had landed a crippling blow against the two biggest problems in the Lannisters and Tyrells with the Starks driving the Ironborn out of the North.
"We need to strike while the iron is hot," Stannis said as he moved a stag piece away from the Crownlands and into Highgarden. "This is the best time to clear our bets to the Iron Bank of Braavos and establish ourselves as the central power of Westeros once again." The elder Baratheon recommended it to his nephew.
"It would be the best way to obtain the finances to cover the costs of war," Melisandre said as she had found herself a member of his small council. In essence she took the place of the Grand Maester on the council as she managed to spread her religion into King's Landing thanks to word of her miracle during the invasion.
"You want to sack Highgarden is what I'm getting," Naruto said plainly. Rubbing his face he knew that his past life would have murdered him if he did try and do that. But at the moment, that was all gold dragons that would go into helping Joffrey rebuild his army in order to continue the war. Looking at Stannis, he saw that his uncle wouldn't budge on the issue.
"Ours is the fury," Stannis responded with the motto of their house.
"Then I'll go and settle it myself, I'll demand six million gold dragons as compensation for attacking King's Landing. Three million will go to paying off our loan while the rest will go to fixing up the roads caught in the wildfire and supplying our troops," Naruto said knowing that while the total debt was five million now after Naruto started to pay back some of the loan. Over half of it was owed to the Lannisters...which he wasn't going to pay back…
Of course he was high balling them, three million gold dragons was enough to put the fair in the black again and would go a long way to fixing up the city. However he expected the amount to be negotiated down.
So he would pay off the Iron Banks plus any interest on the loan, plus a bit extra in order to show that they were a better investment than his enemies in the future. That was if the time came where they needed to borrow money, they would get priority.
"I'll go with you, if the time comes where we need to attack, I'll make sure that it gets done," Stannis stated.
"I don't want innocent deaths Stannis," the king growled as he knew that if they sacked Highgarden then the chances of innocent people dying would skyrocket.
"That is the cost of war, nephew, I do not enjoy it either, but the Tyrell heir is marrying your brother. If nothing is done that supply will go to your brother," Stannis said, insisting that they needed to be ready to invade High Garden if they refused to pay for their betrayal. Maybe it was because this was the second time in his lifetime that he had gone to war against the Tyrells and Lannisters. He still remembered watching his men starve to death before Davos arrived with his ship of fish and onions to feed them. It was a grudge that never truly went away.
Aside from the Tully siding with the Lannisters, it was almost identical to the war against the Mad King before the Trident.
"I believe that the Queen of Thorns might be a good avenue to a peaceful resolution. Unlike her son, Olenna is quite intelligent and has possibly more influence over the Reach than Mace. If you manage to convince her to pay the sum asked, then I'm sure Mace will bend to her and follow through," Varys suggested to them. Having been involved in the game for so long, he knew who the key players were. Mace wanted his daughter to be a queen, and he would turn a blind eye to Joffrey's antics to accomplish that, Olenna on the other hand wouldn't.
"Then send a raven to the Tyrells, tell them that I wish to parley with them at Highgarden," Naruto ordered, knowing that his troops wouldn't be happy if they just stood by after such a victory against their enemy. Many of the bannermen remember the events of Robert's Rebellion. Some saw this as a way to get revenge for everything that happened at Storm's End.
"As you wish, your grace," Varys said as he would send out a little bird to the Reach to inform them that the king would be there to talk.
"Next is the situation with Catelyn Stark, the Stormlands still demand justice for what happened to Renly. The majority of them suspect that she is partly to blame for his death. You can not ignore this Naruto, if they feel that you'll let the Starks slide for the death of your uncle I can not guarantee that they won't turn against us," Stannis cautioned as he knew that the men were growing restless with the situation involving their former liege lord. If the houses of the Stormlands turned against them, they were done for.
"I know, Ned said that he will be back down with Catelyn as soon as Winterfell is stabilized and the North is firmly under their control again, I assure you Stannis, justice will be served," Naruto said as he didn't believe that Catelyn was stupid enough to try and murder Renly, there was something else going on. But only Catelyn would know what it was.
Stannis stayed silent for a second before nodding his head, not really having anything to say. He knew that if Naruto found out that he had been responsible for Renly's death, then his life would be spent in the Black Cells or the Wall. Renly's death did weigh heavy on his shoulders, but he needed to take Renly out of the equation. He needed Renly's men.
His ambition was still to become king, yet day after day Naruto's power seemed to grow. Melisandre seemed more concerned with helping his nephew than himself recently. This all made him fear that perhaps she had decided that Naruto was really the one she foresaw.
"I think that's about it for today," Naruto said standing up from the desk, "Stannis tell the men that we will march tomorrow."
Highgarden
Naruto looked up at the castle that was Highgarden, it was the seat of power of the Tyrells and where they would meet to parley with him. They had taken the Roseroad from King's Landing down to the fortress. Before them stood what remained for the Tyrell forces, Mace in the front with a sour look on his face.
Holding his hand up to halt his army, the young king rode up towards Mace to greet him. "Mace Tyrell, it's been quite some time," Naruto greeted but only got a glare back from the man.
"You murdered my son," He growled at the Baratheon who frowned at the frosty greeting that he got from Mace. Of course they wouldn't exactly be happy with him. Their son had died against him and now he marched an army to their door demanding compensation for the battle or be destroyed.
Narrowing his eyes on Mace, Naruto decided to remind Tyrell of some facts. "You were the ones who attacked me Lord Tyrell, we had no conflict with one another until you decided to send your army to King's Landing along with the Lannisters to try and take the Iron Throne. This all could have been avoided if you remained loyal to the crown. But instead you decided to go to war, and now you must pay the price," he stated knowing that at the moment he held all the cards. His army was over four times the size of the one guarding Highgarden, and he was within his rights to counter attack after their siege. No one would blame him for retaliating.
Mace was about to say something until Olenna rode towards them, "Enough Mace, you know full well that we can not win at the moment," the elderly woman said to her son before looking at Naruto. She had to admit that had it not been for his magic and his possible association to Renly's death, she would have suggested that Margaery be married to him instead of Joffrey, but Loras had been hell bent on turning against the Baratheons and Mace had been adamant on Joffrey so after some delegating, they agreed to join the Lannister side.
Now they were paying the price.
"So your grace, from what I gathered from your raven, either we pay you six million gold dragons, giving up a vast majority of our wealth…" she said looking over behind Naruto at the army behind the king, Stannis at the head. "Or you'll have us all killed? Rather merciless of you, your highness," She said, trying to make Naruto seem heartless.
She knew that the king had a rather strong moral compass, and he wasn't one to enjoy killing others. As such, she felt that pointing out that he was acting ruthless might cause him to back down from his demands and leave them be. If he didn't take the bait, then she knew they had no choice but to bend the knee in this situation.
"Unfortunately choices have consequences. I have Ser Loras and Lady Margaery the chance to join me in finding out the circumstances behind the death of my uncle, but instead they insulted me and your house joined my enemy, now it is time to pay, or die a traitor's death," Naruto said solemnly as he hated strong arming the House, but it was what needed to be done. His kingdom needed the money. Once he had reestablished control, he would resolve any grudges the best he could.
"How about instead we give you two million gold dragons as repayment, I feel like that is much more of a fair amount for damages done to King's Landing," She offered back.
"No deal, I'll go down to five million dragons if six million is too expensive for you Tyrells, but aside from the damages done, you need to realize that at the moment you and your family are traitors. I mean, I'm being merciful by allowing you the option to trade gold for your position. There are some members of my army that remember the siege at Storm's End, many call for your heads," Naruto said, reinforcing his position as the superior force.
Olenna frowned as Naruto knew that he held the cards at the moment, "I'll give you three million gold dragons."
"How about four million gold and we all go our separate ways," Naruro offered as he brought his hand up towards her to shake, "It is the least that my men will accept, I can not control fifty thousand men at once. If they feel that I'm being weak, they can still choose to attack. So that is my lowest offer,"
Olenna hated being strong armed like this, but she knew when to show the flower and when to present her thorns. At the moment she was smart enough to know that if she faltered, it could lead to all their deaths. While she could tell that deep down Naruto was kind hearted from what she heard, Stannis wasn't.
"Deal…" she said bitterly.
Astapor
Daenerys walked through the docks of the slave trading city, her thoughts were deep in thought about her vision. She at first wanted to dispose of them as merely illusions caused by the warlocks of Qarth, but seeing the child calling her 'mama' and the Iron Throne, she wondered if maybe that was a possible future?
Then there was that man.
She had no idea who that was as he simply called himself a 'friend of a friend'. But who was that friend? Who had sent the man to watch after her? He had killed all the warlocks so easily!
However before her thoughts could continue a ball landed at her feet, snapping out of her thoughts, she saw a little girl motioning for her to pick up the ball. Dany smiled as she grabbed the ball, but the girl motioned for her to open it. Raising an eyebrow, she went to see what the girl wanted to show her, but a dagger flew from the top of a building, piercing through the ball.
As Daenerys dropped the ball, it cracked and revealed a dead manticore inside, it's body sliced in half by the blade. The girl tried to run to jump off the deckside, but her head fell off her shoulders before she could. Looking up, she saw the cloaked man dropping down from the building.
This time she got a good look at his face,long black hair that framed his face and a handsome face. His eyes were black like charcoal but seemed to hold no emotion. Jorah got in between Daenerys and the man who walked over to the girl and picked up her head, revealing her blue gums. "Looks like I missed some warlocks," He muttered before he threw the head off the dock without much care.
"You again," Daenerys said to herself as she watched the man approach her, Jorah still in front of her just in case the man proved to be dangerous toward his queen. "Who are you?" she demanded from him again. "What is your name?"
While Daenerys was demanding answers from the man, Jorah was thinking about the man. How fast he moved, how he jumped from so high up and continued as if they took a small step. It all reminded him...of what he had heard of the current king of Westeros.
"My name? I guess you can call me Sasuke," He told the princess.
"Sasuke...what a strange name…"Dany said to herself as she looked at the man's eyes, looking at them, she almost imagined them being red, strange markings swirling inside them around the pupil, but as she blinked they were still just the black orbs that they were before. "This is the second time you've saved me, why are you following us?" she asked, or rather demanded. If he was strong enough to single handedly take out all those warlocks by himself, she as sure that he was a strong fighter, but then why was he here?
"I'm looking for my brother, and I know that if I follow you, eventually I'll be able to see him again," He told her honestly.
"You're brother?" she asked before Sasuke turned away from her and started to walk.
"You'll find out eventually, now are you coming Targaryen?"
Sasuke thought to himself how he ended up in this world. Like Naruto, he had died soon after the war. And where yang went, yin would follow. He had been reborn in the city of Yi Ti as the son of the emperor, however he soon started to regain his memories from his previous life. Everything he did, all the atrocities, his bond with Naruto, the war, his final fight...his death…
When he reached the age of fifteen, he decided to abdicate his position as prince and leave to explore the world. His parents hated the idea of their son leaving, claiming he was blessed by the Maiden Made of Light and the Lion of the Night as the next great emperor, but he didn't care about that.
This wasn't his life.
This wasn't his world.
That wasn't his family.
So he left to wander the world, exploring Essos and finding out more about the land he had been reborn in. Right off the bat, he learned that he was stronger than the normal people of this world, and his 'magic' as they called it put him on another level. However during his travels, he heard of the prince of Westeros, a kid with unparalleled strength.
His name...Naruto.
Then it clicked, Asura and Indra always existed as pairs. Hashirama and Madara. Naruto and Sasuke. Where one went the other would follow. That was the nature of their bond. So since Naruto been reincarnated into this world, so was he. Only this time they were able to regain their memories but had much weaker bodies. It was hard to think that at one point he could destroy meteors and summon a massive armor of chakra that could frankly destroy anything this world could throw at him.
Finding out that Naruto had been sent to this world as well, brought him new meaning. Before he had accepted a nomadic lifestyle, traveling from one place to another, just as he planned to after the war when he lost to Naruto. But now he had a reason to focus, a goal in mind. To reunite with Naruto.
He had intercepted a raven sent from King's Landing from a man called Varys, someone who from what the letter read, worked for his best friend. He sent back a raven telling the Spider that he was looking for work and was willing to be his hand in Essos to do whatever was needed but wanted to get to Westeros at the earliest chance.
Varys had told him that this girl was Naruto's future wife, and that she would need help staying safe in Essos given how dangerous it could be to those who weren't skilled or observant. He hadn't mentioned his powers and had called himself 'Hawk' to not leak too much information.
He had been the one who delivered the supplies to Daenerys back at the Red Waste, using a transformation to hide his appearance. He had been caught off guard when Daenerys walked out of the door right after he had killed the warlocks.
However he didn't expect to have to intervene once again so soon after that…
Looking at the white haired woman, he couldn't help but feel that she was a bit of an airhead. She seemed confident in her right to retake the throne and that the people would rejoice at her return. Perhaps that was what she had been told by those around her, but he seriously doubted that people would be so excited by her return. But he knew that most smallfolk didn't care for what ruler they had as long as they weren't being harassed. Maybe some lords might be happy to have her back, but in reality he doubted many would care much.
In the end, all he cared about was getting back to his one true friend. It was the only way that he figured that he could make up for his crimes in his past life, to help brother in all but blood establish peace on this violent world.
"Hold up, you expect us to follow you, and yet all you let us know is your name?" Jorah asked the former shinobi, not exactly trusting the man who came out of nowhere to save them.
"To be fair Jorah Mormont, I'm not the only one with secrets here now am I?" Sasuke asked as he used his genjutsu to cast a message to Jorah so that Daenerys wouldn't hear it, he didn't want to expose the man at the moment. 'Little bird'
Jorah's eyes widened as he now knew that the man before him had information of his previous duties to spy and report on Daenerys back to Varys and by extension, King's Landing. Ever since he had formally joined the Targaryen, he had stopped sending reports to the Master of Whispers, but he knew that if the Mother of Dragons found out that he used to be a spy on her, he'd lose her trust, possibly forever.
"I suppose so," Jorah said as he didn't want to test the strange man without anything to back him up. He knew now that this man was just the current King of Westeros, he had strange powers that made him dangerous.
Daenerys of course stayed skeptical, she had been betrayed multiple times over the last year. People she had trusted with her life and family had turned their backs on her, and yet now this strange man saved her twice. She didn't buy it yet. She knew nothing about this 'Sasuke' person and what he was up to. She only knew that he wanted to be reunited with his brother and that her path would one day cross his.
Not only that, but he refused to tell them who his brother was. The only thing that he knew was that according to him, he was a second and ally of her's. But that left her wondering who that other ally was?
"Khaleesi, if I may have a word with you," Jorah said as Sasuke stopped and looked back at them with a blank face as Jorah attempted to pull Daenerys to the side to talk to her. His eyes narrowed slightly as he released a bit of killing intent aimed at Jorah, making the man shiver as he got Sasuke's warning to not do anything stupid.
"Daenerys, this man has magic," he whispered to her.
The white haired princess's eyes widened as she looked back at the man who was watching them, his eyes still a dull black, as if he didn't really care about what was going on. "Do you think that he's a warlock from Qarth?" she asked, worried that him killing the girl was just to try and show that he was on her side when really it was a trick to get her guard down.
"No, like Naruto Baratheon's magic, if he's anything like that monster Daenerys, who knows what will happen," he cautioned as he knew that the skill and power Sasuke displayed in the few encounters that Daenerys had with him had left quite the impression. His speed, his ability to kill effortlessly. It was dreadful, demonic even.
"If he is, and he proves to be an actual ally, then he might need what we need in case we come to war with the Usurper's son," Daenerys said, knowing that the risk was high, but if Jorah was right, then they might just be able to gain a monster to fight against a monster. "We'll let him be, if he betrays me, then he'll burn." She stated firmly, having made her choice.
Walk of Punishment
As the three walked down the seaside wall, none could really ignore the slaves being punished, the smell of their blood fresh in the air as they served to remind the slaves of the city that this was their fate should they displease their masters. "Quite the horrid sight," Sasuke said as he looked at the people bleeding from the crosses.
Daenerys looked at one of them before asking Jorah for his water to offer it to one of the men despite being told that the man had been sentenced to death by Jorah. The two men watched as the lady climbed to give one of the men a drink, only for him to refuse it, wanting to not prolong his tortured life.
"I'm shocked that you would resort to slaves, quite the unorthodox choice for a Westrosi," Sasuke commented as Daenerys came back down and the three continued to go meet with Kraznys mo Nakloz to discuss the purchase of the Unsullied army.
"We must do what we need to," Jorah said before looking at his khaleesi, "If you want to win the throne your ancestors built, you must win it. That will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done," Jorah told the white haired girl.
"The blood of my enemy, not the blood of innocents," she responded before walking off.
Sasuke chuckled lightly as he walked after her with Jorah, "Not a bad answer," Sasuke commented.
"Have you ever seen war Sasuke? Have you ever seen a war where innocents didn't die?" Jorah asked the teen figuring that the answer would be 'no' given his age.
"I have been in four wars over my life, however in all wars, innocents die. That is true. After all, even soldiers are innocent in a way, very few have a choice but to fight," Sasuke commented passively, shocking Jorah that the teen claimed to have fought in so many wars before Sasuke tuned him out, not caring what the man had to say.
Meeting Room
Sasuke sighed to himself as he leaned against the door frame as he listened in on Daenerys bargaining with Kraznys mo Nakloz to buy the Unsullied. Jorah had made the case that the Unsullied would only listen to Daenerys and that unlike the beasts that typically made up armies, they wouldn't rape and pillage unless ordered to by their master commanded it.
He listened to the Targaryen woman talk with the slave translator who interpreted for her master. It seemed that Daenerys wanted to buy every single Unsullied that Astapor had along with those who hadn't fully finished their training, something that Kraznys seemed to be hesitant to due to the possibility that they would fail and damage the reputation of their city's product.
However the man seemed to change his tune once Daenerys offered one of her children in exchange for the small army. Something that Jorah instantly recommended against offering a dragon as payment. Something that he agreed with, but he decided to let the girl make her own choices. After all, as long as she stayed alive then he fulfilled his mission.
After the deal was agreed on, the three left the room, Jorah still arguing against it until Daenerys turned around. "You are here to advice me and I value your advice, but if you ever question me in front of strangers again, you'll be advice someone else, both of you," she said threatening to leave Jorah behind if he dared to question her like that again in front of someone and warning Sasuke that it applied to him as well.
"You should be mindful Targaryen, your opponent has plenty of wise and seasoned men at his command. Men who have seen war multiple times over and are unmatched with the blade. At the moment you have very few, don't be so quick to disregard someone who has actual experience," Sasuke cautioned, standing up for Jorah who looked at the cloaked man in shock as he didn't expect him to actually defend him like that. "That being said, if Daenerys is your queen Jorah, you'll need to trust her decisions and help them play out when the time comes," he advised.
Daenerys was going to say something, but a cold look from Sasuke caught her tongue. The memory of how easily he decapitated that child assassin was still fresh in her mind. He had saved her, and she was sure that he could kill her as well. Not only that, his words...had merit. She admitted that to herself. Saying nothing else, she turned and walked towards the exit where she was joined by the slave she had just bought along with the Unsullied.
Later
The time had come for the deal to be sealed, Sasuke stood in the shadows with his hand on the sword handle in case things went south and he needed to fight to keep the woman alive. He watched as Daenerys took Drogon out of its cage, a chain around it's leg before handing it to Kraznys in exchange for the cat-o-nine-tails that signified her as the new master of the eight thousand Unsullied.
However it became clear that Drogon wasn't going to listen to the slaver. Daenerys tested her new army but was interrupted when Kraznys complained that the dragon wasn't listening to him. Then it became clear that Daenerys had no intention of actually selling a dragon and instead played her plan out, revealing that she understood Valyrian the whole time and commanded her new army to slaughter the masters of the city and free the slaves, sparing the children.
Kraznys ordered someone to kill her as the Unsullied carried out her order, only for Daenerys to give the order for Drogon to unleash its flame and lit the man on fire.
Drawing his sword, he killed any guard that got too close to Daenerys. The woman turned around as one of them went to thrust their spear into her only for Sasuke to appear in front of her and grab the weapon with his bare hand. Bringing his sword up, lightning sparked along the blade before it elongated faster than the eye could see, impaling the man through the face.
Daenery looked on in shock as shook at the display of magic, having never seen anything quite like that before. As the sword retracted, Sasuke looked back at her, "Try not to die girl," he said before walking back to the slaughter, cutting down a master that tried to run away.
For the first time in her life, she realized just what she was dealing with when it came to Naruto Baratheon. Jorah had compared Sasuke to the king who sat on her family's throne. She had always assumed that the rumors of his feats were just myths and legends made to scare children.
Now she understood, as she watched Sasuke cut people down with no effort at all, these people...weren't just knights. They were so much more.
And that's it! Figured that since I introduced the boi last chapter I might as well make him actually DO something. Kinda realized that without Joffrey, Barristan wouldn't have ended up in Essos which mean that Daenerys would be very much dead to that insect since lets face it, Jorah wasn't doing anything in that moment, girl was dead.
Soooo figured that why not Sasuke!
Um please be sure to leave a review!
