A Shinobi's Awakening (Old) Chapter 6, a Naruto + Fire Emblem Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or Naruto

Chapter 5

The First Alliance

Hoshido couldn't believe the situation he found himself in. He knew it was too good to be true when Princess Aiko invited him out to dinner without even mentioning the night before. He knew the smile she wore from the Inn all the way to the restaurant they were currently occupying was fake. The fake smile she wore as they sat down at a booth in the back of the restaurant that she specifically asked for.

The same fake smile that turned into a grin as her foot began massaging his crotch as the waiter was taking his order. He was ashamed of the indignant squeak that left his mouth mid-sentence and was sure his face had a faint trace of red as he looked to his princess in complete horror and astonishment. He had known for weeks how drastically her feelings towards him changed ever since he'd rescued her from that slimy bastard Genji. Hell, he would have had to been blind not to see the change in attitude towards him. From opening her kimono during their travels to fan herself from the 'heat', to the sudden looseness of her towel after a bath, to the little stunt last night where she crawled into his futon and attempted to try and, ahem, 'relieve him of his stress'. Of course, he denied her since even if he had zero experience in love and could actually be in a relationship with her, he knew that was not the level of intimacy they should yet be at.

After that, she was, understandably, pissed. She went over to her futon and didn't say another word to him that night. He would admit that he was honored she would harbor feelings for him considering he was nothing more than a common soldier, but that was the problem. He was just a common soldier while she was the princess of a nation. He knew little about politics, but even he knew the backlash of her marrying a commoner would hurt her and her image drastically. After the month he'd spent with her, he wouldn't deny the feelings he harbored for her as well, but just wasn't possible.

Now, there was no doubt in his mind that she was punishing him for denying her advances for so long. From the smile that seemed to get wider on her face as she somehow maneuvered her way through his pants and took out his member, he knew she was enjoying herself immensely. He gave a pleading glare to the princess to hopefully end her advances, but the blonde woman he couldn't deny he loved only began moving her bare feet in a constant motion against his-

...

Giggles escaped the mouth of Kakashi Hatake as he made sure to read word for word the next paragraph so his imagination could keep up with his eyes. Even if he had read this same scene over a hundred times, it still had a place in his heart no matter the repetition.

"Heheheh, oh Aiko, you naughty, naughty girl~. Ahehehehe." A faint trace of blood rolled down the Jonin's nose as he turned the pages to see the pictures that accompanied this beautiful work of art. After every sentence he read, he looked back to the picture on the right that fueled his imagination and gave him incentive to move on. Such work of art needed to be read slowly to truly take in the scene that he was try to-

He momentarily stopped his read to deflect 3 metal objects that were strategically placed to go through his head. He didn't even glance up at his attacker as she charged him straight on with sword in hand.

"Ma, I was getting to the good part." He drawled as he casually brought his kunai up and deflected the sword swing from the pink haired swordswoman. The legendary blade Falchion gleamed in the sunlight as it's wielder brought it in a horizontal arc to cut the silver haired scarecrow in half. Her swing met nothing but air as the Copy-Nin ducked under the swing. Lucina expected a counter attack from her now opened position, but much to her annoyance, the one-eyed man only kept his attention on that damned blue book. Instead of waiting for an attack, the princess lifted her sword and prepared to bring it down on the still reading Jonin.

Before she could even go through with the movement, she froze as a kunai was placed at her jugular. "You're dead." Kakashi spoke lazily from his crouching position, never taking his eyes off his book. "Your movements are too wide and you depend too much on finishing your enemies in a single swing. The correct move there would have been to retreat when I did not attack. Not only would you be better prepared for my follow-up, but you'd be out of range of my weapon."

The Jonin finally looked up to the pinkette and gave an eye-smile. "Do try to remember that living beings a more prone to exploit your openings." Lucina gulped as she nodded at the Jonin's words.

A moment later the kunai was moved from her neck, but not by choice. Kakashi was forced to jump back as the princess suddenly moved under his arm and swung vertically at his exposed armpit. She quickly dashed after him as he landed. "Vantage!" She activated one of her skills to double her speed. The slight widening of the silver haired man's eye was the only indication that he was surprised before he slightly moved his head to the right and away from the jab. The sword retreated back to the woman just as fast as it came and he was forced to deflect the overhead strike while pivoting to her right.

He was once again surprised when he kicked her in the back and a red aura pushed his leg back and disrupted his balance. The girl seemed to be disheveled for a moment, but quickly turned around and took advantage of the Copy-Nin's opening. She jabbed at his torso and felt slightly disturbed yet accomplished when the sword pierced through the Jonin's torso. Her victory did not last long since not a second later Kakashi turned into a wooden log that split into two. Her senses were yelling at her to move and that's exactly what she did as a shadow descended from above and almost planted her into the ground via a dropkick.

It was now time to the Copy-Nin to be the aggressor as he put away his book and charged the pinkette. He threw 2 shuriken that curved in the air before heading straight to the pinkette. Lucina was ready for the attack and was already in the motion to intercept the incoming stars. Just as she was bringing her arm up, she saw Kakashi throw another star that sailed faster than the rest. Unfortunately for her, she could not stop her timing and her sword had already come down to deflect the first two shuriken. That seemed to be her downfall however since the last shuriken went past her guard and straight for her eye.

In a feat that surprised even herself, she pushed her mana 0.3 seconds before the star would take out one of her eyes and ducked awkwardly to the side. Fortunately, the shuriken flew past the side of her forehead and landed somewhere in the distance. Unfortunately, it took some flesh with it as it cut through her pale skin above the left eye. She hissed at the pain as she stumbled awkwardly from the angle she was in.

Kakashi took full advantage of her opening and was in striking distance the second she caught herself. He pulled back his arm to strike wide with his kunai and Lucina was ready to guard. What she did not expect was the blood that fell into her left eye added with the silver haired man feinting his swing and pulling up his leg instead. The leg was too far away to hit her, but that wasn't the purpose of the attack. As his leg left the ground a chunk of grass and dirt followed. Lucina was blinded further by the sudden dirty tactic and swung sightlessly at the still advancing shinobi.

Her blade met nothing but air and she was punished for it by multiple strikes to her person. First was what felt like a palm strike to her cheek that turned her head, next was a body shot that folded her forward followed by an uppercut to her chin. Lastly was what could only be a kick that sent her sprawling across the field. Somewhere between the tumble, she had lost hold of her sword, but regained her footing. She quickly rubbed at her eyes to clear it from any lingering dirt or blood and could just make out her teacher 2 meters in front of her.

He was going for another palm strike to her face and Lucina quickly anticipated this through blurry vision and leaned back. That seemed to be the wrong move since him pulling back and spinning around showed it was another faint. The time traveler saw stars as the man's shinobi sandals landed in the side of her head and sent her sprawling again. Unlike last time, she was not able to catch her bearings and stopped on her side.

She felt pain all over her body, but she still pushed herself to all fours. She asked for this training and this pain was but a consequence of gaining strength. She shook her head and looked up to the silver haired man that had his face back in his book with a hand in his pocket. She knew he was doing that to rile her up, but she couldn't help her blood boiling at the sight of him dismissing her. Once she shook the stars from her head, she stood back up to shaky feet and drew a kunai from her pouch. She held it in a reverse grip and took a ready stance.

After 10 seconds of no one moving, Lucina decided to be the aggressor once more and charged forward. She let out a battle cry as she got in range of the distracted man. A kunai met hers as sparks flew from the metal contact. The pinkette attacked relentlessly with her knife with less grace than her sword, but with more speed and precision.

The exchanged lasted 20 seconds as Lucina hacked and slashed at the man who didn't look up nor move from the position he was in a minute ago. She had no idea how he was deflecting her blows without even acknowledging her, but her mind was more on getting a hit in than such trivial matters.

Almost unexpectedly, his leg came out to sweep her legs after an attack on her end. She showed her surprising acrobatic skills however and flipped over his kick. As she landed, her hand movements flashed upwards. Three kunai shot from her left hand and headed straight for the man's torso. He deflected the knifes with ease, but was surprised when he saw the exploding tags attached to the end of the weapons.

The sound of an explosion rung throughout the clearing as Lucina covered her face from the debris. Her arm fell, but her guard did not as she waited for the smoke to clear. She knew with absolute certainty that wouldn't be enough to take out her trainer. He was made from harder material than normal human beings and was too slippery to be caught up in something as simple as that.

She was right since out of the smoke came two kunai that were aimed with superb accuracy at her leg and sword arm. With grace, she deflected the projectiles and ran towards the smoke that would dissipate any second. Only to come to a halt when the smoke cleared and there was now no sign of life in the clearing aside from herself. She looked around frantically to find the allusive man, but saw nothing but grass and trees in the distance.

She suddenly jumped and cried out in fright as something grabbed her ankles. Faster than she could react, she was pulled into the ground all the way up to her neck. She blinked a few times before she looked down at the ground that was now only centimeters away from her face. Seconds later a puff of smoke appeared in front of her and she almost let out a growl at the Jonin that still had his face in his book.

"You actually had me surprised at that last move there, princess." Kakashi drawled as he turned a page in his book with just a finger. "I didn't know my cute little Genin knew how to put chakra into exploding tags. Looks like I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Lucina could do nothing but sigh as she knew she was defeated. Her body ached and she couldn't even move in her current position. She was completely her teacher's mercy. "…So, how bad was I?" She said, resigned to her lost. Much to her confusion and growing annoyance, the man didn't reply. "Naruto?" still no reply. Lucina stared at the man for a long minute before letting out a sigh and finally relenting. "…Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, didn't know you were talking to me, princess." The silver haired Jonin's voice said in a sing song voice as he gave her an eye smile that brought a tick-mark to her forehead. "Not bad, actually." The Copy-Nin said honestly as he flipped another page in his book. "You seemed to adapt swordplay wise after your first little mistake. That's good and shows you are not repetitive. It also shows you are a quick learner, which makes it easier for me to train you. However," he closed his book and let out a sigh as he put it in his pouch. "You have a lot of work to do."

Lucina winced at the man's tone. "W-was I really that bad?"

"Oh no. Quite the contrary." He reassured with another eye smile. "You have a grace in your swordplay that not many possess. If I were to describe it, then I would say it flows like water, yet snaps like a snake. However, the problem lies in your muscle memory and the things you are used to fighting." Lucina didn't need him to point out the obvious from that statement since she knew more than anyone what he meant. "You leave yourself open unnecessarily and take wide swings at times as if you will run your opponent through with the first strike. You are never thinking defensively nor are you ready for your opponents' counterattack when it comes. It's because of that that you couldn't tell the difference between a straight forward strike and a feint."

"I also disapprove of you using a weapon you are not familiar with. Though your speed is increased, the amount of openings you left in every strike honestly made me blanch." The man sighed as he crouched down and placed a hand over the gash that was pouring blood into her eye. Seconds later, a green glow was on his hand and the cut began to slowly close up. "The correct thing to do when you've lost your main choice of weapon is to either retreat or get your opponent into a position where you can safely retrieve your weapon. Never fight with a weapon you aren't 100% sure you can win with for it is just a last resort."

Lucina soaked in everything the man said as she stared him…up. She wouldn't lie that every flaw he pointed out made her heart ache, but this was why she was here. To get stronger so she could change the future.

After the cut was healed, he stood up and dusted off the imaginary dust on his pants. "Whelp, I believe that's enough training for today. I hear Chen'lee's supposed to be cooking curry with her special spicy sauce today, so we'd better get there before Morgan gets to it first.

Lucina couldn't help but salivate at the mention of food. She had fallen for his little threat to not eat or she'll 'throw up' and she was regretting it to this very moment. At least a promising meal was waiting for her when she got back to the village.

She came out of her short trance when she saw her teacher walking away from her.

She looked down to herself before looking back at her retreating teacher.

Down at herself, retreating teacher.

Down herself, retreat teacher.

Down, teacher.

Down, teach-

"H-hey wait!" She yelled out to the shinobi who glanced over his shoulder at the head in the ground.

He tilted his head in confusion as he looked at her frantic pleading face. "Is there a problem my cute little student."

"Aren't you forgetting something?!" she asked accusingly at the man who stared her down for a good 10 seconds.

He then gave her his trademark eye-smile as he replied, "Ah, think of this as today's final lesson. Get out of that before the food gets cold and I'll teach you something special. Jaane~." With one final wave, the Copy-Nin disappeared in a puff of smoke—leaving the princess with her mouth agape and a growling stomach.

For the next 2 hours the clearing was filled with grunts of exertion and curses of every kind sent to two men's names.

In a different clearing, two very different bodies with two very different personalities were standing across from each other. One was a pig-tailed brunette who wore armor mimicking a Pegasus Knight and stood in attention. The other was a much older individual with a bowl-shaped hair cut and had bushy eyebrows. He wore full body spandex with orange leg warmers, a Jonin vest and wore a Konaha headband around his waist like a belt and had a smile on his face that showed his bright white teeth that seemed to gleam from the sunlight. This man was Might Guy and he'd been given the absolute pleasure of training the youthful individual before him.

"Allllright, Cynthia! Now that we are here, it's time for me to unleash the full power of your youth!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Cynthia did a quick salute before going back to her stoic position. Though she was standing still, she was bouncing on the inside in anticipation to whatever her sensei was going to teach her. She had no idea why her hero was transformed into another person, but when does the student ever question the master? "I am prepared for whatever you have to throw at me, sir!

"That's the spirit!" Guy exclaimed enthusiastically at the girl's reply. "That is exactly what I like to see in youth such as yourself! Such devotion and eagerness to your training and willingness to succeed will only make your goal's that much easier to obtain, for even if you lack talent, hard work will always prevail!" The man finished in his trademark Nice Guy Pose that Cynthia, for once, didn't mimic.

"So, like I said before. You unfortunately, do not have the chakra capacity nor skill to learn any jutsu I know for your lightning element. Regrettably, it's not something that can be fixed, and I regret to say that I am limited to the things I can teach you since it would take far too long for you to learn something out of your element."

Cynthia looked dismayed for a moment, but stood right back into her stance. "I-I understand, Guy-sensei, but I'm still willing to learn anything you are willing to teach me!"

"That's the spirit!" Guy gave the enthusiastic time traveler a thumbs up and a toothy smile. "Now, the first thing we must train is your endurance and mobility on foot. You may be a Pegasus knight, but there will be times where you are not on your steed. Therefore, I will train your body to not only move faster than your opponents, but be stronger and much more agile as well! By the time we're finished, your entire body will ache and you will probably wish that you'd be home in bed instead of training, but I swear to you, if my name isn't MIGHT GUY, I will have you bench pressing griffons and wrestling wyverns before you can even THINK about giving up! For our dreams are only achieved by the sweat we shed!"

Cynthia was doing everything she could not bounce in excitement the more the Jonin spoke. This is what she wanted! To be trained by one of the best and become one of the best despite her slight disadvantages! She was finally going to be the hero she always strived to be!

"Alright! First things first, are you wearing the seals I've given you?"

Cynthia immediately nodded. The seals in question were 5 in total and were placed on her forearms, lower legs and wrapped around her torso. She didn't know what they were for when putting them on, but she was sure it was important if her sensei was telling her to wear them.

"Good! Then it's time we start your first exercise!" As he said that, the bowl haired man brought up one hand in a hand-seal Cynthia did not recognize, but found out its affects soon after. "Kai!"

Instantly, there was a difference as the seals around her body glowed for a split second before what felt like a ton was dropped on her back and she almost fell face first to the ground. The weight she was feeling was heavy, but bearable as she stood back up with sweat building on her brow.

"Such endurance! Your youth shines brighter than the growing fire in my soul!" Gai declared then turned and pointed in the distance. "Alright, Cynthia! As a warm-up, we shall do 10 laps around the town!"

Cynthia suddenly lost her balance and almost tumbled over, but caught herself and looked up to the bowl headed man with her mouth agape and shock in her eyes. "T-ten!" Cynthia shouted, her voice laced in fear.

Gai didn't seem to catch her distress since he just smiled and gave her another thumbs up with a smile. "Right! The best way to train is to push your body to the absolute limit! By the time I'm done with you, you'll be stronger than every hero your youthful mind can conjure!"

The Pegasus knight could do nothing but gape at the man that didn't find anything wrong with running almost 30 miles for a warm-up. A WARM-UP! Though the promises of strength was like eating sugar, there would be no benefits if she died before she could even make it to the field!

When she finally came out of her stupor, she looked up to the Jonin and smiled nervously. "D-Don't you think ten's a little…" She let the question hang in the air and prayed he understood. She would then regret not, for once, keeping her big mouth shut.

"You're right!" Gai suddenly screamed and clinched a fist in front of him. "I was originally going to do 10, but it would be dishonorable of me to go so easy on my student when she is so eager to succeed! So, we shall do 100 laps around the town! And if we cannot do 100 laps, then we will do 1000 high-kicks as punishment! And if we cannot do 1000 high-kicks, then we shall do 2000 push-ups!"

Cynthia began to pale the more the Jonin spoke. All her life she wished she could be trained by her hero. Now, for the first time in her life, she began to think maybe Marth was a more realizable hero to follow after.

The Naruto clone looked to the clearing he and Morgan were currently using as a battlefield. The landscape looked as if Mother Nature had a tantrum and took it out on the Earth. Burnt trees that didn't hold a single leaf, puddles of water all around, traces of ozone in the air, and slashes on the ground that looked as if it were cut with a sword. If anyone were to come by and ask just what happened, the clone wasn't sure he knew what to say. Good thing he had a Mokuton user at his beck and call.

And speaking of Mokuton users, the clone took his attention away from the destruction and to the cause. Morgan was panting heavily with her hands on her knees and sweat pouring down her face. If he had the Byakugan, he'd be able to see she was almost completely empty of chakra. The reason for this would be the numerous jutsu she tossed left and right in an attempt to even graze him. She failed, but that wasn't the point of the exercise. He just wanted to see the limit of her ninjutsu knowledge and just how much she could push out. Hitting him with at least one was but a bonus with the promises of sweets if she succeeded.

Safe to say, he was impressed. Beyond impressed. She had just performed over 100 jutsu consecutively for the last hour just by memorization. By MEMORIZATION! Everything from water and lightning ninjutsu to boil and magnet release were thrown at him and made him look to his daughter in awe. The memory one had to have to memorize so many hand-signs without a dojutsu's assistance was phenomenal! And the best part about it was she would have done more if she wasn't out of chakra!

Not only that, her tactical thinking was on the level of a Jonin. If one jutsu didn't hit, then she would throw out numerous others just to set up for the jutsu she'd done 10 moves ago. She would lead him into traps that not even he was prepared for and would have popped many times if not for his superior reaction speed and the Hiraishin.

Just what the hell did his future-self feed this kid! She's a monster! If her Taijutsu, stealth and reaction time weren't on the level of a civilian, he would say she would be a shoo-in for Kage position at the age of 12! He was just a clone, yet he was sure when the original received the memories after he popped, he'd be as proud, if not prouder, than he felt right now.

"So *huff* how'd I do *wheeze*."

Great! Fantastic! Exemplary! Exquisite!

"Not that bad… for a kid."

It's better that he did it this way. She was good, but she would get better if she thought it wasn't good enough. It was how Jiraiya taught him and how he taught Boruto. It may have been just for knuckleheaded guys like himself and his son, but it worked wonder on the both of them and Morgan was as knuckleheaded as they came. But it was time to take her down a few levels before the compliment goes to her head.

"However, there are certain things that I cannot ignore." Naruto said and immediately had Morgan's full attention. "You freeze up too much when things don't go your way. Whenever I get in close, you look as if you don't know what to do. Granted, you retreat which is a good thing, but when you are cornered you throw some of the worst punches and kicks I've ever seen in my life. And that's coming from someone whose style was akin to street fighting as a kid." That made the girl slump slightly, but he continued nonetheless. "Your tactical thinking is amazing. You almost had me a couple of times, but your reaction time is on the same level as a snail. Your stealth skills are also nonexistent and *sigh* your little routines are going to get you killed in the future, gaki."

This gaki had the nerve to gloat after seemingly catching him in a jutsu 30 seconds into the fight. Thankfully, after giving her the good ol' Kakashi special, Finger of Death, she never did it again. In fact, that actually made her want to hit him even harder.

"If we add up your pros and cons, then I'd say the ratio would be about 40/60. You're a ninjutsu specialist with strategies that far surpasses a Chunin, but it takes but one clean hit to put you down, your Taijutsu is ass, and you crack under pressure too easily. All in all, you are the picture-perfect definition of a glass canon."

Every word he spoke shot like arrows through the girl's chest and she finally slumped down in defeat from both exhaustion and what felt like a verbal assault. The fact that it was the exact things her future father pointed out only made the blows to her combat prowess that much more hurtful.

"I'm actually scared to ask, but why have you been neglecting your Taijutsu training? Don't you know that's just as important as your Ninjutsu training?" The older shinobi asked the girl who now sat crisscross and rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"I kinda, sorta~ didn't think it was that important." she laughed sheepishly. "I always thought throwing jutsu was enough to get me by. Guess I was wrong, huh?"

Naruto began massaging the bridge of his nose as he felt an incoming headache. How can this girl be so smart, so tactically inclined, yet so… so STUPID?! What fool practices only one aspect of their shinobi training and not the rest?! Bushibrow was an exception considering his disability, but Morgan literally had no excuse for her lack of training! No daughter of his was going to do things halfway, dattebayo!

"Okay, I guest we can continue that tomorrow." Naruto almost felt bad when his daughter slumped in relief. Almost. "Now, it's time for part two of Uzumaki's Training from hell." The older shinobi reached into his pouch and pulled out a blue pill. A second later he flicked it into his daughter's agape mouth before she could even react. After choking for a few seconds, she held her throat and glared up at her father. Then her glare slowly fell off her face as she saw her father holding something in his hands that was definitely not there a second ago.

"…Dad, what's that?" Morgan point indignantly at the object in question. Naruto didn't even acknowledge it. He decided to just keep patting the thing in his hand threateningly as he smiled down at his blank face offspring.

"This right here, my sweet little girl, is a board. But you may call it the 'Board of Education'." The name was not threatening in the least. Heck, she had been threatened by more dangerous objects in the past 5 days than she had in her entire life. On top of that, she trained to be a shinobi. The only things she should be scared of on the field were kunai, swords and jutsu, so there is absolutely no reason she should be scared of three feet of wood. But considering who was holding said condensed wood with a closed eyed smile on his face that looked too sweet for the situation, Morgan couldn't help but be nervous at her father's future actions.

"Now, we are going to train all over again." The immortal said, far too chipper for the younger blonde. "But this time, we are going to go through the Taijutsu kata that I will only show you once. For the next 3 hours, we will do nothing but kata and you will do it to the best of your ability. However," There was a sparkle in Naruto's eyes that actually made Morgan flinch, "every time you trail off, mess up, or stop, for any reason at all, we will switch to cardio." Naruto's smile only grew the more he explained. "You will run. Run as if your life depended on it. And I will chase you down. If you can evade me for 10 minutes, then you will be spared. But get caught and you will be disciplined. If you want, think of it as a game of tag, but I'm always it!"

Morgan's face was already white before he even finished.

"So, how about it! You excited for round two?!"

Naruto wasn't surprised he didn't get an answer back. He wasn't even surprised when he opened his eyes and Morgan was no longer in the clearing. She was gone the second his sentence was over. A tear came to his eye as he felt her almost half a mile away.

"*Sniff* she's so eager to learn, Kurama." he sniffed and wiped away a stray tear from his cheek.

"You are evil, kit."

"I learned from the best, partner."

Then like a bullet, he was off and seconds later a high-pitched cry echoed through the forest.

"They look like shit." Chen'lee pointed out the obvious to the blonde standing next to her. Laying with their heads on the kitchen table were Cynthia and Lucina. The twigs and leaves in their disheveled hair added with their ruffled cloths told quite the tale. For the past 4 hours they had been put through the ringer in every sense of the phrase and the clone Naruto couldn't be anymore proud of the gakis.

"Ah, don't worry about them. They just felt the burn." Naruto stated proudly, getting a sweat-drop from the blacksmith.

'Ya sure ya didn' kill em?" The blacksmith asked with a raised brow. Naruto smiled before poking the two girls in the back of the head. Their reactions were a slight grunt before weakly waving their torturer's hand away.

"Nah, they're fine. They just need to walk it off." he said far too chipperly, getting a shake of the head from the brunette. "So, is my order almost ready?" Naruto changed the topic and a grin immediately crossed the woman's face.

"Not quite yet, but I'm sure'll be done within half a fortnight! I've never made such strange knives before, but I got the hang of it after the fifth!" The woman replied with a flex of her quite impressive muscles. The Naruto clone fist pumped at the news.

"Yosh! You have no idea how much trouble you've saved me! I've been looking everywhere for someone to make these things perfectly! I'll make sure to pay you double for your work!"

The visually older woman shook her head at the blonde. "You don't haff ta go so far, pal. If anything, I should be doin' this fer free considerin' you an the gakis saved our arses."

The clone shook his head at the woman. "No can do. You guys could use the money considering what you went through. I'd be a dick if I just took your hard work for free."

For some reason Naruto felt Lucina's emotions spike to anger at his words, but he shrugged it off.

"Heh, if that's how ya feel, then I'd be a fool ta say no."

Just then, the sound of bells rung followed by footsteps that were slowly approaching them. Lucina's head came up off the table just as two new figures entered the shop. Lucina eyes widened at the couple she'd seen many times in the past 2 days.

"Diana, Jack!" Lucina smiled at the limping man and his blonde wife.

"Ah, it's good to see you, Marth!" Diana said as she rushed and gave a hug to the now standing pinkette. Jack wasn't too far behind and joined in on the hug.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Marth." Jack said as he pulled away from the hug.

"Me either." The teen replied. "Are you familiar with the shop owner hear by any chance?" she asked the two who seemed to look sheepish at the moment.

"Ahahaha, well~."

The man was interrupted by Chen'lee suddenly speaking up. "I was wonderin when you two would come an visit me fer once." The brunette said as Lucina watched her walk up to the husband and wife duo.

Let her repeat that: HUSBAND and WIFE duo. Y'know, the partnership that's between a man and woman that vow to stay faithful to one another. A bond that should forever be forged until the day both parties draw their last breaths. The same bond she was proud to say her mother and father held to their dying breaths.

So, you will have to be more understanding when Lucina's eyes widened exponentially when she saw the blacksmith pull the other woman's husband down for a kiss that was more passionate than any friend should be. You will also have to forgive her when her mouth slowly came loose when she did the exact same thing to Diana not even a second after she'd broke away from the man. Everything she had been raised to believe was being turned upside down right before her eyes and she couldn't help her hands from coming up over her now burning cheeks.

"Why da face, kid?" Chen'lee smirked at the baffled pinkette who seemed to be getting redder by the second.

"Wha-bu-a-but I thought-he and-this is!" Lucina spit out a jumble of words since her brain still couldn't process what she had just seen. The laugh that left Diana's mouth definitely didn't help calm her mood.

"Oh my, have you perhaps never seen a harem before, sweetie?" The blonde woman asked and Lucina's face went crimson. Of course, she'd heard of the term. It was a term she'd only heard from stories the Valmese boast about in the future. She had never thought much of the stories since she thought they were but fantasies that men bragged about to their fellow gender. Such stories would never be spoken of in Ylisse because how religion orientated the Halidom was, so this was—this was!

"T-t-t-this is p-p-p-polygamy!" she basically shouted as the three adults laughed at her outburst.

"It is very common in Chon'sin culture for a man or woman to have more than one spouse." Diana giggled, reveling in the teenager's embarrassment.

"Yea, and I'm the happiest man in the world to have two of the most beautiful women in the world by my sides!"

Meanwhile, the Naruto clone was slapping his knee and laughing at the time travelers current predicament. He was sure this was something the boss would laugh at when he got the memories back after he dispelled.

Ylisse

"…So, you want us to hire you?" Chrom asked with a furrowed brow at the blonde standing across the table from him. The same blonde no one has seen or heard from in the last 2 days since their departure to Regna Ferox. The same blonde that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night in their war tent.

Every occupant in the tent was now staring at the intruder with varied expressions. To his right and left stood both Robin and Lissa who was giving him equal suspicion. At the tent entrance was Frederick, lance in hand and ready launch at the slightest movement of the blonde. In the corner of the tent stood Phila, but in a neutral stance to her knight commander. Sitting next to the standing Royal Guard was none other than the Exalt of Ylisse, Emmeryn—sitting as peacefully as you'd imagine her in this situation.

And standing at the edge of the war table was none other than the blonde shinobi in all his glory.

"I was under the impression that you'd already joined our cause." Chrom asked the blonde carefully, trying to get the blonde to answer at least one of his questions. He had asked the blonde where he'd been and why he'd left without telling them anything, but the only answers he received was "I was away" and "it was an urgent and personal matter". Safe to say, Frederick and Phila was not pleased with the answer and for once, neither was the prince. And the answer the blonde gave next only made Chrom start to question his own threaded trust in the blonde.

"What is up with people putting words in my mouth nowadays." Naruto asked his rhetorical question with a tilt of his head. "Not once did I say I would 'join your cause'. In fact, I remember quite vividly your little sister pulling me and your tactician away before I could even give you a reply."

Though he was technically right, that did not seem to lift the suspicion radiating from the Knight Commander and Royal Guard. In fact, it might have just increased, making Chrom sigh in annoyance. He was truly beginning to doubt his judgement of the blonde. "If it is money that you want, then you do not have to worry. Everyone in the Shepherds are given a well enough salary for their services. It may not be as much as you'd get as a sellsword, but it's more than a regular knight's pay."

Money was no problem. The problem is the saying that spread with sellswords: 'whichever side has more gold, has my loyalty'. They are very untrustworthy due to said saying, but there were some that took offense to it. To some, their loyalty were absolute and to question their loyalty was the ultimate form of disrespect. They would end their services then and there than continue serving one that questioned their motives.

"Ah, I think you are misunderstanding something." Naruto spoke up with a closed eyed smile just as Frederick looked like he was about to protest Chrom's words. "I don't wish to be your knight, nor do I wish to be paid as some common mercenary. No, I would like to be paid as a shinobi."

Chrom blinked at the blonde's words. In fact, he was sure everyone aside from Frederick looked confused at the blondes words. Luckily, he didn't have to ask the next question since Robin spoke up in his stead. "I'm sorry, but how exactly does one pay for a shinobi's services?"

Naruto smiled as he turned to the silver haired woman. "That all honestly depends on the task being performed." Naruto said and happily offered the answers to the questions that were on the edge of everyone's tongues. "A simple D-Rank mission could be anywhere from 100 to 1,000 gald. These missions typically include minor things like chores, errands, retrievals, or things of the sort. Since there is no threat to my person, the fee is low and reasonable. Next would be C-Rank missions, which could vary from 1,000 to 5,000 gald. These are typically hunting animals and bodyguard missions. The mission cost for these depends on the travelling distance and the danger level of the animal. If you are wanting to be protected by anyone you know is after your life, then the mission is immediately increased to an A-Rank. I'll get to that in a minute."

No one said anything for the moment. Some felt that the prices were exceptional up till the point where a C-Rank could reach 5,000 gald. That was as much as a common knight made in 2 months, so it was no surprise when their eyes widened exponentially at the next ranks.

"Next are B-Rank mission, which are typically anywhere from 5,000 gald to 25,000. They usually involve reconnaissance missions and assassinations of low ranked enemy competition." Naruto saw the scowls appearing on the faces of the knights and how uncomfortable Lissa was getting, so he added, "You do not have to worry about me, nor most shinobi taking such missions. Killing someone of power just because you want them dead is not only stupid, but may have a negative impact on the economy and you lose credibility as a shinobi if you are ever found out. I love my reputation how it is thank you very much." The blonde finished in a hardy tone to hopefully lift the mood he'd dampened. Thankfully, Lissa didn't look so uncomfortable anymore and both Robin and Chrom seemed to be relieved, but the knights were still glaring daggers his direction while Emmeryn looked as neutral as she did when the conversation started.

"Aaaaaaanyways, the final two are a lot more serious and are most likely the services you are looking for." Naruto brought back the mood and saw Lissa gulp. "An A-Rank mission is anywhere from 25,000 to 100,000 gald. A-Ranks miss-"

"100,000?!" the shinobi was interrupted by Lissa's shout while slamming both hands onto the desk. "That's almost more than Philly and Freddy would make together a year!" No one else said anything, but Naruto was sure that was what they wanted to say in terms to the sudden jump in money. Lissa seemed to see that she was the only one who voiced her surprised and just shrunk back to her side of the tent.

"…Like I was saying, A-Rank missions are anything that will greatly benefit a country. This could range from hunting and bringing back high-ranking criminals dead or alive, espionage, or escorting an important figure through dangerous territory. A simple C-Rank mission can go to an A-Rank the second the shinobi you've hired is no longer qualified for their mission parameters. And since I'm on this topic, I'd highly advise against lying about your mission rank. Bad thinks have happened to good people and shinobi alike because of lies."

The smile on the shinobi's face might have looked welcoming, but there was a coldness hidden behind it that every warrior in the tent caught.

"And finally, there are S-Rank missions. They are the highest mission possible for a shinobi and also the most expensive. This mission is only served for the best of the best and revolves around anything that is detrimental to the world at large. It could be from stopping a tyrant from taking over a continent, disposing of a group of highly dangerous individuals, handling and delivering state important documents and secrets, or aiding in someone else's war."

The blonde stopped and no one in the tent needed to know which mission rank they would be asking if they were to hire the man in front of them.

"…Do I even want to know how much an S-Rank is?" Chrom asked exasperatedly. Without showing even a hint or remorse, Naruto smiled and waited a few seconds as if building the suspense.

"100,000 to 300,000 gald."

Many different reactions spread throughout the tent. Frederick and Phila's postures were finally exuding shock instead of the constant suspicion, Robin and Chrom seemed to choke on air, Lissa looked like she was about to have a heart-attack and Emmeryn's eyes were wide in shock. After a few seconds of silence, it was Emmeryn who finally broke the lull in the air. "If I may ask, why are prices for a shinobi so… expensive compared to the common soldier?"

Naruto looked over and gave a smirk to the Exalt before crossing his arms. "Because one shinobi has the same value of 10 to 100 of your soldiers." The immortal had to admit inwardly that he was enjoying the emotional roller-coaster he was putting the people in the tent through. The looks on their face, especially Lissa's over the top reactions, and Robin's flabbergasted, rubbery-like faces made the blonde burn the images into his mind.

"Do you have any proof of that claim?" Frederick challenged the blonde's claims. Naruto gave one look at the stoic knight before raising his hand slightly into the air. Fredericks eyes furrowed at the action and tightened the grip on his lance as if daring the blonde to try something.

Then the blonde snapped his fingers and many things happened at once. With speed faster than anyone could see, 10 figures appeared in the room. They were all garbed in light grey armor that covered most of their chest and had both arm and leg guards on as well as wearing all black underneath, a tanto on their backs and an animal mask with different markings on their faces. Four of the masked individuals were holding their swords to the jugular, underarm, liver and heart of the now wide-eyed Knight Commander. Another 4 did a similar action to Phila while Chrom had a kunai to his throat from behind, one stood behind the wide-eyed princess with both hands on her shoulders, and the last had an arm around Robin's neck with a kunai to her cheek. The only people untouched by the new arrivals were Emmeryn and Naruto—one who, oddly did not seem worried despite the new situation she was in, while the other held a confident smirk at the frozen knight.

"I didn't even-" Chrom spoke, stunned at how easily he and everyone here could have easily been killed by these new strangers.

"These are my ANBU." Naruto gestured to the masked shinobi around the tent. "They are the second highest position a shinobi can obtain in rank. As you can see, they are very capable when it comes to stealth and those tanto on their backs are not just for show. I've trained them all myself and would trust just them and myself to win a war against Plegia over your entire military force."

Chrom desperately kept himself from gulping and it looked like Robin was doing the same. Meanwhile, sweat was going down both Phila and Fredericks' necks as they didn't move a muscle. Even though they wore armor, they somehow knew it wouldn't stop those strange knives carving through their skin. From what Naruto could feel, the Exalt seemed to be analyzing the new arrivals.

Lissa felt uncomfortable… but from majorly different reasons contrary to the others. As everyone but Emmeryn was being threatened at knife point, she was…she was…

"WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE BEING TREATED LIKE A PET?!" Lissa flailed angrily, getting the attention she basically demanded. Unlike the other masked figures, this figure had feminine curves with long purple hair and a chest plate befitting her gender. Unlike the life threatening positions the rest of her comrades had against their targets, she was currently running her hand gently atop her victim's head with a smile that was no doubt behind her expressionless mask.

"…Cat, can't you see I'm trying to look cool here." Naruto said with a straight face, but his words ruined the image he'd been try to build for himself the past 30 minutes.

"But boss! Look at how adorably cute she is!" the woman exclaimed and turned the younger girl's face to her commander while a hand was under the girl's chin and pinching her cheeks together to look like a fish out of water. "You have no idea how much I've wanted a little sister! Just look at this face and tell me you wouldn't want her to call you 'Onii-chan'!"

There was a lull in the tent as everyone looked to the masked woman behind the Ylisse's princess. As if trying to insinuate her point, she pinched the girl's cheeks together twice again and didn't even get a twitch from her commanding officer. Lissa finally decided she'd had enough and, without remorse, elbowed the purple haired woman in the ribs as hard as she could. Unfortunately for her, instead of dealing damage to the woman like she wanted, she only ended up inflicting damage to her own elbow thanks to the not so light chest plate her poor appendage crashed into.

"…Okay, I deserve that." The woman said and got a glare from the shorter blonde who was rubbing her bruised elbow with traces of tears in her eyes.

"So, what are the benefits of your services if we were to hire you for an A or S-Rank mission?" Robin took control of the dead conversation before anyone else. Frederick and Phila looked at her with furrowed brows as if judging her for even considering the shinobi's help, but truth was she wanted Chrom and Emmeryn to know more about what is offered in services since she already knew the benefits from the conversation she shared with the blonde shinobi in her room 3 days ago. Accepting the offer or not, it would be better if they could at least see the pros and cons of hiring the shinobi instead of outright refusing. There was a line one must sometimes cross when it came to war and Robin knew it even if she was sure she'd never been in one.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked!" Naruto chirped as he waved his hand, the 10 ANBU disappearing in a swarm of leaves and getting a sigh of relief from everyone minus the Exalt. "No matter the mission rank, all benefits I'm going to include will only be available to either the contractor or anyone of higher authority that the contractor appoints as a co-assigner. First and foremost, my allies are your allies. So, since I'm the leading commander, if you hire me, then you hire all my shinobi. So, no matter how many shinobi I provide, there will be no interest. Second, we are here to do whatever you please. Anything from espionage, to assassination of important generals, to even massaging your feet can be commanded at your word. However, do be careful not to abuse your power. If you attempt to do something that brings moral ambiguity to myself or my shinobi, then not only will we not do it, but you may find yourself less off than what you started with. And yes, that is a threat." Naruto pointed before anyone could interject. "I tend to take pillaging, killing unnecessarily and rape very seriously and I will personally punish the participants—my soldier or no."

Naruto was not sure, but the nods coming from Chrom and Emmeryn could be taken as approval.

"And lastly, you are not required to feed or house my shinobi. It is our jobs to be prepared for long and strenuous journeys as well as finding shelter for ourselves. If we are unable to do so, then you have no obligation to provide us with what we need. We are trained for survival and any shinobi of my core who try to force their needs onto you will immediately dock our pay or terminate our contract if you deem fit to do so. Is there anything else you might want to know before you've decided?"

There was more silence in the tent before Chrom spoke up. "That, seems too good to be true." he said, more skeptical than he'd been in a long time.

"True, but we are expensive as it is. If we were to charge more than we were already charging, then we wouldn't have many clients, would we?"

"With those prices I'm surprised you have clients at all." Lissa muttered, but was heard loud and clear from the blonde who silently agreed. How Damiyo kept affording shinobi when they cost an arm and a leg would forever be a mystery to the former Hokage.

"I have a question that concerns me." Naruto turned back to the prince who looked tense—like if he didn't answer his next question correctly, then he was ready to cut him down. "Since you are charging so much for your services, then I can only guess your loyalty lies with whoever can pay your fees. Saying that, if Gangrel were to offer you the money to help his cause, would you accept it?"

Naruto just stared at the prince for a long—long time. Now, most people would understand the question along with the skepticism that comes with the profession, but to Naruto, a shinobi who've lived for over a century and served his village till his departure, took offense to this man questioning his very morality. He didn't need to say it. It was written on his face and body language and it actually pissed the shinobi off for a split second before he reigned in his anger.

"...We shinobi may not value honor, but I'd like to ask that you never insinuate that I would twist my morals for something as petty as money." Naruto finished with a smile that did not fit the emotion he currently felt. "It is true that money makes the world go round and round and I would be a liar if I said I had no use for it, but there's a clear line I will never cross and you would do well to remember that."

Naruto stared down the prince who now felt uncomfortable despite never breaking his gaze. The shinobi knew that this man was still just in his early 20's and had no experience when it came to tones and allegations you must and must not use while dealing in politics, but that did not mean he would let him get away just because he was ignorant. Its better he learned now than in the future when its too late.

"U-um, if you shinobi are so strong, then why don't you deal with Gangrel yourself?"

Speaking of learning. Naruto turned his attention now to the princess who immediately looked away, not wanting to be the center of attention at the moment. He would be lenient with this girl since she was still just a teenager who would probably never have to deal with politics in the future. However, it was good she asked that since he could educate the prince and hopefully stop his brash thinking while he was at it.

"Tell me something, when was the last time you've actually visited Plegia?" The silent stares he got from the group gave spoke volumes. "Well, since none of you have, let me open your eyes to the truth: they have nothing. Their food supply has run thin, their gold might as well have been nonexistent, and most of all, they are still in mourning." Naruto saw Emmeryn's eyes dim slightly from the news. "You guys might have patched most of your country's wounds left behind by the war, that your former Exalt started by the way, but their country wasn't so lucky. While you were bringing your people out of poverty, Plegia was left to rot on their own. While Ylisse fed their families, Plegians starved. While Ylisseans had jobs, Plegians did not. And while your people praised Emmeryn, Plegians cursed her name, because in their eyes, you people are still the monsters that took everything away from them."

Naruto paused for a minute to let that sink in before letting out a sigh. Sending the royals into a guilt trip wasn't really on his agenda, but they needed to hear the truth if they were going to get anywhere in the future.

"It is because of the past that things are the way they are right now. When people are pushed into a corner and are desperate enough to do whatever it takes to survive, they start to do desperate things. When a man needs to feed his family but doesn't have a job to do so, it is inevitable that he turns to crime. And when he is caught and executed, that hatred passes on to the next generation. It continues in an endless cycle of hatred until either someone stands up and stomps out the flares before it turns into a fire once again, or both sides eventually destroys each other. An outcome that is beneficial to no one and one I wish to not be witness of."

"Yes, Emmeryn has done a fantastic job at getting her people out of poverty, and yes she has fixed most of the mistakes her father made in the Plegia and Ylissean war. She worked with what she had and started at the age of 10. She is both admirable and remarkable and I believe every leader should have the same strive and goals she sets for herself. However, she is only human. There is but one of her and thousands of people that required her guidance. It's because she has had so much on her plate that she cannot be blamed for the situation the two countries are in at the moment. As ruler of a nation, it is her job to put her people first above all else. Everything else comes second, including putting Plegia on the back-burner until her countries situation is under control."

"Those are some dangerous accusation, Sir." Phila's eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde who didn't even flinch from her glare.

Naruto looked over to the nervous Lissa, completely ignoring the glaring Royal Knight. "You asked me why we don't just deal with Gangrel ourselves, right?" Lissa gave a nervous nod at the blonde's question. "Two reasons: one, not only is it not our job to fix connections between countries, but if we fixed your problem for you then we are only delaying the inevitable. Ylisse ruined Plegia, so it's only right that they fix what they've destroyed. Plegia will forever carry it's grudge and the cycle of hatred will be carried on to the next generation until the problem is resolved. Two: because simply killing Gangrel solves nothing. Someone will eventually replace him and then you are back to square one, but with even more problems on your hands. I keep bringing up 'fixing the problem' because you need to understand that. Only you can completely fix the problem. No one else."

Naruto stopped before looking back to Emmeryn who looked back unwaveringly. "I understand that you want nothing but peace between the nations and I have no doubt that you've tried assisting Plegia, but sadly, the situation is beyond salvaging."

Naruto made sure the last things he was going to say was heard by the Exalt. His eyes made sure to stay locked on the woman that would now decide how future events from here on will proceed.

"…You are going to have war—that is unavoidable." The slight disappointment in the Exalt's eyes was expected, so he continued, "But I swear, on my name as the former Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, with my help I promise it won't last as long, nor be as bloody as the war you suffered 15 years ago. You will suffer minimal loses, but your country will come out on top and the peace I believe you only you can achieve will be attained, dattebayo!"

Seconds after he was finished, Naruto was doing his best impression as a tomato as he tried to keep a straight face at the Exalt that was looking at him unblinkingly. He tried ignoring the strange looks he was getting from everyone else in the tent aside from Lissa who looked like she really wanted to laugh but knew now wasn't the place. Apparently, her older sister did not share her sentiment since soft giggles erupted from her mouth almost a minute later. Kami, even her laugh was divine.

A few seconds later when she looked to have finally reeled in her laughter, she looked up to the blonde shinobi with the same radiant smile she was known for. "I see you are quite passionate when you are riled up, Sir Naruto." She joked despite the seriousness Naruto was trying to come by as. He was completely OK with letting his verbal tick out anywhere else, but here was NOT the time and the redness growing on his cheeks said as much. Thankfully, Emmeryn decided to move on to the subject at hand. "You have at least proven that your skills are quite unique and would be very beneficial to our cause." Emmeryn started as she closed her eyes. "Though you have raised my suspicion considerably, I do find that you are passionate despite your profession."

Instantly, there was a reaction from Frederick and Phila.

"My Lady! I must prot- / My liege! You can't be-"

Emmeryn held up a hand to stop her knights from continuing. Phila and Frederick wisely held their tongues as their liege continued. "Though I cannot deny the help you can bring to my people, I'm afraid there are too many drawbacks from an alliance with you." Emmeryn spoke regretfully and the smile dropped slightly from the shinobi's face. Emmeryn opened her eyes and started into the ocean eyes of her fellow ruler. "The first problem I unfortunately have would be the payment. It is far too high for the Halidom. My people and I are still recovering from the mistakes of my father years ago and do not have the funds which you seek. Even if you can win us the war, I do not wish to stretch our finances any further than they already are."

"Furthermore, I can't put my people and soldiers in the safety of a stranger whose nation I've no records of. I also have concerns regarding your soldiers. In Ylisse, it is curtsy for those who wears a hood or mask to remove it in respect of the Exalt and for safety purposes. From the little I've gathered so far, the masks are their identities along with their names. Seeing that my nation will be the first and hopefully only nation that will associate with people wearing your shinobi's identities, it will not be very hard to point the finger when one of your shinobi decides to do anything against your orders or someone frames your people. And lastly, I am of royal blood and our country prides itself on our honor as knights. What would the people think if word escaped that I willing hired mercenaries? And for a heavy fund no less? It is regretful, but I must decline your offer."

Naruto blinked at the woman before him. He had been her age at a point of time and he was sure he wasn't nearly as good as she was politically. Heck, he was sure the only two people who was even near her level was Gaara and Shikamaru. This woman really was fit to be a leader.

"Unless, you have anything to alleviate my fears?"

There it was again. The emotion he could feel from this woman that she did not show outwardly. That very same emotion that felt almost begging. She felt so hopeful that he would prove her wrong. He understood that she probably knew this could help her country, but didn't want to take the risk of accepting help from someone she knew nothing about. But why was she so hopeful that he would alleviate her fears?

"Well, those are understandable concerns." Naruto started, then gave a closed eyed smile to the Exalt. "However, I have solutions to your problems!" He said chipperly as he brought up a hand that had his index finger up. "One, ANBU are the best in my village for a reason! They have ways of ensuring they are not seen by the public, and those that do are quickly dealt with… without killing of course." Naruto added after the glares he got from Phila, Frederick and surprisingly Chrom. "Furthermore, ANBU aren't meant for front-line fights. They are ghost; invisible. No one will ever know you worked with us unless you tell them yourselves. As for their masks, I cannot ask them to take those off. But I swear that anything unsavory they do to in those masks will be punished by me and nowhere in the world they hide will let them escape from my wrath."

Naruto was absolutely sure the 10 shadows were giving him the bird.

"And two: fortunately for you, I currently have no need for money! I have plenty thanks to my hobby!"

Naruto then reached behind his back and pulling out 5 colorful books from seemingly nowhere. His smile only widened when he saw the expressions on everyone's face. Lissa and Chrom looked and felt confused, Frederick looked as stoic as ever, Robin was trying her best to look as small as possible, Emmeryn only blinked and seemed to have her attention on the only book that was not smut, while Phila-

Wait, why was she-

Oh…

Oh…

Naruto's smile turned fox-like as the second stoic knight in the room tried to keep eye contact with him, but failed. It would seem even the most stoic individuals have had a glimpse into the closet realm. After a few seconds of him staring her down like he knew her deepest, darkest secrets, he made the books disappear into thin air before turning back to the Exalt.

"I have more than enough money to keep the little people I have fed for a couple of years. Though the money I would get from you would have us living big for an additional 5 years, I believe your situation is cause enough to make my offer free of charge. War is hell and I'd rather avoid that slope as much as possible—with or without your help." Naruto made sure everyone understood that last part. "So, I have a proposition for you."

There was a brief period of silence before Emmeryn finally asked, "And what would that proposition be?"

The shinobi crossed his arms and answered, "11 days from now, a tournament in Regna Ferox will be held to decide the next Khan. Myself and 3 others I've begun to personally train will participate in the tourney. Prove yourselves in the tourney against myself and my students. Do so and, I say this as a former leader of Konohagakure no Sato," to everyone's surprise, the 10 figures that disappeared earlier, were now knelt down on one knee before the Exalt of Ylisse while Naruto held his left arm across his chest, "we swear, on our lives and pride as shinobi, that we will complete any mission given to us by your Grace."

This was it. The second to last step Naruto had to get over if he wanted to gain the approval of the royals in the room. To bow one's head before someone is the ultimate show of respect of their position, but for soldiers to bow down before a ruler is the ultimate show of putting one's life in the hands of the king or queen. Naruto didn't understand the gesture much, but it meant a lot on this part of the world and if that's what he had to do to get their trust, so be it. The moment he saw a smile cross the woman's face, the smile on his began to widen.

"You are not very good at negotiations, are you Mr. Uzumaki."

The shinobi, ANBU included, all face-faulted at the Exalts words-making her lose her composer and laugh at the dramatic response. Usually, Naruto would be saying something that complemented the woman he admired, but he was too busy rewinding the insult (because there's nothing else it could have been) over and over in his head from, by all people, the Exalt of Ylisse!

So he believed he was completely justified in popping back up and pointing accusingly at the still chuckling blonde; cheeks red in both embarrassment and rightful anger. "W-what do you mean 'I'm terrible'?! Do you have ANY idea how much time I spent last night going over every nook and corner just so you can say YES? I even read your country's entire damn book on Laws and Etiquette in ONE night! I was spot on! PERFECT even! Where in Kami's name did I go wrong?! Where, woman?!"

Emmeryn did her best to pull herself together and answer the blonde truthfully. "O-oh no, there's not much you got wrong." Emmeryn reassured, wiping a stray tear from her eyes in the process. "Quite the contrary, in fact. I believe you performed perfectly in words and motivation. So well that I might have been willing to accept just from promises alone. However, too many promises and your final method is where I just had to speak my mind." Seeing that the blonde was looking at her with nearly bloodshot eyes, which almost made her lose her composer once more, she tried explaining. "If you dangle too many promises in front of the person you are trying to negotiate with, then you come off as very unbelievable; whether you are telling the truth or not. And as for your last act," Emmeryn smile widened, looking almost cheeky on her angelic face. "Do try to read the date of the 'etiquette lesson' before you read history from Ylisse. Some customs are no longer practiced in this day and age."

The shinobi could do nothing but drop his jaw at her last words. How in the world did he miss something so... so STUPID! He ALL NIGHT on this, DAMN IT! ALL! NIGHT He studied for hours on end and made SURE he would say the right things, and now you mean to tell him that it was all for NOT? Time! WASTED! This is EXACTLY why he let Shikamaru deal with this political BULLSHIT!

Falling to his knees along with his ANBU, a dark cloud began to appear over the heads of the shinobi as rain began to soak their bodies (something Lissa, and most of the occupants in the tent, wished to know how said phenomenon was performed; but mostly Lissa). He was so lost in his inner turmoil that he didn't see the Exalt rise from her seat and stand over him. "Please rise, Mr. Uzumaki." she spoke with a motherly sweetness that only she could exude. Naruto looked up with a pout and teary eyes, but complied (cloud and shame gone) and looked down at the slightly shorter woman who was smiling back at him. "It is regrettable, but your words strike true. My nation is on the verge of war and any help we receive would be greatly beneficial to the Halidom. Therefore, I, Emmeryn Hamilton, 23rd Exalt of Ylisse, accepts your terms and aid, Sir Naruto Uzumaki."

The fact that this woman showed just as much fervor in her words as she would her own people actually made the Uzumaki as if the sun had given him a metaphorical hug (minus the burning, of course). The smile that calmed his mind, her passion to succeed, and her attitude to make sure her country prospers was everything Naruto liked in this woman. It reminded him so much of his Hinata that it hurt. Kami, the world needed more people like her.

The two leaders shook hands with smiles on both their faces. Phila and Frederick still seemed to disapprove of the finally decision, but could only accept the choice their liege has made. Chrom and Robin sighed in relief at the action while Lissa simply gave a wide smile.

Seconds later, Naruto gave one last bow to the group before disappearing into a puff of smoke. His first plan for peace in the Halidom was in motion.

Verdant Outskirts

"...I hate you."

"That's a lie and you and I both know it."

Morgan pouted at the man currently carrying her on his back. "If you loved me, then why did you hit me so hard?" Morgan asked, feeling her rear sting just by asking the question.

"Technically, I didn't do anything, but I'm sure It's because I love you so much that my clone hit you so hard. Believe me when I say, that must have hurt him a lot more than it hurt you."

"That's a lie and you and I both know it!" the girl threw his words back and got a laugh from the older blonde. There was a short lull before Morgan restarted the conversation. "Hey, Dad?"

"What's up?" Naruto asked as he slightly turned his head to see his daughter looking away from him.

"Do you think I'll meet Mom in this timeline."

Naruto blinked before looking to the sky in thought. "It's possible." he replied unsurely. "Though this whole future thing still has me confused. For all we know I could have missed your mother due to you coming back to the future and completely stopped any chance of you being born."

Morgan replied with a slap upside the blonde's head that most likely hurt her more than it hurt him. "Don't say stuff like that, old man! I'm being serious here! My mom has to be somewhere out there! It could be anyone we've already met! It could be that pastry shop lady that has been ogling you every time we go! Or it can be one of those ladies we met back with that Shepherds group! Heck, it could be Lucina!"

Naruto stopped and looked back to his daughter who was looking at him with a blank expression that mirrored his own. Then they both burst into laughter as the shinobi continued to walk—both agreeing that was the dumbest thought to cross the young shinobi in training's mind.

"Alright! Just thinking about it is getting me excited!" Morgan declared as she pumped both her fist in excitement. "It's settled! While we are saving the world from that overgrown lizard, operation 'Find My Mother' is now in effect! You'd better start putting the moves on these ladies old man, 'cause I want to be born in this world as soon as possible, 'dattebane!"

The immortal turned his head and gave his daughter an incredulous look. "Not that I'm mad that you're basically telling me to sleep around, but didn't you take time to think what would happen if I chose the wrong woman?"

Morgan blinked at her father before rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Eheheh, kinda slipped my mind there." Naruto stared blankly at his future daughter before smiling and shaking his head. Airhead Morgan strikes again.

"Never change, Morgan. Never change."

Instead of reacting how she normally would have, Morgan smiled down at her father before wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. Almost unconsciously, words escaped her mouth. "I love you, Dad." Naruto stopped at the words from his future. Morgan immediately buried her face into his back, but the joy coming off of her made a feeling he'd hadn't felt in a long time come to surface. A smile came on his face as he stared back at his daughter. He had forgotten how good it felt to be a father. The many times Himawari's cuteness shot heart shaped arrows through his chest came to mind and it sent a pleasant shiver through his spine. Back then, it was his job as her father to reassure that he would always be there for her when no one else was, and he fulfilled that obligation to her and Boruto's dying breaths.

That also meant, however, that it was his job to be, well, Dad.

"Well, of course you love me! Who wouldn't love blonde, great, and sexy ol' me, Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed with his face to the sky and guffawing like a mad man.

A tick-mark appeared on the younger blonde's forehead at the blonde's reply to her honest words. Her joy was replaced with rage and she quickly used her current position to her advantage and locked her legs around her father's waist before reaching one arm under his neck and securing it with her other arm. Not even a second later her father was wheezing for air as she pulled back as hard as she could.

"All, you had, to do, was say, 'I love you' back, you stupid, old, man! Now, you've ruined, the mood!" Every slight pause was insinuated by the girl squeezing tighter and tighter around her now blue faced father. Even when he tapped out, she did not show him any quarter.

"M-MORGAN! L-LET GO OF D-DADDY, O-OR HE'LL D-DIE!" the older blonde choked out.

Safe to say, Morgan was not sympathetic in the slightest.

"IF YOU DIE THEN WALK IT OFF YOU IMMORTAL PANSY!"

XXX

Morgan's Diary Day 10

Hi, I… guess it's been a while huh? Writing, that is…

I… I, really don't know what to say anymore.

I guess I can start with how I'm doing… To be honest, I don't feel like talking about it much. It's not like anything good has happened to me since… since that day with Cynthi. I mean, what happened, the tree, I tried to… I should have never—no, WE should have never touched that book. I should have known it was on the very top shelf for a reason. I should not have given it even a second glance when I saw it. But I was so darn STUPID! Now my only real friend, she's… she's…

…

…I couldn't even look at her when I went. She spoke so much about being a hero. How she wanted to protect everyone from the bad guys in the world. How she wanted to be just like her mom. When I looked down on her and at the stumps that use to be an arm and a leg, and the face that used to be so bright and cheerful now behind bandages, I… I just…

Sweet, kind Sumia won't even look at me anymore. I told her it was an accident. I told her that I didn't mean to. But she didn't listen to me. I… I just… I couldn't control… I should have never…

…

I don't feel like writing anymore, but I have no one else to talk to but myself. Heck, I honestly don't remember the last time I've spoken to anyone my age. Everyone at the school treats me like even more of a monster once they heard what happened to Cynthi. Even when I tried telling them the same thing I told Ms. Sumia, they wouldn't listen to me. No one would listen to me. I just want someone to listen to me. Talk to me. Believe me…

...

…

I just want Daddy to come home. I really miss him. He will believe me. He will make things right like he always does.

Please come home, Daddy. Please.

Skills

Pavise: an invisible shield that protects one from physical harm and pushes away incoming attacks. The more mana one pushes into it, the more effect the move.

Vantage: Doubles the user's speed by pushing mana to the legs.

Counter: Takes in physical damage and throws it back at aggressor. Skill cannot be used if damage to user is life threatening.

A/N: First off, thank you so much for the replies! I read all of them and it only motivated me to continue writing. I've taken consideration to everything you guys have told me and its safe to say that I've made a decision! Hopefully you all stick around for it to find out who I decided to choose!

Reviews:

Lazyguyrx: Thought about that, but don't really want the shinobi world to clash too much with this world. Never really liked the full cross over thing. And I have no idea wtf Orochimaru is lol.

Banru: Thank you for the suggestion and I watched the serious up to season 2. It was quite funny and I got a lot from it. Once again thanks a lot!

Helrio uzugaku: Wow, thank you very much for your review! I enjoyed reading it and I tried my best to get Naruto's point of view through! I'll try to live up to your expectation and keep writing out this story till its finished!

Blackswordbeam: An idea actually came up for a triangle. Whether or not I put it on the table is up for debate, but its still there and thank ou for giving me the motivation to write it!

J-Dawg: Thank you very much for the compliment. Yea, don't think my writing is at the point where I'd like it, but if you read my last story I posted 3 years ago then you could tell the difference immediately.

Qrious writ3r: You were close my dude. You were close lol. I would love to write Lucina's reaction to Morgan as well when I think about it.

Nise no kishi: I LOVE your idea. I already have a situation written up for it, so do you mind if I use it in the future? Thanks for the review as well!

Guest and everyone else: There are too many to put on here, but for those who voted and gave their opinions, thank you very much! It helped me make a decision and I look forward to your next reviews!

As always, thank you very much for the reviews, follows, favs and hope to see you next time!