AN: Chapter title: Promotions and Celebrations Part 3
"Well…that was a lot less exciting than I thought it would be." Ino was truly understating it.
"He seemed busy. Maybe it's usually longer?" Sakura didn't sound that sure as she spoke.
The Hokage had given a short speech commending them on their ability and bravery, told them what an honor it was to reach this rank, given them the day off, and had bid them goodbye. It had lasted less than five minutes.
The man was clearly occupied by a dozen other things, things that made this promotion ceremony little more than a waste of time for him. Ino considered it a miracle he didn't have one of the elders do it for him to spare him the wasted time.
The only thing he had done of note was tell Naruto to see him later, the blonde Chunin having no idea what it was for judging from the look on his face. Ino figured it had something to do with his army. At this point, whenever something involved Naruto, it was about his new army.
If she was callous, she would ask Sakura what she thought was going to happen with him, what the Hokage wanted to talk to him about. She wouldn't of course, she knew how much even being nearby the Uzumaki messed with her.
"What do you think it's for?" Sakura surprised her when she was the one to ask.
"Who knows." Ino could only shrug her shoulders, recovered from her shock rather quickly. "The Hokage has his army all over recently so its probably something to do with that."
"I don't think that's it." Sakura stared at the building that hadn't existed yesterday, that was surrounded by armed samurai. "If he wanted to talk about that, he would have called Naruto to his office. Its something bigger."
"Whatever it is, we'll know when he starts shouting about it." Ino shook her head. "That guy never shuts up when he gets anything."
Sakura didn't say anything, risked a look over to Naruto to find him looking over the note the Hokage had handed him. He eventually folded it up and placed it in his Flak Jacket, his expression more pensive than anything.
"So you're really not upset about not getting promoted?" Asuma put out his cigarette as he spoke to his student. If he was being honest, the Nara's overall lack of reaction towards the news of remaining a Genin for at least another year didn't surprise him. Shikamaru Nara didn't allow things to bother him, considered the very act of being bothered by things too bothersome to deal with. Frankly, the bearded Jonin didn't know if he should call that mindset one of a laid-back mind or an apathetic one. "Aren't you at least a little curious on why?"
"I can make a good enough guess." Shikamaru shrugged. "I surrendered to the enemy when I had the advantage. It looks bad on the village."
"More or less, that's what I was told when I checked in on it." Asuma shook his head. "I tried to argue against it, brought up your actions during the attack just like Shibi and Kurenai did for Shino, but your father was the one who argued against it. I don't know how he did it but he convinced everyone else what you did was inconsequential, your performance only that of an average Konoha Shinobi. That alone influenced the final decision more than anything else."
"It made sense at the time, still makes sense now." Shikamaru nodded. "We talked about it after I got the news. We agreed on why it couldn't happen yet." His eyes focused on where the new Chunin were currently standing. "Besides, I want to check on a few things while I still can as a Genin. Being a Chunin would make it all too much of a bother."
Asuma followed Shikamaru's gaze, saw where his eyes were focused.
"There's nothing to worry about." He laid a hand on the Genin's shoulder. "I'm keeping an eye on her no matter her rank. I'll be as old as my dad and I'll still keep an eye on her. All three of you really."
"That's not exactly what I'm worried about." Shikamaru glanced to the Chunin once more. "Ino can handle herself and if she can't, Choji and me are going to be there for her just like she'll be there for us." He looked to the real problem he saw, what he was really worried about. "I don't like whatever's going on between her and Sasuke."
"That crush of hers is gone." Asuma shook his head. "You don't have to worry about anything. She can take care of herself and, like you said, the two of you will be there to back her up."
"…Yeah." Shikamaru shook his head. "This is such a drag to deal with." The Nara turned his gaze to the clouds above. "I'm starting to wish I could've slept in today."
"Don't we all." Asuma left his student with a pat on his back. "I've got a meeting to head to for a while but I'll be around for the party." Asuma headed off into the building ahead of them, the samurai guarding it allowing him through. He, like the rest of the Jonin, had been requested to head inside.
He didn't see the Nara's eyes drift away from the clouds, stare at the Uchiha once more. His eyes were focused on Yamanaka, drawing a glare from her that made him smirk. Naruto was the only one who noticed his gaze, rose an eyebrow at the intensity of it.
Before Shikamaru could stop him or leave himself, the Uzumaki had stepped over to him.
"Nara." Naruto looked him over, whatever his reason for doing so was utterly lost to the Genin.
"Naruto." Shikamaru stared at the blonde he used to know.
"Is there a problem?" Naruto rose an eyebrow.
"No. That would be too much of a bother." Shikamaru waved off his concerns, already intended to leave this conversation.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"I need to speak with you." Naruto said no more, guided him away from the others. Shikamaru felt he didn't really have an option but to go where he pushed him. They were far enough away that no one could hear them without making it obvious. Shikamaru just needed a quick glance to the Uchiha to find his eyes briefly focused on them. He was keeping an eye out for any eavesdroppers. "I have an offer for you."
"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm going to have to refuse whatever it is. I'm not trying to be doing anything more than what I'm already doing." Shikamaru gave his answer.
Naruto only laughed.
"You say that now Shikamaru Nara." Naruto laughed again. He folded his arms over his new Flak Jacket, grinned. "At least let me tell you what I offer, allow yourself to know what I offer, before you reject it."
Shikamaru shrugged as his answer.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Naruto reached into one of the pockets on his chest, drew out a scroll. Shikamaru caught it before it could hit him in the face, looked at it before looking back to Naruto. The blonde only grinned.
"That is my offer to you Shikamaru Nara." Naruto threw his arms out, red eyes gleamed with delight. "I offer you the chance to join my magnificent Uzumaki Empire, my glorious Orange Legion! Come to me bearing this scroll and you shall be welcomed by all who serve under me!"
"W-What?" The Nara was more than a little stunned. Of everything he had considered, everything he thought would happen today, this wasn't on the list. He didn't know how he didn't just drop the scroll in his hand in his shock, as he tried to make sense of what his once friend was saying.
"Was I not clear?" Naruto seemed to honestly think on it for a moment before he simply shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose I should clarify more of this." He once more reached into the pocket of his Flak Jacket, drew out another scroll. He broke the seal on it himself, opened it and turned it to face the Nara.
"My Legate considered such an offer would be difficult for you to understand as an outsider of my glorious Legion, that you may need visual aids to properly process all of this. He provided this."
Naruto was holding out an organizational chart, like the one that had been hanging up in their classroom at the Academy to describe the Shinobi ranks. On it, the Hokage had sat at the top, the simplified chart having only Jonin directly beneath him, Chunin beneath that, Genin beneath that, and Academy Study placed at the very bottom.
Shikamaru had no idea what even half of what Naruto was showing him was supposed to mean. The grinning blonde pointed to one of what had to be ranks, it placed near the bottom of the page.
"You shall start as the second in command of one of my Legion's Centuries, an Optio. He followed the line down from 'Optio'. "Beneath you shall be the Tesserarious of the Century, he will be responsible for security, and beneath him shall be the Decanus of a Century, a group of ten Legionnaires chosen by the rest of the Century to lead them in battle. They are those who you will directly command while you shall serve under one of my Centurions, who you will speak with to take their words to the Centurion and take his words to them. A critical position I am more than happy to entrust to you." His grin widened, blue eyes turned away from the paper in his hands and to Shikamaru. "And you shall be placed in a Century in my First Cohort, a privileged position many of my Legion will envy you for."
"Once you show promise, however long it takes, you shall become a Centurion in the same Cohort, from there you could even rise to the rank of Primus Pilus, lead the Cohort itself if you show yourself to be deserving. A thousand Legionnaires at your command, who swear their loyalty to you so long as you fight for my Legion, for my Empire." Naruto's finger flowed up the chart, from Tesserarius, back up to Optio, to Centurion, and stopped at Primus Pilus. Shikamaru found himself too stunned to do anything but listen as the Chunin spoke.
More of the chart was above, Naruto's position at the top clear along with his title of Caesar, Sasuke was placed directly below him with the title of Legate. Beneath it, eleven lines branched out, ten of them being marked with Primus Pilus and the chain of positions that followed it while Praefectus Castrorum marked the top of the eleventh. It was made intentionally separate, spaced apart from the other lines, covering what Shikamaru had guessed to be Naruto's bodyguard unit from how often they were the only ones around him, had to be a specialty unit at least from where they had shown up. It was structured mostly the same way as the other ten, went from Decanus to Tesserarius to Optio to Centurion but it then immediately jumped to Praefectus Castrorum despite the amount of open space between Centurion and Praefectus Castrorum.
If he had to guess, it looked incomplete.
"Ah, you're no doubt interested in a position in my Praetorians." Naruto noticed where his eyes had gone, laughed as he rolled up the scroll. "That isn't something I give lightly Nara, neither shall my Legate. He and I appoint all to join my Praetorian Cohort, my most trusted and elite Legionnaires compete for such a position and you shall have to do the same." He tossed the scroll over to Shikamaru. "Keep both. If you have any questions, ask me them whenever you see me. As I said, as long as you possess that scroll, you will be welcomed by any who serve me and they will be more than able to contact me."
"Uh…sure…" Shikamaru stared at the scrolls in his hand. "…Is that it?"
"For now." Naruto chuckled. "I'm surprised, I thought you would have more questions, would seek any number of answers, but you have nothing to ask? Nothing at all?"
"I have a lot to ask actually." Shikamaru pocketed the scrolls if nothing else. It gave him a chance to gather his thoughts really, think over a few things. "I guess the first question is…" Brown eyes met excited blue. "What happened during the attack? What did you know, what didn't you?"
"Really?" Naruto rose an eyebrow. "That's actually several questions by the way." He chuckled. "As for the attack, I had strong suspicions it was happening and prepared accordingly. They were all but made certain when the children of the Kazekage came to me near the end of my training under the Toad Sage. They tried to be coy but they all but reeked of fear when they spoke to my Legate and he informed me of everything he had learned from them." Naruto shook his head at the memory, his smile falling as he thought on the past. "Frankly, it was a rather pathetic plan from the start. If not for those beasts my Legion battled, I would've urged the Hokage to let me exterminate them." His smile returned. "But perhaps I will have the chance soon."
"As for what I didn't know? That's rather obvious. I didn't know the precise time. I prepared to battle them at any point during the day, prepared my forces for rapid deployment. As it stands, I perhaps overprepared. While my Fifth Cohort suffered heavy losses, neither my Sixth or my Praetorian Cohort were anything other than dominant." He frowned. "In hindsight, I should've kept my First Cohort closer, spoken with the Hokage beforehand on where my Legion would be most needed. As it stands, this has been more of a learning experience for myself and my Legate."
"The village was attacked and you're calling it a learning experience?" Shikamaru didn't think Naruto fully understood his disbelief as he spoke, seemed to consider it an honest question.
"Of course. While tragic, the attack has proven itself useful not only to myself but likely to the Hokage as well. He has understood the benefits my Legion brings to this village, has planned to once more show the dominance of the Hidden Leaf through it and the Shinobi who defend it." Naruto frowned. "At least he should. A show of strength, the slaughter of one's enemy, is critical at the moment. If there is anytime to once more assert the power of the village, now is the time."
"Yeah…I'm sure that's going to happen." Shikamaru decided not to address any of what Naruto had just said. "Can I ask another question?"
"I have plenty of time Shikamaru." Naruto beckoned for him to continue. "Ask away."
"How long have you been watching us?" Shikamaru earned a look of almost disappointment from Naruto, as if the question was a boring one. He didn't care what Naruto thought of it, Ino had basically confirmed they were all under watch when she had gotten back from speaking with him yesterday and he wanted to know more.
"Us? Who is 'Us'?" Even as Naruto asked, it was clear he wasn't expecting an answer. He laughed. "I keep everyone under surveillance although it has been divided into two categories. While the Legionnaires of my First Cohort are usually responsible for most of it, I've given the order to my Praetorians to see to those I deem I of a high priority. And, before you ask, no, you are not among those who receive such. Silver Fang, the Toad Sage, Mitarashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, they are some of those who I and the Legate view as deserving of such a thing."
"Isn't that comforting." Shikamaru glanced around the forest, searched for everything because he had no idea what to actually look for. "I'm going to guess you're using video cameras?"
"That and direct surveillance." Naruto laughed. "If nothing else, all the reports keep me busy." He rose an eyebrow. "Come now, ask a harder question."
"Where did all your money come from?" Shikamaru earned another frown from the Uzumaki at his question, one more amused than disappointed.
"You ask poor questions." He shook his head. "As for where my funds come from? The answer should be obvious. I took control of the Gato Shipping Company and all of its related dealings when I slaughtered his band of thugs and sentenced him to public execution." Naruto grinned at the memory. "Seeing a man who delighted in the terror he spread succumb to his own still serves as a wonderful memory."
Shikamaru didn't know how to respond to that, the pleased smile on Naruto's face, the fact that he sounded so proud of it. His silence must've stretched on for too long since Naruto broke it.
"Any further questions?" Naruto seemed to enjoy this all at least, for whatever reason. Shikamaru would guess he just liked talking about himself, about the army he commanded.
"Yeah. It probably should have been the first but…Why me? Why not someone else like Lee or Neji? Frankly, it doesn't make any sense to pick me for this. The last time we really talked besides right now was after my match in the Chunin Exams."
"Yes, you surrendered, which was a terrible disappointment to me, something that I would've had you cast out of my Legion for daring to do if you served under me." Naruto shook his head even if he kept the smile on his face. "And didn't I commend you for your strategy if nothing else Shikamaru? You possess an outstanding ability when it comes to such strategy and I would be a fool not to notice it."
"So what, am I supposed to accept it because you're telling me all of this? That I'm special enough to get all of this information?" Shikamaru's words earned nothing but a sharp bout of laughter from the Uzumaki, actually earned more than a few stares from the others. Red and black eyes stared into his own over Naruto's shoulder, a hand settled on the hilt of the blade at their owner's side.
"If you believe yourself to be special for having earned my attention, don't. You're far from the only one who has earned a place in my Legion, my Legate and I merely agree on extending this chance to you here and now." Naruto laughed again, seemed to be overly jovial today. "I intend to speak with the others in due time, I simply wanted to personally extend such an offer to you first and foremost." Naruto grinned. "After all, I do still consider you a friend Nara."
The shock that took hold of Shikamaru's face surprised Naruto.
"Do you think so little of me now Shikamaru?" Naruto lost any humor he found in this situation, stared at the Genin in front of him. "I admit, I've changed much out of necessity as a Caesar, had no choice if I was to command my Legion, declare an empire all my own, but I am not one to ever disregard my friends."
"I just thought things had changed…" Shikamaru rubbed at the back of his neck, sighed. "You pretty much changed overnight and I thought that was it. Even when we met just on the street, you acted different."
"I see." Naruto nodded. "I suppose this is my fault." He frowned, didn't look very happy as he realized such a thing. "I've been too occupied with my Legion, my Empire, busy to such an extent that you think I have no need for friendship." Blue eyes were turned back towards the group he had guided Shikamaru away from, his eyes drifted between two specific Genin. "Kiba and Choji feel the same?"
"I don't know for sure about Kiba but I think Choji does. He at least thinks things have changed, that things are different now. We ended up talking about it a while back but, since the invasion, he hasn't brought it up again." Shikamaru didn't know if he really should be answering, didn't know if something awful was going to happen to him because of this.
He hadn't seen everything that had happened between Naruto and Sakura but he knew enough. Enough to leave him more than a little cautious when it came to interacting with Naruto.
"I see." Naruto repeated himself, turned back to Shikamaru. A sad smile crossed his face. "I'll have to…" He shook his head. He turned his gaze back to Shikamaru. "We've been sidetracked. Any further questions for me?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
"Then I will leave you to consider my offer." Naruto hesitated for a moment before he nodded to the Nara. "I'll see you later."
He headed off, his face a mess of conflicting emotions before it settled.
"Legate!" His shout carried across the grounds and to the Uchiha. "It's time to go."
If Sasuke noticed anything wrong with him, noticed any changes, he didn't comment on it. He merely nodded as he vanished in the midst of his step, simply appeared at Naruto's side in a burst of speed. He spared the Nara a glance but he didn't bother with his Sharingan, black eyes meeting brown before the Uchiha seemed to just disregard him.
Shikamaru honestly didn't know how to feel about that.
"The Hokage awaits Caesar." Sasuke only received a nod from Naruto before the two headed inside the building under guard by a host of samurai.