AN: Chapter title: A Few Visits
Sasuke Uchiha dropped a handful of the bitter pills he had been using to stay awake into a flask. Like Naruto had chosen to do earlier this morning, he had dressed without his armor for the day, had settled for wearing the attire he had chosen since reaching the rank of Chunin. It seemed like he was going to be busy today as he fed his Chakra into the flask, felt the heat of the reaction taking place, and in moments he had a cup of hot instant coffee.
He downed a mouthful of it before putting it away.
"This is going to be a long day." He headed out his office, gathered up the scrolls he intended to deliver as he went, sealed them away until he needed them.
Personally, he didn't enjoy the necessity of coming up with such a rather wild plan. But there was little else he could do.
With Caesar already gone, with his absence soon to follow, something needed to be done and his plan was the best he could come up with. Caesar hadn't liked it but it was the only option. As much faith as Caesar had in his Legion, there were limits to what they could do, their behavior could be problematic if left unchecked.
They were loyal to Caesar above all else but the way they normally chose to express that loyalty could swiftly lead to problems.
Already, he was operating under a timer and an unknown one at that. The Daimyo expected to see him at some point today, he would need to speak with the Hokage about how to deal with the man before he did so, didn't have as much time as he would like to talk to all of his candidates. With Caesar gone, he had to be the one to keep Karin safe, couldn't afford to be gone for too long.
'That reminds me.' Sasuke altered his course, headed to a specific door instead.
A Praetorian Centurion had been stationed outside, commanded to guard the door and the girl inside by Caesar himself, and with him were a handful of his Legionnaires. None of the five Praetorians had their helmets on, were idly discussing one thing or another before his arrival. Red eyes turned to him once they caught sight of him, the Centurion taking a moment to place his helmet on before approaching, his Legionnaires taking up his position at the door. His Optio was likely outside, observing the tower from nearby with a handful of Legionnaires with him.
"You're dismissed. I need to speak with her in private." Sasuke didn't give the Praetorian a chance to protest or restate Caesar's order, the entire group was dismissed, sent to a distant post in the forest. He would recall them once his business here was done. He didn't need them interfering. He opened the now unguarded door.
Karin stared at Sasuke from the other side of the room.
He dismissed his Sharingan.
He hoped it would put her at ease to no avail.
"Hello Karin." Sasuke hesitated for a moment before he brought his fist to his heart, the salute of the Legion Karin was at least a little familiar with. "I'm sure you've already heard about Naruto leaving, right?" He stayed by the door and Karin stayed by the window, his words earning a nod from the redhead.
While Caesar had commanded for armor to be made for her, it had been rejected. It remained in the room, placed on an armor stand. The only change worth notice to Karin's outfit from yesterday was the absence of her Kusagakure Forehead Protector. Sasuke had seen Naruto with it yesterday but he had no idea what he had done with it.
A part of him was more than a little curious.
"I'll be out for most of today. If you need anything, ask one of the Praetorians outside to contact me. As for anything else, they are here to guard you so I suggest you let them know if you plan to leave the tower." He considered his task done once Karin only nodded again, seemed unwilling to speak with the Uchiha. She was certainly unwilling to allow him to get close to her.
He could understand.
With Naruto gone, she was likely afraid she would be used again. She expected that whatever torment she underwent in the Hidden Grass would begin again. That it would be so much worse now after this brief spot of hope, that she would be denied the only family she had known for years so soon after finding him, after he had given her relief from such a life of pain.
She trusted no one but him. She would trust no one but him.
Nothing he could say to her could change her mind.
He could spend hours in this room bidding her to speak to him of her worries, assure her of her safety with the Praetorians that would guard her against any foe, could regal her with the security that surrounded the tower and the district, but she was unlikely to feel such a thing like safety as long as Naruto remained absent.
It also didn't help that he was on a timer.
He turned to the door and summoned the Praetorians to it once more.
"Do as Caesar commanded you to when he left. I'm done here." Sasuke headed down the hall, ignored the feeling of glares on his back. The door was opened and one of the Praetorians went inside, likely checked on her.
As long as she remained safe, they could do what they liked.
'Perhaps I don't have to bother with this mad idea?' He briefly entertained the thought, considered remaining in the tower until he had to deal with the Daimyo, allow the Praetorians of Caesar's Legion to do what they saw fit to keep Karin safe, keep her from harm.
If the Hidden Grass arrived to collect her, to take her from Caesar, he was sure they would be sent away empty handed.
If the Hidden Grass launched an attack on the tower, they would surely be repelled even if both he and Caesar were gone.
If the Hokage himself arrived while they were gone, he would be turned away either by word or by sword.
The Praetorians would commit themselves wholly and utterly to her safety, would gladly give their lives for her as Caesar had commanded.
The Blossom Guards had done the same after all, saw no option but to place themselves between the girl Caesar had once favored and the blade of the Demon, had allowed themselves to fall to the last instead of allowing the girl who had proven so unworthy of such devotion to bear even a single scratch.
The Praetorians would do far more, would seek to find the source of Karin's pain, seek to find all who had stood by and done nothing as she suffered, would swear to wipe them out to the last.
For a single moment, he envisioned the Hidden Grass burning to ash.
He envisioned a forest of crosses arrayed for Karin to see, the proud Praetorians who would make it so.
He envisioned Caesar uncaring of the force now arrayed against him, as he commanded his Legion to slaughter all of Kusagakure for their audacity to draw blades against his Legion.
"There's no way in hell I can leave them alone." Sasuke came to the only conclusion, the same one he had reached last night.
If the Legion was allowed to act on their own, he would be dealing with war long before Caesar's forces were ready for such a thing. His Cohorts were not yet Legions by themselves, would not be for perhaps years more and the Fifth was still receiving a lion share of such efforts, was being raised into a Legion on a timetable far ahead of the others. It was on track to already be approaching the size of the Third in the time since they had begun building themselves up in the Land of Waves in a few more weeks.
"The Legion still needs a hand to hold the leash." Sasuke shook his head, well understood one of the roles Caesar had placed on him when he had accepted the position as Legate. For as disciplined as the Legion could be, as committed as they were to Caesar and his dream of a grand Empire, they were rabid from such devotion. If left unguided, they would wage war against the world itself for Caesar, would seek to conquer all well before it was time.
Without Caesar to temper such passion with restraint, without a Legate like himself to pull the leash when required, they would wage a far too bloody conquest.
If he was to leave, he would need new hands to hold the leash, keep the Legion from doing something disastrous out of their loyalty to Caesar.
This idea, the Tribunes, were the only way to do so, had the side effect of keeping Karin from harm while he would be out the tower.
With the people he had in mind, more than simply the Legion would keep an eye on the tower, would prevent any foreign Shinobi from approaching.
He stepped out onto a specific floor.
He was glad to see his message had been received despite how late he had sent it, one of the newer additions to the Legion waiting for him.
"Follow." He spoke the single word as a command, was glad for not having to waste his time.
A pair of Praetorians were stationed outside the door to a rather well-furnished cell, this one above ground. It was located towards the middle of Naruto Uzumaki's ever growing tower, was designed to be watched every hour of every day it was occupied. Throughout the hall the two prisoners within were allowed to wander, two dozen Praetorians had been spread out, had been given orders from the Legate to prevent their prisoners from leaving.
Eight Praetorians remained outside the tower, kept the windows of the cell in view at all times. Bars inside the room kept them from being opened from anywhere but outside when commanded.
From the reports he had been given, the two prisoners remained cautious to leave the room, to even leave the sight of the other.
Temari and Kankuro of the Hidden Sand hadn't left the room since they had woken up inside it.
Their normal clothing had been exchanged for garb fitting prisoners in a simple long sleeved white shirt and pants. There weapons had been taken from them once the invasion had ended in failure, their Chakra sealed by a Konoha ANBU Black Ops member, and they were lucky they hadn't been interrogated like the rest of the captured Shinobi. They had been turned over to Caesar who had helped ruin their father's foolish invasion with his glorious Legion. They hadn't been allowed to keep their Forehead Protectors, the Praetorians stations outside likely being no help in trying to find them if they ever mustered up the will to speak to them.
The two would likely never know that the Legate had been the one to take them when they had been delivered to the tower unconscious, had stored them, and the rest of their belongings, in his office.
"Leave." Sasuke gave his command from outside the room, the Praetorians at the door sparing him a look before they nodded, headed off down the hall. He had dismissed the entirety of them to wait by the stairway. He waited to be sure they were gone before he turned his red and black gaze to the red-haired Shinobi with him. "Excited to see your siblings?"
Gaara had no answer, his dark ringed eyes showed nothing as he looked to Sasuke.
The Uchiha opened the door, nodded for him to enter.
"GAARA!" Temari and Kankuro both shot up to their feet, didn't know if they wanted to run to or away from the Jinchuriki. They had only managed to catch a glimpse of him in the days since the attack, as he seemed free to roam the tower while they were imprisoned.
This was their first time truly being able to see him.
If nothing else he was a familiar face.
Even if his appearance was no longer what they remembered.
His gourd of sand was gone as was his Forehead Protector. His entire outfit had changed, seemed to exist as a mirror of the blonde who had been responsible for his defeat.
He was wearing armor like them at least, was carrying a sword.
"Brother. Sister." He didn't seem to care that he was seeing them again, seemed just as numb as always.
Sasuke stepped in after him, had a smirk on his face as he came to stand next to Gaara.
"Hello." He was mocking them with one word. "I hope you've enjoyed your stay so far. You won't be going home for a while longer." His Sharingan was active, taunted them with how useless a fight was, how pointless it would be to try and escape through the wide-open door behind him. "As I'll be out for a while today, I've gathered a personal guard to keep you in line, someone you're more than familiar with."
Gaara said nothing. He didn't seem to care that he was being told to guard his siblings, that he had forsaken the village during the attack, that he was wearing the armor of the one who had done something to him during the invasion.
Neither Temari or Kankuro had any idea on what had happened, why he had betrayed their father and the village.
"In additions to the Praetorians already patrolling this floor and outside, Gaara will be responsible for the two of you. It seemed only fitting to let him care for his family." Sasuke stepped further into the room, examined it. He had been the one to insist it be furnished, kept them out of the cells beneath the tower, and he was curious about how they made use of it.
The two bedrooms remained completely untouched. He wasn't that surprised to see one not in use but to see both? He spared the two a glance, his Sharingan sweeping over them as they continued to stare at Gaara.
"You two clearly don't need two bedrooms." He continued his inspection, took note of the fact that they were at least eating while imprisoned. "And I don't need to force you to eat. A positive." He had heard little stories from his father relating to prisoners but it wasn't unheard of for prisoners to go on a hunger strike for whatever reason, some strange reasoning behind their sudden refusal to feed themselves. He remembered the few stories, highly embellished, he had been told. He stepped close to the two, examined their bodies while they continued to merely stare at Gaara.
He grabbed Kankuro's arm, pushed up his sleeve. Repeated it with his other arm.
He released him and did the same to Temari.
"And neither of you have tried suicide. Good to know. That makes this much simpler." He stepped through the wall they had made once they had decided to mimic a pair of statues, approached Gaara.
The redhead hesitated for a moment but he brought his fist to his heart, offered the salute of the Legion.
Sasuke returned such a gesture. With his face turned away from the two, he didn't bother to keep up his mockery, locked eyes with Gaara as he would with a Legionnaire.
"The two of them are yours to do with as you wish until my return. Do not harm them beyond what is necessary." He dropped his salute, stepped past Gaara. "The Praetorians that serve as their guards will be under your command as well." He didn't bother with closing the door behind him.
He didn't need to.
He met the Praetorians at the stairway, their Centurion offering the salute of the Legion as he approached.
"Return to your duties. In my absence, Gaara will be in command of his siblings." He returned it as he issued his order. The Praetorians didn't seem to care about being placed under the Jinchuriki's command, the Centurion already turning to bark out orders to his men.
Sasuke paid them no mind, began his descent as he fell into his thoughts once more.
There was a reason for why he had decided to order Gaara to watch his siblings while he was away, hadn't simply left such a simple duty in the hands of Caesar's Praetorians.
A part of him was hoping that Gaara, over the next few months he intended to keep them here, would be able to convince his siblings to become compliant.
The Fifth Cohort was still far from ready to occupy the Hidden Sand, wouldn't be until it met his strict criteria. Caesar had entrusted such a thing to him and he would see them ready for such a taxing operation. As much as the Primus Pilus was eager to undo whatever dishonor he felt had befallen the Fifth Cohort during the invasion, the Legate was not of the same mind.
He saw no harm in waiting.
While the Fifth Cohort was being reinforced and refitting for the task to come, he wanted the two to come alone to the same line of thinking as Gaara had when he battled Caesar.
Obedience, coming from the three of them, would work better than what the Primus Pilus had told him days ago.
Publicly humiliate them? Lash them for all the village to see and gawk at? He had no doubt it would end poorly.
When faced with an invading force, brutality would only accomplish so much.
A lighter hand was better put to use.
Sasuke continued to descend further and further, the floor beneath him eventually well below the ground and shaped by copied Earth Release techniques from Silver Fang, the results of a joint effort between the Praetorians and the First Cohort of Caesar's Legion.
He had simply taught them the technique and provided the blueprint, left the rest to them.
Cells didn't require much else to them beyond moved rock and iron bars. Coupled with the certainty of death any escape attempt would bring, it kept the few prisoners within from doing much of anything.
'Time to put on a show.' He pulled out the earpiece he wore as Legate, stored it in one of the pockets of his Flak Jacket. He wouldn't need it for what he intended to do now.
His Sharingan returned as he entered one of the few occupied holding cells so deep below the ground. The handful of Legionnaires stationed so far below didn't spare him a glance, their focus on channeling Chakra into the post at the cell, the only thing keeping the prisoners within uncrushed.
Sasuke observed the three, their haggard appearance after only a handful of days, hardly a week, within captivity.
He hadn't been gentle when he had beaten them and he was sure the Legionnaires responsible for their imprisonment cared little if they lived or died.
"You three are still alive." He spoke the obvious, earned three weak glares from those chained within. "I'm almost impressed." He pressed a hand against the barred door to the cell, the seal there accepting the Chakra of one of the Legion and depositing the key in his hand. He unlocked the cell, stepped inside it to their obvious surprise.
The three moved away from him, seemed to hope the wall they were already against would give way and let them run from him.
He smiled.
"I'm sure you three understand some of what's going on, the failure of the invasion you so foolishly participated in." Sasuke moved to the metal stake that three lengths of chain had been placed beneath, that had been strained in the past days as futile efforts were made to break it. He held up his hand, allowed the three in the cell to see the sparks of lightning there.
If Silver Fang had given him anything as a teacher, it was the basis of Lightning Release when he had paralyzed him during the Chunin Exams. From it, he could begin to develop the Chakra Nature, incorporate it into his fighting style, go on to teach the Legion the basis of Lightning Release.
He made use of such knowledge to create the lightning in his hand, allow three pairs of eyes to see such a thing.
"You three were worth nothing so I can't send your heads off like with the others." He didn't need to gesture outside, to the barren cells that had only held prisoners for an hour at the most. The prisoners hadn't gone far, hadn't lived long once they had been brought here. The Legion had conducted the countless executions he and Caesar had commanded just outside the cells, had sent the heads off to bounty offices packed into box after box.
The First was still busy sorting through the rewards.
"But I also can't stand the idea of pointless prisoners." Sasuke let his hand lower. "You three are worthless even to barter with the Hidden Sound, you mean nothing to the Hidden Sand, and you serve as nothing but a drain on Caesar's resources. I have to assign Legionnaires to preserve your worthless lives, I have to send food and water down here to you, no matter how poor, I had to waste medical supplies on you three, I had to waste paper with my orders to keep you alive like the rest of the prisoners." He let his hand fall lower, controlled the erratic appearance of the electricity. It would appear as if only luck was saving them from death, as the electricity narrowly missed the stake and struck the ground instead.
"I've managed to profit from them when I sent their heads off, the same can't be said for you." He allowed a copied expression to take hold of his face, one of spite, of disdain, of disregard. The face of one who once looked at another and deemed him not worth killing. "The only useful thing I could think of is taking my time when I execute you, give you to the Legion to practice interrogation, let them see how much the body can endure before it succumbs. Perhaps I could practice my skills with the cross on the three of you, see how long I could keep the three of you alive once I crucify you. Perhaps I could even see if I could hang all three of you from the same cross?"
"Or I could fry you here and now."
He allowed the lightning to finally strike, a carefully measured non-lethal jolt down the stakes and into the chains.
Non-lethal, not painless.
From his experience, the technique was horribly so. It seemed to ignite every cell with pain, with a fresh agony. It was relentless, converted one into a world of nothing but pain, a ceaseless suffering. All until the current ended. The only aspect of the technique he was missing was the near complete paralysis he himself had been subject to when it was used on him.
The three recoiled, screamed.
The shock continued, froze their pained expressions as dispassionate eyes swept over them.
He removed his hand, placed it behind his back. He discharged the last of the charge discreetly into the ground. The three were too occupied by the ebbing flow of their pain to notice even if he was obvious about it.
"Of course, that's neglecting to mention another option." Sasuke stepped closer, approached the three that were still in the process of recovering from the pain. "One you three are far more than used to: Servitude under a master."
Despite their pain, the three looked to him in disbelief, one even dared to look at him in something approaching rage, allowed hatred at the idea to fuel him through the pain.
Sasuke decided he would deal with him first.
He stepped past the stake, approached the three of them as his Sharingan swept over the three, examined their state after the shock. They would live. Despite their poor conditions, they were in no risk of dying by his hand. At least for now. Even if they were at their best, he would still be able to kill the three without much effort.
"I've withheld the reports to the Hokage concerning you three. I've created two sets." He kicked a length of chain out of his way, approached the one Caesar had spent his time teaching his place during the Chunin Exams. "One of them details how I simply killed you, the imminent delivery of your body to a medical team to examine your modifications." He crouched down in front of the one Caesar had called little more than a mutt, a mad dog. "The other speaks of how you have agreed to cooperate, remain prisoners but have been allowed a long leash."
He grabbed his face with one hand, dragged him up by the chin to observe the marks Caesar had left on his neck.
The Uchiha smirked, turned his eyes to meet the gaze of Zaku Abumi.
"Isn't this wonderful. You already have a collar. Although, it is perhaps too old." He pushed his head back, shifted to observe Kin Tsuchi next. She was frozen at the sight of him, as the red and black Dojutsu in his eyes focused on her. "You lack the same. Perhaps I was too gentle with you." He pushed her aside next. He turned to Dosu Kinuta.
He seemed to understand, lifted his head, showed his unmarred neck.
"And neither do you." He rose back to his full height, observed all three from above them. "Now, here is my question to the three of you."
He tapped a band he wore on his wrist, a surge of Chakra to the seal there revealing what was inside.
Three polished metal collars.
"Do you three desire new ones?"
He left the cell without them.
He waited until he was out of sight of both the prisoners and the Legionnaires, within the stairwell to let his back hit the wall.
He let out a shuddering breath.
One came and then another. And then another. Ragged gasping breaths followed, his struggle to overcome it, to control it, utterly futile. He could hear the loud beats of his heart, could feel the blood rushing through his veins. He leaned more against the wall, found it his only support.
He stared down at his shaking hand.
For a moment, it was no longer his own.
For a moment, it held a blood-soaked sword.
For a moment, he was looking down on two corpses.
He forced his fingers to curl back into a fist, forced the pain of his nails digging into his palm to bring him back.
He forced himself to breathe properly, to control his breaths.
"I'm not him." He let himself believe those words. "I will never be him."
He focused on the now, the present.
On the problems he needed to solve.
He could not remember the past.
He could focus on the present above all else.
He needed to focus on the present.
He stood off the wall, took a moment to adjust his appearance.
He couldn't appear as anything but composed and in control of himself and others.
The Legate couldn't afford to look anything but at his best when before the Legionnaires, the Praetorians.
He continued on his way, his moment of weakness now firmly in the past.
"I'm not him."
He let himself believe such a thing.