Rise, Son Of Rome

by Young Napoleon22

After Naruto makes a discovery on a diplomatic mission to Wave country, he begins to question his current place in life. Then, after being banished for "roughly handling" Sasuke in the retrieval mission, Naruto sets off to bring honor to his ancestors and rebuild the Roman Empire...and no one is going to stand in his way.

2. Ave, Caesar!

Ch. 2 Ave, Caesar (Hail, Caesar)

xxxxxxx

"C-can you, ya know, tell me about him? Caesar, I mean."

Naruto sat, literally, on the edge of his seat waiting for Tazuna to tell him of the legendary leader. After learning that this guy ruled over such a large empire Naruto found himself wanting, no, needing to learn more about him. At the sound of the name "Caesar", Naruto began to hear a whisper in the back of his brain.

"Knowledge is power, learn more and watch all the doors that open up for you."

"Hahaha, of course I'll tell you kid. After all, he IS the greatest man in Roman history." At this Naruto cocked his head in confusion. "Rome? What's that Tazuna?"

"Rome was the name of the empire Naruto. It started with the city-state of Rome, which later became the now deserted Whirlpool, and expanded from there to this," at that moment he unrolled a map he had on the table. On the map was the entire Elemental nations, as well as the continents to the west.

The color-code to the map was mostly crimson in color, with specks of just the tan of the map littered here and there, and a forest-green beginning in the West where the red stopped.

"Every bit of red you see was included in the Roman empire. The uncolored specks were neutral city-states and the green patch that starts here in the West was the unconquered, barbarian lands."

Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this. How could one little city-state be the head of such a vast empire? "But, how did it get so big? How did Rome manage to cover so much land?"

The young genin had this gnawing curiosity eating away at him, he wanted to know more...he needed to know more. And Tazuna was all to happy to share his knowledge with him.

"Well, obviously Rome wasn't built in a day Naruto. First, they conquered their neighbors. Then, once those people were added to the population the size of the army increased as well; giving them an easier time conquering other smaller city-states until they had a large enough force to overcome bigger groups of people. It's a domino effect Naruto."

With his curiosity about the empire itself quelled for the moment, Naruto returned them to the main topic he wished to discuss.

"Okay, that makes sense, so did Caesar rule over all of this?"

This time Tazuna let out a disheartened sigh. "Unfortunately, no, he didn't. Caesar was assassinated long before the empire ever reached the height of it's expansion. However, I have no doubt that, had he not been murdered, he would have brought the empire to its height much faster than those rulers who followed after him and even been able to keep it from falling apart."

The young blond could feel the waves of...'Sadness?' as Tazuna spoke about the murder of the great Dictator. "So what kind of person was Caesar old man? He sounds pretty great from what you're telling me."

"Well, he was considered a master public speaker; one of the greatest in Romes history. Julius Caesar could make you do, what he thought you should do, by giving you a speech. Caesar was also a military genius; he thought of every conceivable advantage while on and off the field of battle, and always made sure that his enemies would be at a disadvantage in responding to him. He was brilliant in his ability to relate to people and make them like him. He could be friendly with his ordinary soldiers, because he was in battle with them and showed that he had just as much guts, and as much stamina, as they did. Julius Caesar was considered by many to be the greatest Roman in history."

Young Naruto was completely captivated by Tazuna's description of Caesar. The only other person he'd ever heard anything close to such praise for was his villages 4th Hokage, and even he wasn't elevated to the status of "greatest citizen in history." However, before Naruto could ask anymore about the great general, a call of "Dinner's ready!", pulled the two males from their conversation.

As Naruto got up from his seat to leave he was stopped by a hand on his arm. Looking back he saw Tazuna with a strange light in his eye.

'He looks like he knows something I don't, then again this whole afternoon's been filled with learning new things.' Naruto lifted an eyebrow in confusion before Tazuna answered his silent question.

"Naruto...there's some ruins on the far end of the village that I think you'd be interested in seeing. If you'd like, I can draw you a map so that you can find your way there. There's some things there that I'm sure you'd like to see." Naruto's eyes lit up and he swiftly nodded his head 'yes'.

oo0oo

As they all sat down for dinner there was only light conversation between Tsunami and Hinata, as well as Naruto and the newly arrived Inari; Tazuna's grandson. While Naruto and the young fisherman chatted away both were oblivious to a set of red eyes upon them.

Kurenai had managed to push her curiosity to the back of her mind while she helped Hinata with her stew, but upon seeing Naruto and Tazuna exit the study after over two hours of talking she couldn't stop herself from, once again, wondering about just what the two males had been talking about for so long.

'What could the two of them honestly have been talking about for so long? There's no way they were just catching up, not with the look they both have in their eye.'

"So, Naruto, how was catching up with Tazuna-san?" She was hoping she could trip the young blond up, and get him to reveal some of what the two of them had talked about.

'Kakashi did say that Naruto was easy to trip up, I just have to ask the right questions.'

Naruto, as a matter-of-fact, was about to tell the Jounin what he and Tazuna had spoke about, but before he opened his mouth the voice in the back of his head whispered to him: 'Don't tell her about what you've learned! She may try to go with you to the ruins tomorrow, and you don't want that. If she goes she'll report them to Tsunade and that could lead to more snooping around. Make something up and leave out everything you've learned today. Remember, knowledge is power, and for too long you've been without power...don't you think it's time you had some?'

Agreeing with the voice, and deciding he liked the idea of having power, Naruto went on to tell Kurenai that they had spoken of what the two of them had been up to at first, but after running out new experiences to share, the two males simply spoke about how much better off the village seemed, and Tazuna had even explained the shipping business to Naruto.

"Well that's nice. I remember Tazuna-san had something important to tell you, did you two get a chance to discuss it?" Kurenai hoped that Naruto wouldn't read too much into her curiosity. She didn't realize Naruto had already caught on to her game.

"Unfortunately, Kurenai-sensei, we didn't. I was so caught up in Tazuna's explanation of how the shipping business works that I'd forgotten to ask him." This wasn't enough for the genjutsu mistress.

"That is unfortunate. Tazuna-san, why don't you tell Naruto now so you don't run the risk of forgetting again.' At the end she threw a small smile at the bridge builder, in the hopes to disarm any hesitation he might have about speaking of the topic in front of others.

"But sensei," Naruto cut in, "does that seem right? Tazuna said he had something he wanted to discuss with me, not the rest of the household. Think about it, if you were given documents to deliver and were told they were meant for the receivers eyes only, would you look inside?"

With this, Kurenai had been essentially disarmed of any further questions she might have asked, because she knew that if she were to keep up her questions, then she would lose face with not only her students, but also with a foreign business prospect. 'Damn it, Naruto might not be as naive as Kakashi says he is. That move just shut down any argument I might have made to get Tazuna to talk.'

With that dinner became a quiet affair, even the usually talkative Ino was silent after hearing Naruto of all people basically dress-down a Jounin. Then, in an effort to break the silence, Naruto complimented the food.

"Tsunami everything tastes great! The fish is grilled to perfection and this stew is amazing, I've never eaten any this good before."

At hearing Naruto's compliment Hinata's cheeks took on a light-pink hue,that only darkened to a shade of red when Tsunami pointed out: " Actually Naruto, I didn't make the stew, your team mate did."

She smiled over in Hinata's direction which made Naruto realize the woman was referring to her.

"Hinata you made this?" The Hyuga heiress nodded shyly while keeping her eyes on her own plate. "Wow, I was serious, this has got to be the best stew I've ever had." Naruto was unaware the effect his words were having on the young girl sitting at the table with him.

'Naruto-kun likes it, I did good!'

Hinata had been worried that she had missed something or that she'd added too much of another ingredient, but to hear Naruto say it was the best he'd ever had made her face burn a fiery red and her heart to feel ready to burst. Unfortunately her bliss would soon turn to embarrassment, as Ino seemed to find her voice again.

"Well it better be good, since Hinata wouldn't move more than two steps from it. And when I told her that I thought it needed more of something, she'd get all fidgety and wouldn't leave me alone until I said it tasted perfect. Not "fine" or "okay", but perfect." Ino finished off her retort by throwing a shark-like grin at her fellow kunoichi, finding enjoyment out of teasing her about her devotion to the blonde boy at the head of the table.

"Well it worked, this turned out great. Hinata you're gonna make some guy really happy one day, -yawn-, well I'm gonna go to bed a little early; I guess all that walking tired me out more than I thought." As Naruto got up to leave he threw a glance to Tazuna and slightly nodded his head.

As Naruto was exiting the kitchen he failed to notice two sets of eyes on him.

Hinata's eyes felt like they were going to explode out of her head at the compliment given to her by her Naruto-kun. She desperately wanted to tell him that his happiness was the only one she cared about, that he was the only guy she wanted to stand beside.

'Or kneel down in front of', a voice whispered in her mind, causing her face to erupt in a crimson flare as her eyes followed her blond out the door until he couldn't be seen anymore.

Another set of eyes watched Naruto as he got up and left the room. However this pair wasn't filled with love and boundless devotion, but with curiosity and suspicion. She'd always been lead to believe that Naruto was a joker and not someone you'd take seriously in an argument. But with what she'd seen today, she decided that maybe...just maybe there was more to Naruto Uzumaki than meets the eye.

oo0oo

Naruto sat on the side of his bed seemingly just staring at the wall,but really, he was in deep thought.

'Tazuna said that I'd be specifically interested in the ruins, but I wonder why? What could they hold that would interest just me?" Before Naruto could ponder this any further the voice in his head spoke out: 'Why worry so much about the why? Instead revel in the fact that you, and you alone, will be going to see the treasures these ruins seem to hold. Tazuna wouldn't send you there if he didn't think it important or helpful to you in some way right?'

With that Naruto was once again left to the silence of the room, and alone with his...thoughts? Suddenly it became clear to the blond that the voice he'd been hearing in his head was his own, it was his mind divulging the wisdom he'd been receiving over the last few hours! With the comforting thought that he might just be more clever than others gave him credit for, and a new sense of delightful anticipation at visiting the ruins tomorrow, Naruto lay back on his bed and drifted off to sleep.

DREAM-

Naruto found himself, oddly enough, sitting atop the front gate of his village. Sure he'd sat up here before finding out about the great view on the Hokage monument, but he couldn't think of why he'd be there now. But before he could question it any further Naruto heard, what sounded like a horn, echoing from a distance. Normally he'd have dismissed this as his ears playing tricks on him, but then he heard it again...and again...and there it was again! All until he heard the entire "song" being sung by those horns. And then that's when he saw it.

A large group, an army by the looks of it, was marching down the dirt road to the gate of the Hidden Leaf village. The men were arranged in what seemed like squares, each one following the one in front of it. He could see the ever-blowing trumpeters at the front of the line, keeping in step with the soldiers in the front-line. Naruto couldn't very well see what these soldiers wore, since their bodies were covered by their massive shields, but he could see that they wore metal shin-guards on there legs and what looked to be leather shoes. On their heads they wore helmets unlike any Naruto had seen before. The helmets seemed to be skull caps, with metal face plates attached to guard the sides of the wearers face, and Naruto could just make out a piece in the back that looked to be meant as protection for the back of the neck. The helmets were silver in color, with gold trim lining the cheek plates and the edge of the skull cap. There were also golden...circles? Three on each cheek plate and two on either side of the skull cap.

Further back Naruto observed that there were other soldiers that were dressed differently from these front-line soldier. He could see some soldiers had plate armor; silver, metal plates stacked on top of each other and tied at the back by leather straps. These men also wore what seemed like scarves around their necks.

'Probably to avoid chaffing.' Naruto thought before continuing his observations.

He noticed that the soldiers had a short-sword at their waste, the scabbard strap slung over their shoulders, and a slightly shorter blade fitted to the opposite side of their waste. Naruto could see that around their wastes the men wore leather...skirts around their waste?

'Pteruges' His mind corrected him.

These leather strips at times were studded with metal caps for added protection. On their feet they too wore metal grieves and leather shoes. These men had helmets in similar fashion to the ones in the front-line.

A small dot of red out of the corner of his eye caught Naruto's attention next. This man had a red streak of horse hair going across the top of his helmet horizontally. He also had a red cloak hanging from just his right shoulder. Naruto saw another soldier with these additions and noticed that, while most men wore the plated armor, some of these men had different styles of armor. Some had what seemed like metal scales peeking out from over their tunic, others had chain mail. Some men wore the plated armor, while others had armor that looked like muscle.

'Cuirass.' Naruto's mind informed him again. Naruto summarized that these differences in armor were used to separate rank, and to make sure that everyone could plainly see this separation.

The neighing of a horse drew Naruto's attention back to the front of the march, and he noticed for the first time men riding, and leading the other men, on horseback. He noticed that these soldiers had silver Cuirass that allowed the shoulders of their blood-red tunics to show through. These were covered by red leather strips as well, just as their waists were covered. Like the other soldiers these men had metal shin-guards and leather shoes, though he could tell that the metal being used for these men's armor was of higher quality than the other soldiers. These men also wore blood-red capes that, instead of hanging from their shoulders, seemed to wrap around the neck and flow outward from there. These soldiers helmets were also different. Instead of being made from multiple attachments, theirs was one single piece of metal. It still remained able to protect the neck and face, but didn't run the risk of having a piece be damaged and fall apart. The helmets also had red horse hair on top but instead of side-to-side, these guys wore theirs front-to-back. Overall Naruto silently admitted to himself that these guys looked cooler than the other soldiers.

And then Naruto found himself drawn to a soldier who was riding just steps ahead of the other officers in front. Naruto wasn't sure why, but after his eyes had been drawn to this particular soldier, he couldn't look away. The man seemed to exude confidence, if his straight back and almost swaggering riding pace were any indication. His eyes were trained on the approaching gate; a wolfish smirk sat across his face. This man, Naruto guessed, was the general of the entire force. Then Naruto noticed something...the man had blue eyes. Eyes that seemed very familiar to him.

Then, as if sensing someones eyes upon him, the general looked up and met eye to eye with Naruto.

-END DREAM

Naruto bolted up from bed and quickly placed his hand over his racing heart, as if to try and sooth the thumping organ. The young blond wasn't sure what had just happened. One minute he was staring at that general, the next, their eyes meet and he's thrust from his own dream as if he were an unwelcome quest. However, before awakening, Naruto remembered a feeling; one he felt when he looked into that guys eyes. Not only had he felt the power of the man, the absolute dominating presence he seemed to give off in waves, but he also felt a sense of...familiarity. As if he'd seen that man somewhere before.

So engrossed was he in his thoughts, Naruto never noticed the bedroom door cracked open, nor the pale lavender eye that watched him so intensely.

While Hinata could have used her byakugan to watch her love sleep in that morning, it wasn't the same as seeing him in the flesh—instead of just a ghostly outline of him and his chakra pathways. Yes, she could have concentrated and gotten a better image, but again, she reasoned with herself, it just isn't the same. When she saw the wide eyed look on his face upon his awakening Hinata summarized he'd had either an exciting dream...or a terrible nightmare. While at first she'd hoped for the former, 'Maybe it was about me, her mind swiftly turned against her and decided if it had been an exciting dream, it would have been about Sakura. And this made the Hyuga princess both sad...and very angry.

Sad because she wanted her Naruto-kun to notice her as the one who should stand beside him as he rose to glory, but angry because his attention was given to someone so unworthy of it. Here was Sakura, being given the only thing Hinata's ever wanted, and she just throws it away like garbage. The thought just infuriated the young girl. She would do anything to have her Naruto-kun look at her the way he'd looked at Sakura, anything to gain favor with her most precious person. Anything.

Breakfast was another mostly quiet affair, with the only real talking being Tsunami asking everyone how they'd slept and conversing with them about the dreams they'd had, if any. Naruto once again listened to his inner voice and told the other members of the breakfast table a more...appropriate response. He told them he'd dreamed of a world where everywhere he went he was allowed free ramen.

Hinata, knowing this to be a lie, but not wanting to risk displeasing Naruto by being nosy, 'And because I don't know how I'd explain knowing he was lying' kept quiet. And so breakfast continued on as it was.

After breakfast was finished, and while Tsunami did the dishes with Hinata's offered help, Naruto and Tazuna retreated back into the study so Naruto could receive his map. And while Tazuna may not have noticed the pair of red eyes that would glance in their direction, Naruto did, and made a mental note to keep the map out of her site so as not to arouse any more suspicion. '

'I don't need her nosing around trying to figure out what I'm doing. I don't get why she won't just leave me alone.'

While Naruto and Tazuna entered the study, Kurenai and Ino made their way to the living room.

It was a modest room, comprised of relatively nice furniture: a nice blue couch with stained wooden trim, a deep-blue chaise lounge chair, and a nice little wooden coffee table in the center of the room. On the floor were various rugs of relatively good quality atop stained wooden floors. Kurenai took to sitting on the couch while asking Ino to take the lounge chair so that they could talk.

Ino, confused about what the older kunoichi wished to discuss, took her seat and waited patiently for Kurenai-sensei to address the topic of discussion.

"Ino have you noticed anything...off during our time here? While I understand we've only been here for about a day, I've personally felt as if something strange was going on. I was hoping to see if anyone else noticed it too." She didn't specify that it was Naruto that she felt off about because she wasn't sure how close the two blonds were to each other, and didn't want to risk being confronted for her curiosity.

Luckily, she quickly learned there was no need for concealment.

"I'm glad it's not just me sensei, because yes, I've noticed Naruto has been acting strangely since even before we got here. Then, after we met up with Tazuna-san he got even weirder. I tried to get a read off him last night after dinner when he got up to go to bed, but I dunno, I couldn't figure him out."

Kurenai was relieved to learn that she wasn't the only one to notice the blond boys strange behavior.

"I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who's noticed. Normally I know Hinata would notice this kind of stuff but, considering the subject, she probably doesn't think there's anything wrong with him."

Ino snorted before replying. "Yeah, and I wasn't kidding last night when I said she was dead set on making sure that stew was perfect. I mean, I get it if she's trying to score points with Naruto because I'd do something similar for Sasuke-kun but, she had this...this look in her eye when I would tell her something I thought needed fixing. Like she'd just committed a crime by not having the meal be perfect."

This bit of news was like an ice block dropping in the genjutsu mistresses stomach. She knew her student had feelings for the blond Jinchuuriki but what Ino just described went far beyond any schoolgirl crush, and bordered on complete devotion to a single person. She desperately hoped her fears were unfounded. Unfortunately the ice block in her stomach refused to melt away.

Pushing her fears for her student to the back of her mind for the moment, Kurenai re-engaged Ino in conversation about the lone male on their squad and what they thought was causing his strange behavior.

Naruto and Tazuna exited the study about an hour after they'd gone in, the map tucked away in one of the pockets Naruto's jumpsuit had on the inside; keeping it out of sight of prying, red eyes. Informing the rest of his team that he was going to visit Zabuza and Haku's graves for a while, Naruto had reached the front door when he heard a soft voice ask: "N-naruto-kun, do you think, m-maybe I could go with you?"

Naruto felt a little bad at having to turn Hinata down, but he knew this was a trip meant solely for him to take right now. Maybe later, when he could speak with her alone, he'd let Hinata in on what he'd learned as well as what he was going to learn later today. Unfortunately, for now, he felt she was too close to her sensei and may speak to her about what she would learn. So for now he decided secrecy was his best option.

"Sorry Hinata, not today. Maybe some other time okay? This is something I just want to do alone right now." It hurt him a little to see the disheartened look on her face but he pushed that aside and was about to make his way out the door when the young girl asked:

"Naruto-kun? I-if it had been Sakura-san to ask, w-would you have allowed her to go with you?"

The blond didn't even have to think about it before answering, "No", and continuing out the door so as to avoid anymore questions.

If he had looked again he would have seen the light begin to return to Hinata's eyes at hearing that Sakura wouldn't have been preferred company over her.

oo0oo

As Naruto walked through the village of Wave country he noticed that many of the old, beaten down, wooden establishments and homes had become stone buildings with sturdy roofs and lines of customers. He also took notice that the people were happier, and their clothes had changed from patchy rags to tunics and strapped sandals. Some people also wore variants of what he'd seen Tazuna in; some wore red, some blue, and even the occasional yellow robes. These particular people also held a certain air about them, almost like he'd seen Sasuke walk with, but less stuffy. No, that feeling belonged to the few men he'd seen in white tunics with a red pallium draped across it. But even those men gave Naruto sincere smiles in thanks for his returning the village to its former glory.

After what felt like hours, Naruto arrived at the ruins of Wave country. He'd known he was close when he began to see pieces of columns and triumphal arches; things he'd learned from Tazuna as he was drawing the map. The young blond was amazed by the craftsmanship exhibited through these pieces of history, even if they were eroded by time.

He knew he'd officially arrived when he saw that there were actual whole buildings still standing. He walked through what seemed to be a neighborhood judging from the types of building he saw.

'They look like apartments, wait, Tazuna said there was a name for those...insulae, I think it was.'

He quietly made his way down the worn-down, stone-paved path. He noticed the, for it's day, ingenuitive design of the drainage ditches and how the road was cambered which allowed it to be drained. Naruto walked down this road, and many others, admiring and inspecting the forgotten world around him, until he finally happened upon the building Tazuna told him specifically to seek.

The temple was, like most of the other buildings, wash-white due to age. It sat atop a raised platform and had steps that lead you to the small stretch of platform that lead to the entry way. There were six columns that held up the front of the roof, a roof that looked like a flat, but three-dimensional, triangle. There were columns along both sides as well to assist in holding up this roof before they morphed into walls of a building. (look up Maison Carree for an idea of what it looks like.)

The temple was huge. It was longer, and taller, than any other temple he'd seen by far. And according to Tazuna, it was dedicated entirely to Caesar.

The temple, also according to the bridge builder, was said to have housed Caesar's own written works. His campaign journals. It's also said that his family records had been included in his temple, and that every generation up until about 50 years ago, had inscribed their name into the line.

When Naruto asked why Caesar's temple was built in Wave country rather than Rome itself, Tazuna replied:

"A temple was built in Rome, but they moved his works and the family records to Wave because of Caesar's enemies. If they'd found his journals then they'd be able to implement his brilliant military strategies in a way no Roman's felt was proper. The people felt that for a non-relative of Caesar to even look in the book was an offense to the man's memory. And if his enemies had known the location of his family record at any time? Then his blood line would've ceased to exist centuries ago out of their fear of another Caesar being born."

Naruto slowly began his ascent of the temple steps and then, as he reached the platform, he noticed some Latin words inscribed above the entrance that read:

"VIVAT CAESAR" (LONG LIVE CAESAR)

After reading the inscription on the wall, Naruto once again began his entrance into the temple. As he began to move forward the blond could feel the knot in his stomach returning, and the anxiousness in his heart began to cause the organ to beat rapidly. He remembered the last time he'd felt this way was rewarded with knowledge of this once great empire and a famous general. So, with thoughts of what the reward would be for this time, Naruto strode in with a more confident step.

He was completely unprepared for what he saw upon entering the temple.

There, in the very center of the temple, stood a statue. This statue was so tall, it missed touching the ceiling by perhaps 5 to 10ft. While Naruto was sure it had at one time been colored, it now stood white like everything else in the ruins. However, unlike everything else, the color loss was the only indication that this statue had been affected by time. There were no cracks, no chips, and no erosion. The statue had remained in perfect condition.

The statue depicted Caesar in the same outfit as Naruto had seen the general in his dream wear, except he'd taken off his helmet and held it tucked underneath his arm while his right arm sat holding the hilt of his gladius; showing him to be left handed. However, as magnificent as the statue was, the thing that truly caught Naruto's attention, was the mans face.

With his helmet off Naruto could see very clearly the face of the great Dictator. It also explained why Naruto had felt such a familiarity with the blue-eyed general in his dream. What he saw brought tears to his eyes.

Because what Naruto saw...was an adult version of himself.

oo0oo

A/N: And there it is. Naruto is about to begin his transition into Caesar. The image I used for the cover image is basically what I imagine when I think of Naruto as Caesar. The entire look of Caesar from War Of The Damned is what I've used as Naruto's future look. I tried to start hinting at Naruto's non-combative skills this chapter as well without making him too over-the-top yet.

More of Hinata's submissive nature was revealed this chapter, as well as her radical devotion to Naruto. I mentioned Sakura because she's going to be instrumental to Hinata finally joining with Naruto later on in the story(no I don't plan to kill her)

Ino and Kurenai have become basically Naruto's first conspirators. Ino will eventually be turned to Naruto's side, but Kurenai will remain a thorn in Naruto's side throughout the story. Also, there will of course be more conspirators.

And yes, Tazuna knew of Naruto's connection to Caesar, but not until after their first meeting.