A/N: Hey, I wanted to type this chapters out as another way of apologizing(I'm really big on that if I feel like I've wronged someone(s). )Initially, I wasn't actually going to have Temari be a part of his main women, but I talked with someone and was introduced to some ideas I hadn't thought of before. Temari will be Naruto's main wife, but Hinata and Ino will get love too. Hinata's role was honestly always meant to be the "perfect soldier/lover" that served directly beside Naruto, while Ino was going to be a political alliance/lover that was more like a slave. I should have made these two girls roles clear in the beginning, but I thought I was doing a good job of hinting at it...I guess not.

Another thing I guess I'm not stressing enough is: NARUTO IS GOING TO BE LIKE THE CAESAR FROM WAR OF THE DAMNED! I'm NOT modeling him after the historical figure, and I'm doing the same with Shikamaru as Crassus. So please,if you've never seen the show, watch it so you'll understand more about where the character's are going in terms of personality.

And finally, these are the last two "filler" chapters before the Sasuke retrieval. Naruto and Sasuke will do the rooftop battle next chapter, and then Sasuke will leave at the end of it.

Ch. 6- Tempore et labore

(Time and effort)

xxxxxx

Naruto sat on his bed reading. His jumpsuit replaced by his crimson tunic, his ninja sandals replaced by his leather boots. It had been days since his talk with Hinata, and as he'd hoped, she was completely on board. 'Well, not completely on board.' The young blonde remembered how worried his follower had been about his plan backfiring. After telling Hinata of his secret agenda in Wave, Naruto relaid his plan to the devoted Hyuga sitting across from him. He'd informed her that, once he'd become Hokage, he'd work to rebuild the Roman empire. While she seemed content with his overall decision, and was even more pleased by her place in his plan, Naruto could still see a hint of doubt in her lavender eyes. When asked she replied:

"B-but Naruto-kun, how do you i-intend to resurrect your ancestral homeland? Even when you become H-Hokage the people may not take k-kindly to the changes you'll w-want to make"

Naruto just chuckled a bit before answering: "Hinata, that's what I need people like you and Ino for remember? If I get enough council supporters, then I'll be able to pass the laws necessary to begin rebuilding the empire back to its former glory."

"I-I guess you're right. I j-just, don't want to see you come close to your dream and fail."

After Naruto had set his tools mind at ease, he was able to return home to his studies. He had at least a dozen books to work through, and he'd barely made a dent in the first one.

Naruto wanted to punch himself for his stupidity as a child, back when he thought books were useless, when he thought all you needed to be a great warrior and a great leader were flashy moves and "cool lines". What a fool he'd been.

Reading just a third of Caesar's first book made the blonde view himself differently. And while he didn't fully grasp everything the mans words meant, Naruto truly began to understand that his brain was just as powerful a weapon as any jutsu or summoning.

At the moment, Naruto was swept up in a section that spoke of, honestly, what Naruto was currently doing:

"...I practically strolled right into the jaws of the beast. My mission was clear: Disrupt the rebellion from the inside. I remained unshorn, to better blend in with, what Metellus referred to as, the pack of savage dogs. The fool. Spartacus was no savage dog, but a warrior truly worthy of the legend he carried. He was not just some errant slave.

I weaved myself in early by "assisting" Spartacus with dispatching the other Romans who attempted to infiltrate alongside me.

After that, I was quickly singled out by the "God of the Arena", Gannicus and asked to "demonstrate" my skills. A well thought plan, but I am not your average Roman, and I would not be fooled. So I gave them just enough to impress, but not so much that they become suspicious.

It wasn't long after I was "defeated", that I found myself introduced to a rebel named Nemetes. Now he was truly unworthy of being called "brother." But he served me well in my endeavors, and in the end I gladly made the animal pay for what he did to that woman Fabia. Truly a terrible thing.

Sad really, how easily I infiltrated the rebel camp, and with but cunning and silver tongue."

Naruto, having already read of Caesar's interaction with Crassus and their plans understood, in its entirety, the passage he'd just read. Rome had been plagued by a rebellious uprising of slaves, lead by a former gladiator named Spartacus. Caesar, just returning from a campaign abroad, was swiftly retrieved by Marcus Crassus and entered into an alliance with the man, their first task together being the bringing about the end of the rebellion and death of Spartacus.

The passage clearly resembled Naruto's own actions, in that he was turning members of the Leaf village to his whims with just his words alone.

Deciding he'd read enough for that moment, Naruto returned the book to its drawer, strapped on his weapons, and exited his apartment. His destination being the training grounds.

oo0oo

Naruto entered into his chosen clearing and summoned a shadow-clone to spar with. Naruto understood that to truly get better, Konohamaru could not be his true sparring partner.

Both blondes unsheathed their swords and stood in their ready positions. The clone struck first.

The clone began with a horizontal slash, when Naruto parried it, the clone went for an vertical swing; trying to split his creator up the middle. Naruto evaded the attack by hopping backwards and then going on the offensive.

Naruto swung his sword in a ground sweep, hoping to catch his clone in the legs. The clone, however, anticipated this and jumped over the attack, but he was unprepared for the kick that followed and so was hit squarely in the chest and sent staggering back. Naruto tried to follow this up by decapitating his clone, but the look-a-like ducked under the swing and brought his own weapon down, and almost managed to score a blow across Naruto's chest, but the blonde brought his arm up and parried the bow with his bare forearm like he'd done against Konohamaru.

'I have got to remember to start wearing my leather bracers.' Naruto thought to himself as he looked over the wound on his arm.

The sound of crunching grass alerted Naruto that his clone was ready for another round. This time the clone started with a jab, and when Naruto parried, the clone used the momentum to bring his sword up for another try at an under-cut. This time Naruto barely dodged the attack by twisting his body to the side. Following up his evasion, Naruto continued the spin, and slammed the flat of his sword into his clones back; causing it to poof out of existence.

Not a moment later Naruto summoned another clone and rushed it.

oo0oo

Naruto walked through the busy streets of Konoha, his destination being the Yamanaka flower-shop.

While he'd told Ino they would talk the same day he spoke with Hinata, he decided instead to let her wait. Naruto wanted her to be on edge, looking over her shoulder as she waited for him to fetch her.

'I'm really starting to enjoy this' , Naruto laughed quietly to himself. He chose to forgo changing into his jumpsuit, remembering how Ino had reacted to seeing him without the top, Naruto hoped to use that to his advantage during their discussion today.

It didn't take him long to retrace his steps, and before long he found himself once again standing at the door to Ino's family business. Walking in he was greeted with the sight of Inoichi; Ino's father.

"Hello Mr. Yamanaka, Ino wouldn't happen to be here would she? She and I were supposed to discuss something a few days ago, but I got caught up in some personal matters and was unable to show up. Is she available now?"

Inoichi was a bit skeptical of the blonde in front of him. It wasn't that he disliked Naruto, more rather, the boy had no real relationship to his daughter so what could they have to talk about?

"Actually Naruto, I do happen to know where my daughter is, but, in the years since my daughter's known you I can't recall the two of you ever being very close. What is it that the two of you have to discuss?"

Naruto managed to hold back his flinch, he should have known that the man in front of him was no pushover. Naruto had heard of Ino's father before, a high-ranking member of the T&I department and a master of the human mind. It's no wonder his usual level of "silver speak" wasn't going to be enough to get by Inoichi.

"That's exactly what we're going to talk about. See, we have known each other for a long time, but the two of us have yet to form any kind of friendship. I had been thinking about that while we were in Wave, and I'd decided that Ino and I should rectify our non-friendship. Your daughter seems like a very intelligent girl, one I myself could benefit greatly by knowing, I'm sure there are many things she could teach me that I've missed out on due to my prankster ways back in the academy."

Naruto had thrown in the last bit, about Ino being a resource of knowledge, to help cement his claim of trying to be friends. And because Inoichi seemed like the over-protective father that needed a reason to allow a person to associate with his daughter.

Inoichi, his eyebrow still raised in skepticism, decided that he'd give the blonde boy the benefit of the doubt.

"Okay Naruto, Ino's out with her mother getting ingredients for dinner tonight. Just go down to the market district and you'll find them there. Make sure to let my wife know I said it was okay to let you pull Ino away, but I expect her back before I finish my shift at the store, understand?"

oo0oo

Ino Yamanaka was not having a good week.

After her encounter with Naruto, Ino had been on edge. Her mind would flash-back to that moment her fellow blonde had her pinned against the wall, his breath brushing hot against her ear, his hands leaving trails of fire along her sides. Ino's dreams were filled with replays of that moment, and the different ways it could have ended.

Ino's face erupted into a fierce blush as she walked along-side her mother. 'Why am I still thinking about it? I-It's not as if I really enjoyed it. It has to be because it's the f-first time I-I've ever been in that kind of situation, yeah, that's it.' A voice saying her name brought the kunoichi out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Ino, I've been looking for you."

Turning to face her caller, Ino's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw that it was Naruto.

"N-Naruto, w-what are you d-doing here!?"

"Haha, don't you remember Ino, you and I were gong to hang out. Ya know, since we've never really been friends, and we decided that we should make an effort to be...remember?"

Ino did remember a...talk they were supposed to have, but that should have been days ago. 'Unless he did that on purpose, because he knew I'd be all jumpy if he made me wait! That little punk!'The platinum-blonde's eyes narrowed after her realization.

When she came back out of her thoughts, Ino saw Naruto speaking with her mother. Apparently the young boy had managed to convince her father that she and Naruto were trying to work on their friendship. 'That crafty little...'

"Well, if it's only for a few hours then, sure, I don't see why Ino can't spend some time with you." Ino's mother said.

"That's great, thank you Mrs. Yamanaka, I'll be sure to not keep her to myself for too long." Naruto replied with a big smile. Taking the shocked Ino's hand, Naruto began to guide her towards the training grounds so that they could...talk.

It didn't take long before Naruto and Ino arrived at a training field the boy deemed secluded enough. When the young genin stopped, Ino finally managed to pull herself together enough that she ripped her hand out of Naruto's grip.

"Who do you think you are! First, you act all weird on our mission, then you come into my families flower-shop and..and...well you practically molested me you stupid jerk! And now you're pulling me away from my mother, after keeping me all flustered the whole week!" Her last statement brought Naruto's eyebrow up in amusement as he responded:

"Flustered huh? Well if it made you so...hot under the collar, then you must have enjoyed it on some level, right?" Naruto stood up straight with his arms crossed behind his back, hands gripping the opposite wrist, and his chest puffed out as he smirked at the female blonde standing within arms reach of him. 'I'll hold back for right now, see if I can break through her defenses with words first.'

Ino's cheeks once again took on a light-pink hue, and she turned her eyes away for a moment to recollect herself and bring back her anger. She hadn't been expecting Naruto to catch her slip up, nor did she guess that he would throw it back in her face. 'I thought Naruto was supposed to be dumb! What the heck is going on here?' Seeing the confused look on the girls face, Naruto guessed her thoughts and decided to answer her question:

"If you're wondering about my new personality, like I said the other day, all you have to do is ask. Ino, I don't really know what you think is going on, but I'm not a bad guy. I just had a wake-up call during our trip to Wave, and I made the decision to change myself; to become more serious."

"But what does that have to do with those weird secret talks you had with Tazuna-san, or when you would disappear for most of the day and then come back right as everyone was finishing dinner? I can understand that you want to be more serious, and in turn, be taken more seriously, but you're weirding me out Naruto." Her rant started off strong, her voice level. But by the end it sounded...desperate and a little afraid.

Naruto had picked up on Ino's change in tone easily and was quick to decipher how to use it to his advantage.

"Ino, my decision has everything to do with those talks and my disappearances," Naruto began, his voice soft, "I learned some interesting things about my family history that made me reevaluate myself and my current attitude. Ino I really am serious about asking me. I don't mind telling you about my discoveries."

The level of sincerity in Naruto's voice, along with is open body-language, made Ino truly believe what her fellow blonde was saying to her. It made feel like he trusted her.

"N-Naruto, I know I have a habit of being a gossip, so the fact that you're willing to trust me with your secrets...it means a lot to me. Okay, my first question is...what did you and Tazuna-san talk about that first night we stayed in Wave?"

oo0oo

Ino's eyes fluttered open, her vision hazy as she went to wipe her eyes. At first she was unsure of where she was, but when the young kunoichi took notice of the sea of red she lay upon, she remembered.

She and Naruto had talked for over an hour about the boys personal adventure in Wave, then, things took an...interesting turn.

Ino wasn't sure how it started really. One moment she was standing across from Naruto, he seemed to be flirting with her like before in her family's shop, the next the girl was wrapped in his arms and his mouth found itself occupied with her neck.

FLASHBACK-

Wide blue eyes swiftly found themselves squeezed shut in pleasure.

Ino threw her head back and let out a gasp. Naruto had attached his lips to her pulse point and began work on leaving a hickey. While his mouth was busy with her neck, Naruto busied his hands with Ino's body. His left was brought upward, where it began gently massaging her right breast, while his right hand slid down and cupped the young kunoichi's ass. With so many spots being pleasured at once, Ino was forced to wrap her arms around her fellow blondes neck to keep from falling to her knees.

Naruto continued this triple-threat for a few moments, before pulling away from her neck, and moving both hands to her hips. He began to trace little circles on her hips with his thumbs as his commanding, cobalt gaze stared directly into Ino's own powder-blue pair.

"Ino, the things that I've told you", Naruto whispered, "you must never reveal to anyone without my permission, do you understand?"

The platinum-blonde took in deep breaths, trying to recover from her near orgasmic experience, and then replied: "Yes (huff) I understand (huff) Naruto-ku-(gasp)" Ino's reply was cut short when Naruto returned to her pulse point for a moment.

"When we are alone, you will refer to me as Naruto-sama. We are not equals, you do not stand beside me in this. You will refer to me as...Dominus*"

-End Flashback

Immediately after, Naruto and Ino engaged in a long session of heavy petting that lead them to the tree Naruto now sat against, Ino curled up in his lap.

When Ino remembered the events that lead to her present state she could feel her face erupt in heat. She had never been intimate with a boy before, and here she was, having her first experience with Naruto of all people. And yet...the thought of Naruto and her doing it all again made her heartbeat quicken.

oo0oo

Naruto stood at the center of the training field, his cobalt eyes staring across the grass at several, similar, pairs. The blonde had decided to up his training.

Standing within twenty feet were three copies of Naruto, all dressed in red tunics, and all standing in the "ready stance"; their swords all pointed at Naruto.

Naruto attacked first. He swung at the clone on the left(clone 1), a diagonal slash to the chest. When his attack was parried, Naruto had no time to try again because he was forced to duck under a jab from the center clone(clone 2). Naruto answered this with a quick elbow to the clones midsection.

Before he could press his attack, Naruto was forced to jump back and avoid a swing from the forgotten clone on his right(clone 3). Following directly after, the blonde twisted out of the way of a jab sent by the Clone 1; who had stepped up to get within striking distance. Naruto continued his spin, but lowered himself so as to be able to reach his attackers leg with a sweep-strike. Clone 1 realized this and lifted its leg to avoid the attack.

Clone 2, having recovered from the blow to its stomach, brought down his gladius in a vertical slash meant to split open his creators skull. The move would have succeeded, had Naruto not seen it out of the corner of his eye, and brought his own gladius up to block it. Blades locked, Naruto swiftly rose from his crouch, throwing Clone 2 off-balance, and spartan-kicking it in the chest.

Any thoughts of a follow-up attack were stricken from mind when Naruto felt a sharp sting in his right shoulder. Clone 1 had gotten behind him and managed to land a blow. Naruto's clones quickly backed away, waiting for word from their creator.

Naruto stood there, his eyes gazing down at his own shoulder. He would have to get the tunic repaired, of that there was no doubt, 'And I suppose I'll send a letter to Tsuichi saying that I'll need more than just this one.'Rotating his already healing shoulder, Naruto re-entered his stance and said:

"Is that all you have to offer?"

The clones smirked at one another before re-engaging Naruto in combat.

oo0oo

Naruto sat, once again, on his bed with book clutched in hand. It had been about a month since he had begun working on breaking down Ino's resolve. She tried to fight it heavily in the beginning, saying that Naruto had used some kind of jutsu on her. The blonde quickly put those claims to rest when Naruto asked if she wished to be checked by a senior officer. So now, while she was still resistant, Ino was much more submissive than in the beginning.

Naruto was currently on Caesar's third military log. He'd learned how Caesar and his ally Crassus had managed to take back the city of Sinuessa, but was angered at how Crassus son, Tiberius, shunned Caesar's offer of friendship. The jealous fool even tried to have Caesar killed by releasing a captured rebel during a celebration!

"...As I stood there, grinning at my opponent, I could see out of the corner of my eye Tiberius trying to hold back a smirk. As if he'd just put in motion some master plan.

My skills were sloppy since I'd been drinking that night, but then the wine was of the perfect age, how could I not partake in it? Yet, despite my inebriated state, I managed to hold my own against the rebel. Even when he'd backed me into a corner, and it seemed(according to that preening little fuck Metellus) like I would be defeated, my sharp mind still managed to find an opening.

I noticed the rebel had a wound in his side; no doubt caused by one of our own soldiers. I struck it with my elbow and the man was quick to back away in pain. I sneered at the fool. Who did he think he was, believing himself a match for the honored Caesar?

What followed was a brief scuffle, in which he managed to wound me, before I cut open the mans stomach. The rebel fell to his knees after that, but when I paid him a compliment for his admirable fighting skill, the animal just insulted me. I allowed my anger to flow through me as I prepared to part his head from his shoulders, but the rebel chose instead to take his own life.

I stood there, shocked by the mans fortitude, and I could see that little fuck Tiberius once again hiding a smirk. All was silent, I had no idea how I was going to save face in front of the men, until Crassus came to my aid. The man truly was a genius. He stood and proclaimed:

'Behold! The greatest warriors take their own lives in fear of Caesar!'

Crassus had not only saved me from humiliation, but he also boosted me tremendously in the eyes of the men, as well as, gave them confidence for the coming battles.

I truly do owe much to my friend...I only wish he were here now to see that our plan succeeded."

Naruto was moved by Caesar's words. To know that the great general truly did care for his friend as more than a game piece made Naruto understand that, yes the members of his team were pieces in a game to help him in his mission, but they were still important, and should be cared for and treated with a degree of respect.

"Speaking of allies," Naruto mumbled to himself, "I haven't seen much of Shikamaru lately. In fact, the two of us haven't spoken since he came looking to question me about my "strange" behavior."

Naruto thought of the alliance Caesar forged with Crassus and recognized the similarities between the relationship between himself and Shikamaru. Naruto had the political prowess and the leadership capability, while Shikamaru was the business man with the strategic mind.

"I think I'll go pay a surprise visit to my good friend Shikamaru"

oo0oo

Naruto stood at the entrance to the Nara clan compound, he'd been greeted by Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother, and been informed that the lazy chunin would be out momentarily.

'How should I start this off? I was able to catch him off-guard the last time we spoke, but I fear he now knows what to expect of me. Perhaps I should tell him the truth, like I did with Hinata and Ino, and sway him to my side with some sob story. -sigh- I'm just not sure with this one.'

Naruto's musings were cut short when he heard the door opening and the Nara heir stepped outside.

"Hey Naruto, my mom said you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I was hoping we could talk for a bit. We haven't really seen each other in a while, and I just wanted to check in and make sure we're still okay?"

Shikamaru understood what the blonde meant. However, he hadn't been avoiding Naruto, it was simply just that Shikamaru had been immersed in studying his family history and the history of Ancient Rome.

"It's okay Naruto, and yeah, we're still good. It's just that...well, I asked my dad about the things I learned from you. I know you trusted me with that information, but I didn't think you'd mind me bringing up the subject with my father. But anyway, after speaking with my dad ," by this time the two young ninja had begun to walk the streets, "I learned that my family has ties to Rome. We had a famous ancestor named Crassus, who was actually part of this really powerful political machine known as-"

"The Triumvirate, right?" Shikamaru whipped his head around and stared, wide-eyed, at his blonde friend. "H-How do you know that Naruto?"

"Hahah, that's actually why I came looking for you Shikamaru. I didn't exactly tell you everything about my trip to Wave country. At the time, I wasn't really sure I could trust you with that information. But, I've just read something today that's made me rethink my decision...if you still wish to know."

The quiet tone in which Naruto ended his response forged a knot in Shikamaru's stomach. But rather than decline, the young shadow-manipulator chose to listen.

"I think...I would like to know, Naruto."

Naruto and Shikamaru sat at an outside table of a bakery. Naruto had chosen such a place because he knew that no one worthwhile would be seated at the establishment, only civilians frequented such a place, while anyone of significant standing had their things home-delivered or imported.

Both ninja sat silently, neither one really knowing how to start the conversation. Finally, their waitress came by and, after taking their orders, Naruto spoke up: "Shikamaru, when I was in Wave, I...discovered things. Things that I had never thought possible. I found out where I come from, and more importantly, who I have the power to be."

Shikamaru looked across the table at the blonde he'd graduated the academy with, 'And yet, he's not the same kid I graduated with. He's become someone completely different.'

"Naruto...since you're going to tell me everything, why not start at the beginning. Tell me about how it all started."

Naruto, remembering his decision to trust Shikamaru, opened his mouth and spoke: "Well, alright. It started when we arrived in Wave and were looking for a place to stay. We'd just found a place when I heard someone shout my name, it was Tazuna. He greeted us and he and I talked for a while, and then he offered to let us stay at his place for the duration of our mission. When we arrived, Tazuna and I went into his study, he had something he wished to speak with me about, and that's where things truly began to open up."

oo0oo

Naruto walked away from the bakery with a satisfied smile on his face. He'd convinced Shikamaru to side with him, become the Crassus to his Caesar. Naruto now needed to find just one more prominent ally, and he would be able to form his own Triumvirate.

As Naruto walked through the village he thought of all the different pieces he now had on his side of the board: 'I've got the Hyuga, as well as Yamanaka, heiress, I've got Konohamaru on my side, and I've now acquired the Nara heir as well. Yes, things are coming together much faster than I'd anticipated, but I've got to be careful, those fools on the council can't get wind of this too early or else all my planning will be for nothing.'

While Naruto's mind was busy with thoughts of his imperial dream, the blonde himself was left unaware of the shadow that followed close behind until it, literally, ran into him.

Looking behind him Naruto's vision was immediately obscured by a mess of dark, indigo hair. It was Hinata. And she looked as if she'd been crying.

Naruto turned his body and wrapped the young kunoichi in a light embrace. Naruto had not seen Hinata in over a month, not since before her 'C'-rank mission; the one where she was to make her first kill.

"Hinata, you're back! Are you alright?" Instead of a vocal response, Hinata just buries her head further into the blondes tunic. Deciding to resolve this quickly, 'I can't have her breaking down every time she takes a life', Naruto scooped the crying Hyuga into a bridal-carry, and continued on his path towards his training ground.

Once they'd arrived Naruto set Hinata back on her feet, then, holding her at arms length, asked a second time: "Hinata, are you alright?"

This time the crying heiress managed to shake her head 'no', before breaking once again breaking down into sobs. "I don't have time for this", Naruto muttered to himself, before he gripped Hinata's shoulders tightly and spoke with authority: "Hinata, you must tell me what's wrong or I cannot help you, and if I can't break you of this state you're in...you will be of no use to me."

That last statement managed to get through to her, Hinata couldn't allow herself to become useless to the one person she truly cared for. Bringing up a hand to wipe away any new tears, Hinata lifted her head up to look her Naruto-kun in the eye, and began to relay her mission to him.

FLASHBACK-

Hinata sat on her knees, her wide eyes staring, unblinkingly, at her trembling hands. Twenty feet away from her lay the last of the bandit horde Team 8 had been tasked with getting rid of.

Hinata and her squad had arrived at the town of Usagi thinking the mission would just be to get rid of a caravan or two full of bandits. What they discovered when they got there however, was that an entire encampment had been set up outside the town gate...the only thing keeping the bandits out. Apparently the raiders were keeping the people of Usagi held up behind their own walls, and if any of them tried to leave without having something to offer, they were killed.

Team 8 had learned this after they'd hurtled themselves over the wall during the night and met up with the town's leader; a man by the name of Gonzo. The squad of ninja quickly deduced that the bandits would have to be caught by surprise. So, they spent a total of two weeks having catapults fashioned out of any wood they could find in town, and then forged "canon balls" out of bales of hay.

During the third week, the team set up their catapults in the dead of night, then loaded them with the balls of hay before then setting them on fire and raining them down on the raiders encampment. The siege weapons did their job, the men(what was left of them) were left in disarray, and were unprepared to deal with four skilled ninja and a ninja dog.

Kurenai, being a Jounin, used her superior speed to swiftly cut down numerous bandits at a time. While she was gifted in genjutsu, the red-eyed kunoichi felt that her expertise was not needed to handle non-ninja of this caliber. As she finishes slitting ones throat, she takes a moment to look over her students.

Kiba quickly had Akamaru use the {beast-human clone technique}, to become a clone of Kiba before they began to tear into surrounding bandits with their {fang-over-fang} attack. Shino was significantly more subtle with his approach, having swarms of his bugs go around and drain bandits dry of their chakra. If a bandit got too close, only then would the Aburame enter into physical combat and personally dispose of an enemy.

Hinata, her byakugan activated, was delivering strike after strike to the men surrounding her. The young heiress was noticeably clenching her jaw, and tears were spilling from her eyes, as she used her bare hands to end the lives of numerous bandits.

Kurenai felt pride at seeing her two male students handling their responsibilities like true shinobi. But when her eyes landed on Hinata, the raven-haired beauty felt a twinge of discouragement. Her female student was shedding tears while she was taking the enemies life. 'Perhaps Hinata truly is too gentle for this type of work.'

The Jounin's mind was quickly returned to the mission when she had to duck under the sword swing of a bandit, and then plunge her kunai into the mans stomach.

Hinata wanted to throw-up, she wanted to drop to her knees and throw-up. Never did the young girl think that the process of taking a life could be so...haunting. She knew she was crying, Hinata could feel the tears as they streamed from her eyes, but she was determined to work though it; to finish the mission. Through use of her byakugan Hinata could see the look her sensei sent her way, and it made the young heiress angry.

Something that most people didn't know, was that those with a dojutsu could see so clearly that it was impossible to forget something you've seen. So while the rest of her squad would eventually be able to block out this horrible night, Hinata would forever have this event stored in her brain. That was why clans with dojutsu were so stone-faced, because they had spent many sleepless nights remembering the lives they'd taken.

The only thing keeping Hinata from crumbling was the thoughts of her Naruto-kun. The promise that he'd be there for her when she'd returned home, so that she had someone to tell her that everything would be okay, and that she wasn't a monster for taking these men's lives.

Hinata had struck down the final raider with a two-finger strike between the eyes, effectively blowing the mans brain to bits inside his own head. When the man sank to his knees, blood seeping from every opening in his head, Hinata backed away a few steps before stumbling over her feet and falling to the ground. No longer able to keep up her strong facade, Hinata began to hurl.

The young kunoichi threw-up until she had nothing left to give but dry heaves. As she brought up her shaking hands into view, Hinata ignored the approach of her team. Kurenai was the first to speak up:

"Hinata, it's okay, the mission's over and all the bandits are dead. You did great, I don't think I've ever been more proud of you." The sound of her teachers voice made Hinata's head to snap up and her angry eyes to bore into Kurenai's.

"Okay? Okay!? More importantly, how about you tell me a time you've actually been proud of me Miss Kurenai, because I certainly can't remember any of them!" Hinata had activated her byakugan at this point, her teeth clenched tightly

"Hey, Hinata, calm down. Kurenai-sensei's trying to tell you she's proud of you, why are you snapping at her like that? Isn't this what you always tell us you're trying to do, show people how strong you are-" Kiba was cut off.

"I want Naruto-kun to see, I don't care about the rest of you! Naruto-kun would've held me and made me feel better, not stand off to the side and lie about how "proud" he was of me!"

With that Hinata got up and stalked off back to the village.

-END FLASHBACK

Hinata had finished her story and was on the verge of crying again, but the sound of a shadow-clone poofing into existence drew her attention. There, standing in front of her, were two Naruto's. One was unsheathing his sword while the other had his eyes trained sternly on her.

The clone flipped his blade around and offered the hilt to Hinata. The heiress looked over at the original Naruto with confusion-filled eyes. "Take that gladius Hinata-"

Whatever Naruto was going to say, and do, was cut-off by the arrival of an ANBU agent.

oo0oo

A/N: Hey, I'm ending it here because I literally just fucked up my finger, and I can't type with the pain.

First of all: I didn't try to troll anybody! Hinata and Ino ARE going to be in relationships with Naruto, and while temari is going to be the actual wife, Hinata will be the closest thing he has to an actual relationship.

Next chapter will probably be late, but I'll make it the beginning of long chapters, so that you guys will have something to look forward to.

Review and let me know what you guys think, and I thank you guys for sticking with me :)