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.

7. Omnes qui in amore et victus bellum

Ch.7- Omnes qui in amore et victus bellum

(All's fare in love and war)

Tsunade sat in her chair, fingers steepled in front of her face and Jiraiya leaning against the side of her desk, staring at the entourage standing in her office.

The first member was a male. He had short, spiky, red hair and mint-green eyes. These eyes had black rings around them, like the mask of a raccoon, and the boy also had the kanji for "love" tattooed on his left temple. The young man, no older than 14, was dressed in a set of burgundy overalls and had a white sash that draped across his chest, and wrapped around his waist. The boy had mesh armor covering his wrists, as well as his ankles. Finally, the red-head had a gourd strapped to his back.

This was Subaku no Gaara.

Standing to his left, was a beautiful young girl. She had peach-colored skin, with teal eyes, and sandy-blonde hair done up into four ponytails. She wore a long-sleeved, purple blouse underneath a gray top, and and a dark-blue skirt. Around her waist she wore a sash; tied back in a bow. This was Gaara's older sister, Temari.

The third member of the group, standing to Gaara's right, was another young man. He wore a black, baggy, full-body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. On his head he wore a black hood that covered his head completely...but had triangular tips that made him look like a giant cat. On his back, the boy had a wrapped bundle strapped like Gaara's gourd; the young man also wore purple face-paint(and I just found out that he changes it 5 times 0.0).

This was Gaara's older brother, Kankuro.

The final member of the squad, and by far the tallest, was a man dressed in standard Suna Jounin garb. He had two distinct, red markings on the right side of his tanned face. Over his head he wore a turban, with a white sheet that covered the whole left side of the mans face. This was Baki, the Jounin leader of the Suna Siblings.

"I have to say," Tsunade began, "I'm surprised by your sudden visit to our village. Especially with recent...events causing a dangerous strain in our alliance." The mention of the invasion caused three of the four ninja to flinch; it was that read-headed fourth ninja that chose to respond.

"Lady Tsunade, while it is true that our two villages are at odd due to Suna's involvement in Orochimaru's attack, does that mean I'm not allowed to visit someone I consider my friend and brother?"

Tsunade had not expected such an answer. She'd herd, of course, about the invasion, but nobody had told her any of the technical details; such as who had beaten who.

"Excuse me, Gaara-san, but if you could tell me who this...friend is, then I can have them brought here to greet you."

"It seems you and I are on the same train of thought Hokage-sama, because I was going to ask you to call that friend in; but for a completely professional reason." At this Tsunade's interest was fully peaked.

"And just what kind of...professional business would this be?" When she finished, Tsunade noticed the girl, Temari, duck her head and mutter out a non-intelligible response.

"Can you say that again Ms. Temari, I didn't quite catch that."

The sandy-blonde looked up at the female Fire-Shadow and growled out: "A political marriage."

Tsunade's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets at this news, she was completely unprepared for such a statement.

"Ahem, excuse me", Jiraiya cut in, reminding everyone that he was in the room, "but this friend wouldn't happen to be my student Naruto, would it?"

His answer came in the form of a sharp nod from Baki.

Jiraiya wasn't sure what to make of this. "May I ask why the council of Suna has put forth this proposition? It's not that I find this unusual, from a political standpoint anyway, but why choose Naruto as this girls husband; Suna has nothing to gain from it."

"While the overall possibility of a political marriage was the council's idea, the Suna council had nothing to do with the selection," before Jiraiya could interrupt, Gaara hurried out, "I was the one who chose Naruto." While the reasoning was still lost on the Toad Sage, Tsunade was beginning to understand where Gaara wad going.

"While I think I understand why you chose the knucklehead for this...assignment," Tsunade began, " I'd still like to know why the political marriage is being pushed for."

"Well Lady Tsunade," Baki spoke for the first time, "it's like this..."

FLASHBACK-

Gaara and his squad stood at the doors of their villages council room. The Suna Siblings had been relaxing at home when their sensei Baki arrived, and informed the trio that they were being summoned by the council.

After a short walk, the team arrived at the council building; a tall, mud-brown, stone structure. After being signed in by the council secretary, the Suna Siblings walked up the stairs, and found themselves waiting to be called in.

They were not forced to wait long.

With a stern, "Enter", the team followed behind Baki and stood in the center of the room, surrounded by the council.

The council of Suna was made up of older men and women, most of whom were once ninja who'd fought their entire lives. Those who hadn't been ninja, were influential clan leaders—there were no ordinary civilians on the Suna council. The room was arranged in the typical style, the men and women were seated at tall podiums set up in a large semi-circle; ninja on the left, non-ninja on the right.

"Ah, good, the three of you managed to make it", spoke an elderly man dressed in the gold and blue robes of a councilmen.

"Honored elders, while it is a pleasure to see you all alive and busy, what business do you have with our team that required you to pull us from the vacation time that you yourselves scheduled for us?" Gaara's greeting was ended with a stern look that told the aged men and women 'This had better be important...or else.'

Gaara had calmed down significantly after his battle with Naruto. He was brought back to Suna, carried by is older sister, and had gotten his seal fixed so that he was allowed to sleep. Something he took full advantage of when left alone. But he still maintained an air of danger, and was quickly angered when he thought someone was wasting his time.

"-gulp- W-Well you see, Gaara-sama, the r-reason we called your team in today was to discuss the damage done to our alliance with Konoha, and how we may be able to fix it."

This lightened the Jinchuuriki mood, to the point that his min-green eyes lost their angry gleam. Gaara had been upset to find that, due to the two countries strained relations, he was unable to visit his fellow Jinchuuriki, and lone friend, Naruto unless the red head was visiting the village on business.

"That's encouraging to hear elders," Gaara began, his eyes closing in thought, "but how exactly do you intend to accomplish that?" The red-head didn't want to get his hopes up too high.

Another elder, this time a female, spoke out: "-Ahem- Well, the way we see it young master, the alliance could be re-solidified through a union between two members of each village-"

Anything else the old crow might ave said was cut-off by a loud "NO WAY", from Temari who, from the beginning, had a bad feeling abut the meeting.

"There's absolutely no way you old goats are bargaining me off to help fix a mistake that you all decided to make!"

"Lady Temari please, be reasonable," the same old woman began, "we're trying to regain the favor of the Fire Daimyo, so that he will return our missions to us. In the short while that our own Daimyo began handing missions over to Fire country, Suna has experienced a dangerous recession. There's not enough money coming in, and our trading business isn't picking up enough of the slack; we just don't have enough valuable resources. Lady Temari we wouldn't have chosen this option if we had any other choice."

Temari understood well how bad things were getting in her home. She was beginning to see businesses closing because no one had money to buy their goods, she in turn noticed those people living on the streets because they didn't make enough money to pay for their housing. Even her family was beginning to struggle; and they were the children of the previous Kazekage!

"While I understand our plight Saya-sama, that still doesn't answer the question of why I have to be the scapegoat here. There are plenty of other kunoichi in Suna who could fill the role."

"While it is true that there are other kunoichi's in Suna, you are wrong in assuming that any of them are suited for this task." Temari opened her mouth to retort, but Saya held up a wrinkled hand, and continued speaking, "Before you say anything, you truly are the only girl we can offer to Konoha. You are our top kunoichi, your skills are unmatched by any of your female peers; you've even managed to best some of our chunin! And even if skill wasn't a deciding factor, you are the daughter of the former Kazekage. While that already puts you in a lofty standing as a bride, your relation to him serves as a double positive towards our goal."

By this time, Temari's eyes had screwed shut in anger and her jaw was clenched in frustration as well. Through grinding teeth she asked: "Why don't you enlighten me about this double positive effect , Saya-sama!"

"Of course dear. You see, the first point is as I've already said. You are our most skilled fighter, and the Leaf village admires and covets strength; just look at the last Uchiha. Now, the second reason is much more political. If we hand over the daughter of the man that helped lay siege to their village, then Konoha will view us as humble and truly regretful of our action. While handing you over may seem cruel, you must look at it from the political point of view Lady Temari."

When Saya had mentioned Sasuke, Temari felt a cold shiver run down her spine, 'They wouldn't!' However at the same time, she did in fact see the truth behind the elders words; she really was the only kunoichi Suna could offer up. Knowing this, Temari lowered her head in defeat.

Seeing Temari lower her head made Saya grin. She'd convinced the girl that the arranged marriage was the best option. What she neglected to mention however, was that the Suna council also had its own agenda in securing this marriage. They'd decided to marry Temari off to Sasuke Uchiha, with the stipulation that Temari be allowed to "visit" Suna if she so wished. They added this because the elders knew that the sandy-blonde would want to have any children she might have, in the safety of her home village. The council would then abduct the child, and create its own army of sharingan warriors.

"I'm glad to see that you've come to reason Lady Temari. While it does sadden me to see our most promising kunoichi leave us, the council will put forth a clause stating that you may visit Suna whenever you wish; so you don't get too homesick."

The young girl picked up her head and smiled lightly at the room full of elders. 'Maybe this won't be so bad then, I can just split my time evenly between here and Konoha. This way I can be here for our holidays and to help Gaara re-learn his emotions'

"Saya-sama, while I'm ready to accept the proposal, you never actually told me who I was marrying."

Saya put on er best "granny" smile, and spoke: "Why, I thought it'd be obvious dear, we're choosing Sasuke Uchiha as your intended."

With that statement, the sandy-blonde kunoichi's entire world began to crumble. While she had thought Sasuke was attractive upon first meeting him, Temari swiftly lost interest after seeing how he behaved towards his comrades and his arrogant, self-centered attitude.

"No."

All eyes turned to look at the red-head, who'd been silent up until that point.

Gaara had agreed with what the elder had said; the proposal was sound. However, what the Jinchuuriki could not accept, was the on whom the council had chosen. The red-head may have only just begun to understand the importance of family, but, there was no way he was going to allow his sister, the same one who'd been by Gaara's side his entire life, to marry someone as...unworthy as Sasuke Uchiha.

"Excuse me young master," Saya began, "but what do you mean by "no"? Lady Temari has already agreed with the marriage, so there's really not much you can do."

"I'm not opposing the idea of the political marriage, I'm saying "no" to the one you intend to marry her off to. That weakling is not fit to marry my older sister." Gaara's eyes had regained their angry gleam, but Saya would not be deterred; Suna would have the sharingan!

"You say young Sasuke is weak, however, I do not recall there being any other genin at his level during the chunin exams. That boy managed to make you bleed for the first time, if I remember correctly; what genin can say they've done anything even close to that?"

While is was true that Sasuke had been the first to make Gaara bleed, there was one other who had managed to accomplish a feat even more impressive than that...hand Gaara his first defeat in battle. With the image of the beaten and bloodied blonde in his mind, Gaara smirked; he'd found someone worthy of his sister.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

-END FLASHBACK

"And that is why I have chosen Naruto as the receiver of my sisters hand in marriage. I feel that there is no other ninja in your village qualified for this task."

Temari rolled her eyes, "Gee, thanks Gaara, I didn't know you considered this whole thing just a task."

"You know what I mean Temari. Naruto is the only person I believe is worthy of you; who can truly appreciate you."

Temari looked over to her brother, and when she saw the sincere light in his eye, she smiled gently and silently decided try and make the best of the situation.

Tsunade watched the interaction between brother and sister, and was reminded of her own relationship with her brother Nawaki; and the one she was currently forging with Naruto. Thinking about that, she came to the conclusion that the political marriage could be good for Naruto.

The buxom Hokage snapped her finger, and an ANBU with a bird mask appeared, kneeling on the right side of Tsunade's desk. "Hokage-sama?"

"Go and bring me Naruto Uzumaki, inform him that envoys from Suna are here to see him, but don't tell him why."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." And with that, the ANBU disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

oo0oo

"Hokage-sama requests your presents, Naruto-san."

Naruto and Hinata stared at the sudden appearance of the bird-masked ANBU agent in confusion. "Uh, may I ask why Bird-san?" Naruto asked, he had not been expecting to receive a summons from the Hokage so out of the blue.

"Representatives from Suna have recently arrived, and they have business that they say involves you. So if you could come with me; we wouldn't want to keep the ambassadors waiting."

Naruto nodded in understanding. While the blonde would rather stay and look over Hinata, Naruto knew that to have ambassadors call for you specifically was a big deal. "Alright, if it's that important, then we can go in a moment." At this, Naruto turned back to Hinata.

"Hinata, it seems our time together is being cut short. What I want to do is," Naruto produced another shadow-clone, "leave these two here with you, and have them pick up where I left off. If that's okay with you?"

Hinata smiled, happy that she wasn't just being pushed aside, "O-Of course it's okay Naruto-kun, I-I understand how important a meeting with L-Lady Tsunade is, y-you go ahead, I'll be fine here with the clones."

"Okay Hinata, if you're sure."

After giving the shy Hyuga a smile, Naruto stepped back over to the ANBU member and allowed the man to place his hand on Naruto's shoulder. In a poof of smoke, both were gone.

Hinata stared at the spot where Naruto had just been for a few minutes before her attention was snagged by one of the clones clearing his throat. When she turned to address him, she was met with the sight of the clone holding out the hilt of his blade to her.

"W-What do you want me to do w-with that?"

"The Imperator was going to begin your training today, unfortunately, as you saw, he was drawn away. So, to make up for it, I will over see your first training session against this other clone." His response was met with a look of surprise.

"T-Training...me? I-I don't understand, what sort of t-training does Naruto-kun want me to start doing?"

"He wishes to begin your formal military training. As I'm sure you already know, the Imperator has already decided that you will serve as a Legatus in his army; this will require that you be an exceptional fighter even among the rest of the legion."

Hinata recalled her love mentioning something of the sort when they'd fully discussed his plans for the future, but she'd convinced Naruto that she'd be better off as a medical officer than a warrior on the filed."I-I thought I was to serve as a m-medic, to tend to the wounded soldiers?"

"I am aware of that, and you shall, but when battles are over we will have wounded and you will be head of our entire medical corp. You already posses a degree of medical skill, so the Imperator plans to convince the Hokage to take you on as her new apprentice."

Hinata couldn't believe her ears. Her! Apprentice to a Sannin!

"But that can all be discussed with the Imperator personally later, for now, we will begin work on your formal training." As he finished speaking, the clone(C1) tossed his gladius at the young kunoichi; startling the young girl who clumsily managed to catch it.

C1 stepped off to the side-lines, and motioned for the second clone to take position.

C2 moved to the center of the training ground, and entered the "ready stance". Hinata, not knowing what else to do, walked over and stood across from C2; gladius clutched awkwardly in both hands.

"Wrong!" C1 called out from the side-lines, "You will enter into the same stance as the clone that stands before you."

The shy heiress nodded and set herself up in the unusual stance. But Hinata couldn't help the feeling that something was just...off, about the form she'd taken.

C1 noticed as well.

"I see you are having trouble centering yourself in that form. It makes sense, considering you're a Hyuga." His observation confused the bluenette; what did being a Hyuga have to do with anything?

"I-I don't understand, why does me being a Hyuga dictate w-why this stance feels off?"

"Because, you are used to fighting with both hands, not just one at a time. While it is true that technically everyone fights using both hands, your specific fighting style known as the Gentle-Fist requires equal use of both hands." C1 used up some of the chakra he was made up of, to create a third clone, who he then had give over its gladius to Hinata as well.

"Enter into your normal fighting stance, while incorporating the two swords you've been given." Hinata did as she was told, and entered into the traditional Gentle-Fist stance.

Hinata positioned her left leg out in front, while her right was set up bent at the knee; so as to be ready to push off and run towards her opponent. Her left arm, like her leg, was stretched out, leveling the blade at C2 and her right arm was bent at a 90 degree angle; its blade also pointing towards the clone.

"While I've been doing this for the entire month since we've been back, we're going to start you off nice and slow; so as to let you get used to the added weight of the blades. However, this pace is only for today, tomorrow we're going to speed up." With his instructions laid out, C1 nodded towards his fellow clone as a signal to begin.

C2 started off with a quick jab, but before Hinata could parry, C2 switched his attack to a horizontal slash that cut through the girls jacket. Not giving Hinata any time to asses the damage done to her, C2 pressed forward with a strike to the shy kunoichi's face, snapping the girls head to the side and leaving her open as C2 performed a sweep-slash that left a bleeding gash along Hinata's thigh. The clone finished his maneuver, and stepped back so as to let Hinata regain her senses.

Hinata was left completely unprepared for the assault she was just faced with. She'd been fully prepared to parry the clones first attack, and then press her attack forward, but was caught off-guard when C2 suddenly switched his attack to a slash. Thankfully her jacket was heavy and had taken all of the damage; leaving Hinata herself unarmed. However her jacket couldn't protect her against the follow -up attack, and Hinata was left dazed from a right cross. And just when she thought it was over, Hinata then felt a burning, stinging sensation in her thigh; she'd been cut.

When she was no longer being bombarded with painful sensations, Hinata managed to clear the cobwebs from her brain, and take stock of her condition. She noticed that the only serious injury she'd suffered was the wound on her thigh; but she refused to let that be the end of her training!

'I won't let this get in the way, I'll prove tat I'm capable of keeping up!'

The fire that ignited in Hinata's eyes after her self-reinforcement didn't go unnoticed by C2. While he was proud of her, the clone understood that his creator needed to keep his distance from the girl if he were to be able to focus on restoring the empire; so he held back any visual show of praise.

"Good, you're ready to go again. This time, don't stand quite so tense. Obviously you need to be ready to react to your opponents movements, but being too tight results in being unable to adapt to quick changes; like what just happened a moment ago." Hinata took this in, played back her first round, and realized the clones point. Nodding her head in affirmation, Hinata reset herself into her stance, activated her byakugan, and motioned to C2 to re-engage her.

Seeing that the Hyuga heiress was ready for a second round, C2 walked forward, and also re-entered his ready stance.

Beginning the round with something new, C2 performed a sweep-slash. This time, Hinata managed to avoid the attack, and thanks to her dojutsu, managed to parry the rising-slash C2 performed as a follow-up to his sweep. After her parry, Hinata brought her left hand down and attempted to plunge her second blade into the clones shoulder. She missed, however, because C2 used his leather-braced forearm to knock the attack aside, and then rolled backwards to regain his bearings.

When Hinata noticed the clone pulling back, she decided that giving him space was too dangerous, and followed him; letting out a short battle cry as she leaped into the air, spun, and brought both her blades down upon C2.

As C2 was rolling, he heard the sound of grass crunching beneath quick steps. The sound of Hinata's battle cry let him know that the kunoichi was indeed pressing her attack. After his final roll, C2 set his feet firmly on the ground and brought up his gladius to block the two incoming blades. With a 'clang' of steel, Hinata was brought down by gravity, and the heiress found herself locked in a stalemate with her blonde love.

Due to her minimal physical strength, Hinata soon found herself being pushed back as C2 began to rise from his kneeling position. When he was fully back on his feet, C2 pushed Hinata's blades to the side, and caught her under the chin with a viscous uppercut. The blow sent the young kunoichi flying back, and landed her hard on the ground.

C2 sheathed his gladius and waked over to the downed Hyuga. She was clenching her eyes shut in pain and wiping at her bloodied mouth. "Never get into a physical stand-off with an opponent that is stronger than you, otherwise that will happen again, and your opponent won't stop to make sure you're okay."

With that said, C2 stretched his hand out to Hinata, and helped her to her feet. "Now, return to your ready stance, and we'll go again. We're going to do this until the Imperator returns." Hinata only gave an exhausted, "Hai", before doing as she was told.

oo0oo

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the envoy from Suna didn't have to wait long before the ANBU agent returned with Naruto. But they were all shocked to see the figure the figure that stood in front of them.

Standing next to the ANBU was a young man with wild, blonde hair that covered his ears and reached the nape of his neck. The blonde had a set of hard, stern, cobalt-blue eyes and an annoyed look etched onto his chiseled face. He wore a blood-red tunic, that reached to just past his knees, with a thick, leather belt tied around the waist and another leather strap across his torso; sheathed blades held tightly against his hips. The other members of the room could make out slits that ran from the bottom of the tunic, to about mid-thigh. The blondes arms, which had increased in muscle mass due to his excessive training, were situated with his left hand holding his right wrist, and both arms bent slightly inward; both wrists were adorned with brown, leather bracers. On the young mans feet were a pair of brown, leather boots that reached mid-calf.*

All-in-all, the blonde that stood before them was only truly recognizable as Naruto because of the whisker marks on his cheeks, and the ever-present 1st Hokage's necklace that hung around his strong neck. Apparently they had been staring too long, because the blonde decided to speak up: "Are you going to tell me why I've been summoned Hokage-sama, or am I to be kept waiting entire-fucking-day while you stare at me?"

The blondes tone, as well as his language, were another shock to those who occupied the room. Gaara, being the least shocked, spoke first, "I apologize for our staring Naruto. It's just that...you look so different from when we from Suna, and apparently the Sannin, last saw you. As to why you've been summoned, it has to do with a matter involving the alliance between our two villages."

Naruto looked over, and for the first time, realized that one of the occupants in the room was his friend and fellow Jinchuuriki, Gaara. Seeing the friendly, familiar face made the blondes annoyed visage melt away into a welcoming grin. Naruto turned in the red-heads direction and greeted his "brother", "Gaara it's good to see you. And I see the dark rings around your eyes have thinned; finally getting some sleep eh?"

The sudden change in mood was another stunner to the two Sannin in the room. Was this the "new Naruto", they'd heard so much about?

"As a matter-of-fact yes, I have; you're actually the first person to notice this." Gaara threw is own annoyed look at his siblings and Jounin sensei before continuing, "Unfortunately, pleasantries and catching up will have to wait, I'm here on official business."

Naruto just nodded his head and responded, "Of course, apologies for straying from business, it's just been so long since we've seen each other, and I was caught up in the moment."

"Nothing to apologize for Naruto, we can catch up fully after we've concluded business here. I remember hearing that you enjoy ramen; perhaps we can catch up over some if you are of a mind."

"That sounds doable, but we'll have to make one quick stop first-"

"Naruto, don't you think we should get down to business now? You were just upset that we hadn't begun immediately upon your arrival after all." Tsunade cut him off.

The young Uzumaki shot the buxom Hokage a stern glance out of the corner f his eye, before sighing, and saying, "Yes, I suppose I was. And if it means getting to catch up with my friend quicker, than please, by all means, explain why I'm here and how I'm supposed to help with the fractured alliance between our two village."

"Well, Naruto, the council of Suna has decided that we need to show Konoha how sorry we are for our involvement in Orochimaru's attack. They've come up with a, in my opinion, clever way to go about this" Baki answered.

"And while that's all well and good," the blonde shot back, irritation creeping into his voice, "none of you have told me what any of it has to do with me." Seeing the growing anger form across Naruto's face, Temari decided that she'd step up and tell the Uzumaki boy the news.

"It has been decided that you, Naruto Uzumaki, will be part of a political marriage involving the daughter of Suna's last Kazekage."

Naruto looked to Temari, his eyes holding a calculating stare, and replied: "And just why am I the best candidate for this? I hold no influence here, or in any other part of the Elemental Nations, 'Not yet anyway', so I don't see what good marrying the daughter of a Kage off to me will do; you should have chosen someone like Sasuke for thi-"

"No!" Gaara cut in, "I refuse to marry my sister off to the likes of him. Naruto, the council of Suna didn't select you for this marriage, I did. I picked you because I needed to know that my sister, who has always been there for me, will be in good hands while she's away from her home."

The news that Temari was the girl he was being asked to marry made Naruto's eyes widen in shock. He slowly looked between the beautiful kunoichi and her brother, trying to make sense of what he'd just heard.

"Temari is the girl? She's the daughter of your villages former Kazekage?"

Gaara nodded, "Yes Naruto, she is. Her, my brother, and I are the three children of the man who allied himself with Orochimaru. The reason she was selected is because, what better way to show humility and regret for our villages actions, than to hand over our most promising kunoichi? But, as I've said, I refused to let her be given away to just anybody. I chose you, because I knew she'd be treated properly while in your care."

While Naruto was flattered by his red-headed friends words, the blonde genin wasn't sure what to do with the situation. While he didn't mind the thought of being married to Temari, she was very beautiful and a skilled kunoichi, but he didn't see much value in it other than pleasure. And then Gaara spoke up again.

"I also have another political reason. You see, I'm the favored candidate to take on the mantle of Kazekage, and when I am elected I'll need a diplomatic liaison to travel back and forth between out two villages. And who better for the job than the daughter of a former Kazekage who's lived in both areas?"

Now that was a strategic reason. Naruto realized that this was a perfect chance to do some subtle political maneuvering, "Well, while I don't mind the idea of marrying your sister; she is quite beautiful, and her skills shown in the chunin exam were impressive, I'm not sure if I'm worthy of her.

The blondes honeyed words sucked in the entourage from Suna. Temari's cheeks tinted a light pink at hearing such sweet words about her; most boys just told her she was "hot", or something of the sort. Gaara felt a sense of security in his decision to pick Naruto as Temari's suitor.

The two Sannin, who had remained mostly silent throughout the entire meeting, watched the blonde teen in front of them with calculating stares. They'd both heard of the new Naruto, and Jiraiya had even witnessed a small sample, but here and now the two were being treated to front-row seats to the "show."

"Naruto," Gaara began with a small smile, "it's that kind of thing about you that makes me believe that you are the best person to look after my sister while she's here in the Leaf village." After Gaara finished, Temari stepped over to Naruto, and spoke:

"Naruto-san, while we don't really know each other, I hope that this political marriage can run smoothly and we can learn to work together to better the relationship between our two villages."

The blonde genin lightly gripped Temari's hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles before responding: "Temari-chan, I hope that we can do more than just "make it work". I hope you and I can form a real relationship, and that we can be husband and wife in more than just name, my beautiful dezātorōzu(dessert rose)."

Naruto's gentlemanly gesture, along with his smooth wordplay, caused the tomboyish kunoichi's cheeks to turn a light-pink color. Never in her whole life had Temari been treated as nicely as she'd been these last few minutes with her fellow blonde. While she managed to keep her stern face, Temari's heart began to speed up at the thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd found a guy who could handle her.

Tsunade decided she'd seen and heard enough about the whole ordeal, "So I take it this means you two are going through with the marriage?"

"As I've already said," Naruto spoke out, "I'm more than willing to accept. However, this isn't my decision to make; it's Temari-chan's. She's being asked to move away from her home and family, to come live in a new village with a guy she hardly even knows. I'd say her word is the only one that matters."

Temari let down her stone-faced facade to send Naruto a little smile. "Thank you Naruto-san, that's very mature of you to say. Most other men would have just wanted to get the ceremony over with so they could get my clothes off; it seems you may just be a cut above the typical male."

Now the two Sannin were on alert. The two legendary warriors had each spent considerable time with the blonde Uzumaki, and they'd never seen him act so...charismatic, before. Sure he had his moments of being a gentleman, and being sincere; but never had he been so deliberate about it. The Naruto that was performing in front of them was someone who, with some polish, could really hope to become Hokage one day.

While this made Tsunade happy, it made Jiraiya weary. While normally he'd be happy his student was so suave with the ladies, this was a bit much in the short amount of time since they'd last met up. However any further speculation was cut off when Tsunade's apprentice, Shizune, entered into the office.

"Tsunade-sama, excuse my intrusion, but you asked me to inform you when Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake were in the final stages of their recovery." The young woman's news was met with silence.

"Ahem, well, thank you Shizune. I'll be there momentarily; we were just finishing up here."

"Hokage-sama," Naruto spoke up, "would it be alright if I went with you? They are after all my team-mate and sensei, and I'd like to know how they're doing, since they were both injured trying to protect me."

Naruto's request was met with a silent, but firm, nod. So after Baki laid out the marriage document, and Naruto and Temari signed it, Tsunade prepared to leave with the young genin and her fellow Sannin.

"Gaara, my friend, I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule our ramen session; I've got some people to see."

The red-head in question just sent his fellow biju holder an understanding nod, "It's alright Naruto, you go and do what you need to do. With this contract, there are sure to be other days for ramen."

With things settled with the Suna envoy Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shizune all made there way to the hospital, while the Suna Siblings made their way to the embassy building.

oo0oo

While the usual method of getting around was using the body-flicker, or roof-hopping, Jiraiya asked if they could walk to the hospital. When Naruto asked why. The Toad-Sannin just told him: "I have something I'd like to talk with you about. Besides, your friend's been in the hospital for about two months, I'm sure you can handle waiting a few minutes before seeing him."

While a part of Naruto still considered Sasuke a friend, another part had become wary of the vengeful Uchiha. Ever-since the incident in the Forest of Death, when they were attacked by Orochimaru, Sasuke had been acting stranger than usual. Add to that this incident with his brother, and Naruto couldn't help feeling that Sasuke was sitting on the razor's-edge emotionally.

"Alright Pervy-sage," Naruto spoke up, after walking for ten minutes, "what's this important thing you need to talk with me about?"

"Well Naruto, I've been thinking. With Orochimaru, and now the Akatsuki, taking an interest in you I think we need to step up your training. And while we could continue it here, I feel you'd be safer if we trained outside the village."

The blonde in question looked over at the hermit with suspicion, "And where exactly would we be going? I'm not too fond of the idea of being far from Konoha right now, I have some...projects that need my attention right now."

"Projects? Well, if they're new jutsu then we can work on them together. Anything else and I think we can work through it."

'Unfortunately, with what you seem to have planned, I won't be able to bring my projects along.'

"So, explain how this...training trip, is going to work."

"Okay. What's going to happen is, we'll travel around the Elemental Countries, training you in how to control the Kyuubi's chakra, and improving your current skills. Traveling will help us keep you out of the clutches of Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, while allowing you to see the world outside of Konoha; sounds like a good idea huh?" Jiraiya's explanation had started off as a serious set of directions, but finished like a sales pitch, as if he was trying to sell Naruto on the idea.

Before Naruto could respond to the idea, the quartet arrived in front of the hospital.

oo0oo

After checking in with the receptionist at the front desk, the group of four made their way up the stairs and down a set of hallways to arrive at Sasuke's door. They'd chosen to check on the Uchiha first, due to the fact he'd suffered more severe mental damage, as well as physical damage, than Kakashi.

When they arrived at the door, what they saw through the window didn't surprise any of them.

Sasuke was sitting up in his bed, his raven-black hair disheveled and his gray t-shirt rumpled from laying in bed for so long; his legs were covered by the sheet of the bed. The group could see the Uchiha's muscles had visibly degraded due, again, to his inactivity, but he still held a look of strength.

Sitting directly by his bedside, and having seemingly never left according to the receptionist, was Sakura. Her hair had re-grown to reaching past her shoulders, after being cut during the chunin exams, and had the look that it'd been recently washed. She wore civilian-style clothing consisting of: a cherry-red t-shirt, sky-blue jeans, and pair of standard ninja sandals. The pink-haired kunoichi was currently trying to feed Sasuke a plate of sliced apples.

"Here Sasuke-kun, you need to eat so you can get your strength back."

Sasuke just sat there, his eyes stating down at his clenched fists. He hadn't even heard Sakura's offer; his mind was occupied with thoughts of his brother.

'I didn't even stand a chance! Itachi defeated me like I was nothing; he even caught my chidori! I thought I'd closed the gap at least a little, but it's like I'm still that same weak academy student that froze on that night; I wasn't even a warm-up for him!' Sasuke's self-loathing was brought to an end when he heard the door to is room open, and a group of four walked in.

"Sasuke Uchiha, it seems you've recovered enough that I can discharge you. Now this doesn't mean you can start any heavy training right away; that will have to wait a few more weeks. But I am clearing you to do simple exercises to help get you back into shape." When Tsunade finished her diagnoses, she noticed that the bedridden Uchiha had tensed.

"Is there something about my evaluation you disapprove of Sasuke?"

"As a matter-of-fact, yes, there is. How does anyone expect me to regain my families honor, if I'm being hindered at every turn?" His question was answered by Jiraiya:

"Uchiha, I don't know what you mean by "hindered." You have Konoha's top Jounin as your sensei, practically your personal mentor from what I've heard from Naruto, and a clan house full of scrolls to help you. What more could you need?"

Sasuke's answer came swiftly,"I could be trained by a Sannin."

"-sigh-, Unfortunately Sasuke-san, I'm already Naruto's mentor. But Tsunade is free to take on an apprentice-" The Toad-Sannin was cut-off by Naruto.

"Actually, Jiraiya, I was going to talk with Tsunade-sama about taking on Hinata as her new apprentice. I've noticed that she has a budding skill in medicine, and I was hoping Tsunade would help nurture that bud and show her how to perform medical-jutsu."

"Well we can discuss the idea of me taking on a new apprentice later," Tsunade began, "but first, we're going to go and check on Kakashi. Naruto, you can stay and catch up with Sasuke, and come visit Kakashi when you're done."

With those words said, the trio of adults left the room and walked towards the Jounin's room.

After they left Naruto turned to address his recently discharged team-mate, what he saw surprised him. Sasuke was trembling with anger, his fists were clenched tightly and his jaw was visibly clenched.

Sakura also noticed her loves aggravated body language, "Hey, Sasuke-kun, are you okay? If this is about the whole apprentice thing don't worry about it, there's no way Tsunade-sama will choose Hinata over you, you're going to get a Sannin for a teacher." As she spoke she reached out to touch the young Uchiha's shoulder, but her wrist was caught mid-reach.

Sasuke's mind was going a mile-a-minute, 'Who do they think they are! Naruto's just some no-name orphan, but he's getting training from Master Jiraiya, and now I hear that the dope is trying to get Tsunade to train that mousey Hyuga!? They don't even consider training me, they're just pushing me aside like my ambition doesn't matter! No one but me seems to care about the honor of the Uchiha; a founding clan of Konoha!' His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his pink-haired team-mate address him. When she reached out to him, Sasuke shot out and caught her hand.

Sakura's eyes widened at the actions of her love. When he turned to look at her, she gasped at the sight of his eyes; sharingan blazing in each. Naruto stepped forward to try and calm the Uchiha down.

"Sasuke, what's wrong with you? Listen, if it's about the training situation, I'm sure we can-" He never got to finish, because Sasuke cut him off.

"Silence! I'm tired of all the disrespect that this village has shown to my family, you all owe us for even bothering to found this village!" Cobalt eyes lost their friendly light, and hardened into the "eyes of the wolf."

"Sasuke, I suggest you calm yourself before you do, or say something, you'll regret. I don't know where you got this idea that the village has forgotten your clans contributions, but it isn't true. The village has handed you everything since the night of the massacre!"

This proved to be the wrong thing to say, because the young sharingan wielder re-directed his blazing gaze over to Naruto, but unlike Sakura, the young emperor-in-training didn't flinch; he simply stared back.

The two boys entered into a fierce staring contest, but this was no mere game. This stare-down was a battle of will, the one who blinked or looked away was submitting, and acknowledging that the other was stronger.

Finally, Sakura decided she'd had enough, "Hey, you guys, let's all just calm down okay? Look it's nothing like that Sasuke-kun, the village loves you and the Uchiha clan. You said it yourself, they helped found the village, so how could anyone in the village think bad about them?" At this time she turned and sent a glare in Naruto's direction, "And Naruto! What are you doing trying to provoke Sasuke-kun, leave him alone!"

If Naruto heard anything Sakura said, he didn't show it. The blonde continued his stare-down with the bedridden Uchiha, and asked: "Sasuke, is there something you want from me?"

Sasuke smirked, his face twisting into a cold humor, "Actually yes, you and I never got to have our match. Don't you wanna see which of us is stronger?"

"No, not right now; not as you are. When I beat you, I want you to be at your best, so that there won't be any argument about "what would have happened" if you weren't crippled."

Naruto's refusal just angered Sasuke even more. In his mind it sounded like Naruto had already decided that Sasuke wasn't worth his time...and that was unacceptable.

"Don't make it sound like I need to be at full strength to defeat you Naruto. You may look different, but that doesn't mean you're any stronger than you were back in the academy. You're still the same dope you've always been!" As he spoke, Sasuke had moved to sit on the edge of the bed, and then stood on his feet.

"Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't-" Sakura began, but Sasuke interrupted her. "Shut up Sakura! This is between me and the clan-less orphan, this fight's been building up for years, and today's the day we settle this!"

With those words, the two boys made their way towards the roof of the building.

oo0oo

While this was going on, the trio of adults had made their way to Kakashi's hospital room. When they arrived, they were met with the sight of Konoha's Copy-ninja sitting up in bed, reading his Icha-Icha.

"Ah, Lady-Tsunade, you flatter this commoner with your presence. Can I take this to mean you're discharging me?"

"Don't give me any lines from that perverted book Kakashi," the slug-queen began, "and yes, I am here to inform you that both you, and Sasuke Uchiha, are being released today. But I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him: No extensive training, only light work-outs to help get you back into shape. I didn't mention this to Sasuke, but this also means that there won't be any out-of-village missions being assigned to your team, until you two are back to normal."

"-sigh- I was afraid you'd say that Hokage-sama. Sasuke won't be happy about this; you should have come to me first, and then had me talk to him." Tsunade lifted one of her elegant eyebrows at this.

"What do you mean Kakashi? I just got done talking to Sasuke, and he seemed to be taking it alright. Why do you think we should have left informing him up to you?"

"I say this because you don't know Sasuke like I do; you don't know how his mind works. Sasuke is going to take this as a challenge, like he has to do strenuous training now or he'll fall that much farther behind his brother. Sasuke is very prideful Milady."

Jiraiya decided he'd move the topic of discussion over to something he thought was more important.

"Lets put the little Uchiha's hurt feelings aside for a moment, and talk about Naruto now that we have the moment." This confused Kakashi.

"Naruto? I don't understand, did something happen, is he alright?"

"Oh it's nothing like that Kakashi," the Toad-Sannin responded, "it's just that the kid was acting strange when he came in to the office today; looks different too."

"Strange? Master Jiraiya what do you mean when you say "strange"? As we all know, that boy has always been strange, so you'll have to be more specific than that."

But before the Sannin could elaborate, the occupants of the room heard a scream. A scram that sounded like it was coming from the roof.

oo0oo

As the genin's of team 7 made their way to the roof, Sasuke moved out to the center, while Naruto walked to stand against him; Sakura staying by the door.

When he reached the center, Sasuke turned and stared into his team-mates cobalt eyes, "Naruto, today is the day. We're going to finally have our match, and see which of us is the strongest."

"Come then, and let us be done with this. I have better things to do than stand around looking at you all day." With that, Naruto unsheathed his gladius, and entered into his ready-stance.

'When did the dope learn Kenjutsu? Never-mind, it doesn't change anything, he's still just the dope; I've had years of training in the Uchiha scrolls, he's had nothing...he is nothing!' At the end of his thoughts Sasuke pulled out a kunai from his holster, and brought it in front of is face in a reverse-grip.

The two genin stood, eyes unblinking, waiting for the other to make the first move; it was the blonde who decided to strike first.

With an animalistic growl Naruto broke into a run and headed straight for Sasuke. Once he was within range, the blonde struck out with a windmill slash. When Sasuke blocked it the blonde swiftly retracted his arm, and tried for a horizontal strike to the Uchiha's side; this also missed its mark because Sasuke jumped back to avoid it.

When Naruto rushed forward Sasuke thought it was going to be an easy win, 'Typical Naruto, attack first and think later.' But when he brought his kunai up to block the blondes sword, Sasuke had to grit his teeth to avoid screaming in pain, and tighten the muscles in his arms so as to keep from dropping his weapon. And before the young Uchiha could even think of a counter-attack, he was forced to jump back, so as to avoid being sliced in half.

Sasuke thought he'd gain a few moments of reprieve, but he was proven wrong when Naruto pursued him, and sent a jab at his chest. Sasuke barely managed to twist out of the way, and he used his momentum to land a roundhouse kick across Naruto's back.

The blonde was unprepared for his team-mate's counter-attack, and his lack of foresight sent him stumbling forward, where he swiftly regained his senses and threw his arm back in a blind sword sweep. The grunt of pain he heard let him know it was a smart decision.

When Sasuke caught Naruto with his kick he thought it was the beginning of the end, 'Ha, didn't even last five minutes,' but when he went to press his attack, he was caught off-guard, and suffered a decent slice across his chest. Sasuke's gray t-shirt was rapidly being stained by the blood that seeped from his wound. After jumping back to reset himself, Sasuke looked over to his opponent and scowled when he noticed that Naruto looked untouched, and he wasn't even breathing hard yet. Deciding to kick things in to high-gear, Sasuke activated his sharingan.

With Sasuke retreating, Naruto got a moment to compose himself, and take stock of the situation. Turning around, Naruto set himself back into his defensive stance, and assessed the damage he'd done.

'Hm, I got lucky. That wound will leave a scar, so it's deep enough that it'll impede his already weakened condition. But,now that he's activated his sharingan, how well will I fare? With that thought in mind, Naruto chose not to engage, and instead wait for Sasuke to make the first move. He wasn't forced to wait long.

Sasuke stood, his two-tomoe sharingan blazing, waiting for Naruto to make the first move. He stood there for a moment, and then when he began to feel the effects of his wound, Sasuke knew he'd have to make the first move. So, going for something elementary, the last Uchiha reached into his pouch and produced a handful of shuriken. Throwing those first as a distraction, Sasuke waited until they were half-way to their target before disappearing from view, and then re-appearing at Naruto's unprotected back.

When he saw the shuriken flying his way, Naruto knew already what was coming next. So when Sasuke appeared behind him with his kunai raised to attack, Naruto responded by reaching back, trapping Sasuke in a one armed head-lock, and bringing the raven-haired genin over his shoulder; only to hold him there as a meat shield against the coming wave of shuriken. When they hit, a cloud of smoke filled Naruto's vision, and left him blind to the uppercut that sent him sailing back.

While Sasuke had been surprised by the head-lock, he managed to think fast and perform a substitution, leaving a log to take the damage. After his escape, Sasuke managed to find Naruto in the smoke and land a hit on him. When he saw the blonde land on his back Sasuke began a series of hand-signs.

Naruto sat up and wiped the blood from his mouth, 'Well, it seems this is going to be more fun than I thought. While I expected some kind of a fight, I didn't expect this haha.' The blonde sat up and was met with the sight of his rival finishing a set of fire-style hand-signs. A moment later, and Naruto was barraged with a wave of miniature fireballs. "Jupiter fuck me."

Seeing he was next to a line of drying sheets, Naruto snatched the two closest to him, wrapped them around himself, and rolled through the storm of fire. When he landed on his feet the blonde quickly shed his makeshift armor, and rushed forward to re-engage Sasuke in close combat.

Once he reached him, Naruto started off with a jab. When that was hastily parried Naruto noticed an opening in Sasuke's side; he delivered an elbow into the Uchiha's ribs. With Sasuke off-guard, the blonde pressed his attack, and struck Sasuke's bleeding chest with his fist. As Sasuke sputtered in pain, Naruto decided to finish-up. So he locked a hand behind his rivals head, and brought it down to meet his rising knee; a 'crack' resounded through the air.

With Naruto finished with his attack Sasuke fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding face in pain. The Uchiha tightened his entire body trying to brace against the pain he felt. Looking up Sasuke was met with the sight of his rival looming over him, sword held at his side, and the sun shining behind him. Naruto looked like he was on fire, as if he was glowing with the flames of victory. Something Sasuke would never allow. Pushing past the pain,Sasuke shot like a rocket up towards his blonde team-mate, his kunai held once again in a reverse-grip and ready to slice into Naruto's unprotected throat.

What he thought was going to be the end, turned out to be a trick. Naruto had purposely left himself "open", in order to goad Sasuke into attacking; and in that way reveal that the Uchiha coveted his pride over their bond. So when his morally dark team-mate attacked, Naruto grabbed the outstretched wrist, twisted it behind Sasuke's back, and brought his gladius to his throat.

"It's over Sasuke, you lose." Even as he spoke those words, Naruto still had to tighten his hold on the struggling Uchiha.

"-grunt- No, i-it's not over, I'm not done yet! How did you get through my sharingan, I don't understand!?"

"Rock Lee already explained that, remember? He told you that, while your sharingan may be able to read your opponents movements, it doesn't do you any good if your body can't keep up. The bottom line is I'm simply faster than you...I'm better than you." Unfortunately, Sasuke couldn't accept this.

"No! No, I refuse to accept that! How could you have gotten so much better than me; you're a nobody, you have no clan or secret abilities, how could you be better than me...tell me how!?" Sasuke punctuated his frustrations with the twisting of his body, trying to escape from the painful hold Naruto had on him.

Naruto laughed in is head. While it was true he didn't have any secret abilities, he did have the secret of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Something he was grateful for when he thought about how much the demons healing came in handy. But then he thought about how Sasuke called him a nobody, and his face took on a furious look. Removing his blade from Sasuke's throat, Naruto shoved his beaten rival to the ground.

"A nobody?" Naruto growled out, "Who are you to call me a nobody? I am a Roman, the blood descendent of the greatest Roman to ever live. I am a member of the Julia, a clan descended from the gods themselves! It's you who is the nobody," at this point Naruto had raised his sword up, and was preparing to bring it down on the floored Sasuke, "and I'll make sure you don't ever forget that!"

But before he could swing his sword, Naruto was momentarily distracted when Sakura shouted out, "NARUTO, NO!"

Sakura had stood by and watched the entire fight unfold. Before they'd even arrived on the roof, the pink-haired kunoichi tried to persuade Sasuke not to fight in his current condition. But when her pleas fell on deaf ears, Sakura was left with no other choice than to watch. While she didn't fear Sasuke would lose, 'He could never lose to Naruto', what Sakura was afraid of was Sasuke injuring himself by pushing past his current limit.

When the fight started, Sakura relaxed, figuring she was right and that maybe Sasuke wouldn't have to push himself too hard. Sure Naruto had gotten better, but he was still no match for Sasuke.

But then Sasuke got hurt, and the young girls nerves started to fray again. The cut would surely leave a scar, if the speed of blood loss was anything to go by, and would set Sasuke back further in his recovery. Sakura was relieved when she saw Sasuke activate his sharingan, 'Naruto doesn't stand a chance now', and while she was surprised when Sasuke's attack was foiled, Sakura mentally cheered at his use of the replacement technique; She had to hold back a verbal cheer when Sasuke landed his uppercut.

The rest of the battle went by in a blur for Sakura; the action happening to fast for Sakura's underdeveloped senses to follow. But then she saw Sasuke attempt to slit Naruto's throat, and she realized that this was no mere spar. Next came the exchange of words, and while Sakura didn't understand what Naruto meant, 'Roman? Julia?', she still felt that it didn't give the blonde the right to kill Sasuke! So she screamed.

In the brief moment that Naruto paused, the quartet of ninja from Kakashi's room all appeared in poofs of smoke on the roof. When they looked over the scene, all eyes widened in shock.

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke up, "what are you doing? Why is Sasuke on the ground and you're standing over him, looking ready to lop his head off?"

Instead of answering, Naruto sheathed his gladius, and looked over at Jiraiya, "That whole training trip idea, you should probably forget about that because there's no way the council's gonna allow that now. Not when they learn about what happened here." The blondes dismissal didn't sit well with the Copy-ninja.

"Naruto I asked you a question, and as your superior officer, I expect an answer."

"When I put on this headband Kakashi," Naruto finally directed at his sensei, "I swore loyalty to my Hokage, not the village, and definitely not to you."

Tsunade decided to use that to get answers, "Alright then genin Uzumaki, would you please tell us what happened here, and why we found you in such a compromising position?"

"As you wish, Hokage-sama," the blondes formality made Tsunade deflate; she missed her nickname, " When you all left, Sasuke challenged me to battle. Naturally, I accepted. What you all entered in on, was the aftermath of the Uchiha's defeat, and his inability to accept it."

Kakashi decided he didn't like the explanation, "Naruto, that's very vague. We're going to have to take statements from all three of you; and if what you say doesn't coincide with what your team-mate's say, you very well may be suspended."

Hearing his possible punishment didn't really phase Naruto. He'd have more time to train, learn, and maneuver during his suspension; starting with the downtrodden Hokage.

"Well I that's all you're going to say, then I suppose you can send for me when you've all decided my punishment. Until then, I'd like to be left alone; I have things to do." With that, Naruto exited the rooftop, and left the group of six to their own devices.

"Now do you see what I meant by strange Kakashi? Did that seem anything like the Naruto you took on as a student a year ago?"

The silver-haired Jounin looked over to the Sannin that had spoken and replied, "No, Lord Jiraiya, it doesn't. Do we know what brought this on?"

"I've got my spy network in Wave right now. According to Kurenai Yuhi, she lead a diplomatic mission to the country with Naruto as a member of the team, and ever since then, he's been acting strange."

"Who were the other members?" Kakashi questioned, "Maybe we can get some new information from them." It was Shizune who answered.

"The other two members of the squad were Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga, they were assigned because, at the time, every other genin was currently on a mission or had just reported in from one."

Hearing Hinata's name made Kakashi pinch his nose between his thumb and index finger. He, like everyone else with common sense, knew of the Hyuga heiress' feelings for the boy, and so the Copy-ninja guessed he wouldn't get much of anything out of her.

"Well we'll start with Ino, and hopefully get enough information that we can piece this puzzle together, because I'm getting tired of all this mystery."

oo0oo

Ino was, at that time, actually in Naruto's apartment cleaning up. While the place wasn't very big, her fellow blonde tended to be messy. "And knowing Naruto-kun, he'd prefer to know where these are at all times." Ino muttered out as she set Caesar's military logs neatly in a drawer.

After their initial interaction at the training field, Ino had stopped by Naruto's apartment, on his orders, and done chores around the house or just to help Naruto relax after a full day of training. But in spite of this Ino knew her place with Naruto. She was his body-slave and political alliance, she wasn't in the same league as Hinata.

While her Dominus made it seem like Hinata was just another alliance and slave, Ino could see the underlying tone of warmth in Naruto's otherwise cold, cobalt eyes when he spoke of her and is plans for the young blunette. When she'd asked him why he hadn't been intimate with Hinata, Naruto had told her that "strategically given offerings of affection will help with her training," but Ino could tell that Naruto was trying to convince himself, rather than Ino.

Knowing that Hinata already held a special position with Naruto made Ino frown. "What does she have that I don't"

"Well for starters, she doesn't question my decisions."

The extra voice made Ino jump, dropping Naruto's cuirass which she'd been told to polish. Turning, Ino began to yell at the intruder, "Whoever you are, you better get out of here or else-", her tirade was cut short when she realized who had spoken.

Naruto stood in the doorway of his room, arms placed in the same fashion as when he was in the Hokage's office, and his eyes holding a disapproving gleam. "Or else what, slave?"

The tone in which he spoke to her let Ino know that her next words had better be convincing, or she'd suffer for raising her voice to her Dominus.

"A-Ah, Dominus, I-I didn't know it was you. I thought you were still instructing Hinata-sama in combat. Please, excuse my outburst, had I known-" her next words were caught in her throat when Naruto seemed to appear inches from her, eyes hard with aggravation.

"Had you known you would have kept your thoughts to yourself, is that it? Ino you need to realize that this isn't some silly game. It's not like back at the academy where all the girls fought for Sasuke's attention by trying to outdo one-another. Hinata has skills that are invaluable to my mission, skills that you do not posses. Now, this does not mean you are not important, or will be thrown aside, but you will not make trouble with Hinata or any other girl that comes into this circle; do you understand!?"

Ino was trembling. Never had she seen her master like this; it frightened her. "Y-Yes Dominus, I-I understand. P-Please, forgive me, I overstepped."

"Yes, you did, and because of that you're not going to enjoy the foreseeable future."

Ino's only response was a small whimper.

oo0oo

Night had fallen in Konoha, and most of the village was either already asleep, or preparing for the journey into dreamland. Most, but not all.

Sasuke Uchiha was sitting on the roof of one of his compounds buildings. He sat with his right arm resting on his right knee, his left arm propped behind him holding up his weight, and his left leg stretched out in front of him. He wore his usual khaki shorts and blue, high-collard Uchiha shirt.

Currently, the avenger was playing back the battle he'd had on the hospital rooftop with Naruto. Sasuke was analyzing every aspect of the battle, trying to figure out where he'd lost control. The conclusion he came to wasn't one he favored; he never had control. Naruto had dominated the entire fight. Even when Sasuke managed to catch him off-guard, Naruto had turned it into an advantage for him.

Then came the ultimate humiliation; when Naruto had tricked him. 'And I fell for it! My family would be ashamed of me. How can I hope to restore their honor, when I can't even beat the class-clown!?'

"This is the fuck-boy Orochimaru told us to pick up? He can't be that special if he couldn't even detect us sneaking up on him." Hearing the new voice behind him, Sasuke jumped, and entered into a defensive stance.

Standing on the upper-edge of the roof were four figures, each wearing gray v-neck shirts, black pants, and purple...bows, around their waists. One was a large male with an orange mohawk, another was a sickly looking youth with silver hair and a strange bundle on his back, standing next to him was a tanned youth with his black hair up in a ponytail and six arms. And finally, on the far right, stood the only female. She had long, red hair and light-brown eyes. The girl wore a skull cap with the rim wrapped in bandages, and held a flute in her hand.

"Now Tayuya," the silver-haired youth spoke up, "don't be brash, he might actually be of some use. After all, have you ever known Orochimaru-sama to take interest in someone that was boring?"

The girl, Tayuya, turned to the one who answered her and growled out, "That was a rhetorical question dumb-ass, I could care less what Orochimaru needs this chicken-shit wimp for. Besides Sakon, you and I both know that blonde kid is more valuable than this loser."

Hearing the Tayuya girl elude to Naruto being better than him brought back the anger and frustration that Sasuke had been feeling about their fight earlier that day. "Naruto is not better than me, you red-headed bitch!"

"Ha! If he's not better than you, then how come we saw Blondie whoop your sorry ass on top of that hospital, huh?"

Sasuke could feel the growl vibrate in his throat as he shot back, "He got lucky! If I'd been at full strength, he wouldn't have stood a chance!"

"Funny," the one with six arms spoke up, "we heard him tell that cyclops that it was you who challenged him to a fight. All that says about you is that you're stupid and weak hahaha."

By this point Sasuke was at the end of his rope. He'd been defeated by his brother AGAIN, been defeated by the class-clown, and now he was being ridiculed by a group of...of...FREAKS! This was unacceptable, it was an insult to his families honor; and Sasuke felt there was only one way to remedy dress that injury. Blood.

Activating his sharingan, and letting loose an animalistic snarl, Sasuke seemed to disappear as he shot forward towards the quartet. Deciding to start with the foul-mouthed read-head, Sasuke appeared in a crouched position in front of her, and kicked her in the chin; the start of his {Lions Barrage}.

When she was at a considerably high altitude, Sasuke rocketed up after her. He got behind her, ready to end her with this one move, but was surprised when, as he went to lock her in a hold, she seemed to vanish. But Sasuke didn't get much time to think on this, because he was soon hit with a drop-kick to his stomach; and sent crashing back down onto the roof.

Fighting through the pain, Sasuke planted his hands firmly on the tile and flipped himself into a crouched position; his eyes rapidly scanning his surroundings. The young Uchiha's wariness paid off when he managed to catch an axe-kick meant to split open his skull.

Hoping to regain the upper-hand, Sasuke attempted to sweep-kick Tayuya's other leg out from under her. He was successful, but the red-head merely twisted in mid-air, placed one palm flat on the roof, and pushing herself away from Sasuke.

When she landed, Tayuya was met, like Naruto, with a volley of fireballs. However, unlike Naruto, she simply brought her flute up to her lips, and played a hauntingly beautiful tune. What happened next shocked Sasuke.

The fireballs didn't hit Tayuya. Instead, they were stopped by an invisible wall, and quickly extinguished. "What! What just happened?!"

Sasuke's red-haired opponent just laughed, before saying, "Hahahaha, you thought I was kidding when I said you weren't shit, loser? I am Tayuya of the North Gate, a member of Orochimaru's elite personal guard, do you really think you're a match for me?"

The name "Orochimaru" brought back memories of the chunin exams; of the "gift" Sasuke had been given. And of the power it granted him. Deciding he'd use that power to shut the red-head up and prove his strength, Sasuke called upon the dark chakra that coursed through his pathways, and felt as the black flames spread across his body. 'This, combined with my sharingan, will be more than enough to defeat that bitch!' Rushing in again, Sasuke started off with a feint, and then spun to deliver a roundhouse-kick to the girls head.

While Sasuke felt like he was moving at, at least, Jounin speed Tayuya was still able to follow him with her eyes; and this allowed her to catch the foot that would have given a concussion to a lesser ninja.

"I'll admit you caught me off-guard the first time around. But now that I know how fast you move, it's easy to adjust myself to your inferior speed. It's like I already said, you don't stand a chance against me. And if I'm toying with you without having to use my curse-mark, and saying Blondie is better than you, then it's the truth. I'd rather be taking him back to Oto than your sorry ass."

Hearing this, and hearing that he wasn't the only one with a curse-mark, chipped away heavily at Sasuke's pride. And it must have shown on his face, because Tayuya started to laugh.

"Hahahaha, what, did you think you were special? That Orochimaru only gave you curse-mark, and that there wasn't anyone else in the Elemental Nations that could possibly survive it; let me guess, he told you the whole thing about how all the subjects he gave the mark to died, right?" At this, the red-headed kunoichi couldn't help but rub more salt on Sasuke's wounded pride,

"The funniest part is, there was someone before you, and before us, who received the curse-mark and lived. The stupid snake says the kunoichi was a failed experiment, but I can see it in his eyes; he wishes he could have kept her, wishes she hadn't realized what a fucking sadistic bastard he was. So you see, you're not special, you're nothing."

The whole time the sadistic red-head was giving her speech, Sasuke was trying to wrench his leg free from her iron grip. When she finally let go Sasuke dropped to his knees, fists pounding into the tile of the roof, and screamed.

'I CAN'T be nothing, it's just not true! I am a member of the Uchiha clan, one of the oldest and most powerful clans in all of ninja history, I know I'm better than this!'

Ending his assault on the beaten tile, Sasuke looked up to the kunoichi who handed him his second defeat that day, and asked: "Did Orochimaru make you that strong? Can he make me as strong as you?"

"Yes, we of the Sound Four were personally trained by Orochimaru. And yes, he can make you as strong, likely even stronger, than any of the four of us.

Sasuke lowered his head in begrudging submission, "Then take me to him."

"Alright. You're going to meet us on the outskirts of your villages boarders, and we'll depart for Oto. We aren't going to travel together until then, because it's too risky, so use this time to pack anything you think you'll need, and then head out." After finishing her instructions, Tayuya and the rest of the Sound Four disappeared in clouds of smoke.

When they left Sasuke looked over to a building across the street, and stared at the Uchiha crest painted proudly on the wall. 'Don't worry mother, father. Soon I'll get the strength I need to restore the honor of our name.' And with that, Sasuke went to pack for his trip.

oo0oo

Hinata was practicing her sword strikes against an oak tree. Naruto's clones had dispelled hours ago, while the sun was still up, but their parting words rang in the Hyuga girls ears, "Hard work (huff) is rewarded (huff) with favor," she spoke as she continued her swings. It had become her mantra.

After the clones left her to train alone, Hinata was forced to improvise for her lack of swords. The Hyuga heiress took a trip to visit her cousin's team-mate, Ten-Ten. After Naruto defeated Neji the two Hyuga's relationship had begun to mend and had gotten to the point where Hinata was spending her off-time getting to know Neji's team. So Hinata visited Ten-Ten, and asked to purchase two bokken until she could order a set of blades for herself.

Before leaving, the heiress made a request to the weapons-mistress about the bokken:

"You want me to what?" Ten-Ten asked, never hearing such a request before.

"I'd like it if you could shorten the bokken for me. I know there are practice swords, but I just prefer to use these for right now, but they're too long and practicing with them as they are will throw-off my form."

While Hinata's explanation made sense, there was still one thing that the bun-haired girl was having trouble grasping, "But...you're a Hyuga, and don't Hyuga practice the Gentle-Fist style? What need would you have for swords?"

Hinata had been expecting such a question, and had prepared an answer beforehand, "I am, and we do, but what happens when I go up against an opponent who can cancel out my byakugan, and renders my Gentle-Fist useless? I'll need a fall-back."

"Uhm, I guess that makes sense. Okay Hinata, give me a few minutes and I'll have these two bokken set and ready to go." With that, Ten-Ten walked into the back-room to begin working on the unusual request.

And so it was that Hinata received her two personalized practice swords. She'd tested different stances, weighing the pro's and con's of each, as well as practiced maneuvers against the three training posts in the center of the field.

Sometime during her training Hinata began to think of ways to incorporate chakra into her swordplay. While she understood her loves desire to prove the might of the Roman empire through brute strength, Hinata also understood that times had changed, and if you didn't adapt to it, you would be destroyed by it. 'I just hope Naruto-kun isn't angered by my idea. I only want to help, and I feel that this could be useful.'

Pulling back from the tree she'd been whacking away at, Hinata wiped her brow with her sleeve. Through numerous rounds with Naruto's clone,the bluenettes hoodie had become unwearable, and she'd shed it shortly after the last one had popped. She was too embarrassed to do so any earlier, knowing that the image of her uncovered body would go back to the original.

So now the young kunoichi was left in a thin, black, long-sleeved shirt and a mesh under-shirt. The thinness of the shirt showing off her quickly developing figure.

Deciding that she needed energy for tomorrow, Hinata began to move towards the tattered remains of her coat, when the rustling of leaves alerted her to a presence nearby. Activating her byakugan, Hinata was surprised to see Sasuke Uchiha walking into the clearing. She deactivated her dojutsu

"H-Hello Sasuke-san, w-what brings you out to the training fields a-at this hour?"

The look on the Uchiha's face was difficult for the young girl to read. He didn't appear angry or annoyed like usual, no, he had a set look about him. His eyebrows were furrowed just slightly, and his mouth was relieved of its usual scowl to be replaced by just a thin line. This was a side of the Uchiha boy Hinata had never seen.

"Hinata," Sasuke broke the girl from her thoughts, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here this late. What are you doing here?"

The boys tone was polite enough, that Hinata felt he deserved an answer, "I-I'm training Sasuke-san. I've decided to take up Kenjutsu." The girl noticed that the mention of swordsmanship made Sasuke tense up.

"Kenjutsu huh? This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the fact that Naruto has taken an interest in it...would it?"

Hearing Sasuke say her loves name as if it left a foul taste in his mouth, made Hinata upset. What had her Naruto-kun done to provoke such a disrespectful response? 'No doubt it's just Sasuke-san's jealousy of Naruto-kun's rising skill.'

"As a matter-of-fact, yes, it does have to do with Naruto-kun's sudden interest. He's asked me to take up the practice, so that he and I can work that much better together when we're sent on the same mission. He's also going to talk Hokage-sama into taking me on as her new apprentice."

Hearing Hinata's response made Sasuke laugh a little, but when she mentioned getting training from Tsunade, he became angry again. 'That should be me!' But then the Uchiha youth remembered where he was going, and his scowl turned into a smile.

"That's good for you. It's interesting to see, considering you were so mousey and shy back in the academy. So now Naruto, you, and I are being trained by Sannin."

Sasuke's remark confused Hinata, 'But..there are only two Sannin in Konoha. Naruto is training under Jiraiya-sama, and I'm going to get training from Lady-Tsunade, so where...will..he' The realization was made when she checked her fellow graduates forehead, and noticed that it was absent the haiti-ete he'd received upon graduation. The same haiti-ete that signified him as a ninja of the leaf, and not a...rouge.

Sasuke watched the realization play across the young kunoichi's face, and the truth really hitting her when she noticed his bare forehead. "Why the look Hinata? After all, it's your boyfriend's fault."

When Sasuke snarled out the word boyfriend Hinata's sense returned to the moment, and she felt her anger rise again. "What do you mean it's Naruto-kun's fault? How is he responsible for your decision to leave the village!?"

"I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you. And besides, you're so blinded by your weak, pathetic feelings for that loser that you wouldn't be able to accept the truth anyway."

"Don't call my Naruto-kun a loser! If anything you're the loser for deciding to run away from your village because you're afraid that your own team-mate is getting stronger-"

"HE IS NOT STRONGER THAN ME!" Sasuke was beginning to lose his cool, as well as tired of Hinata's, in his mind, defiance.

"Regardless of Naruto's strength compared to yours, you are attempting to abandon the Leaf village; a crime punishable by death." Hinata let her bokken drop and entered her Gentle-Fist stance. "If you turn around and go home, I won't report this. But if you insist on trying to leave then I will be forced to stop you."

Sasuke entered into the Uchiha's prized 'Interceptor Fist' and responded, "No, you'll be forced to try."

oo0oo

A/N: Hey, here's the next chapter :) I've introduced Temari, who will be receiving more scenes in the future. Hinata's sword style is that of Spartacus and Gannicus from the show. And Ino has begun to show hints of jealousy towards Hinata's position at Naruto's side.

The (*) is because, if you have trouble picturing it, check War of the Damned episode 2(it's Caesar's first appearance) That's basically what Naruto looks like, minus the facial-hair and his tunic is red.

I tried to do something interesting by having Hinata be the one who runs into the fleeing Sasuke. It's not new because there was a story I read where the idea was used, but I just thought it'd be fun. And it gives Naruto new motivation during the retrieval mission, instead of that whole stupid crying scene with Sakura(I'll be doing that scene MY way).

Kakashi's been added to the conspirators, and Jiraiya's wariness has grown. I'm trying not to bring the spy network information in until AFTER Naruto's been banished, but it's hard to hold it back because I want everyone to be in on it and choose there sides XD

Naruto has begun to take real pride in his heritage, so you'll see more of that. And tell me what you think about Sasuke, because I'm trying to make him into an interesting character to read, since he's going to be a major player in the story(I know what I'm going to do with him now lol) I'm trying to make him proud without being overbearingly arrogant, with a deep sense of respect for his clan.

Well, I can't think of anything else to comment about, so I'll leave you guys to review, ask questions, and enjoy.

And Naruto dons his Roman armor for the first time next chapter XD