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.

9. Alea Iacta Est

A/N: Hey =) Again, I don't really like putting these at the beginning too, but, I put up a poll that I was hoping you guys would take part in. It will be up until I post the next chapter, and I hope you guys vote.

Ch. 9- Alea Iacta Est...

(The Die Is Cast...)

Hinata sat in her hospital room, surrounded by many high-ranking ninja. She recognized, of course, the Hokage, as well as her own sensei. Also in the room were her Naruto-kun's teacher, Kakashi, and Ino's sensei Asuma. There were also a strange man with long, spiky, white hair dressed in funny clothes. Kurenai had gone and round-up all those who shared her concern about the villages resident blonde.

"Now Hinata," Tsunade was the first one to speak, "I understand you're upset with us, but like Kurenai said, we just want to make sure Naruto's not becoming a danger to the village." Tsunade tried to be as motherly as possible. Even if she was the Hokage, that didn't mean the pig-tailed blonde didn't care about her subordinates feelings.

Hinata refused to look at anyone; she just kept her head turned towards the window as she responded, "And just what has Naruto-kun done to be considered a threat Hokage-sama? From what I've learned, all he's done is become a better dresser and take-up learning kenjutsu. Surely those aren't enough to warrant the suspicions of so many high-ranking ninja, including the Hokage herself."

All the veteran ninja flinched, the young heiress was right. If they wanted any hope of getting Hinata to be compliant, without the use of more torture, it seemed they were going to have to reveal one of the villages greatest, and most tragic, secrets. "You're right Hinata, those aren't good enough reasons. I don't fault you for not accepting our concern so readily. The problem is, in order to make you understand, I have to tell you a very dangerous secret about Naruto."

This caught Hinata's attention. What was there about her blonde love that she didn't know?

Tsunade could see the skeptical, but curious look in the Hyuga heiress' eye. It pained her to do this, but the Slug Sannin felt Hinata deserved to know the truth about Naruto and what he carried. "Hinata, what if I told you that everything you knew, concerning the Kyubi attack, was a lie?"

"Then I'd ask you to tell me the truth, Hokage-sama. Because, while this may be a ninja village, keeping too many secrets from one another can be a dangerous and destructive thing."

Tsunade was surprised at the mature response she received from one so young, but passed it off as an angry mind speaking words it didn't fully understand. "Very well, if you believe you can handle it, then I will."

"Tsunade are you sure you should be doing this? Do you really believe that this is the only option?" The interruption came from her fellow Sannin, Jiraiya.

"And what else would you have me do hm?" The buxom blonde turned and gave her old friend a questioning look, driving home the fact that there weren't really many other options. "We need to know if our theory is correct, and the only way to do that right now is to inform this girl of the truth."

"You're being too lenient Tsunade! First you allow a team of genin to bully you into sending them on a high-risk mission, and now you're about to divulge one of Konoha's most closely guarded secrets just to get information out of some girl! Information, I might add, that could easily be forced from her with after another session with Kure-."

"Silence!" The female Hokage yelled, effectively ending Jiraiya's rant. "I will not subject this girl to any more forms of torture just so we can learn, what will most likely be, some small and probably inconclusive piece of this puzzle! I'm the Hokage Jiraiya, and it's my right as such to relinquish this secret as I see fit!" Once she was done Tsunade turned back to Hinata; who was looking at her expectantly.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade began to speak, "-Ahem- Alright, here it goes. As you already know thirteen years ago the village was attacked by the Nine-Tails, that part is true, but what you were lied to about is how we avoided total annihilation. I say this, and not 'how the Nine-Tails was defeated', because the Kyubi is an entity of pure chakra; a beast of unfathomable power. And our Fourth Hokage, as powerful a ninja as he was, was still just a man. He fought the Nine-Tails tooth and nail for, as I was told, as long as my grandfather; the Shodai-Hokage, but was ultimately unable to defeat him...so he chose to seal the Nine-Tails away."

Throughout Tsunade's tale Hinata listened with rapt attention. While she wasn't quite sure yet what this all had to do with Naruto, the young kunoichi never once interrupted; instead listening for clues. This paid off when her ears caught the words 'seal away'; it was clear now what the secret was. "He sealed the Kyubi into Naruto-kun."

The pig-tailed Hokage heard the bedridden Hyuga's whisper, 'She catches on quick.'

"That's partially correct. The Fourth chose to split the Nine-Tails in half, sealing away the foxes malevolent spirit inside himself and giving Naruto the beasts power; it was his way of leaving behind a gift for Naruto."

"Miss Hyuga you need to understand," Jiraiya spoke up, deciding he might as well be a part of the revelation, "Naruto's seal may keep the fox at bay but it's not unbreakable. We're investigating Naruto so thoroughly because we want to make sure the Kyubi isn't influencing him in any way. When your sensei informed the Hokage and myself of Naruto's sudden attitude change, we thought the seal was beginning to weaken."

Hinata sat silently as Jiraiya explained he and his colleagues fear; what she didn't let them see was that she wasn't totally convinced. While their fear made sense, it would be easier for them to just do a seal check as far as the Hyuga heiress was concerned. All the questioning and suspicion that the veteran ninja had displayed lead Hinata to believe that it wasn't just the fox they were afraid of.

"While I understand your reasoning," Hinata replied, "I feel that a seal check would have been more than enough to help alleviate or confirm your fears."

"Hinata please, we aren't asking for much, just give us something." It was Kurenai that tried to reach her student now; hoping the two of them still held some kind of bond.

At hearing her sensei's plea Hinata sent a sharp glare towards the older woman before replying, "You're asking me to betray the one I love, how is that not "much"! And don't assume that our history together gives you any pull here Kurenai-sensei, because after what you did, that's all it is...history!"

"Enough!" Tsunade yelled, having had enough. "Hinata, ignore the rest of them and just talk to me. You know I wouldn't be wary of Naruto without good reason; I just want to make sure he's alright."

The two kunoichi stared into each others eyes for what seemed like hours before Hinata, eyes unblinking, said: "I don't know much, Naruto-kun anticipated this would happen, and has kept me at arms length in terms of information, but I'm willing to give you the little bit that I do know."

The group of veterans felt their shoulders sag in relief, that had been easier than they thought. But what they failed to see, was the sharp glint that passed through Hinata's eye as she started to speak.

"Alright, well, what Naruto-kun's told me was..."

oo0oo

Naruto raced through trees, making sure to keep Sasuke in his sights. They'd been playing "cat & mouse" for the better part of an hour, and Naruto, at first, was impressed with his rogue team-mates speed. But the blonde swiftly threw that praise out the window when he remembered that Sasuke hadn't earned his speed, but had it handed to him.

Over the course of the month he'd been back, Naruto had about three of the military logs Caesar had written. And as he studied those documents the blonde could feel a growing respect for those who worked hard to call themselves warriors; such as Caesar's nemesis Gannicus, and the rebel leader Spartacus. Both had come from humble beginnings, and had worked to earn having their names etched into history. While the two men weren't roman, they were still worthy of being respected.

But alongside this growing respect grew a sense of disgust for those who were dishonorable, and who gained power, of any kind, through dishonorable ways; such as Sasuke with his curse-mark.

Coming back to his senses, Naruto noticed Sasuke was slowing down; an indication that they were arriving at their destination. So, putting thoughts of honor aside, Naruto stopped as he exited the forest and watched as the rogue Uchiha seemed to disappear at the foot of a statue, and re-appear atop its spiked head. Taking in his surroundings Naruto realized that his traitorous team-mate had lead him to the Valley Of The End; the final battle ground of the Shodai-Hokage and Madara Uchiha.

Looking around the young roman noticed that the Valley was a waterfall that poured into a large lake. The waterfall was bordered by two immaculately carved, stone statues. On the right-hand side, as if defending the village from invaders, stood Konoha's Shodai-Hokage, Hashirama Senju. And sculpted on the left, to embody his betrayal of Konoha, was Madara Uchiha. Both were garbed in plated samurai -like armor, and faced each other in the traditional "seal of confrontation" pose.

Before he could take in anymore of the stone work, Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by a kunai embedding itself in the ground, inches from Naruto's foot. Following the flight-path of the kunai the blonde found his eyes set on the figure of Sasuke, arm outstretched, standing top Madara's statue. "Eager to get started I suppose." With those words, Naruto raced up the statue of the Uchiha founder, and stood face-to-face with his former team-mate only, it wasn't entirely the face he remembered.

Sasuke's face was perfectly fine on the right side, but on the left, his face was marred by inky-black flames; the sign of the Uchiha's personal curse-mark. And with the markings came a sickly-yellow eye with a black pupil. Add to this Sasuke's twisted smile, and Naruto's eyes were presented with a truly disgusting sight.

As Naruto took in Sasuke's new appearance, so too did the Uchiha finally take full notice of Naruto's. The Uchiha could see the dents on Naruto's breast-plate, no doubt a memento of the blondes scuffle with that strange white-haired ninja. Sasuke's sharp eyes also picked up the dirt and dry blood on the blondes face; showing that Naruto had had trouble dealing with his last opponent. 'So, for all his big talk yesterday, the dope isn't as tough as he'd like everyone to think. Ha! I knew he was a fraud.'

"Naruto, you know, with my increase in power, you have no way of defeating me now don't you? Why don't you just turn around and go home, that way, your whore doesn't have to cry over your death."

"While it is true you've grown stronger through whatever was done to you in that barrel, it still won't be enough to stand against the superior fighting skills of a roman officer. When this battle is over, you will have been defeated and I will drag your broken body back to Konoha by the roots of your hair." Naruto made no reference to Hinata in his deceleration, choosing not to take Sasuke's bait.

'There it is again,' Sasuke thought to himself, 'the dope called himself a "roman". He said something similar on the rooftop yesterday, I wonder what that means. I'll ask Orochimaru about it when I reach Oto, but first, I have to beat Naruto.' Deciding not to waste anymore time, Sasuke recalled the activated curse-mark and entered into his 'Interceptor' stance.

Naruto, seeing Sasuke preparing for battle, silently agreed that words were no longer needed, and entered into his defensive stance. With his gladius raised to eye level Naruto stared, unblinkingly, into his rogue team-mates own onyx-black eyes. The blonde had learned in the academy how fierce, and dangerous the Uchiha clan's 'Interceptor Fist' was; he also learned that its effectiveness was reduced significantly if the user didn't have their sharingan activated. So, seeing a way through his opponents defenses, Naruto acted quickly.

Sasuke was impressed at the speed at which Naruto performed his opening attack. First Naruto changed his hold on his sword to a one-handed reverse grip, then, he pressed his right index finger into his left bracer and a moment later a cloud of smoke appeared. Sasuke was almost turned to shish-kebob when a spear bulleted out of the smoke and straight towards the rogue Uchiha. Only his advanced training with Kakashi gave Sasuke the reflexes and speed to twist around the spear that threatened to impale him. Thinking fast, Sasuke took hold of the end of the spear, and brought it around with him as he finished spinning. This played to his benefit because as soon as he was settled Sasuke had to bring up the spear to block a windmill slash from Naruto.

Choosing to force Sasuke to drop his stance, Naruto used the residual blood on his left bracer to summon his second pilum. Through his studies the blonde learned that a front-line legionary held only one pilum, but thanks to the use of sealing, Naruto carried five pilum in his bracer. Naruto didn't consider sealing to be a type of jutsu, but an advanced form of being able to backpack equipment. The blonde hurled the spear forward, not needing to see Sasuke, and swiftly followed after it once the pilum left his hand. What Naruto didn't expect was for his attack to be blocked by his own weapon!

Opting to press his attack, Naruto pulled back his gladius and tried to stab at Sasuke's stomach. He missed his mark again when the Uchiha boy jumped back, but it seemed Sasuke was done defending because, once his feet were settled, Sasuke attempted to run Naruto through with the blondes own weapon. But Naruto wasn't going to have any of that.

When he saw what Sasuke was doing the young roman grabbed the spear, just past the head, and used his impressive strength to rip the pilum from Sasuke's hands and tossing it aside. Like with Sakon, Sasuke was jerked forward, and met with a head-butt; the damage increased due to the officers helmet Naruto wore. The blonde pressed his advantage and buried his right fist into his opponents gut, followed swiftly by an uppercut, and an attempt to add a second scar to the Uchiha's chest. Attempted, because Sasuke used his speed to duck under the horizontal swipe, and tackled Naruto to the ground.

Sasuke hadn't been prepared for the onslaught he was put through at the hands of Naruto, but when he found an opening after the blondes uppercut, Sasuke would have had to have been stupid not to take it. Deciding that Naruto was too much trouble on his feet, Sasuke tackled him. His opponent landed on his back with only a small grunt, the armor apparently taking most of the impact. Sitting up on his knees Sasuke started raining down blows onto Naruto's face. The sound of his fist hitting the blondes face seemed to echo throughout the valley. When the Uchiha saw blood on his knuckles he grew excited, deciding to simply pummel his opponent to death the avengers eyes grew crazed as the curse-mark began to spread across his body; feeding off his dark glee.

Unfortunately, the rogue genin's plan was halted when Naruto moved his head forward and introduced Sasuke's fist to the forehead of his officers helmet. Immediately after impact Sasuke reeled back in pain, clutching his bruised knuckles. During the momentary reprieve Naruto tensed his back muscles and rolled backwards, his knees pushing into his opponents thighs forced the Uchiha to also roll forwards, and be thrown off of Naruto.

Naruto scrambled to his feet and turned to face his downed opponent. Cobalt-blue eyes watched as the raven-haired deserter moved onto all fours, and almost lost sight of him when Sasuke seemed to vanish. But the young roman managed to keep up enough so he could throw his arm up to cushion the roundhouse-kick that was thrown at him and, despite his increased strength, managed to send the off-guard Naruto over the edge of Madara's statue and down towards the lake below.

But the blonde managed to right himself in mid-air, and land on the surface of the water, chakra sent to his feet keeping him afloat. It wasn't long before Sasuke jumped down to follow, but not without sending a barrage of over one-hundred fireballs down with him.

Naruto was again introduced to the power of the curse-mark, as he knew Sasuke's chakra levels alone weren't high enough to let loose such a large quantity of fireballs. With the range of the attack being too wide-spread to simply avoid it, Naruto chose to demonstrate an impressive display of acrobatics, and ducked, weaved, and dodged the onslaught of fiery rain*. When Sasuke came down on him with kunai in hand the young roman was ready for him, and raised his sword to parry the Uchiha's thrust. Swiftly following this, Naruto raised his right arm to block a kick, grab Sasuke's ankle, and toss him away so as to give himself time to reset.

Sasuke righted himself with the help of a few somersaults along the lakes surface. When he was safely back on his feet he looked over to where he last knew Naruto to be; he wasn't there. Only a small grunt of excursion allowed Sasuke to keep his head, as Naruto took a swing from behind the Uchiha's back. Ducking the swing Sasuke pulled another kunai from his holster and drove it into his ex-team-mate's chest. The weapon made it through the armor, but stopped short of piercing any flesh; a testament to its crafters skill and the quality of the metal used.

Not letting this throw him off, Sasuke wrenched the kunai from the chest-plate, and, using the momentum, shifted behind Naruto and placed him in a headlock. Despite his blonde captives struggles Sasuke held his arm tightly around Naruto's neck, 'Lets see you get yourself out of-'

"Argh!" Sasuke howled as he let go of Naruto.

While he'd struggled at first, Naruto's calculative mind reigned him in, and the young blonde was able to think of a way to free himself. Knowing his gladius was too long for the job, Naruto placed the sword in his right hand, before unsheathing his pugio and stabbing Sasuke in the upper-thigh.

Using the distraction of pain as an advantage Naruto began his retaliation. First, he threw his helmet-covered head back and slammed it into Sasuke's nose. Following swiftly behind this, Naruto spun and performed double, horizontal slashes across his rogue team-mates chest; first with the pugio, opening up his old wound, and second with the gladius, creating a new one right below it. And finally, the young roman performed a double assault: a knee to the gut, followed by a left backhand to the face.

After his onslaught Naruto watched as his backhand sent Sasuke flying, and landing on the edge of the lake, his lower-body submerged in the water and his upper-body folded against the shore. Sheathing his side-arm, Naruto started to stride over to his downed opponent, but when he got within ten feet, Sasuke turned and sent his clans prized {Great Fireball-Jutsu} hurtling towards the off-guard Uzumaki.

With no time to dodge the attack, Naruto was soon engulfed in the flames.

oo0oo

While Naruto was feeling the scorching heat of Sasuke's flames, someone else was feeling the agonizing pain of having their legs crushed under a pile of tree trunks.

Tayuya lay on the forest floor, bloodied, bruised, and defeated. Her entire lower half was trapped underneath the trunks of many large trees.

After Naruto had left Shikamaru to fight her alone Tayuya was quick to gain the upper hand. While her brilliant mind was outmaneuvered at every turn by the sloth-ish chunin, the red-haired flute player made up for it with her brutality. For all of his smarts, Shikamaru couldn't get past Tayuya's "Doki". All of that changed however, when Temari arrived and used her wind-style jutsu to counter every power-play the foul-mouthed kunoichi made. This resulted in Tayuya losing her cool, and ultimately making a mistake that left her wide open. Temari took that chance, and brought the forest down around them with her summoning, {Kirikiri Mai}. Tayuya, who'd been caught off-guard, was left with no means of escape, and was soon left laying in the forest; presumed to be dead.

'Those fucking cunts!' Tayuya roared in her mind, 'They think they've beaten me!? Well just wait until I get out of here, then I'll make that bitch pay for what she's done!'

Tayuya, fighting the pain shooting through her body, attempted to activate her curse-mark so that she'd have the strength to remove the logs that covered her. But this failed; the mark didn't activate. 'W-What's going on!? There's no way I'm out of chakra, I barely used a fourth of my reserves against those two chicken-shits...unless...!'

The beaten kunoichi aimed her flute so that she could see her neck, what she saw made her eyes nearly pop from their sockets. On her neck, where there once sat the curse-mark Orochimaru gave her, was now nothing but smooth, unmarred flesh.

"I-It's gone." Tayuya's hoarse voice cracked out. "M-My curse-mark, it's vanished! B-But that means, my heart actually s-stopped! NO! Now I'm stuck here, there's no way for Orochimaru to even know I'm alive now! Fuck, this is why I didn't even wanna be a part of this stupid mission; I knew something bad was gonna happen!" When she finished, Tayuya cringed in agony as her chest tightened from her outburst.

As she lay there, waiting to die, Tayuya found her mind drifting towards thoughts of the blonde who seemed to be the real leader of the squad.

'I guess this wasn't a total waste, I did get the chance to meet Blondie. "Naruto", I think that pineapple-haired little shit called him before the guy left to chase Kimimaro. Well, Naruto, if I ever find a way out of this, you can bet I'm gonna come looking for you.' With thoughts of an armored Naruto dancing around in her head Tayuya laid her head back, and drifted into unconsciousness.

oo0oo

"So Naruto's changes are a result of a history lesson? I find that a little difficult to believe Miss Hyuga."

Hinata had just finished explaining Naruto's sudden new "attitude" to her audience of high-ranking guests. She'd explained that Naruto, told her, that while they were in Wave Tazuna had given him a history lesson on the country. The old bridge-builder had witnessed Naruto's curiosity in relation to the "old world", and saw no harm in indulging that curiosity. Afterwards, the blonde simply decided that the ancient roman warriors were, in his words, "cool", and he wanted to imitate them in hopes it would make others take him more seriously.

"Believe what you wish, Jiraiya-Sama, but that is what Naruto-kun told me that day we spent together. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Well, as I've said, I don't believe it. That story is a little too circumstantial, and doesn't hold together very well. Why did Tazuna-san not include the rest of your squad in this "history lesson", hmm? Did he not think anyone else might be interested?" As he spoke Jiraiya watched for any sign tat he'd gotten under Hinata's skin...he found none. The girl wore a perfect mask. 'Well, she is Hiashi's daughter.'

"I had already demonstrated knowledge of the ancient world, so he saw no reason to invite me. As for Yuhi-san and Ino-chan? Ino showed no interest in learning the history of the world, so Tazuna-san knew he'd just be wasting his time, and Yuhi-san is an adult; if she wanted to learn, she could have just asked." Hinata's dismissal of Kurenai's status shocked those in the room who knew how close the two were, and angered the red-eyed Jounin; who took it as a sign of disrespect.

"You are blinded by your feelings for Naruto! How can you honestly expect anyone in this room to believe such a story!?" Kurenai's anger was getting the best of her, but who could blame her? Her surrogate little sister was turning against her, as if all the years they'd spent together meant nothing.

Hinata's eyes narrowed at her sensei's accusation, "Blinded? If anything my feelings have only opened my eyes! Opened them to how this village really works, spying on its own citizens simply because they're different from how we believe them to be. Why are you all so worried? Naruto-kun has begun to take himself seriously, what's wrong with that? Especially after all the times I know you've all wished he would change."

"Hinata," Tsunade spoke out, "you know the relationship I have with Naruto. Do you think I'm investigating his behavior out of distrust, or fear for myself? No, I'm afraid for Naruto. If somethings going on with him, I just want to know as much as I can about it so that if it's dangerous to his health, physical or any other, I can help."

Tsunade's speech made the Hyuga heiress resolve falter, made her almost want to tell her the truth. But then she remembered that Naruto trusted her. That he'd told her, and mad her a part, of his plans because the blonde believed she was worthy to stand beside him. So, she restrengthened her will, and continued with her alibi.

"Lady-Tsunade, if there was anything to tell you, I would. But I can't tell you something that I myself do not know."

At hearing those words the pig-tailed blonde's shoulders slumped, and her hazel eyes took on a saddened light. It pained Hinata to see the woman like this, considering how close she was to Naruto, but the young bluenette knew that any other information would have to be revealed by Naruto himself; she was in enough trouble as it was if he found out she'd said anything.

oo0oo

Sasuke pulled himself out of the water and on to the edge of the forest. Looking behind him, the Uchiha took in the sight of the remaining flames from his attack dance across the surface of the lake; with Naruto no where to be seen.

"Ha," the rogue scoffed, "serves that fool right for thinking he stood a chance against me. And it's like I told him, at full strength I wouldn't even have to use my sharingan to defeat him." Sasuke looked through the flames a second time, before turning and beginning to walk away.

"And after all that talk of how I didn't stand a chance against a, what did he call himself, "roman officer"? Ha, just more garbage. That dope was nothing, and no fancy words were ever going to change that. Now, to get to Orochimaru, and have him train me so I can restore the honor of my fam-" Sasuke never got to finish, because he was soon in excruciating pain.

Looking down, Sasuke noticed that he now had a large gash in his right side, around his ribs. From his kneeling position on the ground the Uchiha noticed a spear was lodged in the trunk of one of the trees in front of him, "B-But that means..." Looking behind him Sasuke saw Naruto standing, post-throw, on the surface of the lake.

Over-all, Naruto looked relatively unharmed; as if the fire hadn't even touched him. The horse-hair on his helmet was singed, and the leather around his waist and on is shoulders only had botches of roughened leather.

'It seems the Nine-Tails really does have his uses. If it weren't for him, I'd be laying belly-up along the surface of this lake.' Naruto looked at Sasuke and took stock of the Uchiha's condition. With his side the way it was, the boy no longer posed any real threat as far as Naruto was concerned. As he began to stride over to Sasuke, Naruto began to speak, "Sasuke! I suggest you give up now. With that wound, there's no way you're going to defeat me and then be able to make it to Orochimaru. It's over now."

Sasuke heard Naruto's words, but they didn't register in his mind correctly. All he heard was, "There's no way you're going to defeat me...no way...no way." The young rogue felt something inside him snap at that moment, and he could feel the anger rush through his veins. A pulse echoed from within Sasuke's body, and then the area around him erupted into a tornado of vile, inky-black chakra.

Naruto stopped when he heard the pulsation that came from his ex-team-mate, and then took a step back and braced himself when the black tornado threatened to knock the blonde off his feet; any unprotected skin being slit open by the winds speed.

Shielding his eyes with his arms, the young Uzumaki looked in the direction of the tornado, and listened as a loud, angry roar was carried along its razor-sharp winds. In the cry Naruto's ears picked up several emotions. The primary one, of course, being anger but...the young blonde also picked up sadness, regret, and the pain of loss. Sasuke was letting out all the emotions he'd bottled up inside since the night of the massacre.

Then, with one last pulse, the storm died down, and Naruto got a look at Sasuke.

The Uchiha was outlined by a wave of malevolent, dark chakra. His entire body was covered in the black flame pattern of his curse-mark. Naruto could see, through the shredded remains of Sasuke's shirt, that the spear wound had healed. Looking into the boys eyes, Naruto took notice that they'd become the blood-red of the sharingan; only now, they each had three tomoe, instead of two.

Sasuke could feel the power as it coursed through his veins. Bringing his hand up in front of his face, the Uchiha flexed, and noticed how the aura around him flared. He also took notice of how everything seemed so much...clearer, sharper. As if he could see every little detail. Sasuke realized that he'd unlocked the third stage of his sharingan.

Looking back over at Naruto, Sasuke let his lips turn up into a condescending smirk. He would have no trouble removing Naruto from out of his way now.

Naruto was unprepared for when his opponent vanished and he couldn't follow him. This left him open to the fist that buried itself in his gut; his armor, thankfully, absorbing a good portion of the blow again. But the shock to his system forced the blonde to drop his weapon, as well as open for the flip-kick that connected with his chin and sent Naruto rocketing into the air.

Sasuke followed after his target in haste, a thirst to repay the blonde for the humiliating defeat he'd handed him the force that drove Sasuke. When he reached Naruto, Sasuke clasped his hands together, and smashed them into the Uzumaki boys unprotected face. But, deciding that still wasn't enough, Sasuke sent chakra to his feet, and propelled himself back to earth; where he introduced his knee to Naruto's stomach. Now, laughing heartily, the young rogue gripped the neck and waste of Naruto's armor, and began to spin.

Naruto lost count of how many times he was spun around, but when Sasuke let go, he could feel skin strip from his body due to the speed at which he flew through the air. Before he could even attempt to right himself, Naruto plowed into the semi-circle that was the valley's waterfall. He hung there, the upper-half of his body lodged in the stone. But Sasuke wasn't finished yet.

The Uchiha was quick to follow his ex-team-mate. Using his chakra, Sasuke stuck his feet to the stone, grabbed Naruto's feet, and pulled. When he removed the blonde from the wall Sasuke tossed him in the air, wrapped his arms around Naruto's upper-body, and performed his {Falcon Drop}. As they reached a low enough altitude, Sasuke let go and, placing his feet on Naruto's back, kicked off and let the blonde rocket towards the ground.

Naruto was moving too fast again to be able to right himself and found his head colliding with the ground. A loud -crack- echoed throughout the valley.

Naruto's body, which lay on the sloping bottom of the wall, began to slide into the river. The blondes helmet split down the middle and fell from both sides of his head; revealing the blood that stained his long, wild hair. As he drifted belly-up in the water, Sasuke finally touched ground. The young sharingan wielder looked on as his former friend seemingly withered away.

What the Uchiha didn't know, was that inside the blondes mind, an entirely different scenario was taking place.

oo0oo

(Naruto's Mind)

Naruto felt wet and cold, and he could feel a terrible throbbing in his head. Reaching up to attempt to relieve it, the blonde noticed his arm was wet. 'Water?'

The young roman sat up, and was greeted by the sight of, what looked to be, a sewer. The place was dimly lit, and ankle-high water flooded the floor. Looking around Naruto noticed that the pipes were large, but some had cracks in them. 'I feel like I've...been here before; but when?'

Deciding to get a better look around Naruto stood up, turned around, and started walking. But before he could make it two steps the genin heard a sound, 'Was that a...growl?' And then the memory hit him.

He'd just begun training to summon toads from Jiraiya, who was training him for the blondes fight with Neji. But after multiple failed attempts at summoning any battle-ready toads Jiraiya, in his infinite wisdom, decided to help him out. This help came in the form of throwing Naruto off a cliff and into a ravine. After finding out that he couldn't use his chakra to stick to the walls, Naruto truly believed he was going to die...and then he entered this place...and met the Kyubi.

"Must be another one of those near-death things. Otherwise, I can't imagine why the giant hairball would want to see me."

With that said Naruto began to move towards the sound he'd heard. It took the blonde through multiple twists and turns within his own subconscious, until, finally, he arrived at the doors of a giant cage. It was made up of long, wide, vertically standing bars and had a piece of paper with the word "seal" written on it slapped over where one would find the lock. This was where the great Nine-Tailed fox was held.

Naruto walked closer to the iron bars, weary this time of the giant claws his prisoner held. When he got within ten feet he stopped. He could now plainly see two large, red, vulpine eyes staring back at him. With increased lighting, due to his close proximity to the cage, Naruto could see the shadowy outline of the mighty Kyubi; strongest of the nine tailed beasts. The fox was large, a single paw was big enough to hold at least one-hundred Naruto's in his hand. Currently, the fox was laying on his stomach, his giant head resting on his fore-paws. Kyubi opened his mouth, probably to speak, and revealed his deadly, razor-sharp teeth.

"So, my container once again graces me with his presence. Considering your current...predicament, I'm not surprised, but I must say; I am pleased with the way you've afforded yourself lately."

Naruto wasn't sure how to respond. It sounded as if the fox had just given him a compliment, but that couldn't be right, could it? "Uh, thank you? I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing here this time, but, if it's anything like that last time, I must be in pretty bad shape huh?"

The fox let a low growl rumble in his throat at the mention of their current situation before responding, "-growl- Yes, you're here because you allowed that Uchiha to survive long enough, for him to get the upper hand. You were more than capable of killing him, AND had multiple opportunities, yet you chose not to; and so here we are. Even with as strong as you've become now there's still no hope of you defeating that boy and his increased power. You will need my help.

Naruto's eyes hardened at being told he was no match for Sasuke. Did the fox not just watch him nearly end the fools life? "What do you mean I can't win!? He only managed to do this," the blonde gestured to the space around him, "because he surprised me. Now that I know ow fast hes is I'll be ready and-"

Anything the young Uzumaki was going to say was cut-off when the Kyubi interrupted him, "You will STILL die. Only now it will be with the knowledge that, while you COULD have defeated him with my help, you chose to continue on without it because of your stupid pride! Listen here boy, you may have become stronger sine we last met, but you've also become weaker!"

Naruto didn't understand what the Nine-Tailes was saying. How could he get stronger, but have gotten weaker? It didn't make sense to the blonde, and so he decided to voice his confusion, "What do you mean "weaker"? How could I have gotten weaker if you just told me I had gotten stronger?"

"When I say that, I am referring to your ridiculous ideal that you can rebuild this ancient world power without the use of any jutsu. With this decision you've cut yourself off from an entire arsenal of weapons that you could use to accomplish your goal faster. Your battles so far have been against ninja who haven't had much experience, so of course you defeated, or stood against them on equal footing. But tell me this, how do you honestly think you'll fare against your villages Copy-ninja, or that Toad-Sage, or that Snake-in-the-grass Orochimaru? They will pick you apart if you rely only on your physical might. Look at your current situation if you need to as well. That fool is using a jutsu to enhance his strength, and now he's mopping the floor with you! Don't you see, if you add jutsu to your arsenal, you'll become a much more powerful warrior...and isn't that what you want? To show the entire world the might of the roman empire?"

As he listened Naruto had to concede that the fox made a good argument. Did he really think he'd be able to stand up to Kakashi, let alone the Sannin? In order to expand the empire the blonde knew he'd have to get rid of any opposition; and that included many high-level ninja. But wait...what about...

"What about Lee's sensei, the one who claims to be Kakashi's rival; Guy? He doesn't use jutsu and yet he fights on equal footing with the stupid scarecrow, so why couldn't I?"

The fox hadn't actually thought of that. The man Naruto spoke of did actually have the ability to challenge, and apparently, beat the sharingan warrior; but there was still a flaw in the blondes plan.

"That may be so, and maybe you could battle the "scarecrow" and win. But do you think it will be easy? That man has years of experience under his belt, as an ANBU and as the student of your Fa-Fourth Hokage;" the fox hoped Naruto didn't pay attention to his slip, " defeating him will take time and energy. And if you use up your energy defeating just that one ninja, what will you do when you have to continue fighting? You'll be tired, and sloppy, and someone will eventually defeat you; effectively ending your master-plan. And you have to think beyond just Kakashi, there are ninja even he cannot face, even with the help of his jutsu. Like I've already mentioned, Orochimaru, your former sensei wouldn't dare try to battle that man alone because the fool knows he doesn't stand a ghost of a chance. And before the Snake you'll have to take on Kage's, who hold their position for a reason. You didn't think of this when you made that decision to not use jutsu, and now you're paying for it...but I suppose better now so you can learn from your mistake, rather than after you've been beaten and killed."

"But I have you, so wouldn't I just heal and be able to keep fighting? I still don't see why my idea doesn't work."

The fox was beginning to get irritated with his container. After watching the boy grow from that Wave trip, and seeing that the blonde was actually intelligent, Kyubi had hoped that Naruto would be able to grasp this concept quickly. But it seemed the boy wasn't quiet ready to fill his ancestors shoes, 'At least, not yet.'

"Naruto, you must understand that my ability to help you is limited by this seal. Yes, I can heal you from just about any injury, but the more severe the damage, the longer it takes. If you break your arm in battle, it will take at least two days for me to fully heal you. And while I could enhance you over-all with my chakra cloak, you wouldn't be using your own strength to defeat your enemies, so it would work against your goal. Out of my desire to survive, and my, begrudgingly, budding respect for you I will aid you in any way that I can, but I don't want a host that relies on me whenever his backs against the wall; it's insulting. The container for the Nine-Tailed fox should be, like myself, the most powerful being known to man. But by hisown power, not through use of my own. And besides, what will you do if your hit with another {Five-pronged Sea}, or are forced to battle Itachi Uchiha and his sharingan? Even Orochimaru fears Itachi, and the boy isn't even the leader of his little gang. Think about it, someone even that Snake is afraid of, answers to a person even stronger than him; what will you do against a foe like that?"

After his question the fox looked at his blonde container to gauge the boys reaction to is words. The fox wanted Naruto to see that, in the world he lived in, he would have to adapt if he wanted any chance o accomplishing his goal.

Naruto stood silently as Kyubi finished his lesson. The blonde let his head drop, and his glazed eyes stare, unblinking, into the shallow water at his feet; staring intently at his own reflection. As he stared the young Uzumaki took in his appearance: shaggy, wild blonde hair that reached the nape of his neck and covered his ears. He could see the dirt and grime that covered his face from his battles of the day; black soot dusted his features from the fireball he'd been engulfed in. His armor was covered in dirt, and had dents from his battle with the white-haired ninja he'd battled before Sasuke. The blondes cobalt-blue eyes next spotted the puncture that Sasuke had managed to put in his armor, a decent sized horizontal gash sat in the middle of his chest-plate; over where his heart would be.

As he analyzed his appearance Naruto thought of a passage he'd read in one of Caesar's books. The man had just returned from war against a foreign force, upon returning to Rome was immediately called to Crassus' home. After arriving, the two men spoke of allying themselves to control the Republic, and then moved to the topic of the rebel Spartacus. As they spoke Caesar realized that, Spartacus' knowledge of roman military tactics, could used against him. It was, ultimately, this understanding that paved the way to the "Bringer of Rains" defeat.

"Use their own knowledge against them."

Kyubi heard Naruto as he whispered his epiphany, and, seeing that the blonde was ready to go back out and fight, spoke up. "Yes, by using their own knowledge against them you rob them of their advantage, leaving them helpless to your superior power. Now, while this will help you later, I'm afraid you're going to need my help now if you want any hope of beating that Uchiha scum."

As he spoke, the fox's malevolent, crimson chakra seeped out from between the bars and slithered towards Naruto. Once they reached him the tendrils wrapped around his ankles, and then began winding upwards, until they had the blonde wrapped tightly in a cocoon of crimson energy. Naruto just stood there, letting the chakra of the Nine-Tailes enter into his body, and fill him with power.

"Good luck, kid." Was the last thing Naruto heard before he was blinded by an intense white light.

(Exit Naruto's mind)

oo0oo

Sasuke had once again reached the edge of the forest, intent on continuing his journey to Orochimaru, when he felt the air around him thicken with killing intent. Looking around, expecting to find Kakashi, or maybe one of the others sent with Naruto, the young sharingan wielder was met with a horrifying sight.

Naruto, who he'd just left floating in his own blood, was being lifted out of the water by a cloud of crimson chakra! The blonde was set rightly on his feet and his blade, which he'd lost during Sasuke's assault, was placed back in his hand by a crimson tendril. Naruto was hunched slightly, his hair falling to shadow his closed eyes. Sasuke's newly developed sharingan could see that the blondes whiskers had darkened considerably, and his canines now poked out from underneath his upper-lip. The young Uchiha could also see that his ex-team-mates nails had lengthened, and sharpened, into sets of deadly claws. Naruto's arms, which already had a decent amount of muscle, were now bulked. But it wasn't until Naruto opened hi eyes, did Sasuke truly feel afraid.

When Naruto opened his eyes, they weren't the cool, calculating cobalt-blue Sasuke had seen on the roof, nor were they the hard, cold slates of steel he'd seen in their battle. No, these eyes were blood-red, and had a wild, animalistic glow about them. Sasuke could see an insatiable desire for blood, his blood, smoldering behind those red jewels of death.

Naruto's vision was blurry, everything other than his target was just a haze of shapes. Sasuke was the only thing the blonde could see clearly. Gripping his sword tightly wit his left hand, Naruto crouched low, and then vanished from sight.

Sasuke looked around desperately for his opponent. One minute the blonde was standing right in front of him, the next, he was gone. And even with his new sharingan, Sasuke couldn't keep up. In hindsight, the Uchiha would later realize that Naruto would attack from behind, but at the moment, all Sasuke knew was that he was now flying forward after a spine-numbing spartan-kick. Before he could blink, Naruto was in his flight path, his hand clenched into a fist, and ready to bury it in Sasuke's face.

Fighting the force of resistance, Sasuke entered into a mid-air roll, and attempted to axe-kick Naruto in the head. Attempted, because Naruto just reached out and caught the raven-haired rogues leg. While still in the air, Sasuke swung his other leg around, and landed a kick to the side of Naruto's now unprotected head. Naruto, stunned from the blow, let go of Sasuke's leg.

The Uchiha used that time to jump back, and give himself time to recall the power of his curse-mark. But he underestimated just how fast Naruto would recover. Before the black flames could spread beyond his shoulder, Naruto was on him again. The blonde opened with a stab at Sasuke's chest. Sasuke risked his forearm to parry the blow, leaving him with a cut along his arm, but he was unprepared for the right-hook that followed after and struck him across the face. Using his momentum, Sasuke twisted himself into a mid-air roundhouse-kick, unfortunately, Naruto leaned back and avoided the attack; his increase in reflex and speed being made even more apparent.

While he performed the roundhouse, Sasuke pulled another kunai from his holster, and when he landed the young rogue attempted to hit Naruto with a rising-slash aimed for his chin. Again Naruto stepped back, only this time he retaliated with a swipe at Sasuke's open side. The Uchiha barely managed to twist away from the attack, and sloppily parried the reverse swipe that followed. However, this left a wide opening in his defense, and Sasuke's blonde opponent took advantage of this to land a blow, and leave a bleeding gash along the ribs.

Sasuke didn't get much time to express his pain, because it was soon added to by a burning sensation in his shoulder; where Naruto had just ran his sword. Performing a scissor kick, followed by a spartan-kick, Sasuke then used his chakra to propel him into the air; hoping to buy time to activate his secret weapon.

Naruto recovered from the assault, but when he looked up to find Sasuke, he was blinded by the sun; which sat smack in the middle of the sky. But he did see the figure that descended a moment later. Unsealing his fourth pilum, Naruto hurled the spear at his opponent. While it looked like it hit, a moment later the target burst into a cloud of smoke, and a log came down instead. Using his enhanced nose and ears the feral blonde searched for his prey. Those senses helped Naruto duck under a kunai swipe bent on removing his head from his shoulders. Flipping his blade behind him Naruto thrust backwards, but hit nothing but air as his opponent disappeared.

A grunt of pain found its way to Naruto's lips when he was hit by a gut-busting punch to his abdomen, and this time, the blondes enhanced hearing picked up the sound of his armor cracking under the constant pressure that'd been applied over the day. But the feral blonde didn't get time to think about it because he was lifted off his feet, and then punched in the face. Placing his hands on the lake's surface Naruto spun and attempted to sweep Sasuke's feet out from under him. Sasuke, not expecting the move, was knocked off his feet.

Once the raven-haired genin's back hit the water Naruto was up, and ready to drive his gladius into Sasuke's chest. His attack was halted when Sasuke gripped the blade with his bare hands. Blood dribbled down his arms and the blade as the Uchiha pushed the sword away and rolled backwards. Naruto wouldn't be deterred though, he immediately went to stab his gladius into Sasuke's face, and despite the sharingan wielders quick reflexes, the blade sliced through his cheek before he could get away.

Naruto stood and watched as Sasuke stumbled to his feet. When the deserter finally found his footing Sasuke looked towards Naruto, sharingan eyes blazing, and black flames stretched across the boys entire body.

"I see now why Itachi was trying to capture you, and that Sannin wanted to train you. You're a special breed of ninja Naruto..." As he spoke a whirlwind of dark chakra began to swirl around Sasuke, though not enough that Naruto couldn't watch the transformation that happened before his eyes.

Sasuke's skin-tone began to change from its pale, human color to a deathly, ashen gray. His fingernails lengthened, and sharpened into deadly talons, and his canines grew until they were visible past his now purple lips. Across the bridge of his nose a strange marking, like a four-point star, formed that stretched to underneath each eye. Next his hair began to grow, and spike out in wild directions. Sasuke's raven-black hair soon turned to a sickly powder-blue. And finally, the Uchiha hunched over as his shoulder-blades rippled, and a pair of wings in the shape of giant hands erupted from underneath his skin. All-in-all the once proud Sasuke Uchiha, had become a grotesque demon that matched the dark soul he harbored inside.

Sasuke opened his mouth, and finished his statement, "But, I'm more special than anyone else."

I Naruto heard him, he made no notion of it. He simply stood there...staring.

'It seems you'll need even more of my power Naruto. This new transformation is at least twice as strong as you are now.'

Naruto listened to Kyubi speak inside his mind and agreed, 'Alright, then give me what you can and lets be done with this...I'm bored of this ridiculous battle and want to go home.'

Now it was Sasuke's turn to watch, as Naruto made a change to his appearance. A shroud of crimson chakra outlined the blondes entire form. Atop his head, the cloak produced what looked like long, pointed ears, while behind him the cloak formed a tail. Naruto's hands and feet were encased in chakra-paws that ended in claws, and his face now sported a snout made of the crimson energy. While not as..drastic, as Sasuke's change, Naruto's new appearance was nothing to scoff at.

Knowing his gladius wouldn't do much good in his wild state, Naruto sheathed his weapon, and crouched down onto all fours. Then, in a blinding burst of speed, the blonde shot towards the winged Uchiha with his elbow aimed at his solar-plexus. The elbow was caught by Sasuke's outstretched hand, but the feral Uzumaki didn't let that stop him; his chakra tail raced over Naruto's shoulder and punched the young rogue in the face.

As he staggered back Sasuke folded both his wings in front of him, just in time, to block an axe-kick. When he recovered, he spread his wings out, and sent Naruto flying backwards. Sasuke's sharingan eyes watched as their blonde target skidded across the waters surface, chakra keeping him above water. Going through a set of hand-signs, Sasuke puffed up his cheeks, and let loose the {Dragon Fire Technique}. A large, twisting dragon shot forth from the Uchiha's mouth and headed straight for Naruto, its flaming maw opened wide.

The young roman watched the dragon of fire racing right at him. Instead of dodging or blocking the attack, the blonde just inhaled a deep breathe, and bellowed out a powerful roar. The vibrations of the roar were visible as they moved to meet the raging dragon. When they collided, an explosion occurred that shook the lake and covered the area with a heavy steam.

While Sasuke would normally be able to see through steam or fog, this shroud was heavily laced with the residual chakra of the two ninja's attacks. This left him unprepared for the giant, crimson paw that burst from the steam-cloud and landed a heavy punch to Sasuke's chest.

The Uchiha could hear his ribs give out under the pressure of the surprise attack; two on each side breaking. But instead of flying back, the clawed hand grabbed his ankle, and pulled Sasuke towards its owner. It wasn't long before they reached Naruto's prone form, his arm outstretched in the direction of the crimson limb. When he got within striking range Naruto made the chakra-paw let go, and close-lined Sasuke; who's breath left him as the blondes arm met his throat.

However, Naruto wasn't done yet. As Sasuke began to drop, the young roman wrapped his hand around Sasuke's throat, and lifted him into the air. The crazed Uchiha struggled intensely to break the blondes hold on him, but Naruto's already lion-like strength, enhanced by the Nine-Tailes chakra, made it impossible for Sasuke to break the hold.

"When I took this mission," Naruto's gravely voice rumbled out, "it wasn't to bring you back to Sakura, or to keep your filthy sharingan in the village. I did it because of what you did to not only Hinata, but to me." This confused the captive Sasuke, 'What is he talking about?'

Naruto could obviously see the confusion on his ex-team-mates face, so he decided to elaborate. "You were my brother Sasuke, and you threw that away to try and gain power from a lunatic, who only wants to make you stronger so he can take control of your body! And yet you don't care! Even now, I can see in your eyes that what I'm saying isn't getting past your pride. Well, how about this: you want Orochimaru to give you the strength to defeat Itachi, but Itachi is stronger than Orochimaru; so how is learning from him going to make you strong enough to defeat your brother!? "

"S-Shut up! Just shut up! You don't know anything, you stupid orphan. I need to get stronger so that I can restore the honor of the Uchiha clan. It's been dragged through the mud, and now, all anyone has to say about us is how evil our clan is! But I wouldn't expect a clan-less loser to understand things like family honor or the importance of your name, because nobody cares about you."

"And is that why you assaulted Hinata? An innocent girl who's done nothing to you! You traitorous fuck, before we started I told you that I'd be dragging you back to Konoha by your hair. And as you know, I keep my promises."

Sasuke started struggling harder, not wanting to lose his chance at getting stronger. Everything Naruto said was pushed to the dark corners of the Uchiha boys mind as he tried to ind a way to free himself; and then he remembered a jutsu Kakashi had taught him.

It was the only seal-less technique he knew, Kakashi told him he needed to know at least one. It was a relativity low-ranked lightning jutsu, but it would get the job done. So, placing his hand around Naruto's arm below the bracer, Sasuke choked out: "Tento Denryu".

Naruto howled in pain as lighting traveled along his uncovered arm. His hand went numb and the blonde was forced to drop Sasuke. Once he let go, Naruto was punched in the face and sent sailing through the air. The blonde rolled until he came to a stop on the far right of the waterfall. When he stood up Naruto noticed that Sasuke had activated his Chidori, and was ready to impale him with it.

'The Rasengan kid, it's your only option against this move right now.'

Naruto chose to, begrudgingly, trust the Kyubi's judgment and held his working hand out. Soon, a rotating, violet sphere formed in his hand; its size double what the blonde would originally create.

Sasuke kicked off and raced towards Naruto. The blonde, seeing this, decided to meet his former friend in the middle, and kicked off as well.

Eventually, the inevitable happened, and the two boys met in the center of the waterfall. Their two attacks shaking the entire valley as they collided, and then imploded.

oo0oo

It was raining now. The world was being blanketed by a sheen of moisture. Even the condensed and heavy treetops couldn't keep the rain away from the two figures that were jumping through the forest. One was a blonde with wild, shoulder-length blonde hair in a strange military uniform. The other, who was being carried on the former's back, was a shirtless, raven-haired youth that was covered in cuts and bruises.

Naruto's Rasengan had beaten Sasuke's Chidori, and now the young roman was returning home with his captive.

On his way home Naruto couldn't help wondering how the rest of his team had fared against their opponents. Especially his fellow roman, Shikamaru. "That red-head was no push over. That lazy slacker better have gotten his act together; I don't want to have to find someone to replace him in the Triumvirate."

As he muttered to himself Naruto noticed that the area around him was becoming less and less condensed, as if the trees had been cut down. 'But that makes no sense. Why would someone just cut down trees at...random.'

The blonde remembered how Gaara had come to his aid, and deduced to Temari must have assisted Shikamaru. Feeling his respect for his political wife grow, Naruto reminded himself that he'd have to find a way to thank his fellow blonde when he returned.

"And speaking of blondes," he growled out. Naruto was reminded of another blonde kunoichi back in the Leaf that was still in need of punishment; but all thoughts about that were thrown out the window when Naruto noticed dot of red out of the corner of his eye. Stopping on the next branch, the young Uzumaki looked back and saw the red-haired kunoichi from the Sound Four, buried under a pile of what appeared to be tree trunks.

Deciding to check it out, the Uzumaki boy turned around, and leaped over to the downed girl.

oo0oo

When Tayuya opened her eyes she was expecting to be met with the sight of the Shinigami, coming to take her to Hell, or worse, to eat her soul for the bad things she'd done in order to prolong her life. What she wasn't expecting, was to open her hazel eyes to the sight of the handsome blonde in the strange armor that was leading the team that chased hers down.

"W-What is this? I thought -gasp- I thought I died. O-Or is this -wheeze- all just a trick?"

The blonde knelt down so that they were face-to-face, "Excuse me Miss Tayuya, but would you mind explaining what happened here, and how you managed to get yourself into such a state?"

The foul-mouthed red-head could feel her eyes widen in shock and confusion, 'H-He knows my name?'

"If you're wondering why I know your name, I heard it from one of your comrades back when I slowed you down with my pilum."

"Oh...what the fuck is a pilum?"

Naruto couldn't help it, he laughed at Tayuya's word choice, "Hahaha, "pilum" is just my ancestors word for spear. And now that I've answered your question, perhaps you'd be so kind as to answer mine."

Even from upside-down Tayuya was captivated by the cobalt stare that held her in place. The red-head tried to be angry with herself, tell herself that she shouldn't be so easily swooning over some guy who was her enemy...but, she couldn't help it. Most guys she'd met were the worst kind of scum. But then again, all the males she knew were citizens of Oto, so she shouldn't have been surprised. When Naruto cleared his throat to imply his impatience, Tayuya decided to test him.

"And why should I tell you, you retarded-fuck. What good will that do me, huh? Why don't you just run along back to your village and cry to your bitch of a Hokage about how you failed to retrieve that prick Uchiha."

"You mean," Naruto pointed his thumb behind him, "that prick Uchiha right there? And, listen, I'm only asking because I'm sure you've been laying here a long time, alone, and would probably like some help getting unburied. Or, I could be wrong, and you have some of your Sound Village buddies coming to collect you...although, from what I hear of Orochimaru, he doesn't tolerate failure too well."

Throughout the blondes explanation Tayuya's face moved from one emotion to the next. First, she was in awe of the blonde for making it past Kimimaro and then beating the Uchiha. Next, she felt a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe, Naruto was really going to help her. Then that hope nearly died when he suggested leaving her there, because he was right, even if Orochimaru did send a squad to retrieve her, she was likely the only one of her team-mates to survive the mission...a mission that had failed; and the Snake hated failure. So when she saw the blonde stand up to leave, Tayuya swallowed her pride and called out to him, "W-Wait! Please, wait, don't leave me here like this. Even if that pasty-faced freak does send someone to get me, I'm as good as dead when I get back so please, help me?"

Naruto had been bluffing. He wasn't really going to leave the girl there, but he could see in her eyes that she really did want help; she just needed to get her pride out of the way first.

So the Uzumaki boy turned back and knelt down in front of the red-haired girl again, "Okay, but my price still stands. If you want me to help you, just tell me what happened."

And she did. Tayuya relayed the entire battle to Naruto, throwing in her two cents every now and then, until she finally arrived at the point in the story where she'd been, essentially, buried alive.

"See," Naruto said humorously, "that wasn't so hard was it? And now, I'm going to help you out of here, just like I told you I would."

Tayuya was overjoyed, although she didn't let it show on her face, until another thought occurred to her: "Wait, what's the catch?"

"Catch?"

The girls hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Yeah, catch. I can't fully believe that you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart. You want something; what is it?"

"Funny that you think I want anything from you. That's not to say I don't, but, it's not the something you think it is." Naruto's dismissive response annoyed the injured former bodyguard, and it showed in her response.

"And what do you think, I thought you wanted," she replied haughtily.

"Your body."

Tayuya's cheeks dusted a light-pink at the blondes quick, and accurate response. The embarrassed red-head did indeed think that that's what Naruto wanted. "Well, if you aren't going to make me your sex-toy, what other reason would you have for freeing me?"

"I need your skills; if I manage to acquire your body along the way well, that's just an enjoyable plus for me."

The way he spoke so easily about the subject made the former Sound-ninja's stomach do flips. Sure she'd had guys hit on her, but she'd never had one be so nonchalant about it; as if he didn't care either way if he got her or not.

"Need my skills for what, exactly? Because the last time someone said that to me I wound up with an ugly hickey on my neck."

Naruto, remembering his talk with Kyubi, put his fingers in a familiar cross-shape, and summoned a handful of clones. Directing them to start moving the tree trunks, he returned his attention to the flute-playing kunoichi and explained his goal.

As Naruto spoke, Tayuya felt something start to flutter in her stomach. Something about the way the blonde spoke so passionately about his goal made the young girl feel like she was back in Oto's ninja academy, and she was one of those girls pining for the rookie of the year.

"Unfortunately," the charming voice broke through the red-heads fogged brain, "I'm unable to just carry you through the Leaf Village gates. So, what I'm going to do, is leave a century(about 80) of clones here to guard you while I go back and turn this punk in. And then, during the night, I'll come get you and hide you in my home.

While Tayuya didn't want him to just leave her there, she resigned herself to wait for him, knowing that the blonde was sincere in his intentions.

oo0oo

When Naruto returned to the village gates the rain had picked up, and was now hammering down on the two boys, washing the dried blood from their bodies.

As he trudged closer to the main gate Naruto noticed the two gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, ever vigilant at their posts. "Hey, a little help here?"

The two guards looked over, and when they saw the last member of the retrieval team coming up with the rogue Uchiha on his back, the two men were quick to run over and relieve Naruto of his burden.

"Naruto, welcome back," Izumo greeted the blonde.

"Good job completing your mission Naruto," Kotetsu greeted at the same time.

The blonde looked at the two older ninja with weary eyes and merely nodded his head in acknowledgment. "I need you to take me to the Hokage, so that I can report in."

"Uh, don't you think you should rest a little before reporting to Lady-Tsunade? You're pretty banged up from the looks of it, and we wouldn't want you collapsing in the middle of your report."

Naruto turned his eyes to Izumo, his eyes hardening into their calculating stare, "No, I don't think I should rest, I know that I want to report in and get this mission over with. So if you could do your job, and escort me to the Hokage's location, I might not have her give you guys Tora chasing duty for six months."

The two guards turned white as sheets at the thought of chasing the Daiymyo's wife's cat for so long.

Naruto had just been dropped at the hospital by Kotetsu while Izumo carried Sasuke inside to be admitted. The blonde made it about ten steps inside before he was confronted by his body-slave, Ino Yamanaka.

"Master, I'm glad to see you've returned safely from retrieving the traitorous Uchiha." As she spoke Ino folded her hands in front of her and bowed, her first lesson under Naruto's command.

"Yes, it was difficult, but I managed to subdue him But I have no time for pleasantries, I need to speak with Tsunade and report in."

But before the young Uzumaki could walk past her, he felt a hand take hold of his arm and stop him. Naruto stopped cold, turned around, and gave his fellow blonde a warning glare.

"You seem to forget your place, slave." Ino quickly let go, and bowed submissively as she apologized.

"Apologies, I over-step, but only because there's something I must speak with you about. I implore you master, this is something you need to hear."

Naruto was close to disciplining Ino for her forwardness, but remembered he was in a public place, with the daughter of a clan head, and decided he'd hold back. "Speak plainly then, and pray that I find your words hold worth."

Ino swallowed the lump in her throat before answering, "Yes, o-of course. You see, Master, what I've found is: Hinata-sama has revealed information about your trip to Wave, to several high-ranking ninja; including Lady-Tsunade." The platinum-blonde made sure to refer to Hinata in respect around their Master, knowing that anything else was not tolerated.

When she looked up at her Master, Ino could see the cold fury in his eyes, and how his muscles tensed in preparation to strike her. While her fellow blonde hid and dismissed his soft spot for the Hyuga heiress, Ino knew it was there, and understood that she'd crossed a line in accusing her of treason.

"I hope you can prove this Ino, or else you are going to be in very unpleasant trouble when we return to my home."

The Yamanaka heiress was shaking as she replied, "M-Master I assure you, this is no game. I tell you this because it is true; I would never say otherwise. A-As for proof, well, you can go to her room now and see all the ninja yourself. Why do you think Lady-Tsunade is even here? She'd be back in her office if I wasn't telling the truth."

Naruto, while not wanting to believe it, understood that Ino had a point. Why would Tsunade be here instead of her office? She was the Hokage first, and a medic-ninja second. Naruto could feel something inside him crack. "Let's go."

Ino didn't even ask, she just followed her Master, and directed him towards Hinata's room.

They didn't walk long before they arrived outside the Hyuga heiress' door. Looking in the window, Naruto could see the many ninja that formed a semi-circle around Hinata's bed. Before any of them could see him the young roman opened the door and entered the room.

Once he stepped through the door all eyes moved to look at him. Naruto could see the varying types of looks he was receiving; most of them weren't very friendly.

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki reporting in, and ready to give his report, Hokage-Sama."

The buxom Hokage looked at her surrogate little brother with concealed warmth as she turned to address him; she was happy to see him return safely. "If you're ready to report, I'm ready to listen."

Angling his arms and taking hold of his right wrist, Naruto stood straight and gave his report, "The mission was completed Lady-Tsunade, after the rest of my squad stopped to do battle with members of the Sound Four I chased a white-haired, male ninja into a clearing. Once we stopped, he put down the barrel, which I'm sure the others have already explained, and we proceeded to do battle. It seemed it would continue in a stalemate, but Sabaku no Gaara arrived to turn the tide of battle in my favor. However, before we could re-engage the enemy, the barrel exploded, and the traitor Sasuke Uchiha stood before us. Sasuke spoke words to me before running off; naturally, I followed. We arrived at the Valley Of The End, and proceeded to do battle. After a lengthy confrontation, I defeated Sasuke Uchiha, and have returned him to Konoha; he has since been admitted to the hospital, and awaits your judgment."

Many in the room were impressed with Naruto's report, while others still only looked on in suspicion.

"Thank you Naruto," Tsunade replied, "you may be at ease now." It looked like she wanted to say something else, but the pig-tailed blonde was interrupted by the arrival of the Konoha elders; Danzo, Koharu, and Homura.

Looking to the elders in disdain, Tsunade greeted the three, "Elders, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" All could hear the sarcasm that dripped from the Hokage's mouth.

"Tsunade." Danzo greeted. "We are here because, after seeing the condition of Sasuke Uchiha, we have called for a Council meeting."

"On what grounds do you call this meeting Danzo? Last time I checked I was the Hokage, and those meetings were called or scheduled by me." Seeing the hardened look in the bandaged Elder's eye unnerved Tsunade, and his next words pushed her heart into her throat.

"On the grounds that Sasuke Uchiha was retrieved with unnecessary force. I'm sure, once you see him, you will agree. But until then we must decide the punishment for the one responsible."

Tsunade's hazel eyes narrowed in angry suspicion as she asked, "What do you mean...punishment?"

Dnzo could hardly keep the gleeful smile from his face. Ever since Naruto had been made the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailes, the old war-hawk had tried to get the Council to agree to giving Danzo control over the boys training. When all his attempts failed, Danzo decided that, if he couldn't use Naruto as a weapon, then the boy was too dangerous to be left alive. So, when he saw the state that Sasuke had been returned in, the bandaged elder knew that he now had the leverage to call for the boys death.

"Well, Tsunade, as you know Sasuke is the last Uchiha of Konoha. And as such, his genes are very important to our future. In a few years young Sasuke will be old enough to reproduce, and the Uchiha clan will once again be a major force in our military. However, that future could have very well been snuffed out because of the reckless actions of young Naruto here, and it's only lawful that the boy be punished for his crime."

Tsunade could hardly believe her ears. This old crow was really going to try and have Naruto banished, or worse, because he didn't like the way Naruto completed his mission!?

"Danzo you can't be serious! You really think your plan is going to succeed?"

"Oh I'm sure of it." Danzo didn't look the least bit worried, and that worried Tsunade; it was like the trial was already over.

Naruto, the entire time, didn't pay attention to the two older ninja arguing. No, his focus was on the young girl laying in the hospital bed. The blonde was trying to discern if the girl had really talked, but he couldn't be sure until he asked her himself.

He got his chance when Tsunade and the Elders left, a quick word to him about when to be at the Hokage building the only words spoken to him, and the Jounin left to visit their genin.

When Hinata saw that Naruto had stayed, she expected to see the concealed warmth that she'd become accustomed to, but what she got, was the cool, calculating stare of her Master, not her Love.

"I-Is something wrong Naruto-ku-"

"Hold your tongue. Until I say otherwise you are to refer to me as Master, and nothing else."

Hinata felt her eyes widen in shock at the tone Naruto used with her; he never used that tone with her. "O-Of course Master, but, have I done something wrong?"

"I don't know, have you? Because I've been informed that you told those ninja that were just here about the things I told you about our Wave trip. But, that couldn't be true right? Because I remember having you promise never to speak of my plans to anyone without my permission."

Hinata could feel her stomach tighten into a knot at hearing that news. She knew she'd have to tell Naruto about her weakness, but Hinata had hoped to break it too him in her own way; but it seemed that wasn't happening now.

"Master, I-I didn't tell anyone of your plan, I swear! B-But, I will admit, that I told them of some things involving what you told me about Rome, and I told them that your sudden change was due to your fascination with their military and a desire to be like them."

"So, you did talk." The cool way he spoke sent a shiver up Hinata's spine.

"Y-Yes."

"And how did they get you to talk? Surely you didn't just volunteer the information, you must have been persuaded to tell them."

Here was where Hinata was afraid of how her blonde love would react. She knew that he would be displeased with her, and how easily she'd been broken.

"P-Please, Master, d-don't make me tell you. I-I can't bare the thought of h-how disappointed you'll be w-when you hear how it happened."

"Only through the truth, do you have hope of forgiveness."

"...t-tickling"

Naruto could feel the veins in his temples throb at hearing how his tool had been broken. How could he trust her to take care of anything important if she was so easily defeated? "How...disappointing."

Hearing that Naruto was disappointed in her made Hinata feel as if an ice block had dropped in her stomach. She'd let down her most important person, and now it seemed like he would never look at her with that warmth in his eyes again.

"You understand that I can no longer trust you with information. If you can be broken so easily, I almost question what good you are to me."

At this point, Hinata could feel her heart breaking. If she was of no use, to the only person she wanted to please, then what purpose did her life have?

"Lucky for you," Hinata leaned forward, desperate to know how to redeem herself, "your medical and combat skills are still useful to me. Those will be your roles from now on; you are my soldier, and the head of the medical corps. However, you will no longer be held in confidence in important matters that concern the rebuilding of the empire, and shall report to Ino, and later, Temari once I have established a firm hold on rebuilding the empire."

To here how far she'd fallen in the eyes of her love made Hinata want to cry, but she knew that to do so, in front of her Master, would only diminish her further in his eyes. So, with a heavy nod, and a suppressed shudder of grief, Hinata accepted her new role.

Beside Naruto, and listening to the entire conversation, Ino had to control herself so as not to outwardly express her joy at the recent turn of events. With Hinata answering to her now, Ino could finally express how she truly felt about her fellow "sister", and how much she resented her for being their Master's second. Ino could practically feel the joy she'd experience when she and Hinata were left alone together, and the Yamanaka heiress would humiliate the other girl.

But before her thoughts could go too far, a nurse appeared, and told Naruto that he had just been summoned by ANBU to the Council chamber.

Looking between his two slaves, Naruto addressed them, "As you've both just heard, I need to leave you both for now. Hinata, remember, you now fall under Ino and must follow her commands as if they were my own. Ino," he turned to look his fellow blonde in the eye, "you may do as you wish as long as it does not physically harm Hinata; I still need her after all."

Ino looked to her Master, only letting a small smile make its way onto her face, and answered, "Of course Master, as you say. I will not cause Hinata any physical damage."

With his will accepted, Naruto turned and exited the hospital room, never seeing the devious smile that made its way onto Ino's face.

The platinum-blonde looked Hinata in the eye and, as she advanced towards the bed, said, "Funny thing Hinata, the Master didn't even have to order me not to hurt you."

This gave Hinata some relief, "H-He didn't?"

"Nope. Because what I have planned isn't gonna make you scream with pain, but with laughter."

Hinata audibly swallowed a lump in her throat as Ino stood beside her bed.

oo0oo

Naruto arrived in minutes to the Council chamber. When he reached the big, oak doors he knocked, and when he heard "Enter", he pushed open the doors and made his way inside.

The Konoha Council chambers looked similar to the way Suna had theirs set up, only the Leaf Village had empty seats where the Uchiha, Senju, and Sarutobi clans would have sat. Naruto looked around the room and gauged each occupants reaction to his presence. There weren't many good ones.

"Naruto Uzumaki," it was the Elder, Danzo, who had spoken, "do you understand why you are here?"

"To be tried for completing a mission in an, according to you, unsatisfactory way."

The mummified war-hawk bristled at the young Uzumaki's blatant disrespect. "No boy. You are here to be sentenced for the crime of attempted murder; there is no trial."

Naruto swiftly turned to look between Danzo and Tsunade. While Danzo looked impassive, Naruto could see the hint of condescension in his features; Tsunade just looked defeated. "Would you mind explaining what you mean councilman? I was tasked with returning the rogue, Sasuke Uchiha to Konoha; is he not being treated at the hospital as we speak?"

"While you were given the mission, no where in the mission specs did I see any order for excessive force. You simply could have spoken with young Sasuke, and I'm sure he would have returned home."

Naruto, after such a trying day, was beginning to lose his patience, "Councilman, have you ever had to try and retrieve a rogue ninja? If so, then you'd understand that those people leave because they either: no longer wish to live in that village, or they decide that another village can give them what their current village can not. Sasuke Uchiha left Konoha, to train under another Leaf Village traitor, so that he could bring about the death of...another missing-ninja of Konoha. And you ask me if I tried to talk to him? No, I did not, but only because Hinata Hyuga already tried the night Sasuke decided to abandon his home."

"Unfortunately, young Naruto, that is all irrelevant. As I've already said, this is simply a sentencing for your crimes."

"Then why did you ask me?"

Danzo could feel the veins in his temples pulse as some of the other councilman chuckled at his expense. 'Impudent brat! Let's see how funny you find all this when you're dead!'

"As I was saying, we of the Konoha Council have decided that you, genin Uzumaki, are guilty of unnecessary force during the completion of a mission, and attempted murder of a fellow Leaf Village ninja. As such, we have decided that, with killing you being too risky, considering your...condition, you will be banished."

Naruto was stunned at the revealing of his punishment. He'd assumed he'd get a suspension, or be sent back to the academy, but not banished! He would have to start his plan from the ground up!

Before he could delve too far into his annoying new reality, Danzo spoke up again, "You have until midnight tonight too gather up any belongings you wish to take with you and say your goodbyes to anyone you wish to say them to. If you are found in the village after the appointed time, you will be executed on sight."

The young blonde could only narrow his eyes in anger at the turn of events, and stride angrily out of the Council chambers.

oo0oo

Naruto stood at the main gate of Konoha. On his back he carried the rucksack he'd brought back from Wave over a month ago. He'd finished speaking with everyone he needed to talk with, and was now ready to head to Wave again.

First, He'd spoken with Shikamaru. He explained his plan to rebuild Uzu, and then expand from there. But first he'd need to get to Wave and get all his ducks in a row, and then he would send word to his fellow roman. Next he spoke with Konohamaru. When he told the young boy about his fate, the young Sarutobi couldn't stop a few tears from running down his face. But these were quickly dried away when Naruto gave him the order to continue his training, and then he handed the young academy student a letter to read after the blonde left.

After visiting those two, Naruto made his way to the Suna embassy, where Gaara and his siblings still resided. He once again explained what happened, and had to turn down an offer to join the Sand Village. The blonde explained that, while he couldn't tell them anything right now, soon the Sand Village would be part of a great, and noble power. However, before he left, Gaara's sensei Baki stopped him and told the blonde that Suna had a very interesting history that Naruto might want to study up on; since he still planned on marrying Temari.

And finally, Naruto returned to the hospital. This meeting was cold, and had none of the friendly atmosphere that the other meetings had. Naruto walked in on the two girls arguing with each other, but he was quick to put a stop to that. After they were settled down Naruto told the girls of the Council's decision, as well as his plan. While the two kunoichi were distraught over their Master's leaving, each took comfort in their own minds about what they could accomplish while he was away. For Ino, it was how much she could break Hinata's spirit, and for the Hyuga heiress it was how best to regain favor with her love.

So, after leaving the hospital, Naruto made his way to the main gate. Now, standing on the edge of the new horizon, Naruto felt no fear; only confidence.

"The die has been cast...and we must see game, to bitter end."

oo0oo

A/N: And DONE! Honestly this one had some difficult parts in it. The beginning and end were honestly pretty difficult, and I don't even really like the beginning lol; it felt forced. But, it had to be there.

The * I put, I'm referencing the actual Naruto/Sasuke fight. Sasuke does something that I actually thought was cool when they're fighting. Some kind of fire storm is raining down or something, and Sasuke performs these cool acrobatic maneuvers to avoid them. Speaking of Sasuke, how did I do?

So Naruto has returned jutsu to his list of skills, and I have something interesting I want to do with some of those. And I've introduced the Nine-Tailes. Personally I think the fox is freaking cool, and I hope I can incorporate him a little more. Now, this doesn't mean Naruto's gonna be using the chakra cloak all the time or anything like that, just, have the fox as council.

The next chapter is going to be all about what life is like in Konoha without Naruto, so, there won't be any Caesar development. However, since I'll be doing time-skips, you will see the evolution of Konohamaru, Hinata, Shikamaru, and many other characters. Some rise up, and others fall even further into the dark.

Naruto's banishment is going to be explored in a multi-chapter "arc", and will explain how he begins to build his central base of power that will be the reconstructed Rome. Speaking of Rome, I'm gonna have a map of Europe and the Elemental Nations up, because I looked, and the E.N. Looks like Europe flipped over; at least to me lol.

I'm also going to post some links to some video's I think are freaking cool that have to do with Caesar.

Well, that's all I can think of. If there's anything you guys wanna ask me or talk to me about, just PM me, or leave a review. Thank you for your continued interest, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter :)