Rise, Son Of Rome
Ch.14- Nullum est vinculum
(No stronger bond...)
As Naruto and his group made their way to the embassy, across the village in the hospital a certain Hyuga heiress was busy mending the broken arm of a patient.
"...and there you go Mr. Nakamura, good as new, although I recommend that you don't attempt to re-shingle your roof without the aid of your son."
The older man sitting on the examination table just chuckled and said, "That boy's too busy chasing skirts to bother helping his old man, and besides, I've got to keep the spring in my step well polished; or risk turning into one of the old fools in the nursing home."
Hinata just smiled at her patients reasoning and cleared him to leave. As the gentlemen made his exit, the Hokage's apprentice took stock of her room, making sure everything was in order, before she too made her way out.
After her grueling training under Tsunade Hinata was given orders to work inside the village hospital; so as to gain real-life experience in dealing with what she'd studied. The young heiress took to her new mission with vigor and quickly rose in popularity among not only the patients, but also some of the staff. However Hinata didn't let her time at the hospital dull her fighting skills, she made sure to spend her free time keeping up her sword skills as well as finding ways to incorporate chakra-based attacks into her arsenal. Right now, she was headed to her teams usual training ground to engage in "team building".
'Feh, more like Yuhi-san hopes to find something else she can rip-off and give to Sakura. That woman just refuses to learn.' Hinata thought scornfully to herself as she made her way to the forest clearing.
On her way Hinata's mind wandered to thoughts of Naruto, and what he could be doing at that very moment. No doubt the blonde was probably in the middle of some bloody battle, cutting down enemies, the afternoon sun catching his armor just so, as to make it seem like the man was an angel of death come to send all those that stood in his way to the afterlife. Hinata's mind conjured up an image of the two of them fighting side-by-side, and when the battle was over, Naruto ripping her armor away and taking her there on the battleground. Hinata only hoped that when she saw the man again, he'd be so in awe of her skills that he'd forget about her shameful actions in the past.
The young heiress' thoughts were ground to a halt by the loud bark of a dog; it seems she'd arrived. Her pupil-less eyes scanned over her team with mild interest.
Kiba had stayed much the same from when Team 8 had been formed. He'd gotten taller, yes, and he no longer wore a hoodie but besides that Hinata saw that he was still the same brash, ill-tempered show off that he'd been back at the academy. Turning her gaze Hinata felt her eyes soften at the sight of Akamaru; Kiba's ninja-dog. Akamaru had transformed from a tiny puppy into a large dog, big enough to be ridden upon.
Next her eyes landed on Shino. The Aburame had changed in the sense that he had become even more closed off. The young man now wore a hood over his head and kept his hands inside the large pockets of his bulky jacket. Hinata also noted that Shino now said even fewer words than back in the beginning of their ninja careers. The heiress didn't dislike Shino, but she didn't fully trust him either; though that list of people consisted of only three names.
Finally Hinata's eyes turned towards the Jounin of their team; Kurenai Yuhi. A woman who used to be Hinata's closest confidant and friend, until their different views about Naruto forced them apart. Now, Hinata only looked to the woman for mission orders and nothing more.
Kurenai's own ruby-red eyes stared into Hinata's lavender ones for a moment before the Jounin spoke, "Alright you three, it's time for our weekly team building. I know it may seem odd that we keep doing this, what with you three being chunin now, but I'd like for us to never lose the synchronization we've created over the years as a team, for those times where we're all working together in the field."
"So who will start the spars today Kurenai-sensei," asked Kiba.
"Today how about Hinata and I kick things off, if that's okay with her," the raven-haired woman replied as she kept her eyes on the heiress in question.
Hinata was a little surprised by this statement, usually Kurenai had her spar against one of the other two so she could fully see every detail of Hinata's performance, 'Meaning she probably wants to test herself, and prove she's still got some kind of leg up over me.'
"Alright, I accept."
The two women walked to opposite ends of the field, while the two males moved to the outer edge, and each waited for the other to make a move; Hinata in her gentle-fist stance, Kurenai in a standard defense.
The older kunoichi struck first with a handful of shuriken. As Hinata dodged them she also ducked under a round-house kick sent for her head, and retaliated with an upward palm strike to Kurenai's chin. The Jounin managed to avoid the initial strike, but was caught by a palm to the stomach, which left her open to being placed in a headlock and flipped over Hinata's shoulder, and slamming onto the ground.
Sprawled out on the forest floor Kurenai rolled to avoid a heel-stomp, and countered with a sweep kick. It worked, but Hinata caught herself before hitting the ground, and rolled backwards to avoid another attack. Both women stayed crouched low, but the stare down did not last long, as Hinata unsheathed her left sword and leaped at Kurenai.
Kurenai pulled out a kunai and managed to parry the blow, but when she threw out a left-hook Hinata's reflexes and flexibility came into play as she leaned back to avoid it before going into a handstand and clipping the raven-haired Jounin in the chin with a kick. Once she was upright again, Hinata went for a horizontal slash, but missed when Kurenai leaped back. However this didn't halt the young woman's assault, instead, she let the momentum carry her, and then thrust her left palm in the Jounin's direction,
"Air Palm!"
The older kunoichi hadn't expected Hinata to be so advanced in her gentle-fist training and was knocked from her feet by the blast of hard wind. With her eyes shut tight in pain Kurenai didn't see Hinata shoot from her spot and appear behind her flying body; but she did feel the clothesline that impacted the back of her neck and slammed her into the ground. Now with her face in the dirt, Kurenai chastised herself for not going all-in at the beginning of the spar. Deciding playtime was over she performed a substitution to escape Hinata's hold.
Now standing a few feet from her fellow kunoichi Kurenai opted for ninjutsu; knowing that Hinata had been training to counteract genjutsu. Flashing through a few quick hand-signs she called out her attack, "Fire style: Hono no senbon."
Hinata watched as a haze of bright-orange fire streaked through the air towards her. With the speed they were moving at, the young heiress knew that one option was to use her new technique...but then again, it was always nice to have an ace in the hole. So instead, Hinata slammed her palms to the ground and called out, "Earth style: Mud wall."
Fire collided with earth and fizzled out, while the flaming projectiles that missed arced down and landed in the grass, frying some of the green and dotting the field with scorch marks. Once Hinata was sure the assault was over she brought down her wall...only to find her opponent gone. Instinct kicked in and she ducked under a kick to the head, before channeling chakra to her fingertips and jamming them into Kurenai's knee. At first, Hinata's face broke into a victorious grin, but then her vision was clouded by smoke as the shadow-clonedispelled. Activating her byakugan saved the young girl from an uppercut from Kurenai, who had used the head-hunter jutsu to burrow underground.
While in mid-air Hinata decided to use a jutsu of her own to put her back on the offensive, "Mizu no dangan!" A series of large shots of water rained down in Kurenai's direction. The older kunoichi saw this and leaped out of the way, stopping on her knee, and retaliating with another hail of shuriken. Hinata, who had begun descending to the ground, danced around the deadly projectiles and landed safely back on her feet.
Kurenai looked over at her former "little sister" and was astounded at the leaps she'd made in the three years of Naruto's absence. While she was already needing to take deep breaths from using the senbon technique and her shadow-clone Hinata stood tall and ready for another assault. Taking a deep breath, Kurenai decided on her next plan of attack, and then struck. Sending chakra to her lower-body she shot forward from her position; her speed amplified by the added chakra, Kurenai came in with a horizontal slash aimed for Hinata's side.
Although surprised by the increase in her sparring partner's speed Hinata still managed to jump back out of the way and avoid taking damage.
'Alright,' Hinata thought to herself, 'if Yuhi-san wants to play it this way let's see what she can do.' With that, the Hyuga heiress unsheathed her second blade and parried a jab, before striking out with the pommel of her other gladius.
Kurenai leaned her head back to avoid the vicious blow, but was unprepared for when Hinata quickly shifted her balance and turned the failed attack into spin-kick. The raven-haired Jounin tasted the copper flavoring of blood as she bit the inside of her own cheek, but she pushed through the pain and managed to block a rising slash, before countering with a strong headbutt to Hinata's unprotected forehead.
Seeing the attack stunned the younger woman Kurenai went for a hammer-fist to the crown of Hinata's head. Unfortunately for the genjutsu mistress, this failed when her opponent dove through the gap between her enjoined hands, and landed a smarting blow to Kurenai's unprotected chin. Blood flew into the air as the raven-haired beauty's head snapped backwards with a grunt of pain.
Taking full advantage of her new opening Hinata held both her blades in a reverse-grip, and slammed the two pommels against the sides of Kurenai's head. The Jounin unceremoniously crumpled to her knees before falling on her side in unconsciousness.
Hinata looked down at the prone form of her one-time closest friend, before spitting on Kurenai's downed form, and walking away from the training area; she was done with stupid games and wanted a mission.
Kiba and Shino just stood silently, the Inuzuka with his mouth agape, and watched as their once shy team-mate left without word.
oo0oo
While Hinata and Kurenai were having their little squabble, the younger Hyuga heiress was also in a sparring match...however she was the one being put through the wringer.
Hanabi ducked under a jab before attempting to land a palm-strike to the mid-section of her sparring partner, but unlike with Hinata's, this one failed to find its mark. Hanabi's opponent grabbed hold of her shoulder with his fingertips and heaved himself over the attack, before landing safely on his feet behind her, and using a sweep-kick to send her face-planting into the ground. Before she could get up the younger Hyuga felt a weight press down on her back, keeping her with her face in the dirt.
"You were too hasty in your assault Hanabi, if you would have been more insightful you would have noticed that I left my chest open for attack as a way to draw you in," came the voice of her sparring partner.
Turning her head so she could respond, and to avoid the possibility of anyone seeing her eating dirt, Hanabi said, "I know Konohamaru, I realized that after you came over my shoulder."
Looking up the youngest daughter of Hiashi took in the sight of the only person she associated with in the academy. Konohamaru had gone from being a bratty little kid, to an annoying replica of her elder sister's crush, to a strong young boy who would one day grow into a powerful warrior. The Sarutobi heir wore a crimson tunic with a brown, leather sword belt strapped around his waist, the strap hanging across his chest. After performing an edited version of his workout regimen Hanabi understood where the young fourteen year old got his muscle tone from. The foot that was pressed on her back was enclosed in a leather sandal, while around his neck Konohamaru wore a length of black rope with his grandfather's signet ring. The young teen still had long hair, and still kept it tied back into a ponytail, but he'd let it be known to Hanabi that there would come a day when he would cut it off.
When pressed for when that day would be, he just looked the young girl in the eye and said, "When I'm called upon to stand beside my brother in battle." That had been during the first few days of her training.
After another afternoon of sitting and watching, Hanabi had swallowed down enough of her Hyuga pride to ask her fellow clan heir to be her sparring partner, in the hopes that she could learn his moves and one day defeat him in class spars; regaining her title as the strongest in class. Konohamaru agreed, but on the condition that Hanabi never question his methods. The young girl almost broke that rule during the first fifteen minutes of training.
The two academy students met everyday after class for the months that followed their talk. In that time Hanabi never managed to defeat Konohamaru in any of their spars, but she lasted longer than she had before the training.
Hanabi's stroll down memory lane was interrupted by Konohamaru's voice, " 'After' is too late Hanabi, you need to be able to anticipate those kinds of things during the battle or else you'll wind up like you are now; except your opponent won't be giving you a second chance." The ninja-in-training lifted is weight off the girl on the ground and stepped back so as to allow her room to stand.
Once back on her feet, Hanabi turned to Konohamaru with byakugan blazing and moved to attack. She opened with a feint, acting as if she would strike with her left hand, before swinging out with the right and aiming for the young males knee. Konohamaru spun away from the attack and went to deliver a strong elbow to the young heiress' jaw, but she ducked underneath, and he was again on the defensive as he leaned away from a palm-strike aimed for his chin.
Konohamaru didn't like playing defensively, so he set forth to change the rhythm of the spar. Leaping back a fare distance the Sarutobi heir held up his left hand and began a small series of hand-signs. Konohamaru had remembered Naruto telling him about Haku; a boy who could cast ninjutsu with only one hand, and the young teen decided it would be an invaluable skill to learn. It took him months to get good enough to where he could effectively do it in battle, but he hadn't mastered it enough to go beyond four signs with speed before he got clumsy. Finishing his set, the young teen called out his attack: "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!"
A moderately powerful blast of wind shot from the Sarutobi's palm and slammed full force into the Hyuga heiress. However, Hanabi managed to maintain her footing by channeling chakra to the soles of her sandals; when the attack was over the young girl was winded but still standing. This was useful for when Konohamaru came at her again; this time with his sword sheathed.
The young teen feinted right, before coming up with an uppercut. Hanabi leaned back to avoid it and then ducked under the back-fist that was aimed at the side of her head, she retaliated with a two-finger assault to Konohamaru's side. It struck home, causing the young male to flinch, and left him open for a palm-strike to his chest. The attack knocked Konohamaru off his feet and onto his back, but the young warrior quickly rolled backwards and sprang to his feet, just in time to avoid a devastating blow that cracked the earth beneath it.
Hanabi pushed herself into a roll in an attempt to once again bring her opponent to the ground, but this was avoided when Konohamaru jumped over her. As she got up to continue her assault Hanabi's plans were ground to a halt when she saw that her sparring partner had his hand up; signaling the end of the match.
"Why are we stopping, I can still keep going," the young heiress asked hotly.
Konohamaru just brushed what dirt he could from his tunic before replying, "Because I have someone I have to meet, and I have no desire to be dirty and reek of training when I visit them later."
Hanabi didn't look convinced. To her, it just seemed like Konohamaru called it quits because she might have actually won today, "And just who could be so important that you're cutting our session short today?"
"No one you need concern yourself with Hanabi, all I want you to worry about is practicing foresight. Because if I have to correct you on it again, you'll be spending the beginning of our foreseeable sessions carrying that wooden pillar you love so much on your shoulders again." With that the young teen made his exit, leaving the youngest daughter of Hiashi twitching with dread.
oo0oo
Naruto and his group now stood outside the entrance to Konoha's foreign embassy building. The blonde quickly instructed his personal guard to lodge themselves in the building closest where he himself was staying, informing them that he'd have Tayuya acting as immediate security. The Centurions, while not entirely happy with the idea of being so far from their Imperator, chose to abide by his rule and made their exit; although not before Naruto handed one of them a letter, and ordered it delivered to Tsunade. Without a word to his two companions the blonde entered the embassy and acquired the key to his room.
As the three made their way up to the correct floor, Shikamaru voiced a question that had plagued him for days, "Tayuya, I don't think I've heard anyone address you by rank, yet you seem to hold a considerable place among the legions. Are you a Tribune?"
The red-head, who had removed her helmet upon entering the building, ran a hand through her hair in a pompous fashion before opening her mouth to reply...until Naruto beat her to it.
"Tayuya holds the title of Legates. I awarded her the rank because of her superior fighting skills and her brilliant mind; although her professionalism could use some work. Never the less, Tayuya has served me faithfully since the day I recruited her, and with worthy soldiers in short supply, she was the obvious choice."
That last remark caught the Nara heir's attention, "Worthy men? Caesar, do you mean to say that the legions aren't up to standard, because what I saw on the battlefield says otherwise."
Naruto made a noise of disagreement before saying, "It's nothing like that. My legions are worthy of their name when let loose on the field of battle, but, not many posses the necessary qualities to be anything more than soldiers. Only a handful have the tactical mind to be a Centurion, and even less have that and the necessary skill in combat to be considered for the position of Tribune. The men have served me well, and I am thankful for their support, but if I don't get a hold of warriors who can lead...I fear my dream of rebuilding the empire will crumble before it's even been built."
By this time the trio had reached Naruto's assigned room, the blonde gave command for Tayuya to stand guard outside while he and Shikamaru talked. The red-head was a little miffed at being left out again, but understood her place, and fell to her orders.
Once inside, Shikamaru immediately asked, "Do you think this will work?"
Naruto had taken a few more steps in, and was removing his helmet, as he replied, "I see no cause for doubt Shikamaru, the people of the Leaf have no idea what's in store for them."
"Yes, the people, but what of the higher-up's? Do you think your plan will slip by them so easily?"
By this time the blonde had removed his cloak as well, he turned his head and caught the Nara heir's eye before saying, "Why all the sudden concern...you aren't having second thoughts are you?"
Shikamaru scoffed before answering, "Feh, certainly not, I'm simply looking out for the safety of the empire's future; if something were to happen to you, everything that's been accomplished will stand for nothing."
"Your concern is appreciated; though unnecessary, once we're through here Konoha will have taken another hard blow, and we'll be able to wipe them out anytime we choose."
Although he was still worried, Shikamaru chose to push it to the back of his mind and asked another question, "After this, when we go to destroy Oto, do you intend to take on Orochimaru by yourself?"
Naruto had unsheathed his sword and was inspecting it as he replied, "I see no reason why I can't."
This threw Shikamaru for a loop, "B-But...even the 3rd Hokage couldn't do it alone Caesar; are you trying to say you've outclassed a man who's nickname was God of Shinobi?"
"I'm not trying to say anything...I know I have."
At this point there was a knock at the door. Naruto directed his eyes towards the wooden slab and called out, "What is it Tayuya?"
"There's some brat here to see you; the little shit says he was given a message to come meet you," came Tayuya's muffled voice.
Recognition dawned on the young Caesar's face before he said, "Yes, I sent one after learning of Gaara's kidnapping, let him in."
Mumbled curses echoed on the other side of the door before it was opened and Konohamaru stood in the archway. The young teen looked over at Tayuya, gave a smug grin, and then walked inside; the red-head attempted to burn holes in the boy's head as she closed the door.
"Konohamaru," Naruto began, "please don't antagonize my second-in-command."
The young Sarutobi just shrugged before giving the older man a military salute and saying, "I've come as requested brother, what is it you require of me?"
Konohamaru's new attitude impressed Naruto; those three years had done wonders for the kid.
"I sent the messenger, and brought you here, because it's almost time to start making big moves," Naruto placed his hand on the youth's shoulder and said, "and I would like to have my little brother there beside me on the field of battle."
Konohamaru looked to his idol with grateful eyes, before they turned stern and he replied, "Of course brother, I stand with you, and always shall."
The younger boy's fealty was reassuring; having a name as powerful as Sarutobi on his side would be a great benefit in its own right. But now wasn't the time for relaxing and bonding, "Very good, now, in my letter I told you I'd explain the beginning stages of the plan to you;and it starts here with the Leaf. Right now the rest of the world still sees Konoha as a world power, somehow they've managed to avoid being overtaken by the rest of the villages, but I'm here to pull their crutch out from under them."
"Are you planning to invade," came Konohamaru's curious voice.
"No, nothing so vulgar, that plan of action would only damage our own reputation while giving Konoha a sympathy vote. No what I have in mind is much more attuned to a slow, agonizing defeat."
"So then what will we be doing?"
"It's simple...we're going to turn the world against the Leaf completely. My whole purpose in coming here was to rile up the anger of the villagers, from them having to see me again and in such a successful state, to the point where they can't help but lash out at me with brute force. I know that once I'm in front of the entire Council, Danzo Shimura will dispatch his little ROOT soldiers to prod the masses, and once I've declined any and all offers made by the Council and take my leave there will be a crowd of angry villagers waiting to get a piece of me."
Konohamaru didn't completely follow, "But brother how do you know they'll still be angry about the retrieval mission?"
This made Naruto realize; Konohamaru hadn't been told about the Nine-Tails yet. Deciding now was as good a time as any, the blonde looked over to the young teen and said, "It's not the mission they'll be upset about Konohamaru...it's the fact that I am the Jinchuuriki for the Kyubi"
oo0oo
As Konohamaru learned the shocking truth about his idol Hinata was on her way to the Hokage tower in hopes of receiving a mission. However, as she was coming up on the Yamanaka flower shop the female Hyuga's eyes caught sight of Ino making a hasty exit out its front door. Normally, this wouldn't give Hinata any cause for curiosity, but when she noticed what her fellow kunoichi was garbed in she became alert.
Ino was dressed in a forest-green battle dress. The side Hinata could see had a slit up the side that ended about mid-thigh; showing off a generous amount of the blonde's long, smooth leg that had been toned by rigorous training. Ino's dress had short sleeves that barely covered her shoulders and a high collar that hid her slender neck; the dress also had the pattern of a black, chinese dragon wrapped around the torso. Looking down, Hinata saw that Ino wore low-heel pumps on her feet.
'Even if she was going on a seduction mission, Ino wouldn't wear shoes like that. No, there's something else going on with her. Shikamaru told me Ino doesn't date, so that's out of the question...!' Suddenly, Hinata thought of the only person Ino would be in such a hurry to see and be so dressed up for.
'That sneaky little rat! But wait, how long has Naruto-kun been in the village; what if he's been here for days and they've been meeting in secret!?' The Hyuga heiress' mind created multiple negative outcomes in the span of only a minute before her train of thought was derailed by the conversation of some villagers passing by.
"Hey, Kinta, so did you manage to see that group of outsiders so many people have been rambling on about?"
"Actually, yeah, I did."
"...And!? What were they really like?"
"Well, there were quite a few of em' to be honest, but they were all dressed in a similar fashion; except the one woman that was with them...oh, and I think I recognized the Nara kid walking with em' too."
"A woman? What was she like?"
"I didn't really get a good look because this other guy, I guess the foreign dignitary from his lack of manners, brushed me out of the way with his stupid horse."
"What!? Damn, I was hoping to see if the rumors of her being a beauty were true."
It was at this point the two men had walked a far enough distance that Hinata could no longer hear them. However, what she had managed to pick up was more than enough for her to deduce that Naruto had only just arrived that day...which meant he was more than likely at the village embassy!
Looking around Hinata didn't see Ino anymore so, activating her byakugan, the heiress quickly spotted the platinum-blonde as she was making her way through the streets and towards where Naruto was staying. 'She thinks she's going to beat me just because she had a head-start? HA, she wasted her time primping herself up, and now she can't roof-hop,' thought a triumphant Hinata as she herself took to the roofs of Konoha's market district. Without the need to fight through other villagers Hinata quickly recovered lost ground, and eventually, managed to pass Ino; who remained unaware of her fellow kunoichi having spotted her.
It didn't take the young heiress long before she finally spotted the building she was looking for; its green and gold color scheme a dead give away. Once she'd arrived, Hinata leaped from the rooftop she'd been on, and raced inside to find out what room her blonde love was staying in.
Almost crashing into the front desk, Hinata asked the clerk, "T-There was a man who came in, he was wearing armor, and was accompanied by the Nara heir; what room is he staying in?"
The front-desk clerk just stared at Hinata for a moment, taking in the young woman's disheveled appearance, as if gauging if she truly deserved to know the room number of an important foreign figure. Hinata seemed to grow impatient with the clerks lack of response and grabbing the young woman by the collar of her shirt and growled, "I am daughter to Hiashi Hyuga and the heiress to the Hyuga clan, I have important matters to discuss with the man who just arrived; matters someone as pea-brained as you couldn't even begin to understand, so I don't have time to stand here and wait for you to decide whether or not you want to tell me what I wish to know. Because let's face it, you're either going to tell me, or I'm going to make you tell me."
The young man just nodded his head quickly and informed the angry kunoichi that the man she was looking for was currently staying in room 436. This was all Hinata needed, and once she had it, she raced out of the lobby and towards the elevator.
Once she was stopped on the right floor, the Hyuga heiress ran down the hallways, pushing people out of her way as she went, until she finally arrived at the door marked 436. Taking a moment to catch her breath and straighten out her hair Hinata gently knocked on the door...only to receive no response. Thinking the blonde was resting after his journey Hinata knocked again; this time louder. Only to once again be left listening to the echo of her own knock. The young woman wondered what this could mean, before her mind recalled when she'd been eavesdropping on the two men's conversation; they'd mentioned a woman!
'B-But surely Naruto-kun hasn't found someone already? H-He's been too busy rebuilding his ancestral homeland to bother with such things...right,' were the thoughts of the curious heiress as she began a slow trod back to the elevator. As she was nearing the doors a small voice called to her from down the hall: "Hey lady, if you're looking for the guy with the shiny armor he already left with his friends."
Hinata turned around and was met with the sight of a small boy peeking out of one of the rooms. Hinata deduced that he was the child of Hiru Shimada; a man from the Land of Earth who was in Konoha to meet with her own father. The boy's voice broke Hinata from her thoughts, "I heard this kid that was with them ask "what are we going to the training ground for", but that's all I could hear before mom made me close the door."
While the child's face broke into a pout that Hinata would normally find adorable, the young woman's mind was occupied with thoughts of meeting her blonde love again for the first time in three years; and then another thought struck home, and Hinata got a shark-like grin on her face. Walking over to the young child Hinata reached into a small pouch she kept tied to her sword-belt and held out a handful of coins for the kid to take. His eyes lit up wit excitement as the shiny silver pieces were deposited into his waiting hands.
"I'd like you to do me a favor okay? After I leave another woman will be coming along shortly after, a blonde in a green dress, I'd like for you not to tell her any of what you've told me okay; and don't mention that you saw me."
The young Shimada boy just nodded his head eagerly as he continued to look down at his shiny new money. Hinata just thanked the child quietly before going back towards the elevator.
'All's fare in love and war Ino'
oo0oo
Naruto was indeed standing in the center of one of the Leaf village's training grounds. His three followers stood closer to the edge and were looking at the man in confusion; he'd just decided to come here on a whim. Finally, after minutes of silence, the blonde turned and addressed the other two males, "Shikamaru, Konohamaru, I'd like for the two of you two to spar with me."
This shocked the two clan heirs. Konohamaru was the one to stutter out a response, "Y-You mean both of us, together, a-against just you?"
Naruto's face took on a contemplative look before he replied, "That wasn't my original intention, no, but now that you bring it up...yes. I think it'd be the fastest way to determine both your skill levels so we still have time to go and pick up clothes for my meeting with Tsunade later."
This time it was Tayuya's voice that flowed through the open air, "I still don't see why we're meeting her again; we already talked to her this morning, and we're going to be seeing her again in a few days."
"We're having this meeting because of the letters she sent me Tayuya; remember? She wrote that she would aid me in my journey and I'd like to discuss just what type of aid she's willing to lend us; besides, having a Sannin under our banner will do nothing but help us." Naruto's explanation still didn't convince the fiery red-head, but seeing as he'd spoken in his 'what I say goes' voice, she chose to stay silent for the time being.
"Apologies Imperator," Shikamaru spoke up, "but, do you think it wise to have both us come at you at once? While I am unable to speak on Konohamaru's behalf, I myself have become a very deadly warrior and-"
Naruto cut him off, "Yes I know, my scouts have been keeping me well informed about your progress Shikamaru, but I want to get a feel for myself just how good you really are. And Konohamaru, while I wasn't having you watched, I did wonder about how you would grow and develop absent my guidance; I'd like to see what you've managed to do on your own."
Both young men looked at each other, and then to their shared friend, before nodding in agreement and stepping out onto the field. The two heirs drew their weapons and circled Naruto who also drew his own gladius from its sheath. With a challenging smirk, Naruto said, "Come, show me the worth of your labors."
It was Shikamaru that started them off; he went for a sweep at Naruto's right leg. When the blonde stepped over it, Konohamaru saw this as his chance to join in, and he threw a jab towards Naruto's side. The young Caesar saw this out of the corner of his eye and parried the attack with his bracer before ducking under a head-swipe made by Shikamaru; he retaliated by shouldering the Nara heir in his unprotected side, causing the young man to stumble, but Naruto was then forced to block an overhead slash from Konohamaru which ended any assault the blonde had planned for his fellow Roman.
Naruto pushed the offending sword away with his own before lashing out with a vicious punch to the young Sarutobi's face. Konohamaru made a hasty duck, but wasn't prepared for the right-knee that came rising up as Naruto leaped off his left foot, and so his chin was hit full-force and he was sent sprawling onto his back. Before Naruto could advance though he was jumping out of the way as his other sparring partner made an attempt at a horizontal slash to his armor-covered torso, the two Roman descendants clashed swords as they both went for a slash to the others head, but Naruto pulled back, and attempted a stab to the mid-section instead. Shikamaru saw this and managed to parry it, but before he could think about a counter-attack, Naruto was already leaping into the air to avoid a sweep-kick by Konohamaru.
Naruto landed on his feet with a 'thud' before placing his gladius pointed towards his opponents; the length of the blade parallel with his face in his traditonal stance. "I truly hope that's not all you two have to offer, because if it is, you better quit."
Both heirs felt their pride sting at their friends words. Shikamaru and Konohamaru had trained religiously so as to be ready when called upon by the blonde in front of them; and here he was telling them it wasn't enough!? This irked the young Konohamaru worse than the calculating and controlled Shikamaru so he was the first to respond this time.
Flashing through a set of one-handed signs the pony-tailed soon-to-be graduate set about changing his idol's tune: "Fire style: phoenix-flower jutsu!"
Inside, Naruto was proud of his "little brother" for not only being able to perform the phoenix-flower, but to be able to do it with a single hand was amazing. Letting only a small grin etch its way onto his face, the blonde Roman ducked and weaved his way through the series of baseball-sized fireballs before thrusting out his open palm and sending a harsh blast of air at his pair of opponents. Both young men recognized it as the 'Great Breakthrough' but neither had seen it done without any hand-signs before; while Shikamaru managed to avoid it completely, Konohamaru only managed to leap and avoid the brunt of the attack. The young Sarutobi was caught off-guard by the attacks range and was sent skidding along the grass on his side.
Naruto didn't get to enjoy his small victory because, almost immediately, he was forced to jump to avoid being ensnared by the Nara's famous 'Shadow-possession'. However, he was soon twisting away in the air as well because the inky-black tendril shot up off the ground and followed him. 'Well now, he's come far if he can make it three-dimensional; and for so long too, thought the blonde as he danced around the attacking shadow...before taking a firm hold of it.
Shikamaru was shocked, no enemy had found out they could actually touch the Nara clan's shadow jutsu; but then none of them had been as sharp as Naruto. The young descendant of Crassus just stared across the field at the armored blonde...before he remembered he could cancel the attack. The pony-tailed Nara ended his shadow manipulation and then set about weaving through a new set of hand-signs; once he was finished Shikamaru went on to send a series of earth spikes in Naruto's direction.
The blonde was bout to substitute to avoid the attack, but his instincts kicked in and he leaned forward to avoid a swing by Konohamaru; who had recovered from being hit by Naruto's attack. Dropping to a knee, Naruto elbowed the brunette boy in the stomach before pushing him aside and rolling out of the way of Shikamaru's jutsu. When he was right-side up again Naruto threw up his sword to block a downward strike from the Nara heir, who'd canceled his attack to rush at the blonde. But Naruto wasn't beaten yet; he sent his open palm directly into Shikamaru's knee, forcing the other man to buckle, and giving Naruto time to substitute away to the other side of the clearing.
Almost instantly, Naruto was parrying a stab by Konohamaru, before again attempting to hit him with a right-cross. This time when he ducked it, Konohamaru spun on his foot, and elbowed Naruto in the back. Although his armor took the blow, the blonde Roman still stumbled a step forward due to the force of the blow; he retaliated quickly by throwing his leg back and catching Konohamaru in the chest. Naruto spun around and attempted a horizontal slash to the younger males chest, but the young Sarutobi was able to leap back and avoid the dangerous move before bringing his own sword around for another attempt at striking.
Naruto leaned back to avoid it, but both warriors stopped when their eyes caught sight of the blonde's back glowing. Turning around, Naruto saw that Shikamaru had his hands in the 'rabbit' hand-sign; indicating he'd just performed a jutsu. The Nara heir's eyes were just as wide with astonishment as Konohamaru's.
"Uh, bro, what just happened," came the youngest male's questioning voice.
Naruto looked to Konohamaru before motioning the still shocked Shikamaru closer. The young man moved stiffly to stand before his Imperator, he himself also hoping for an explanation.
The blonde Roman lowered his voice, ever aware that he was in enemy territory, before softly saying, "During my time in exile I re-encountered Princess Koyuki; her people had been making improvements on not only the technology I'd seen during my first visit, but also had made numerous new discoveries. After I'd explained my goal to her, Koyuki was all to eager to introduce me to Spring countries newly improved chakra armor. My legions and I are all equipped with some form of chakra absorption metal, allowing us to give less worry to things such as surprise attacks."
Both Shikamaru and Konohamaru listened with rapt attention as their shared friend explained one of his army's greatest assets. The two clan heirs looked over to the red-headed woman that had accompanied them and assumed that she too was covered with the same chakra absorbing metal. As both of them stared Naruto spoke up again; this time in a normal tone of voice, "Although you'll both be learning more about the advancements I've applied soon enough, so I hope you save some shock until that time. Now, I do believe we've used up enough of our free time, we should be going; Shikamaru if you wouldn't mind showing us the way?"
The Nara heir numbly shook his head before turning and making his way out of the training ground, his fellow Romans in tow, and back towards the village. Although as they walked, Shikamaru couldn't help wondering what tonight's meeting with Tsunade would birth.
It didn't take the group long before they made their way back to the streets of Konoha, now a bit more busy due to the later hour, and found themselves at the entrance to an upper-level clothing store.
"This is where mom makes me and my father get any sort of formal wear Imperator; I hope it will suit your needs," Shikamaru said.
Naruto crossed his arms and looked the establishment up and down before nodding, turning to his friend and saying, "This will serve purpose enough for tonight and the meeting with the Council, I had thought to just bring a set of robes from my own home, but did not wish to stain it with the business to come."
The pineapple-haired youth simply nodded his head in agreement before pushing open the door, and allowing his leader to walk through, before following behind with the other two members of their group. Once they'd made it inside, a woman in her mid-thirties came out from the back to greet them; having heard the bell atop the door.
She stood roughly 5'9 and was dressed in a skin-tight, knee-length purple dress that left her tan shoulders bare. She had thick, dark-brown hair that had been pulled up into a neat bun which left her elegant neck exposed as well as her soft, warm hazel eyes. With a smile etched across her face the woman greeted her potential customers, "Kon'nichiwa, and welcome to my shop, my name is Shiori Yatsu. Mr. Nara as always it's a pleasure to have you in my store; will you be in need of any assistance or are you and your friends just looking?"
Naruto decided he would control the flow of conversation and stepped forward to make his presence known, " Actually today it is I who require your assistance. You see, I have a meeting with the Hokage tonight, and unfortunately I made the mistake of only bringing battle gear with me; would you be able to aid me with my predicament?"
Shiori looked at the man who'd spoken and immediately her felt her face erupt with heat. He was the most handsome man she'd ever seen! Surely he was not a member of Konoha, and if he was, where had they been hiding him!?" Stammering a little Shiori managed a reply, "O-Of course sir; w-what type of yukata were you looking for?"
"While I'm sure this may sound...unusual, I have no need of Japanese formal wear. Where I hale from, the men and women dress a bit...differently." Naruto then went on to tell her that he needed pristine white robes that would reach just above his feet, and a rich, purple pallium. When the woman sent him a confused look, Naruto explained that a pallium was the shawl that draped around the torso. Once he'd described it, and she had a mental image, Shiori agreed that it could be done after she got the blonde's measurements.
Motioning for Naruto to follow her Shiori walked into the back room, and closed the curtain once her blonde customer joined her. Turning around she said, "Alright, now I'll need you to remove your armor so that I can take an accurate measurement."
Naruto simply nodded before undoing the leather straps that kept his cuirass in place, and gently laying it on the floor. Next he unwrapped his focale from around his neck and let that too fall to the floor. Now, the blonde stood with his upper-body clothed in just his crimson tunic and his bracers.
"Will this suffice," Naruto asked.
Shiori's cheeks tinted a light red as she responded, "A-Actually, would it be possible for you to r-remove your t-top as well?" The blonde's only response was to raise an eyebrow before fighting his way through the neck hole of his tunic so that he could give the woman access to his bare torso.
The older woman's face heated up when she got a full look at the foreign male standing before her. She'd made clothes for many men in the village, some of them were even high-level ninja like Shikaku Nara, but none of them held a candle to the male specimen that had stepped into her store today. Shiori let her hazel eyes wander up and down the Naruto's physique, she took in every hard muscle and traced every line, burning the image of him into her mind.
Naruto stood there for a moment, well aware of what the seamstress was up to, before smirking devilishly and asking, "So, what are your thoughts?"
This pulled Shiori from her lustful staring, before she stuttered out a reply, "U-Upon what subject?"
Now the blonde took a step forward, entering dangerously close to Shiori's personal space, before answering, "The one that stands before you; how do you gauge Caesar?"
oo0oo
As Naruto was busy preparing to meet Tsunade, the blonde Hokage had since received his letter, and was currently discussing her plans for said meeting with Shizune in her office.
"Lady-Tsunade are you sure you don't want to see if Lord-Jiraiya wishes to attend the meeting also," the woman's former apprentice asked.
Tsunade looked up from the document she'd been reading and replied, "Yes Shizune, I'm sure, Jiraiya made it very clear to me that he has no intentions of aiding Naruto in achieving his goal of resurrecting Rome and so I see no reason to even tell him about the meeting; let alone see if he wants to be a part of it."
This brought a disheartened look to the younger woman's face. Shizune knew that Jiraiya's reluctance to aid Naruto was causing her mentor great emotional pain, but the pig-tailed blonde refused to let it show through. Deciding it best to steer away from the topic of hurting hearts, Shizune asked, "I see. What do you intend to speak with Naruto about if I may ask?"
"I plan to ask him about what he plans to do about the other Great Nations, as well as what his plans for Konoha are specifically; because I'm sure both trains of thought are different."
"...And what if his plan is the destruction of the Leaf, what will you do then?"
Tsunade let out a breath before sitting back in her chair. she reached up with her hand and gently massaged her temples as she contemplated how to answer her oldest friends question in a way the younger woman would understand. Finally, Tsunade replied, "Then I will step back, and let what needs to be done, get done. This village is no longer the village my grandfather founded so many years ago, it's become a hollow shell of what it once was and it pains me to have to watch as Hashirama-ojisan's dream is pulled through the mud. While I won't aid in Konoha's destruction, I won't protect them either. You saw heard how Naruto was treated growing up, and you saw how the Council reacted to outcome of the retrieval mission; this is not the village my grandfather envisioned. "
Shizune listened as her mentor explained her stance on the degrading situation involving Konoha and the inevitable collision course it was on with Naruto's dream. While she personally was distraught to hear that her home would be left to the wolves, the young medic also knew that Tsunade was right; Konoha was beyond saving. If the people of this village had the capacity to show such unreal and unfounded fear towards a single boy, then what did that say about the quality of the citizens?
The voice of her mentor brought Shizune out of her thoughts, "Shizune were you listening?"
Shizune blinked before turning to look Tsunade in the eye and saying, "Sorry, no Lady-Tsunade, I was caught up in my thoughts and I didn't hear what you said; could you maybe say it again?"
With a confused look, considering Shizune hardly ever went into a daze, Tsunade replied, "I asked if you wouldn't mind going down to Ichiraku's and asking them to cater for the meeting with Naruto tonight; I doubt the kid's had much ramen over these past three years, and I'm sure he'd prefer it to the traditonal tea and rice cakes that are usually served."
The brunette just replied with, "Of course, I can go now if you'd like so that they have more time to prepare." Tsunade gave her an affirmative nod and Shizune was soon exiting the room, her friend's order paramount among her thoughts now.
With Shizune gone, Tsunade was left alone in her office; having dismissed her guard earlier when Naruto's message had been delivered. As she sat behind her desk the buxom blonde pulled a framed photograph from the top-right drawer of her desk and just stared at it with a smile etched on her lips. The picture was from after Naruto had won her grandfather's necklace from her, the blonde youth had a giant grin spread across his face with his hands folded behind his head. Standing behind him was Tsunade herself, and while she tried to look annoyed, anyone could see the mirth in her eyes as the pig-tailed woman looked at the camera.
With Shizune being the one who took the photo she was absent, but on Naruto's right was Jiraiya; he had one hand atop Naruto's blonde mop-top and a cheesy smile on his own face as he his other hand held up a "V" in victory. Tsunade trained her hazel eyes on the image of her former team-mate, the gentle warmth that had been there was soon replaced by the shimmer of un-shed tears. Slowly, the female Hokage opened the back of the frame and gently removed the picture from its place, next she placed it on top of her desk. Then, with tears slowly streaming down her face, Tsunade began to tear at the photo until finally she'd removed the majority of Jiraiya's body; being forced to leave his hand that was atop Naruto's head. Once that was finished the blonde woman crumpled up the image and concentrated chakra into her palm, immediately after the ball began to crinkle and darken until it was nothing but charred flakes.
Staring at the ashes in her palm Tsunade was forced to hold back a sob as she thought about the future. As much as she cared for her fellow Sannin, Naruto was like the son she was denied so many years ago when Dan died; to her, the young blonde her last chance to be a mother, and she wouldn't give that up. Even if it meant turning her back on the man she'd grown to love. There was no stronger bond than the one shared by family.
oo0oo
While Tsunade was dealing with the emotional pain of choosing between her two hearts over in the Uchiha compound the lone survivor of the clan's massacre was dealing with his own personal pain.
Sasuke was curled up in the fetal position on his bed, his head in his hands, shivering and clenching his eyes shut tightly in agony. The voice was back again, and it had gotten stronger over the years since his battle during the bandit mission, it was like a thundering headache that always seemed to be there, pulsing behind his eyes where he couldn't reach it. While a normal person would have gotten help by this point, Sasuke wasn't normal, he thought it would work against him to tell anyone about the voice; they might think it was something to do with the curse mark.
The Uchiha youth had realized after his last mission that it was indeed not a product of the seal, as the pain hadn't originated anywhere near his shoulder, and didn't have the same slithering voice as the one he heard upon activating the dark mark. No, this voice was smooth, taunting, and held a tone of superiority to it; the voice from the mark was harsh and demanding.
A particularly harsh jolt of pain had Sasuke convulsing before the voice began speaking again.
"Weakling! You were nearly defeated by some rogue fool, you don't deserve to bare the title of Uchiha!"
'Shut up,' Sasuke screamed internally, 'you don't know anything; that guy was much stronger than he appeared.'
But the voice wouldn't accept such a lame excuse, "Fool, do you think the Copy-ninja would have made the same arrogant mistake? Even that weak woman cautioned you to be careful and yet you ignored her; the Roman wouldn't have been humiliated like that, he wouldn't have invited shame upon his ancestors."
Hearing the voice mention Naruto was the last straw for Sasuke, 'ENOUGH! I don't want to hear about Naruto, he and I are two different people, we do things differently.'
Then the voice said something interesting, "True, but also untrue, young one. You may be different people, but you are both warriors, descended from the Gods."
Sasuke rebuffed this claim, 'The Gods? Ha, if that were true, then why aren't we both sitting on thrones right now?'
"Because you idiot, people stopped believing in such things, they felt that there was no chance beings of such power would willingly copulate with a mere human; but those legends you read about, they're all true, each hero the son of a God. And then they had children, who would later give birth to their own, and so on until...you."
But Sasuke still couldn't believe it. If what this voice was saying were true, wouldn't Sasuke and Naruto have god-like abilities?
This got a laugh from the voice, "Hahaha simple minded whelp, what do you think your sharingan is? It is the gift your ancestral God bestowed upon you, and the Roman, while his may not be as flashy as your dojutsu it is no less respectable."
Now the lone Uchiha's interest had been peaked, 'W-What is Naruto's gift then?'
"He cannot be killed in battle. The young Caesar becomes immortal while in the heat of battle; the enemy may hack and slash at him all they like but the man will never fall, something you have experienced first hand have you not?"
And in that instant Sasuke recalled all the different instances when his former team-mate had faced death, and yet walked away as if nothing happened. Against Zabuza and Haku, during the second stage of the chunin exams, against Gaara, while in the Land of Snow, and many other accounts including their battle at the valley.
Sasuke felt a sense of realization dawn on him. The clans of Konoha, as well as the clans of other villages, all received their bloodlines through relation to a supernatural being! 'But wait,' he thought to himself, 'then who gifted the Uchiha with the sharingan?'
It was this thought that drove Sasuke to do something he'd never done before; the Uchiha male made his way down below the compound, to his clan's ancestral burial tombs, to read from the ancient scrolls contained in its library.
oo0oo
Naruto had finished his clothes shopping and was exiting the building with his group in tow; a red-faced Shiori bidding them farewell with a dreamy smile on her face. The outfit had taken a number of hours to complete, so Naruto and his followers had visited a restaurant nearby and had lunch while they waited; none of the patrons being able to recognize Naruto due to his drastic change in apperance. As they walked Tayuya looked over to her Imperator and asked, "Is it really necessary for you to flirt with every attractive woman you see?"
The blonde's response was swift, "But Tayuya, you never complain when it's your turn."
This had the desired effect, Tayuya's cheeks glowed a light pink, and she immediately let out an annoyed huff before turning her eyes down. However, this meant she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her, so when the passed a corner that lead down a different road she ran right into the person rounding said corner. Years of harsh training, and numerous life-or-death battles, kept Tayuya from being knocked off her feet and the person she'd run into was simply pushed up against their companion.
"Hey, why don't you pay attention to what you're doing," came the female voice of the other person.
"How about you just watch where you're going next time huh," came the red-heads immediate retort. Turning her eyes up to see who she'd collided with Tayuya was met with the sight of Kurenai Yuhi, who was being held steady by Asuma Sarutobi. The red-haired warrior had learned the names as well as the skills of many of the Leaf's top ninja, not only during her time with Orochimaru, but also while serving under Naruto; the blonde had managed to snatch up a bingo book during their first trip to Suna, and it contained information even Orochimaru didn't have on various ninja including those in Konoha.
Tayuya immediately noticed the gauze that was wrapped around the other woman's forehead. Kurenai noticed this and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah," Naruto's soldier balked, "the problem is that this village must have some pretty lame ninja if one of their elite Jounin managed to get a head wound outside of a mission."
The way Tayuya snarked out her title ruffled Kurenai's feathers, "Oh, and I suppose you've never miss-stepped during a training exercise?"
This made the red-head laugh, "Hahaha of course not, the Imperator would never allow a soldier to serve under him if they took such an injury during a simple training exercise; it means it's likely to happen out in the field too."
At the mention of "Imperator" Kurenai and Asuma noticed that Tayuya wasn't alone. Asuma immediately caught sight of his nephew, "Konohamaru, what are you doing here, I thought you had practice with Ebisu today?" Before the younger Sarutobi could respond a snort drew Asuma's attention to the blonde of the group.
"That fool has no business trying to educate a Roman legionary in any aspect of life, least of all the ways of combat," came Naruto's response.
Asuma didn't like the sound of the blonde's reply, "Konohamaru is going to be a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, not one of your pawns, and my father tasked Ebisu with training him because he's a Jounin of high quality and is an exceptional teacher."
"Pawn?" Naruto questioned, "Asuma it seems you've been spending a little too much time around Miss Yuhi if you think all Konohamaru is to me is a simple pawn. Although I can't fault you for being swayed by her, what with a body like that, there's no limit to what she could make a man believe; though I'm sure you know that better than anyone."
Feeling anger race though him at the insult leveled against his significant other Asuma made an attempt to get his hands on Naruto to teach the blonde a lesson in manners. Attempted, because before he got close enough, Tayuya reacted by grabbing hold of his right wrist and twisting the bearded Jounin's arm behind his back in a painfully tight grip.
Seeing her lover being handled so roughly Kurenai reacted. She made to engage Tayuya, but was stopped unexpectedly by Shikamaru. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Oh, and why not? It's obvious that she's assaulting him Shikamaru," the ruby-eyed kunoichi exclaimed.
This time it was Konohamaru that spoke up, "Actually Miss Yuhi, my uncle made a move to assault the Naruto-niisan, so Tayuya being his guard, stepped in to defend him."
Konohamaru's taking of Naruto's side shocked Asuma to the point that he stopped struggling against Tayuya's, admittedly, strong hold. Again, Shikamaru's voice broke the silence, "Kurenai-san I think it would be best if you and Asuma-sensei leave; you wouldn't want to cause an incident would you?"
This made Kurenai remember that Naruto was no longer just another ninja in the Leaf's rank, he was actually the leader of the group Konoha was trying to align themselves with. With a growl she turned to Asuma and said, "Let's just go. Besides, your student is right, we've pushed the envelope far enough as it is."
Asuma looked to Kurenai for a moment before relaxing his tense muscles. Tayuya, sensing that the two ninja truly were planning to back off, let go of her captive who immediately tended to his bruised wrist. 'For someone with small hands she has a powerful grip,' thought the son of the 3rd Hokage. Kurenai sent a scathing glare in Naruto's direction before she and Asuma made their exit.
Choosing to ignore the raven-haired beauties obvious distaste for him Naruto addressed his group, "I think that's enough excitement for today, and besides, it's best I return to the embassy so I can get cleaned up for the meeting with Tsunade."
With his followers all in agreement, Shikamaru and Konohamaru went their separate ways, while both Naruto and Tayuya made the return trip to the embassy.
On their way there Tayuya grew tired of the silence and asked, "So I know you gave the other two a vague idea of what you intend to talk about, but, what are you and the old broad really going to discuss?"
Naruto chuckled lightly to himself before eyeing his long-time companion and saying, "Why do you insist on worrying so much about this Tayuya? You'll be there as my guard, so you'll get to hear everything that goes on, isn't that enough?"
"But you've made it abundantly clear to everyone that you detest this village, and yet here you are, willing to sit down and have a nice little chat with its Hokage; it's confusing," replied Tayuya.
"To you, yes, I can see why it would seem so. But what you fail to understand is that I've planned everything out already, all that's left is to play my part, and let everything else come together."
Tayuya noticed the distinct gleam in her superior's eye, something she'd become accustomed to seeing during battle; right before he outmaneuvered an especially dangerous opponent, and knew that the blonde did indeed know what he was doing. This was like a chess match, and Naruto was already five moves ahead of everybody else.
oo0oo
A/N: Hello everybody, here's the next full chapter for Rise, Son Of Rome. Personally I wanted to extend it to include Naruto's meeting with Tsunade, but after I got to this point and tried to keep going, it just started to feel forced. The majority of this chapter actually came very easily to me, and I'm glad it's a decent length this time.
Anyway, Sasuke's beginning to take the turn that will make him a central piece of the story; I know the whole "clans getting their bloodlines from gods" thing isn't original, but in Roman times they were a very important aspect of everyday life as well as warfare, so expect to see more about them in later chapters. Naruto will run into Hinata during the next chapter, so I'll just leave that open for you guys to think about.
Jiraiya, although I respect him as a ninja, I've never really liked him as a character. I decided to place him on the opposing side because he seems like the type to put the village before the individual, where as Tsunade seems the opposite to me.
I rated this story as an 'M' for reasons that will soon become apparent, for anyone who's wondered about that. Once such group of reasons will come after Naruto has torn down the Sound village, and has prisoners to torture and make sport of. You will also soon be seeing Naruto's new home, something that if you remember I hinted at far in the beginning of the story as he was leaving Wave.
And speaking of the beginning, I went back and did a little clean up in terms of how it looks; I just had the spare time. Anyway, the next chapter may come a little late, there's a new project that I thought of that's been beating at me that wants to be given at least a few chapters to start it off, so I want to do that.
Like always, review, give critiques, or PM me with any questions you may have =)