Naruto - Warlord
AN:
Heeey, MiNdZeRo here, back at it again with another chapter. The next 2 chapters after this one is actually finished, but i still need to go over them one more time before il post them, just to check the grammar and such. Reason its been a while since the last update, is due to the last month being a nightmare and ive been travelling a lot due to my work. While i have been writing, its now that i am finally home for a christmas and actually have access to internet again. Im going to be busy over christmas, so dont expect the next chapter to be posted too quickly.
I am a bit wary over you readers response to the next chapter, as well as the following. I can guarantee that some arent going to like it, but that's the way its going to have to be. As i've said several times already, the entire plot is already roughly planned out in my head, and this was one of the story arc's that i already had in mind since years ago.
Funny thing about this story: It began as a completely original fantasy of mine, with an original universe, characters and plotline. Figuring it to be too much work, since my experience with writing stories is still very shallow, i adjusted it into a naruto fanfiction. Im going to reveal a couple of cultural significance's of 'The Land of Wind' here, which is inspired by my original idea. I have honestly no idea how the culture of 'Wind' outside of the shinobi faction actually is, but i honestly do not care, since its fanfiction. If there are some educated naruto universe readers out there who somehow know that my way of presenting it is completely wrong regarding canon, then please try to forget how it is in the original universe xD. Apologies in advance it this infuriates you.
Also, as always, a HUGE thanks to all of you who has given a review to the story so far. It means the world to me, both the praise and the critique alike.
As always however, there's a couple of reviews/PM's that i would like to address, but if that doesnt interest you, then please skip ahead. Anyways:
A couple didnt like how i ended the entire shinobi war before this story began, nor how Sasuke became hokage and so on and on. It honestly sounds like these people havent read any of my AN's however, since i have been 100% transparent regarding how the shinobi will NOT be the main part of the story, at least not in the beginning. I have already repeated this more times than i want to. Some people act like the plot is already over because of it, as if the world is from now on unable to change or progress in any way apart from what they know of the canon story. This couldnt be more wrong. Just because Naruto isnt at odds with anyone from the shinobi villages, nor are they in conflict with one another, there is absolutely nothing telling you, as of right now, that it is going to stay this way. Use your imagination for christ sake, theres more to this story than what's presented as of this very moment. Just give me time to write out the rest.
A review i really liked who critiqued the way i presented slavery was, unfortunately, from a guest reviewer so i couldnt respond to it personally, but i still loved its message. He explained how, systematically, the way i presented it could never work, and that i should do some research on the atlantic triangle slave trade. Now this is a completely fair observation, but there is a reason why i never go in depth explaining economy and such, since this is something i am uneducated in. But when i stay away from such facts, such as how the economy works, how can it already be decided that it doesnt work? I mean, i've barely even mentioned anything related to it so far. That's like saying a concept you havent even heard about yet doesnt work before its been explained to you. Second, the slavery here is more inspired by Warhammer's Dark Elves faction. To those of you who are familiar with them, you know how brutal their form of slavery can be, although i have not ventured to such extremes myself here. The Naruto story is in my eyes, especially when transformed into text, a "fantasy" themed story. If one would look at other fantasy stories like Warhammer or Game of Thrones from a realistic, economic and sociological perspective, none of them would work in real life, although i am sure we can debate this long into the new year. I never claimed the story and the world i present here to be a realistic one; its still very much a fantasy. While most "fantasy" stories have magic, Naruto has chakra which presents the same drive and effect as magic in many other stories.
But enough yapping for now, time to get on with it! Thank you all for coming this far in the story, ENJOY!
Chapter 13
The next morning, Naruto's officers had all received their orders. Their people would be allowed to enter the city to trade and stock up on whatever they fancied, but none other than Naruto's officers currently knew what their goal was. All it would take was for one of his officers to blab and the plan could shatter, but Naruto couldn't do anything but have faith in his men. Leaving the daily affairs and logistics to his officers, Naruto entered 'The Ivory Docks' along with Shou.
While Naruto had spent many hours surveying the city and its...tastes, Naruto wanted a second opinion. Shou had a keen eye and a sharp mind; he needed his counsel if they would ever take the city.
Just a minute into the city, Shou, now cloaked much like Naruto himself, looked pale, disgusted and had the beginnings of a snarl that was barely hidden.
"...You alright...?", Naruto murmured softly over his shoulder at Shou as they passed a 'slave post' where 7 crumpled slaves were chained up. His friend looked like he was on the verge of killing someone. They both froze as they saw a slavemaster strike a slave to the ground, yelling angrily in an unfamiliar dialect while his guards hovered over the slave stock they escorted. As Shou took a step forward looking like he wanted to step in and do something, Naruto grasped his shoulder to stop him. "...Don't! No matter how much we want to help these people, we'll just get ourselves killed if we show our hand this early. Bide your time...!", Naruto hissed with a shake of his head. Shou forcefully calmed himself and nodded, a look of disgust still present of his face.
Whispering and scheming, they quickly decided to follow 'The Ivory Road', the main road of the city built by white bricks and filled with nothing but the most prestigious shops of the city. They wanted to check out the palace first, but even after an hour of inspection, Shou had little more to add than Naruto himself had already observed.
"...We're getting nowhere with this...", Naruto rubbed the stubble on his chin with frustration. Shou looked thoughtful for a minute, gazing over at another slave master leading his stock to some unknown location.
"...We're outsiders in this city. No matter how much we observe, there are things we're going to be unable grasp unless we stay here for a good long while, something I assume none of us wish...", Shou muttered, his eyes following the direction of the passing slave master. "...Perhaps a new pair of eyes would be good for us to rely on. Someone more familiar with the traditions of this disgusting place..."
Seeing the frown on Naruto's face as a lack of understanding, Shou leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Initially furious, Naruto only took a minute to be convinced as Shou argued his plan and his reasoning.
They needed to buy a slave.
Having followed one of the many passing slave masters, they found a slave market in the northern part of the city. They had struck gold and found the biggest one, connected to 'The Ivory Road' itself, but Naruto had nearly screamed in frustration when they overheard the name of the marketplace, namely 'The Ivory Bazar'.
Honestly, Naruto hated this city with every fiber of his being.
The bazaar was wide and filled to the brim with a bustling crowd of both locals, slaves and traders. Hundreds of stands made out of sandstone littered the area where the slavemasters sold their stock or other miscellaneous items. Some of these items were exotic in nature, even to Naruto who was a well traveled individual, but other items were eerily familiar, like a pot with engravings and markings he recognized from his time way back in Konoha. How such items had found their way all the way to this despicable city, he would never know.
Blending in as well as they could among the crowd, they muttered and plotted together as they listened and overheard the conversing people and its traders. They especially took note of the slavemasters who were currently selling their slaves on the stands.
They brought the slaves forward to present them to the crowd 1 by 1, as if presenting livestock to be bought. They would pitch their sale as best as they could for each slave; 'this one is beautiful and from the south-eastern islands, this one is big and strong, surely a good fighter for the fighting pits for any betting man...'
Shou looked absolutely horrified. He'd lived in Kisara for far, far longer than Naruto after all and probably had no idea of these traditions, but Naruto had been expecting this after his excursion yesterday.
It was obvious what these slaves was going to be used for; A woman, young, exotic and beautiful was doomed to suffer in the whorehouses or as a rich local's pleasure slave. The men, the big and strong ones, would be sent to be trained for the fighting pits, the weaker and less attractive slaves bought to work in the workhouses, factories or the mines outside of the city that they had overheard someone speaking of.
They had to take a look into that and see if they could help those people too. A mine outside the city some unknown distance away would mean that they had even more guards located outside of the city. According to the people they overheard, the mine was a death sentence for any slave as the grueling work under the sun would kill even the most robust of men. The slavers in management of the mine obviously cared little for the cheap slaves health and well being, so Naruto supposed many starved or died from thirst and overheating.
Naruto could easily see who had been a slave in this city the longest; one could merely look for the visibility of their bones beneath their skin. The slaves who still looked scared, eyes flittering about and flinching when their masters tugged them forward was obviously recently enslaved. The malnourished ones with their bones showing and hollow, unseeing eyes had obviously been here for far longer, perhaps even served several masters, traded from one to another.
One such girl pulled his attention, standing at the back of the flock of slaves beneath a stand as her master sold the others. She had red hair and a tan to her skin that could only belong to someone from the very lands they were in. She had a peculiar color to her eyes, a gleaming orange and while she was probably a good looking girl, she obviously suffered from years of malnourished. Her face was thin and gaunt, dark circles around her eyes, but Naruto could still see that the girl was probably a few years younger than himself.
What pulled his attention to her however was not her appearance. A local child was standing next to her, obviously having fun at the expense of the slave. A city like this, where its children learned from a young age that life meant nothing to the unlucky ones, was a city that deserved to burn to the ground in his opinion. While he wanted to intervene, he knew he couldn't. Last thing he could afford was to pull the attention of the locals or the guards.
Suddenly, the slave girl got a look of annoyance from where she had been doing her best to ignore the child. A look of hatred passed over her eyes, the color churning and gleaming in her gaze. Discreetly, she pointed a finger at the child.
A thin line of fire, honest to god fire, erupted from her hand and hit the child in the face. The fire evaporated quickly before it could do any harm to the child, but the child got frightened and quickly ran away to find his parents.
Naruto blinked in surprise, before his eyes narrowed. The girl didn't have any chakra dampeners on her wrists, like the ones he'd seen in the fighting pit. If she had truly been here for a long time and managed to keep such an ability with chakra hidden, the girl was obviously very clever and sharp.
Lightly slapping the back of his hand on Shou's chest to get his attention, Naruto led the way towards the stand and its slave master. Naruto waited until the master walked down after a successful sale to get another slave before he stepped forward. The master's gray, beady eyes bore into him when Naruto explained which slave he wanted to buy. Glancing over at the girl that was mentioned, the slave master looked uncertain; he obviously wanted her on the stand to auction her for the best prize.
Reaching into his pocket for coin, Naruto held up twice as much as he'd seen many slaves being sold for. The money meant nothing to him, but the slave master's eyes lit up in greed and eagerly accepted the money.
Barely hiding his disgust, he followed the slave master over to the girl as he unchained her from the post she had been fastened unto. The girl looked confused at first, but when she noted the two cloaked figures of Naruto and Shou as her collar was handed to them by her grinning, former slave master, her face lowered to the ground in subservience, face hidden from view by her red and dirty hair.
Without thanking the slave master, Naruto tugged her along with Shou, eager to leave the wretched city and give freedom to this unfortunate girl.
The moment Naruto had walked into his camp, he removed the collar from the girl's neck. While Naruto didn't want anyone of his people to see him bringing a slave into the camp, it was unavoidable. Seeing him remove the collar from the girl's neck would hopefully excuse him in the eyes of his people.
The girl remained frozen, confusion and fear filling her eyes as her collar was removed. It was obviously an action she hadn't expected and was now fearing the worst. Her confusion and lack of understanding was palpable as Naruto told her she was free to leave or come with them when they left the city. Without waiting for an answer, Naruto told Shou to put her somewhere he could keep an eye on her and give her a good meal.
Shou nodded without complaint and escorted the confused girl away who still looked like she didn't understand what was actually happening, as if her freedom was a dream that had died a long time ago along with her innocence.
Seeing them walk off into the deeper reaches of the camp, Naruto threw the slave collar to the sands at his feet in disgust, before he walked to his tent.
He didn't feel like plotting more that day, nor would he go back into the city. He needed a drink.
The sour wine in his tent, even at a large quantity, failed to give him any reprieve from the self-loathing he felt.
Later that day when the sun finally set, bad news came to Naruto's tent at the worst of times. He'd been drinking for hours and had managed despite his aggressive metabolism to actually get a little bit drunk, when one of his officers came and informed him of one of their own having been caught with a slave, freshly bought from the city, in their own encampment.
A rage as cold as the grave itself settled over Naruto upon the news and calmly rose to leave his tent. Following the officer outside, Naruto quickly laid eyes on the man in question.
The man was unknown to Naruto, but clearly one of his own at the look of his clothing. As Naruto left his tent with the officer in tow, the man smiled at him from where he was held by 2 men from Naruto's 'People's Guard', obviously not seeing the expression on Naruto's face due to the dim light as he left his tent. As they stood in front of Naruto's personal tent in the middle of the camp, the man explained himself that he'd seen Naruto bring his own slave into the camp. Surely it was no trouble for them to do the same?
As the man gestured towards his own slave, another girl who looked young enough to be the man's daughter with the slave collar still attached, Naruto, for the first time in many years, completely lost it.
With a roar of rage, the alcohol in his system not helping his temper any, Naruto had charged forward and struck the man as hard as he could. The men who had held him let him go in shock upon seeing their leader in such a rage, throwing themselves to the side as Naruto pounced after the man now prone upon the sand.
Sitting on his chest, Naruto gave himself to his anger, his clear blue eyes falling to a shaded red as he beat on the man beneath him. Again and again, Naruto slammed his fists into the man's face, raging like a wild animal and nobody dared to stop him.
His men stood frozen, watching as Naruto kept beating on the man who was probably already dead if the bloody mess of his face was any indication. His anger was heard loud and clear by many in the camp and had soon pulled the attention of nearly a hundred people around him. Despite the crowd, Naruto kept beating the man to death, uncaring as to who saw or heard him.
When exhaustion finally took him, Naruto realized what he'd done with a sense of detachment as he looked down on the remnants of what had once been a living, breathing man. Feeling the blood flowing off his hands, Naruto shuddered and rose to his feet, disgust and shock over his own actions filling him, but he quickly masked it as he gazed around the area.
His people looked back at him with fearful eyes, yet nobody dared say a word. As his eyes met theirs, they flinched away as if their gazes would provoke a similar fate as the man now dead at Naruto's feet.
Before he could brood further, Naruto's eyes darkened upon seeing the slave collar on the frightened slave who now looked at him like he was the monster. Perhaps he was...
Refusing to think on it, lest he gave himself the chance to believe himself to be one, Naruto pointed at the girl.
"Get that disgusting collar off!", Naruto roared, fury still in his eyes and splattered blood still dripping from his person. "Free that girl at once!" The girl cowered as his men nearly fell over themselves to accomplish his command, expecting the worst to happen to her. The crowd watched as the girl's features turned to confusion as the collar came off, his men throwing it to the ground as if it would provoke Naruto if they held it a second too long. Turning away from the girl, unwilling to meet her gaze, Naruto looked to the surrounding crowd with a look of anger and disgust. "Any slave brought into our fold WILL be freed!", Naruto roared and pointed to the beaten corpse at his feet. "Their freedom will be bought with the blood of those who do not have the decency to value the lives and freedom of ALL people!" Naruto was aware of the hypocrisy of his words, considering how he'd just beaten a man to death, but that was the least of his worries. It would be a catastrophe if people thought it was allowed to buy slaves for their own needs, just because they had seen him bring one into camp. "Someone clean this shit up.", Naruto growled and waved to the corpse. Stomping back to his tent to hide himself from view, nobody moved before Naruto was well out of sight.
Alone in his tent with nothing but his own thoughts and doubts to keep him company, Naruto decided to put away the wine. In his position, he could never again afford to lose his composure like he just had and the alcohol hadn't helped any.
As he washed himself of the blood, he couldn't help but hate himself for what he had just done. He'd beaten a man to death, for a vile crime sure, but a life had still been lost. Everything that man had once been and everything he could have ever become was lost. He could have grown sorry for what he did. He could have learned, but Naruto removed that option from him forever.
He shouldn't have brought the girl still collared into the camp. He should have removed it long before he left the city, but he hadn't dared the ire of the city guards. Now a man had died because of it and Naruto's stupidity. A part of him knew it would have been ill-considered letting the man go as it would set a horrible precedent, but the thought brought little to no comfort.
Rubbing his skin harshly with the watered cloth he washed himself with, Naruto pondered what he had become. Could he truly call himself better than Nobu and the Daimyo's of the lands when he so callously threw away someone's life like he just had?
If one stripped away all of his people, his deeds and intentions, was he any different in the end?
The answer he did not have frightened him and he scrubbed his skin even harder, mocked by the blood he'd spilt on his own hands.
Even later that evening, Naruto summoned the girl he'd bought and freed. A quiet Shou had informed him that the girl, named Hono, had been fed and properly clothed before she'd been given a sleeping roll near Shou's and his sister's tent. Hono had instantly fallen asleep and Naruto assumed she hadn't received any decent rest in years. On Naruto's behest, Shou roused her from her sleep and brought her to his tent.
"...Y-You called for me, my Lord?", Hono muttered dispassionately from her position by the entrance of the tent, her expression cold and neutral, but her nervous stutter revealed her hesitance. Naruto realized that the girl either had a good sense of conduct considering her years as a slave or Shou had given her explicit instruction for how she was to act in front of Naruto.
He considered telling her off, but a lord was what he had become, at least to his own no matter how useless he believed the title to be.
"I did.", Naruto nodded with a neutral expression, seated in front of the low table in the middle of the tent. It was dark, only a singular lamp upon the table that provided a little light. "I realize you've yet to have a full night's rest after the ordeal you've been through. You have my apologies for interrupting your much needed sleep." Naruto paused and gestured for the sitting pillow in front of the table. "Sit, if it please you."
Hono frowned, glancing nervously between the pillow and Naruto. He figured some parts of her was still in disbelief over her new freedom and wary of Naruto and his position. He assumed men with similar positions of power had abused her since a very young age, so he waited patiently for the girl to seat herself.
An awkward silence settled over them as they gazed at one another. While Naruto kept a neutral expression on his face, he noticed the inquisitive curiosity burning behind Hono's eyes as she looked at him as if he would harm her at any moment.
"I assume you have questions.", Naruto stated calmly, tilting his head at her. "Ask and I will do my best to answer."
The girl only hesitated for a moment, before lowering her eyes.
"I have no questions, my Lord."
Disappointed, Naruto shook his head with amusement.
"Nonsense.", he chuckled, reaching back to reach for a jar of water and a couple of cups. "I'm sure you have hundreds. I would in your position." He poured them both some water and placed a cup in front of her without asking if she wanted it. He figured she'd say no, no matter how thirsty she was if it was from him.
Her eyes rose back to meet his own as he looked at her kindly. Fearful and uncertain, the girl opened her mouth once, closed it, before finally getting a look of determination.
"...Why...?", she muttered, frowning in frustration. "...Why did you free me?"
Naruto pursed his lips.
"Several reasons.", he sighed. "I believe people, no matter who, should never be reduced to such a degree that they are owned by someone like objects. I find slavery a vile practice." Naruto shook his head and smiled in a self-derogatory manner. "Even so, I cannot claim noble intentions for buying and freeing you. I have need of you."
The girl grew a bit more fearful, looking at him warily now.
"...W-Why...?", she stuttered, her expression set into one of defiance. She really had a tendency to expect the worst of people. "I'm just a slave girl, my life holds no meaning. There are other girls more beautiful-"
"Let me stop you right there.", Naruto interrupted sternly, holding his hand up to halt her words. His anger reared its head again when he recognized what she thought he wanted of her, but he truly couldn't blame her. "You are obviously misunderstanding my intentions and you are no longer a slave. Your life holds as much meaning here as my own." Naruto ignored her expression of disbelief, her eyes clearly showing that she thought him to believe her an idiot.
"Then what is going to happen to me now?", the girl pressed nervously. "Why am I here?"
"That's up to you.", Naruto shrugged. "If you wish to leave and strike off on your own, you may do so. If you wish to stay with our group and leave this wretched place, you may do so and come with us as we go east towards the 'Land of Fire'. If you wish to leave at any point in time, that is up to you." Naruto sighed and smiled at her. "Your life is your own now. The choice is ultimately yours. All I ask, is for you to humor me now with answering a couple of questions."
A myriad of emotions danced across the girl's features. She swallowed thickly, nodding as she looked like she was going to cry. Naruto could understand how overwhelmed she must have been, despite some part of her surely still believing it all to be a lie.
"...I...I c-can do that...", the girl nodded, eyes falling down to hide her face from view as she sniffled and began to rub her face with her forearms. Naruto ignored her tears for the sake of her own dignity and began to ask his questions.
Over the next hour, Naruto asked his questions and Hono responded faithfully. While she remembered little of her own family and from where she came from, her ability to produce fire had always been as easy for her as breathing. It cemented Naruto's belief that she carried a bloodline, but her past was obviously painful so he left that topic well enough alone. Her past was her own business, but her ability to control fire so naturally was of interest to him. A natural born talent to use chakra like she could was an exotic rarity among his people and Naruto hoped she would stay; she could potentially teach his men and women a lot.
She had also spent many years in 'The Ivory Docks', traded from one master to another. She had been lucky and never sent to the mines, usually sent from workhouse to workhouse, factory to factory, all within the confines of the city. She had seen all her friends, the few she got among the slaves, sent either to the mines, the pits or put to death by displeased masters. If Naruto hadn't bought her that faithful day, her time among the living may have been cut short like all her other friends.
The topic of the other slaves brought forth another bout of questions from Naruto. He asked about their lives, how they survived and what they spoke about with one another whenever the masters weren't around. To his dismay, there was little use of the information she provided to further his own goals, so he turned the conversation towards the fighting pits.
This topic took an interesting turn. Apparently, what Naruto had seen of the fighting pits was barely scratching the surface. The fighting pits which littered the alleys of the city was nothing more than an amateurish fancy for the common folk of the city compared to the real deal. The nobles of the city regularly held exhibitions among their slave fighters, vying for prestige and favor among themselves.
Inside 'The Ivory Palace', beneath the large dome which Naruto had seen made up the larger part of the entire palace, at least from an outside perspective, was an arena. 'The Blood Gauntlet' was the arena's name and it apparently put all the other pits throughout the city to shame. According to Hono, who had been fortunate to only serve as the cup bearer of one of her former masters who attended one of the exhibitions there, described it to Naruto as a circled field of combat beneath the podiums and stands where the crowd watched. The arena was an architectural marvel where the servants of the noble lord 'Goro' could change the environment of the grounds. They could make platforms and ditches, trenches and holes, fill them with water, fire or traps. At one event they would fight on sand with swords and arrows, another in a field of grass with trees, horses and axes.
Naruto was astonished. It was an amazing accomplishment to be sure, to have an arena and architectural genius enough to create something like this, but any wonder Naruto felt was stained by the foul intentions of their machinations. He was instantly worried that 'Goro' had chakra specialists to create and change the environment of the arena, but Hono didn't know when Naruto asked her. All she knew was what she'd seen and heard from eye to eye and ear to ear.
An opportunity presented itself in Hono's tales of this horrible creation. Every year, when winter had fully settled and the temperature dropped to the lowest that the searing deserts of 'Wind' ever allowed, the biggest exhibition of the year would happen right inside the palace on the 'Gauntlet'.
The event was called 'The Day of Silence', much to Naruto's confusion. Only the slavemasters with the best of fighters would be allowed to attend, the city's best converging in one place to amuse the masses. Hono didn't quite know the origin of the name of the event herself, but she figured it was because most of the city would attend the event inside the palace, leaving the city nearly abandoned. When she had been there herself, she had seen thousands upon thousands of people on the stands of the crowd, but that had been during another event not nearly as important to this people as 'The Day of Silence'. Seats had remained unoccupied, but that would apparently not be the case for this grand event.
And as chance just happened to be, 'The Day of Silence' was barely over a month away.
This was the chance, the opportunity, that Naruto had waited for. He kindly thanked Hono for her time and allowed the poor girl to leave for her rest. She seemed surprised that he kept her word and allowed her to go, but Naruto's mind was now far from Hono as she quickly left, eager to return to her bedroll.
Inside his tent, Naruto sat for hours into the night and well past the hour when the lamp on his table ran out of oil. He barely noticed himself now in perpetual darkness of the tent as he schemed and plotted.
For what he had in mind, rest was no longer a luxury he would enjoy.
Morning came and Naruto had remained seated at the table throughout the night without a wink of sleep. He was a little bit tired, but nothing he couldn't handle. Presenting a tired state would be useful for him over the next couple of days.
When it was finally time to reveal his plan, Naruto called for one of his guards to assemble his officers for a meeting, as well as Temari. She would be of vital importance for his plan to work.
As he waited for his men, his thoughts were spinning continuously without rest. One by one, including Temari, his men trickled inside the command tent and seated themselves, patiently, yet warily waiting for Naruto to speak. They were likely wary after his demonstration the day before, but Naruto refused to linger on it further. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't help anyone, certainly not the man he'd killed.
"Temari.", he began, the girl perking up from her position by the entrance of the tent. She remained standing and glared at him with suspicion. "I have a favor to ask."
His words surprised her as far as he could tell, seeing her eyebrows lift for a moment before she cooled her features again. She watched him with burning curiosity for several moments while his men glanced between them. They were just as surprised as herself since she had normally no place among them.
"...Why...?", Temari finally muttered with suspicion. Naruto sighed warily.
"Lack of better options.", Naruto murmured, resisting the urge to slump in his position. "It does not have to be done through you, but I would prefer it if it was."
"Last we spoke, you made it very clear that you didn't much trust me or mine." Temari paused a moment. "What changed?"
"The plan did.", Naruto shrugged. "I have honestly no idea what your brother was thinking, sending me and mine up against a city with far superior strength than our own. Unless he's incompetent, my theory of your imminent betrayal and this being all an elaborate trap seems much more likely than before, wouldn't you say so?" Dark looks from the officers present were sent Temari's way and she bristled in response.
"I told you, we wont-"
"Why did your brother really send us here?", Naruto interrupted and narrowed his eyes at her. Temari seemed to cower in her place for a moment as she noticed the angered stares of the men around her. "I will know if you're lying."
His eyes bore into her. He was posturing, sure, but she didn't know that. Let her sweat for all he cared. Temari pursed her lips, her gaze warily traveling from man to man as she considered her choices. She was feeling the pressure of being outnumbered in her company, just as Naruto had wanted.
"...Desperation...", Temari finally muttered, grimacing as if allowing the word to slip did her harm.
Naruto frowned in surprise.
"Could you elaborate?"
Temari sighed at the question, seemingly debating with herself what to reveal and what not.
"Look, I do not have the authority to say much.", Temari began distraught. "After the last war, our village was nearly ruined. We are not in any way in a position of enough power, not as a military force or political, to step on the toes of our own nobles despite their insubordination. Our lands political landscape is in a dire situation."
"I figured as much.", Naruto nodded thoughtfully, all eyes going to himself. This was one of the scenarios he'd imagined first when still in discussion with Gaara himself. "I accepted Gaara's request honestly and honorably. I had hoped he'd treated me with the same respect I showed him, but instead he has sent me against unfavorable odds. Either he's honor less, traitorous or incompetent. I am insulted, to say the least."
Temari looked rightly furious, but wisely managed to hold her tongue. After a moment, she bowed apologetically.
"I understand. If it please you, I can explain to him that your agreement is void-"
"You will do no such thing.", Naruto interrupted sternly. Temari looked up quickly in surprise. "I accepted Gaara's request. Just because your brother shows no respect for me, does not mean that I will treat him in the same manner which he does to me." Naruto smirked. "We 'brigands', as you like to call us, know a bit more about integrity it seems. I suppose it is what we should have been expecting from paid assassins." Naruto assumed a neutral expression, satisfied with how Temari looked like she was about to blow several blood vessels. "I suppose I could argue that I need you to pay your brother's debt for his inaccurate information, but for the sake of relations lets call it a favor. You are aware of the chakra 'dampening' iron bracelets they use on the slaves with the ability for chakra here, correct?"
"Of course, I was the one who initially informed you.", Temari snarked back. Naruto ignored her tone as he honestly deserved it. While her anger was unfortunate, Naruto needed the political leverage to push Temari into doing his will.
"Right.", Naruto nodded. "I need you to procure for me something that allows us to disable these bracelets en masse. I am aware that their slave masters have the corresponding keys to unlock them, but I would prefer to not have to deal with them altogether."
"...Well, they are based on the 'Sealing Arts', as far as I know.", Temari frowned with uncertainty. "I will have to return to our village for something like this, as this is something outside of my expertise."
"That is acceptable.", Naruto smiled in relief. "I will need you to make sure I get my hands on them as well. This may prove difficult and bear with it some risk since you will have to smuggle it in among the slaves unnoticed."
"What in the world are you talking about?", Ryu cut in worriedly, looking at Naruto with a wary expression.
Naruto paused and took a deep breath, returning his attention from Temari to his men. He already knew his men would fiercely protest the plan.
"In little over a month...", Naruto began, his voice loud and clear throughout the tent. "...'The Day of Silence', a grand event, will take place within 'The Ivory Palace'. The palace is a fortress by itself within the city and will surely claim the lives of many of us should we ever attempt to assault it from the outside. If we count along the losses we'd suffer from taking the outer walls of the city alone, this is not a loss we would be easily able to recover from.", Naruto chuckled darkly. "This is an unacceptable course of action."
Many of his people nodded, happy their leader had the lives of their people at the forethought of his mind. Shou looked thoughtful at Naruto, questions dancing in his eyes.
"'The Day of Silence'?", Shou mirrored, tasting the word with pursed lips. "What sort of event are we talking about here?"
"Beneath the dome of the palace lies an arena. Big enough to house nearly the entire city, according to Hono.", Naruto nodded pointedly at Shou. "I can gloss over the minor details later, but the arena, called 'The Blood Gauntlet', is only open a very few times a year. 'The Day of Silence' is the biggest event here and it happens every year when the deserts are at its coolest. It will be a day of bloody 'sports' where the best slave fighters in the city will be pitted against one another." Naruto let his words trail of, giving his people a pause to digest the information. They all looked grave and serious. "With this many people congregating in one place, more of the city guard will surely be stationed here to provide security, leaving the walls and the rest of the city with less defenses. This provides us with a ripe opportunity to take the city."
"We are still lacking the manpower to take the city, no matter how many of them gather at the event.", Shou frowned at Naruto. "Last meeting, you mentioned that you wanted to incite rebellion among the slaves. Where do we stand on this course of action?"
Naruto nodded. This was an important factor of the plan.
"I need you, Shou, to lead our people in the time I am gone.", Naruto began, quickly speaking before his surprised men could interrupt him. "I need you to find the mines nearby where a large portion of the slaves and guards from the city are located. When you launch our attack on the city during 'The Day of Silence', you will need the help from the slaves located at the mines, as well as making sure the armed forces there do not attack you in the back when we siege the city. You need to plan this in a manner and time frame which leaves the city and its leadership unable to realize what has happened at the mines before you attack. I am also hoping that the freed slaves will cause a reaction among the rest to take up arms against their former masters." Naruto paused to take a breath, looking at several of his officers. "Chances are that the city will be closed during the event, meaning that many of you will have to reside within the city at least a week before the event to make sure you can sabotage or force the outer gates to open for our primary invasion force."
"Why is Shou the one who will be leading?", Masaru leaned forward with a worried expression as he interrupted Naruto's speech. "Do not misunderstand my question, out of everyone here Shou is the one most fit to lead, but where will you be, my Lord?"
"Masaru's right.", Ryu agreed, looking at Naruto with a hard expression. "There's obviously a lot of details surrounding this plan of yours, Naruto. A lot of risks as well. Twice now you've hinted your absence during this next crucial month. Where will you be at this time?"
Everyone's eyes went from Ryu to Naruto, waiting in expectation as Naruto took a moment to gather his thoughts.
Naruto had dreaded this moment.
"We need someone on the inside, among the slaves, to build trust and incite their will to fight." Naruto took a deep breath as his people began to realize his intentions. "That someone should be me."
A grave silence fell over the meeting. While a few, like Temari, seemed to regard him with disbelief, a few like Ryu and Shou regarded him with worried, silent and calculated expressions.
"...Exactly how do you intend to infiltrate the ranks of the slaves?", Shou muttered, his eyes revealing his worry. Naruto suspected Shou already had an inclination as to what his plan were.
"That part is easy.", Naruto chuckled, giving his friend a smirk which quickly dissolved. "You will sell me into slavery."
And done. I am currently embracing myself for any eventual rage that may be thrown my way, but lets see how it goes.
MiNdZeRo here, signing out.