Naruto - Warlord

AN:

Heeey, back again with another chapter. I'm so sorry to those of you that i informed that this chapter would be released before the previous weekend. Those of you who have been keeping up with the previous AN's, complications have arisen regarding my hospitalized family member. Piling this unto the amount of work i've recently had has resulted in my head not being quite in place. Even now as i've finally forced myself to push this out, i'm dead tired and i just want to sleep. I apologize ahead of time if there are mistakes that i'd normally see and fix.

Last chapters have gotten a tremendous amount of support and i love you guys for it! I especially wish to send a huge thanks to a guest reviewer, who left me no way to personally thank him, for a review which said that i shouldnt be afraid to take breaks; even if i only update each month, you guys would still be here. That review of yours really hit me and i can't let that review go unanswered without a thank you. I hope you're reading this.

As i said, last chapter had a lot of you guys thinking. A lot of you called me a dick for killing off Asuka and i wear those words like a badge of honor. Further more, everyone seems to be under the firm conclusion that Ryu's going to make a return at some point, and i will only say this; I would never introduce a character like Ryu just willy nilly and then remove him forever so lacklusterly as it would have been if he never returned now. There's a reasons for everything and everyone i introduce... At least, most of the time.

2 questions i wish to answer in front of the audience this time:

Is Naruto going to Uzu, and if yes, is he going to settle there? Not settling, no. I've never really intended for Naruto to settle in Uzu, even if a LOT of you guys have suggested it and done so with some pretty sound ideas. While it would work excellently for this fic, the problem i have with it is that it's been done before. I wish to try and make something that has not and i've honestly don't got a better reason than that. Eventually sending Naruto to Uzu, or including it in some way, now that's an entirely different story. This is still ways off in the future though and something i need to think on a bit more before i make a decision, but rest assured, i am currently toying with some ideas in regards to it.

Is Naruto going to have another romantic partner at some point? Yes, he will. I understand why people would be worried about this, considering the violent end of his previous relationship. Remember, i'm always trying to keep the plot fluid. I like to think that the obvious is not what i normally go with in this story and i do promise you, he's eventually going to have a longer, lasting relationship with someone. And yes, considering how obvious it was that something bad was going to happen with Asuka, i'm aware of my hypocrisy. Eat shit.

Finally, i've got a question to you guys. A review came in that sort of bothered me, and the person didnt respond to my query. He said that the story isnt about Naruto at all, other than the fact that his name is in the title, and i've been thinking on this quite a lot. The way i see it, the ENTIRE story, is about nothing but Naruto. Everything, apart from a rare, few, instances has been narrated from his point of view, albeit in third person. I don't see how one could conclude that the story is about everyone other than Naruto. I'm aware that there's a lot of "empire building", so to speak, but every chapter is usually mixed with parts empire building and parts with Naruto's personal ventures. What are your thoughts on this? I'm really curious about this.

Holy shit this AN is way, way too long considering how short this chapter is. This chapter is fairly slow as we're going to start building towards the next great peak.

ENJOY!

Chapter 25

Far away from Wave, all the way over in the Land of Earth, Naruto's clone, sent a long time ago after Kurotsuchi's capture, had finally arrived at the Hidden Stone Village's border.

A patrol had come over the clone who had made it's best efforts to be seen. Wary, the patrolling shinobi had tried to apprehend the clone, but faltered when the clone informed them of it's state of being. Tempted with further knowledge of the whereabouts of the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, the patrol agreed to take it into the city to meet their Kage.

As he was led through the enormous granite gates of Stone, Naruto's clone took note of the stark beauty of the village. Everything was made out of gray rock and few things were colored otherwise. The village laid at the bottom of a canyon, a mountain range enveloping the sides of the village which hid it from the surrounding world. The buildings were tall and looked as if it had been cut out from the mountains that were there before them, towering above the city like spires in the image of their brethren around them.

Naruto's clone was clad in full armor, his weapon discarded as demanded by the patrol, as he was being led through the wide, bricked streets of the village. The people seemed to be living mostly in communal structures, as there was very little minor housing or buildings, just the large spires that littered the village. The people of Stone parted for the patrol which led Naruto, pointing and whispering as they took note of him.

Naruto also noted certain ruined, abandoned parts of the city where the spires laid in crumbled heaps of debris, but he didn't dare to question it. He assumed the village had suffered in their recent war against the Akatsuki, but the truth was that there was just so much about the war that Naruto knew nothing about. For now, it would be best to not reveal anything of which he knew or not. As far as he could see, the village was struggling with some amount of poverty.

After a short while, they eventually came upon an inconspicuous spot in the city where he was blindfolded. It was the first smart thing the patrol had done thus far.

They jostled him around for a bit and then led him about. They eventually entered a building of sorts where Naruto suspected they would eventually lead him to a cell. He was proven right a few moments later when he was pushed into a flat, barren cell of granite, his blindfold finally removed.

After a long while of waiting, the clone began to meditate to pass the time and it was only after 2 hours or so that his cell finally reopened.

Opening his eyes to look at his visitor, an old and very small man entered his cell. He barely reached Naruto to his hip, but his gaze was as hard as his face was weathered. His nose was pigmented and swollen in a way that Naruto assumed was permanent, perhaps a result of taking a couple of punches too many to his face. His white hair was kept in a traditional bun at the back of his head, the upper part of his scalp bald. He had a mustache that fell down past his lip with a similar protrusion of hair at his chin.

The man wore a red, gold and green ceremonial cape over a traditional set of black and steel shinobi gear. His small stature aside, the man was obviously feeling his age as his posture was hunched like you'd only see among your elders, his hands clasped at his back to aid himself.

Eyeing one another for a tense moment, Naruto decided to break the silence as he rose.

"The Tsuchikage, I assume?"

The older man merely continued to scowl at him for a second more before nodding, stepping fully into the cell without his escort. The door closed behind him, leaving them both alone with one another. Naruto doubted the Tsuchikage left his escort behind because he was stupid; he merely did not see Naruto as a threat.

"I hear you've brought news regarding my granddaughter.", the old man grumbled with a hard and cold expression on his face. His tone held a dangerous edge to it. "I am Ōnoki, Tsuchikage. I can only assume that the construct before me is a clone of the damnable Warlord I sent my granddaughter to remove?"

Naruto's clone couldn't help but snort at the blunt honesty. It was refreshing to be proven wrong, as he'd come expecting vehement denials and enough lies to spin him in circles.

"You are correct. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Mhm, former shinobi of Konoha, exiled.", Ōnoki nodded, his expression unchanging. "Surprised your clone have lasted long enough to travel all the way here."

"Being a container has it's perks, in regards to chakra. Suppose you did not know that before you sent her on her mission?", Naruto questioned curiously. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have tried to poison the container of the greatest of the Tailed Beasts."

Silence was his answer, Ōnoki staring back at him without amusement. After a minute, Ōnoki finally decided to speak.

"Why are you here?"

The question was simple, but Naruto could hear the dangerous underlying edge to his tone.

"Because of your granddaughter, obviously.", Naruto sighed, fixing Ōnoki with a pointed stare. "I wanted to inform you of her current state, if you even care. And also, to bargain with you, preferably."

"Bargain with what?", Ōnoki asked coldly without missing a second.

"Your granddaughter's life.", Naruto responded just as chilly. Naruto pressed on before Ōnoki could respond, even if his gaze hardened angrily. "As of this moment, your daughter is safe and unharmed. She was injured in her attempt at taking my life, but our doctors assure me she's going to make a full recovery within the following months."

Ōnoki's gaze seemed to soften for just a moment, before it hardened again.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because if you'd like your granddaughter to stay in good health, then you will keep your shinobi away.", Naruto drawled eerily. "You serve a lord who would have us suffer our lives in slavery beneath a nobleman who killed sons and daughters for little more than his own amusement. Trust me, neither you nor your daughter will receive any sympathy from us."

"Big words, from a cretin who leads an army of thugs.", Ōnoki spat in return as he glared hatefully at him.

"If we're going to sink to name calling, we might as well part ways right now. I've got no time for childish games.", Naruto continued to drawl, letting his amusement with Ōnoki show with a smirk. "Here is my bargain; As long as not a single shinobi from your village shows up near our horde and as long as you and yours do not move against us, even if your Daimyo commands it, your granddaughter will be safe and taken care off. This I swear, if that matters any to you."

"The word of a criminal.", Ōnoki scoffed derisively, before tilting his head questioningly at him. "And what exactly, are you going to do if we don't do as you say?"

"Then I will return your granddaughter to you.", Naruto responded, his voice as chilled as the grave. "One piece at a time."

Silence filled the cell as the two leaders glared hatefully at one another. As Naruto had made his case, all that remained was Ōnoki's response.

"...We are 'Stone'.", Ōnoki growled dangerously. "And we do not bend for the threats of the like of you."

"You will bend.", Naruto returned just as dangerously, his eyes narrowing beneath his helmet. "Or she will break."

Another minute passed between them where Naruto was sure Ōnoki would throw himself at him, considering how the old man seemed to be shaking with rage. Eventually though, Ōnoki merely nodded at him.

Seeing the nod as confirmation, or at the very least the closest to a confirmation he would get, Naruto's clone finally dispelled from existence.

Naruto blinked as memories of the meeting with the Tsuchikage filled him. The memories made him sigh with relief; It had gone better than what he'd expected. By Kurothsuchi's words, Ōnoki seemed to be a man of ill temper. He'd been lucky he'd been willing to listen at all.

Naruto was currently standing on the beach of northern Wave, on top of a small ridge overlooking the construction that was now in full bloom. They had been there for 3 days now and most of the dry docks were finished. Some of the boats was already under construction, but it would be some time until they were finished. Naruto and Tazuna had calculated that they needed at least 30 ships to be able to ferry them across, IF the ships were big enough to carry 100-150 men at a time. It would be a tight fit, but their journey wasn't long.

As the men and women working milled about, an ocean breeze wafted over Naruto, which brought him out of his thoughts for a moment. The memory of Asuka was still raw in his memory, accompanied with the strange loss of his former best friend Ryu, but he never had any time to himself these days. After they arrived in Wave, the people had been exhausted from their hard march, but rest was still far off as the Fire's Army was still slowly closing in.

His rangers had reported that the army was extremely discouraged after the encounter with Naruto's forces and many of their men were starving. The Royal Army contingent had been forced to execute deserters who had attempted to flee the horrid conditions after Naruto and his men had burned their rations.

The news had brought Naruto a sense of vindictive pleasure that had surprised himself.

The Rangers had apparently received a new name, given to them by the terrified samurai from Fire, who now called them 'The Hangmen', which could only be due to the men Naruto had ordered them to hang in the forest as a morbid display of savagery that he'd hoped would demoralize them. Apparently it had worked a little bit too well and the rangers took the name upon themselves with pride. While the title was one with an ominous nature, the fear it would invoke could be of use to him in the future.

A tight knit bond had appeared between the Iron Guard, the few that were left, and the freshly named 'Hangmen' after the battle against the Royal Army contingent. Naruto had been afraid that the Iron Guard would feel animosity for the rangers leaving as they did, even if it had been under his own direct orders, but the exact opposite had happened. The Iron Guards sacrifice was now known throughout their entire people and their reputation had soared; Naruto had seen people treat them as reverently as if they were noble, bowing and giving way when they moved down the street. En had began to train new recruits and Naruto was making sure they were implementing the 'Iron Fist Technique' into their daily routines.

Soon, his Iron Guard would be a force that none would be able to reckon with. He'd forge them in his own image, twice as hard and unbreakable, even if it'd nearly kill them in their training. He'd see to it personally.

Naruto had also pulled Hisao and his captains to the side and taught them the 'Shadow Clone Technique', but it was a slow going. One of the captains had fainted on his first try, as he'd forced too much chakra into the technique. They would need a firm grasp on the technique before they started teaching their men, and Naruto was gonna be damn sure nobody would die to the technique because of negligence.

As an officer suddenly yelled angrily at a couple of men working nearby, Naruto was drawn out of his thoughts with a sigh. He turned quickly and marched back into the forest in the direction of the town, his Iron Guard flanking him dutifully.

After a while, he eventually made it into town where he and his horde had laid camp at the perimeter, where he arrived at Kurotsuchi's tent.

As he entered, a couple of medics were fuzzing over her, trying to feed the girl who was prone on her back with a foul expression. 2 Iron Guards stood by the entrance and saluted Naruto as he entered.

"Leave us.", Naruto muttered simply and everyone moved to obey in an instant. The medics saluted him and left, the Iron Guard following a second after. As Naruto and Kurotsuchi were left in silence, they eyed one another warily for a moment before Naruto slowly approached. A bowl of some dried meat and bread were next to her bedside. The medics had obviously been in the middle of feeding her. Kurotsuchi tensed up under her blanket as Naruto seated himself on his knees next to her. "They tell me you've been refusing to eat."

Kurotsuchi blinked in surprise, before her expression soured. She turned her head away from him, hiding her face from him.

Naruto patiently waited for her to respond to him, taking the moment to observe the girl. It had now been quite some time since the girl had been captured and the medics had informed him that the girl had made leaps regarding her health; she'd be ready to begin moving anytime now.

However, lately she'd been refusing to eat and she'd allowed her body to grow gaunt, weak and malnourished. For someone who was supposed to be healing, it was critical that she took care of herself.

"...What's the point...?", Kurotsuchi eventually muttered despondently, something that made Naruto frown.

"The point?", Naruto repeated, picking up the bowl of food. Shifting his position to sit of his side with the bowl in his lap, he reached for her chin to pull her face towards himself. "The point is, that one day you're going to be returning home. For that to happen, you need to take properly care of yourself. Our medics can only do so much if you try to counteract their treatment by refusing to eat. Your body needs nourishment."

Kurotsuchi scoffed, but did not refuse his touch as he pulled her back to face him. Her cold, dead expression made Naruto freeze for a moment.

"You don't have to lie.", Kurotsuchi muttered hatefully, her eyes dulled and cold as she glared up at him. "I know you're going to kill me."

Curiously, Naruto tilted his head at the girl and he couldn't help but smile with some amusement.

"Really?", Naruto chuckled. The hand that had held her chin went back to support her head as the other picked up some bread, lifting it to her lips. Stubbornly, the girl refused to open her mouth as she glared at him angrily. "You know, I can always begin to threaten you again if you refuse to eat. Is that the only way I have to make you cooperate?" His joke was obviously badly received as her frown deepened, a snarl appearing on her expression, but he didn't care. After he lost Asuka, he didn't care much about anything anymore.

"Why feed a dead girl?", Kurotsuchi snarled at him. "What's the point?"

"Why are you so sure I'm going to have you killed?" Naruto leaned back, allowing her head to rest on the pillow under her. He'd allow her childish refusal for now as his curiosity got the better of him.

"I heard them."

Naruto raised a brow at her accusing tone.

"'Them'?", Naruto repeated, frowning with confusion. "Who exactly is 'them'?"

"Your guards.", Kurotsucho muttered, her snarl cooling down somewhat as he listened to her. "Some of your guards who kept a nights watch over my tent; I heard them talk. As my health returns, you're going to have me killed before I can make a break for my escape."

Naruto took a sharp breath of irritation. The last thing he needed was for his guards to rile up his prisoner with false conclusions.

"They shouldn't have said that.", Naruto sighed with a deep frown. "I apologize for you hearing that, I'll have a talk with them. Rest assured, we're not going to have you killed." The girl opened her mouth to protest, but Naruto quickly stopped her by raising the palm of his hand. "I'm serious. You're the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, your value is not something that should be squandered so easily." He leaned down again to support her head as he resumed his attempt to try and feed her. While she could probably eat on her own, it'd be under pain and stress and her doctors had been adamant that she had to move as little as possible. "Now, please, eat. I gave your grandfather my word that I'd take care of you."

At the mention of her father, Kurotsuchi's expression softened with surprise. Blinking up at him, she held eye contact for a long moment while Naruto patiently waited with a piece of bread waiting at her lips.

Finally, she opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her. Naruto tried to hide his relief that he'd finally hit a cord within her; He needed her in good health, otherwise he didn't doubt for a single second that Ōnoki would stop at nothing to take his revenge.

"...You spoke with my grandfather...?", she questioned silently, her tone and expression going somber. She seemed oddly conflicted at the mention of her family.

"A clone of mine did, yes.", Naruto smiled softly. "If I had met him in person, I doubt I'd be here to feed you now."

Kurotsuchi smirked slightly at his joke, but it faded quickly as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

"Why?"

"Why did I meet with your grandfather?", Naruto formulated for her, receiving a sharp nod as he fed her another piece of her food. "Whatever you think of us, we're not criminals or monsters. All we wish for, is to one day return to our home, in Earth. I'd like to do so through as little bloodshed as possible, so I struck a deal with your grandfather; As long as he and his forces stay away, no harm will come to you. I gave him my word, as I now give to you."

She observed him quietly for a moment.

"...And if they come for me anyway?", she narrowed her eyes again. "What then?"

Looking back at her unflinchingly, they stared at one other silently for a moment. What was left unsaid made the atmosphere heavy between them.

"...Let us hope it does not come to that.", Naruto eventually relented. Kurotsuchi scoffed at this. "I don't want to hurt you, but if your grandfather forces my hand-"

"You threatened to rape me.", Kurotsuchi snapped at him, glaring at him hatefully. "You threatened to rape me, before allowing your men to do the same until I die. You-!"

"I know what I said!", Naruto interrupted angrily. His shout silenced her with a flinch that instantly made a surge of guilt rise up in him. "Your Daimyo sent men to butcher innocent women and children, so don't think for a second that you have any sort of moral high ground here! Guess what!?", Naruto hissed, his temper flaring. "Our rebellion began with me stopping one of our nobles in murdering an innocent woman who refused his touch! The threats I laid unto you was our reality for YEARS until we had enough!" In his anger, Naruto had leaned over the girl who now cowered beneath him under her blanket, no doubt expecting him to lash out in anger. The sight made Naruto sit back, bitterly admonishing himself for losing his temper. "In any case, my threats were false. As far as I know, the demon in me cannot 'rip the truth from your mind'. I needed you to talk, and so I made you talk. Having you... treated as I threatened to do was never my intention. I would never stoop so low as to treat you like we were for so many years."

As Naruto sat there, patiently waiting for Kurotsuchi to relax from her cowered position under her blanket while he quietly hated himself, Kurotsuchi looked up at him for any signs of danger. Half of her face had been retracted under the blanked in her fright, but her eyes still showed how terrified she'd been by his anger.

Eventually, she relaxed enough to lie down properly on her pillow again. Wordlessly, Kurotsuchi accepted his offer when he resumed feeding her.

Minutes passed between them this way, as she was silently fed by Naruto who continued to admonish himself within the confines of his mind.

"...I didn't know...", Kurotsuchi whispered after a long while, her expression no longer one of fear, but somber curiosity.

"Know what?", Naruto muttered back quietly.

"Why you and your people did what you did.", Kurotsuchi frowned. "You were just a mission. 'The leader of a local rebellion who fled the country', that's what the mission folder said and I never questioned it. I didn't care much for your reasons and your stories. I've...I've never had to do that."

Naruto looked at her for a long moment before taking a deep breath.

"I know.", Naruto began, with a faint smile. "I was a shinobi once myself, you know."

"Mhm, Konoha.", Kurotsuchi frowned. "Wish I knew that before I tried to kill you."

"Oh, I don't know, i'm quite happy you didn't.", Naruto smirked and was inwardly happy when the girl did the same, if only slightly. "While I am sure you're a very good Kunoichi, it was obvious you thought you were dealing with something else entirely. You might have succeeded in your mission otherwise."

"You trying to flatter me here?", Kurotsuchi drawled with a smirk in an odd moment of confidence. Her voice quivered however, revealing her false bravado. "You're going to need more than sweet talking to score points with me after what you did to my spine."

"I'll have to work harder then.", Naruto snorted humorously, happy that the girl was feeling better and finally eating again.

"So, you're really not going to kill me then?", the girl questioned as some doubts obviously still lingered.

"I will not, unless you or your grandfather do something that forces my hand, no.", Naruto responded, ignoring her frown upon his admittance. "One day, we will return to Earth, and I'd rather not have to worry about your grandfather and his forces when we do. If he decides to send assassins after me, after you have been returned...Well.", Naruto chuckled. "Suppose I'll have to worry about that when the time comes."

Honestly, that was so far ahead in time that Naruto didn't wish to worry about it. He wasn't afraid of dying anyway, as long as his promise to his people was kept.

Kurotsuchi continued to accept her offered food with a thoughtful expression, until she finally gazed at him with a determined expression.

"Could you tell me how it all began?"

The question made Naruto blink, his arms freezing in the middle of feeding the girl.

"What?"

The girl smirked, obviously pleased with having caught him off guard.

"Could you tell me how all of this began?", she said, tilting her chin towards the tent around them. "All of this? How a container of the Tailed Beasts goes from an exiled shinobi, to becoming a 'Warlord' of the largest, wandering horde in the history of the Elemental Nations?"

Naruto frowned at her request, almost thinking that she was mocking him, but her honest expression made him consider her request. There was no judgement in her eyes, just curiosity. Whatever her reason was, be it that she was looking for a weakness or actually genuine curiosity, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to humor her a little bit. They might both learn something from one another and it would be good for their futures if the future Tsuchikage were on good relations with them.

Naruto smiled at her and nodded as he continued to feed her. He supposed he should start with the beginning...

And that's it. I'm gonna go pass out now, so don't expect a response before tomorrow. I'm so tired it feels like i'm about to pass into the shadow realm.

MiNdZeRo here, signing out.