A/N: Here we go! The first submission of 2023!

To wccasey, I say this: Hilfe's not the only member of Naruto's warband that's left, she's just one of the ones who were with him since day one, so of course he'd be a lot closer with the ones who'd died in the last chapter. That, and he stationed the rest of his warband at the camp as defenders.

…

[Hashirama Art Gallery, Konohagakure no Sato]

"…Shimura Danzō, I hereby sentence you to death for multiple counts of treason, conspiracy, and warmongering."

"About time." Enma growled, extricating his fingers from Danzō's eye socket to place one hand behind his back and deliver a heavy jab into his chest, crushing his sternum and his heart in one go.

As Danzō's corpse crumpled to the floor, Hiruzen could only feel a sense of relief…that a weight was lifted from his chest. All these years, he'd come to regret letting Danzō live and then turning a blind eye to so many of his crimes…crimes that wound up putting the village in danger from threats both within and without. He'd been told so many times to kill the man for treason, and he'd regretted that he didn't have the spine to follow through on this advice on the very day he'd tried to kill him. And now, he felt relieved that the man was finally punished.

"What'll we do now, Hokage-sama?" asked an ANBU in a tanuki mask.

Hiruzen's mind ran at full speed, thinking of every possibility. There was no doubt in his mind that Jericho Swain would know of this incident, and it stood to reason that he would see this attempt on Naruto's life as the very excuse he'd need to order a full-on invasion of Corinth.

Oh, he'd heard of the ill-fated attempt to invade Ionia. Emperor Darkwill was not in the right mind when he ordered Swain to take over the archipelago with so few resources on hand to do so—unsurprisingly, the Noxians lost that war, but it said a lot when they were able to do so much damage with so little. A good amount of that damage was done thanks to a mad Zaunite chemist known only as Singed, which also showed the lengths to which Noxus was willing to go in order to win.

Given the lessons he'd learned from his defeat in Ionia, it was very likely that Swain was not going to take any chances. Sure, they could win in a battle of quality soldiers, but the Noxian military had many talents at their disposal, as well as the capability of sustaining a war for decades if necessary. However, the real question that bothered Hiruzen was who the Grand General would send to oversee the possible invasion of Corinth.

There were so many concerns on his mind that it was difficult to prioritize any one of them. But one thing was for sure: they needed to prepare for a possible conflict.

"Send word to our Shinobi teams overseas," he finally said, "Tell them what happened and to finish any and all pending missions, and then have them on standby for further orders."

"Have them on standby, sir?" asked Tanuki.

"We don't know what the Noxians' response will be - and make no mistake, they will respond," Hiruzen explained, "For this, I'll need you to send our best trackers to Ionia posthaste in order to locate Naruto and ascertain if he has survived the assassination attempt. Once we know that, we can gauge how bad the situation is and prepare accordingly; everything hinges upon whether or not Naruto survives his encounter with that madman, so I want to be the first to know."

Tanuki nodded in agreement before vanishing down the halls of the art gallery as Hiruzen turned to regard the remaining ANBU operatives. "As for the rest of you, I need this village fortified. Whether or not Naruto survives the encounter with Khada Jhin, I want us to be able to weather a possible invasion from the Noxians…if he survives, then divert most of our funding towards our preparations."

"And if he doesn't?" asked an ANBU in a deer mask.

"Then send word to recall all our teams…tell them we're preparing for war."

As the ANBU teams ran off in all directions to deliver the message, Hiruzen could only feel shame that the village was imperiled because of his choice to let a traitor like Shimura Danzō live. It was because of his spinelessness that he had an even bigger mess to clean up, all because he lied to himself for more than forty years that Danzō was still useful in spite of his treacherous nature. In the end, he'd wondered if his sensei Senju Tobirama had chosen him to be the next Hokage over Danzō as he was the lesser of two evils.

For now, however, that didn't matter.

He'd failed Konoha as her Hokage because of his spinelessness, but he would do his absolute best to pull her out of this mess he'd allowed to happen.

…

[Noxus Prime]

The Black Rose operative leaped through the rooftops of Noxus Prime, making a beeline towards her cover.

Her encounter with the Hyūga heiress was an act of pure chance. Not long after she'd reported that the Iron Maiden's trail had gone cold, she was given the assignment to track down and assassinate a Noxian noble and to recover secrets he was about to sell to Demacia. Upon her return, she found Hyūga Hanabi strolling all by her lonesome in one of the deadlier parts of Noxus Prime. It seemed that the closer one went to the Immortal Bastion, the more cutthroat it got.

With her charge escorted to safety, the Black Rose Operative rushed back to her cover. Her destination in sight, she slowed down…there was no need to rush at this point; nobody would pursue her here. And nobody would think to find her in this building, much less expect her to work here as a cover.

It helped that nobody was around at this time—not a single soul wanted to chance an encounter with one of the wraiths from the Immortal Bastion that were said to prowl the streets of Noxus Prime at night. Even fewer wanted to risk being the next unfortunate victim of the serial-killer mage wanted for the disappearance of multiple citizens throughout the empire, more recently in the town of Hegby over in the south. It was for this reason that the operative chose this time to return to her cover…not late enough to risk an encounter with the wraiths, but just early enough for all doors and windows to be shut. It was a small and risky window of opportunity, but it was the best time to get back to her cover undetected.

As she snuck into the back of the building, she was quick to open the door, and even quicker to enter, slamming the door behind her back. Satisfied that she was safe for the moment, the operative calmly walked up through the halls of the building before entering a wide, open space inside the building. Among the first things she saw was a shelf-lined wall containing drawer upon drawer of medicines and herbs, all of which were carefully organized and maintained behind a solid oak counter with a scale on top and drawers containing patient records. Next to it was a bookshelf covered with many texts that detailed medical techniques from all over the world, but many of them were dedicated to Corinthian herbalism and medical treatments.

As she walked up the stairs, an anatomical model could be seen suspended on a stand nearby, used both as a reference for herself and for her patients. There was no receptionist desk inside the cavernous interior, much of the room near the front door was taken up by two chairs flanking a side table with a china vase on top, with three pairs of chairs banking it in front. All done in a style somewhat resembling an ancient Corinthian herbalist's clinic, though there were facilities in the basement where more serious treatments and surgeries were performed.

The entire building was in an affluent part of Noxus Prime…a small, but stately medical clinic with an apartment on the second floor. It wasn't all roses and sunshine, however, as anybody squeamish about bloodshed wouldn't last long in this cutthroat environment, and she'd proven herself quite strong. She was able to get this place because of the rivers of blood she'd spilled on behalf of the Black Rose; though a good amount of it also came from her day job as a legitimate doctor. Not a day went by that she wished she'd simply been a doctor instead of the monster she'd become.

Sighing sadly, the Black Rose operative sat down in front of a vanity, pulling her mask off to reveal smooth, attractive features in the mirror that drew many lustful eyes towards her from both sexes. Very little effort was needed for her to get her victims to drop their guard around her; her pale lilac eyes were already enough to make them mistake her as blind, and the softness of her curves made her look harmless. And while she'd long since lost the ability to cry, there was still a sadness in her eyes from the blood that stained her hands.

"Beautiful."

The Black Rose operative didn't need to turn to recognize the owner of that voice.

"I suppose you can call us even now," said the Black Rose operative, setting her mask aside.

"Considering how many times you've surprised me in this manner, we're not bloody close to even," retorted Victoria, the squeaking of springs telling the operative she was on her bed.

The Black Rose operative sighed, wiping her face clean. "I smell blood on you, but I don't notice any cuts on your person."

"I've studied the art of Hemomancy under the Crimson Circle; and I can tell you without a doubt that I am getting better."

"Then it seems you have yet another tool in your belt," noted the agent, "Truly, you're a chip off the old block if you're adding magic to your arsenal."

Victoria nodded in pride. "And you, love, are more than you seem; bloody hell, it's as if you're more well-suited for leadership than your sister if you could convince the Iron Maiden to join our cause."

The operative paused in her cleanup session, glaring dangerously at Victoria. "Here you are, Hyūga Hinata, the eldest of twin sisters, and one of the Black Rose's sharpest thorns: interrogator, investigator, acquisitions specialist, even a spy. Though in truth, who's going to believe that the sweet, pale-eyed doctor from Corinth is also one of their deadliest assassins?"

Hinata remained silent, watching the warhost commander from the corner of her eye as she went behind a partition to change into more casual attire. Undoing the rest of the cloak revealed a rich, padded cloth jacket that allowed for high speed and padded to provide a modicum of protection, while also muffling the sound of her movements. The cuirass was next to come off, followed by the vambraces, then the gambeson, revealing the pale skin of a fit patrician that belied an even mix of speed and agility, with a little leeway made for raw power. Her slim figure was a subtle hourglass with slightly more attention drawn to her waist, which aided her whenever she was required to seduce her targets into giving up their secrets.

"I'll assume you're not taking advantage of this time to practice simply to taunt me," Hinata noted.

She could feel the mood in the bedroom drop as Victoria sighed. "It's not good. While you were away on your second mission, the Grand General sent Naruto to Ionia."

Dread filled Hinata as she paused with her hands on her pants as she looked at Victoria past the partition. "He did what?"

"I know. He was sent out on a mission to capture the renegade swordswoman Riven."

"Does the Grand General suspect anything?" she asked, walking out of the partition while dressed down to her underwear.

"If he singled out Naruto for this mission right in front of me, I have no doubt that he is aware of our growing rebellion," Victoria answered, "I imagine that this move was his way of saying 'game on.'"

Hinata glared at Victoria. "If Naruto is killed because of this…"

She then looked back at Hinata with a serious expression in her eyes. "I wasn't bloody lying when I said that I can't afford to lose him!" she snapped, walking up to Hinata with a menacing gait, "He's not just a piece on the board to manipulate; every time I'm in the same room with him, my heart beats harder every time we are close…makes me want to pull him in and feel his warmth."

Victoria's admission had come so suddenly that Hinata could only watch as her evident rival in love came to a stop right in front of her. "And if I'm not mistaken, you and I are of the same heart and mind; the only difference is that I'm in a better position to protect him…but you? Between protecting your sister, keeping up your disguise, and your own duties to the rebellion, I do not envy the burden upon your shoulders. However, because of the situation at hand, what we do next will hinge upon whether or not Naruto returns from his mission."

Before Hinata could say a word, Victoria gently stroked her cheek as her expression softened. "He'll be back, love."

"And what if he doesn't?" Hinata asked.

"I know he will. He's as stubborn as a basilisk, and just as difficult to kill."

Hinata sighed in resignation. Victoria's confession was more than sincere…and she was right—there was nothing she could do to get Naruto back from Ionia. Her only chance of freedom and to be with the one she loved was to cooperate with Victoria Swain in her growing insurrection

Now if only she didn't have to host a sleep-over with the Grand General's own flesh and blood.

…

[Navori Province, Ionia]

Naruto stirred as his vision gradually returned to him, the blurry shapes becoming clearer as he saw a ceiling made of wood above him, beams of sunlight cutting through the windows across his field of vision.

He was quick to note that he was in a bed, his armor and his shirt was off, and a blanket covered him. As he sat up, he recoiled in pain upon putting weight on his shoulder.

"Easy, kit," whispered the voice of the fox, "You're still not completely recovered from the damage to your shoulder."

"How bad was the damage?" Naruto whispered.

"Let's just say you were hit so hard that if I weren't there to patch you up, you would've died from even a non-lethal shot."

"Oh, so you're awake," noted a new voice in the room.

Naruto looked to the side, and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand upon finding Riven in the doorway, holding a tray in both hands. "Don't worry, it's not poison. I'm just here to check your bandages, and I brought you some food."

There was a moment of silence as he read Riven's body language. Even before he'd been shipped off to Noxus as part of a peace deal, Naruto had learned to get a good read on people. The hard lessons he'd learned on the value of patience allowed him to sharpen that intuition into a keen edge. This combination allowed him to intuit when someone was being sincere, and thus he could see that Riven sincerely wanted to help him.

Heaving a sigh, Naruto looked back up at the ceiling. "Stand down, Hilfe."

The whine of Hextech powering down could be heard from the corner of the room as Hilfe turned off her rifle. He could practically feel her glaring menacingly at Riven, as if daring her to try and kill him while he was down.

Riven sat down at the bed, eliciting another pained hiss from Naruto as she propped him up against the wall. As she removed the bandage, he could see the burn and the deep depression in his shoulder from whatever it was Khada Jhin shot him with.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked.

"At my home," she replied simply, "You were losing a lot of blood, and the farm was the closest place we could go. You're lucky my father's not here at the moment…he's still out auctioning away our surplus crop."

"We can't stay long," he told her, "My warband's gonna be looking for us."

"I believe you," she replied, inspecting his shoulder, "Your sniper hasn't left your side since your ill-fated encounter with Khada Jhin. If you inspire so much loyalty in your troops that they're willing to put their lives on the line to defend you, I wouldn't be surprised if they're willing to burn down entire villages just to get you back."

"Brought you back to your days in the army?" Naruto asked.

There was a pause as Riven was lost in a sad, thoughtful silence. "I'm no doctor, but you're recovering a lot faster than you should," she finally said, changing the subject, "Though given that that's no ordinary gunshot wound you've sustained, I imagine you're still going to be out of commission for a while, so don't move your arm during that time. I'd recommend you rest up until you're fully recovered, then you can leave."

Satisfied with her assessment, Riven set aside the bandages, and laid a cloth across her lap to place a small, lidded bowl upon it. Naruto could see steam billowing from the hole in the lid as she pulled it off to reveal tofu blocks and seaweed dashi swimming in a miso broth.

Dipping the spoon into the broth, Riven gently blew the contents cool before putting it close to his mouth. Naruto bent forward to take the soup, and tasted the salt. It was pretty simple, but it brought him back to his days in Corinth…before he was sold off. He missed the Ichiraku Ramen stand he used to frequent, and all the beautiful colors of his home.

It was ironic that he would feel safe while held by the enemy.

…

[Unknown Location]

The distant sound of dripping water sporadically broke through the silence as ten shadowy figures stood on the fingertips of a gargantuan statue, only their eyes breaking through the veils of darkness.

"It seems word has spread throughout Corinth of the attempt on Uzumaki Naruto's life," said one figure.

"Shimura Danzō was exposed as the perpetrator," added another, "The Hokage must have been a weak-willed fool if he'd entrusted a known traitor with so much power."

"Regardless of our opinions on the matter, we still have a major problem," countered a shadow with the ringed eyes, "I highly doubt the Grand General will keep quiet about the attempted assassination of a political hostage, especially one who has become a war hero in that nation of brutes. Due to this, I have no doubts that word will spread to the other Hidden Villages, who will beef up security specifically for the possibility of an invasion - this uptick in vigilance also means that our attempts to take the Jinchuriki will be that much more difficult."

"It may be even more perilous for us now," added a flanged voice, his profile giving him the appearance of being eaten by a beast, "I managed to infiltrate Noxus, trying to gather intel we could use in an attempt to sabotage those brutes. From the very second I set foot on imperial soil, I've had this nagging feeling that we were being watched every step of the way - even now, I feel eyes upon me, peering into my soul and looking through every little secret."

"A part of me is actually hoping for that to happen," countered another shadow, a large sword holstered across his back, "I have heard that the Hand of Noxus represented the pinnacle of Noxian might…perhaps that's a good opportunity to demoralize that nation."

"Be careful what you wish for," countered a feminine voice, "One wrong move, and the entirety of the Noxian military will be upon our door sooner than we like. At which point, by the time you face off against Darius, you'll have been drowning in the large numbers of his Trifarian Legion, all of whom will have been battle-hardened veterans of many conflicts."

"It seems that the threat of a Noxian Invasion was the very thing that brought unity to our nation," concluded Ring-eyes, "It is also because of this threat that we cannot move. If Zetsu is correct, then I suspect that the Grand General is watching us as we speak, and it's only a matter of time before he decides we are too much of a threat to his ambitions. And unlike his failed attempt to conquer Ionia, he's more than aware of what Shinobi are capable of; he'll throw everything into a full-on invasion of Corinth if he has to, just to eliminate us. So guard your movements until a way to go on the offensive against the Noxians presents itself."

…

[Konte farm, Navori Province]

Naruto sat at the foot of the porch, watching the sea of green sprouts contrasting against the darkened earth of freshly-tilled soil.

Hilfe sat nearby, her focus upon cleaning, calibrating, and oiling the myriad parts of her disassembled railgun as part of her routine maintenance of the weapon.

What was left of his armor and his greatsword were stashed away in the room he was convalescing in. While the rest of the plates remained undamaged, there was a massive hole punched completely through the shoulder of his cuirass; Ironspike ore was notoriously difficult to damage, which spoke volumes of the weapon Jhin used in the attempt to assassinate him. As he sat in his place, he wondered as to what he would do should he encounter the assassin yet again.

"This ain't gonna end well for us, Boss," she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"No need to tell me twice," Naruto replied, "Though I'm more worried that we're gonna get disbanded or something for this."

"Mind if I sit?" Riven asked from behind.

Naruto shrugged noncommittally, offering a space next to him. Hilfe's interest seemed more focused on the maintenance of her weapon, but he knew her well enough to know that she was a skilled multitasker. She was vigilant enough to be able to keep an eye out for signs of trouble while working on something else…it also helped that she always kept a sidearm at the ready should her railgun be out of commission for any reason.

"Never thought that the great swordmistress Riven would be going back to her roots as a farm girl." Naruto noted.

"I've learned long ago that sometimes life has a way of taking you places you never expected to go," replied Riven, looking out in the distance. "Besides, it's the least I can do with all the lives I've taken in an unjust war."

"I've been meaning to ask, but why're you helping me? I'm the guy with the orders to apprehend you for desertion."

Riven heaved a wistful sigh. "You remind me a lot of myself, when I was in the Noxian army; a young recruit, on the fast track towards greatness on her own merits - the very definition of a True Noxian. I once even had a rune blade myself, awarded to me by Emperor Darkwill himself in recognition of my skill in the art of the sword, and was made captain of my own warband. But it was all a lie…the Noxus of today no longer exalts the strong, but instead turns its energies towards crushing the weak by any means necessary. A fact that I'm fairly certain you already know."

"I'd noticed," Naruto admitted, "While I was still a new captain, my warband had the misfortune of being put under the command of a shitty warhost commander. That fat bastard was an incompetent, arrogant prick from old money that was quick to point the finger whenever we did something wrong, and even quicker to take the credit for anything we did right. He also liked to rub it in our faces that he was from a powerful family, but for some reason, he decided to reserve the worst of his bad behavior for me. Something about a girl that liked me better than him.

"Anyway, one day, we were put on patrol in the Argent Mountains, when we got into a skirmish with a Demacian patrol. Little did we know that our position was compromised the second we went out; from what I heard after the fact, that asshole sold us out in hopes of getting me killed, or at least court-martialed for incompetence."

"What happened to that incompetent commander of yours?"

"Nobody knows," Hilfe added, joining in for the first time in the conversation, "Though rumor had it that he'd run afoul of someone, which was why he was found bleeding to death out of every orifice. Sounds like he'd pissed off a Corinthian assassin or something."

"And your warband?"

Naruto's attention went back to the field as he thought back on the losses he'd incurred. "Of the hundred souls that made up my original warband, our numbers were cut in half that day, and all because our boss was an asshole that wanted me out of the way to get the girl he liked. If I didn't rise to the occasion and turn the tables that day, we would've lost everyone; mind you, we were able to replenish our numbers since then, but it always hurts whenever you lose someone on your watch."

A sad sigh was Riven's answer as she looked to her bandaged arm. "You were lucky, I wasn't. During the invasion, we were assigned to escort a commander named Emystan. We'd been through our fair share of bad bosses, but something about Emystan and the sortie he wanted to undertake seemed different…wrong even. This is especially the case considering he was also transporting barrels containing a substance brewed by a mad Zaunite chemist known only as Singed.

"Keep in mind, when people around here say that the terrain is highly opinionated, they're not joking; we noticed it from the very beginning when the wildlife joined the Ionians in their counter-offensive. That day however, the resistance fought back harder than before…and it wasn't until I called Emystan for support that things went horribly wrong. Instead of getting reinforcements, the first thing I saw was a flaming arrow soaring through the air, and piercing one of the barrels of Singed's chemicals; then came the deluge of flame. By the time I came to, I saw that the entire area around me was scorched; I was protected, but allies and enemies alike were consumed by the flames.

"You're the only survivor?" Hilfe asked, interested in the story.

Lowering her arm, Riven looked back out into the field. "I thought so at first, then I encountered the Sisterhood of War, all of whom were remnants of my old warband. Like you, they came to arrest me for desertion, but they also came to reclaim the runeblade from me - I may hate what that blade has come to symbolize, but I'm not going to let it ruin anyone else's life. If it's become my burden, then I will turn it towards the defense of my new home."

Naruto sat up, and rotated his shoulder to test out his recovery. Whatever lingering soreness he'd felt from the wound was long gone as his shoulder bones snapped back into place.

"Where do you think you're going?" Riven asked.

"I'm going to get my stuff back, then Hilfe and I are gonna head back to camp," he answered, a sad half-smile on his face, "I can't promise you that the Grand General's gonna leave you alone after today, but as a fan and a fellow soldier, the least I can do is keep my guys from burning your farm to the ground. Besides, I'm pretty sure your dad's gonna have some choice words for you about bringing a boy over while he's out."

There was a light blush on Riven's face that quickly disappeared with her huff of dismissal. "Before you go, I'd like to know, what are you fighting for? Noxus isn't even your home country."

Naruto looked back at her thoughtfully. "I honestly don't know anymore. At first, I thought I'd fight for the right to go home, and that'd be that; but I always feel a pull there, and I don't know why. All I know is that there's a reason I haven't left, and it has nothing to do with me being sold off as a political hostage by my own homeland - I'm just hoping that I'll find that reason eventually."

A tense silence rolled in between Naruto and Riven as the two of them met eye to eye, both scrutinizing each other as skilled soldiers and swordsmen. It was Riven who would break the deadlock with a sigh of resignation. "I don't think there's anything I can say or do that will stop you from leaving. I will, however, say this: you're too good to be sent to your death in foreign lands, too good even for Noxus. So guard yourself well, because if you die, I'm afraid that the empire would lose more than a mere captain of a warband."

"I'll do my best to stay alive," Naruto replied, nodding gratefully, "Let's pray that we don't meet like this again, Riven."

Silently nodding to Hilfe, the two of them went back to Naruto's room. They needed to pack and leave soon.

…

[Elsewhere in Navori]

Everything was silent as a form in the shadows looked down upon his prey.

Nothing but the sound of the wind rushing through the trees as he watched the target gathering his dead while his Yordle friend assembled a large sled from dead branches in the area. It was strange to watch a Noxian soldier showing this much reverence for the dead…then again, the target wasn't even a proper Noxian to begin with.

The entire area was the site of Khada Jhin's attempt to assassinate Captain Uzumaki, who was given the mission to extradite Riven Konte back to Noxus to serve out her sentence for desertion. In a twist of fate, Riven saved her captor from the Golden Demon, then nursed him back to health.

"I didn't think you'd stoop so low as to attack someone trying to collect their dead, let alone one that's still recovering from an injury," said a voice from behind. It was barely above a whisper, but the shadow's trained ears could hear it…he could even hear the menace in the tone.

"There is something about this Noxian soldier that gives me pause, Shen," replied the shadow, "I want to kill him, and yet something compels me to stay my hand."

"So you've seen it, Zed?" the now-named Shen asked.

Zed's focus remained on the Captain as he loaded the bodies onto the sled, but was prepared should it come to blows as it normally did. "I have seen enough to know that Captain Uzumaki's murder would be a grave mistake in the long run. Thus, the Noxian dog lives…for now."

"Whether he knows it or not, he's bringing light to the Noxian Empire…and with any luck, he may even avert the war to come."

"And if he's the one to bring war back to our shores, Shen?"

…

[Immortal Bastion]

It'd been a few days since he'd returned, and Naruto stood before the Trifarix.

While it was perfectly acceptable to wear battle armor in formal events in Noxus, Naruto's armor was still being repaired, forcing him to wear the full-dress uniform he kept in good order for formal events. It was a three-piece suit consisting of a red jacket with black lining over a medium-red vest, and deep red trousers, complemented with a sanguine shirt, a dark silver necktie, and polished leather shoes. Pinned on his chest were inlaid brass medals that spoke of his achievements in battle, as well as his rank as captain. Noxus being the cutthroat country it was, there was a good amount of armor hidden in the dress uniform to protect him from assassins. And to ensure he was able to defend himself at a moment's notice, he kept his greatsword at hand, and his suit was tailored specifically to allow for ample freedom of movement.

His hands were held behind his back as he debriefed them on the events of the mission. Luckily Hilfe was there with him to back up his account.

There was no doubt he would be punished for this failure to apprehend Riven - somehow, Swain always knew. The only upside of the campaign was that they were able to pacify the area…if only for the moment. Extra troops at the garrison would go a long way towards ensuring the safety of the base, ensuring the Navori Brotherhood would avoid the base like a plague from how well-defended it was.

"…and that concludes my debrief on what happened in Ionia." Naruto finished.

As par the course with the Faceless, Naruto was unable to get a read on them. Darius's expression as he'd listened to what had happened at Ionia, however, was obvious; the disappointment was clear on his face, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes. Then again, Naruto knew the general enough that he'd understand - a small contingent of your best would be needed to successfully apprehend a fugitive as dangerous as Riven. That Khada Jhin would interfere was an outcome nobody saw coming, and Darius had taught his student well to prepare well for every possible outcome.

What Naruto did not expect however, was the Grand General's patience as he described the whole ordeal that led up to the failure to extradite Riven back to Noxus. How the unexpected appearance of Khada Jhin in Ionia had caused the deaths of valuable personnel, all of whom were officers under his command and were some of the best combatants in his warband. Not one word was said by Swain as he listened carefully.

Victoria had once told him that Jericho Swain was a cold, but reasonable sort, so long as you were competent. But then again, she was related by blood to the Grand General, so she would know him fairly well; not that it stopped the dread that filled his stomach as he feared what fate the Grand General had in store for him for this failure. It took all the backbone he could muster to weather Swain's cold, searching gaze.

"And you are certain that Riven has taken the opportunity to slip away in the heat of battle?" Swain asked.

"To be honest, in all the commotion of us trying to survive against Jhin, it was hard to keep track of her, especially considering he'd already killed two of us by that point."

Not a lie. He thought confidently to himself.

"And after your hunting party was reduced to the two of you, you managed to return to camp?"

"We had to hide away from animals for a while so I could recuperate, but yeah we did."

Still not a lie, but with a few details omitted. Naruto thought, trying to maintain his poker-face. He and Hilfe were careful to avoid mentioning his rescue and convalescence at the hands of Riven.

It would've been a miracle if Swain bought their explanation.

The Grand General huffed in resignation as he reclined back in his seat. "You are dismissed for the time being, Captain Uzumaki…stay close, you shall be called back shortly for our verdict."

After bowing respectfully before the Trifarix, Naruto and Hilfe turned to leave. The two of them walked down the halls of the Immortal Bastion, expecting the possible torrent of tomatoes to come in response to their failure at Ionia.

"That's funny," Hilfe noted, as the doors to the meeting hall were closed behind them, "I half-expected there to be an angry mob outside."

She'd had a point; nobody was waiting for them at the base of the Immortal Bastion. No angry mobs, no thrown tomatoes, not even jeering. Just people going about their business in the streets of Noxus Prime.

"They're still waiting for the verdict," said a voice to the left. Naruto turned to regard the voice, and was quick to notice Victoria leaning against a pillar.

Victoria nodded at Naruto, beckoning him to come closer. Seeing no reason to reject her invitation, he and Hilfe stood at the same pillar. She was one of the first people to come see him after his return from Ionia, though he thought he'd seen the Black Rose operator watching him from the shadows.

"Overdressed, are we?" she teased.

"Yeah, well my armor's still getting fixed," he countered.

"I honestly like it," Victoria noted, her voice taking on a huskier tone, "It makes you look professional."

"It only looks that way, but I'm trembling inside," Naruto replied, "I'm worried we're gonna get disbanded…and then everyone under my command will get scattered because of this failure."

"I really wouldn't worry your head, love," Victoria assured, "The Grand General may be cold and harsh, but he's not without reason."

"Well of course you'd say that, he's your uncle." Hilfe snipped.

"That may be, but he was never really family to me," Victoria huffed, not denying the accusation at all, "There was no love lost in our relationship…at best, he was a teacher to me and nothing else."

"Mind you, this is coming from an orphan, but that's a really twisted relationship, if you ask me," Naruto agreed.

"Well, my dad was a little put-off by my fascination with making magically-empowered weapons," added Hilfe, "He didn't even want me with the Bandle Scouts to begin with."

Feeling a presence of someone, Naruto turned his attention to a particular pillar out the corner of his eye, "And what about you, Ms. Black Rose? Any family issues you wanna share?"

Sure enough, a feminine figure in black. Hilfe was quick to draw a large (for a Yordle) revolver from a holster in her coat…the only reason she hadn't sent six rounds rapidly into her target was that Naruto placed a hand on her wrist. Instead, she settled for glaring suspiciously at her target. "Stalking much?" she asked.

"I wouldn't be a very good Black Rose agent if I couldn't do that much," noted the Black Rose agent, "That being said, I would say that your situation is not so different from my own, Naruto…I too was sold off to the Black Rose as a little girl, though not by Konoha, but by my father who wrote me off as a failure of an heiress."

Naruto smirked in half-amusement. "Well isn't this funny? What are the chances that fate puts four people with family issues together?"

Before a word was said in response, the doors to the meeting room had opened, a single Trifarian Legionnaire with a halberd in hand stood in the threshold. "A verdict has been reached. The two of you are to report to the Trifarix."

Naruto gulped as he and Hilfe walked with the new arrivals back down the halls. The two of them stood before the marble table that separated them from the Trifarix, bodies standing at attention as they awaited the council's decision. This time, there was a different map on the table, this one depicting the entirety of Corinth spread over it.

The Grand General raised his hand. "At ease."

Naruto and Hilfe both relaxed ever-so-slightly, as they watched Jericho Swain lean forward. "It seems you should be commended, Captain." Naruto subtly tilted his head in curiosity; he'd half expected to be demoted to a mere soldier after today. "True, you have failed in your task to capture the target. But you have conducted yourself well in spite of the unexpected hurdle you have encountered, and you have managed to complete one objective at the very least. That said, a failure of such a magnitude should not be ignored…but I am not without mercy - I have a mission that would require the services of two warhosts; complete it successfully, and all will be forgiven."

"With all due respect, Grand General, but do I have a choice in the matter?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer.

"Let's just say that Draven's always on the lookout for new Reckoners." Darius replied, the threat was obvious.

Being stripped of his military career and forced to fight in the arena every day as a Reckoner wasn't so bad; the matches weren't so deadly anymore, so he had a chance to win his freedom.

Being stripped of his military career and forced to fight in the arena every day as a Reckoner with Draven as his boss was another matter entirely.

While he enjoyed the odd match or two at the arena, Naruto was not a big fan of Draven whenever he took to the field personally. On the one hand, he acknowledged that the man was a great fighter, and was very good at his job as an executioner; on the other, he was put-off by his cheesy, glory-hungry attitude. If Darius was the harsh-but-fair father-figure in his life, then Draven was the uncle whose sole job it was to embarrass his nephew. Fitting, considering that the Glorious Executioner was legitimately Darius's younger brother…much to the Hand's exasperation, given the number of antics Draven got himself into.

Either way, he'd be risking his life, the only difference being that he'd have to put up with Draven's embarrassing-uncle behavior in every match.

In Naruto's mind, the choice was clear.

"What's the mission?" Naruto asked.

"Your warband shall be removed from the Iron Ghosts, and put into a new warhost," Swain began, pointing at the southern end of Corinth on the map, "Your orders are to take over a shanty town in the southern part of Corinth under control of a criminal businessman. Once you've dealt with the rabble, you will send word to Commander Swain, who will follow with warmasons to help the locals rebuild and establish a colony on Corinth."

"And who's the warhost commander in charge of the vanguard?" Naruto asked, hoping it wouldn't be yet another idiotic old-money commander.

"Why, you are." said the Grand General.

Naruto had to force his jaw shut, his mind still processing the implications of what he'd just been told. "I'm sorry, I might've heard you wrong, but I thought you just said that I'd be the commander in charge of the vanguard?"

"No, you've heard me correctly," replied General Swain, leaning forward, the deadpan expression still on his face, "For quite some time, I've noted your ability to adapt and survive most unpredictable situations thrown your way, and your ability to salvage losses from failure. You will assemble your warhost, and set sail for Corinth within a week. You are dismissed, Commander Uzumaki."

The two of them bowed respectfully before the Trifarix, before continuing down the hall, nodding respectfully as Victoria and the Black Rose operative walked past them.

"Well, congrats on the promotion, I suppose, Boss." Hilfe said, blithely.

"There's nothing to really congratulate," Naruto countered, "This sounds like a reward, but I get the feeling that this is also a punishment. That means I've got more work cut out for me than just being a captain."

"I'm sure we've made a lot of friends along the way, Boss."

"That's the easy part, Hilfe. The hard part is getting them to work together - and last I checked, I'm probably the only thing stopping most of them from killing each other."

The standard warband normally consisted of roughly 80 to 100 Noxian soldiers, including their captain; a warhost consisted of around six warbands, was led by a commander, and ranged between 480 to 600 troops.

Beyond the sheer number of troops he had to contend with, what made the job more difficult for a warhost commander was the fact that each warband had its own traditions and culture, effectively making them a tribe. And unsurprisingly, many Noxian tribesmen served in the same warband, having been assembled from their tribes. This meant that a warhost commander effectively had the responsibility of getting six disparate tribes and their captains to cooperate and fight as a cohesive unit.

Sighing in resignation, Naruto turned his attention back down to Hilfe. "I've got a pretty good idea of which Captains I want. So as soon as we get back, get some runners ready while I write some invites - and let's pray that they're in Noxus Prime right now."

Hilfe nodded in understanding. "Will do, Boss."

…

[Southern Corinth, two weeks later]

The misty dawn was silent as a girl foraged through the wilderness for medicinal herbs.

She had to be quick; her master had been injured in a fight against Konoha Shinobi, and he needed to recover before he encountered them again.

There was no reason for her to set foot in the local pharmacy, it was simply too depressing in the village as a whole, especially considering what her master's employer had been up to.

The president of the Gatō Shipping Company was a known drug dealer, but things got worse after he started dabbling in the manufacture of a new product - one that was more potent and powerful than Shimmer. Evidently, the little rat had ambitions of becoming a Chem Baron with his own city to rival the likes of the late Silco, possibly even becoming the self-styled "Chem King" of all Corinth.

In theory, it was none of her concern as to what Gatō did - in reality, she was truly and utterly disgusted by the man. The sexual harassment, she could handle to a degree…he was technically her boss, after all; her distaste of her employer stemmed largely from the horrors she'd seen Shimmer inflict upon the people hooked on it. Besides its addictive properties, she'd seen the tumors growing on people's bodies, disfiguring them into abominations that would murder entire families over a drop of the stuff. Her heart welled with sadness that her master would even consider working for such a man…then again, knowing him and their situation, they didn't have a choice.

Once their contract was up, they would leave this depressing place and never come back.

The girl paused in her foraging upon hearing a sound in the distance. Trained ears told her that they were footsteps, moving in lock-step, taking their time as they closed in on her position. From the weight and repetition she could hear, it sounded that there were many pairs of feet approaching, like a mighty on the lookout for prey.

Pumping chakra into her legs, she jumped straight into the air, and found her footing on a strong branch so she could look down on the newcomers.

As the march moved closer to her location, she waited with anticipation as the footfalls closed in on her. It was there that she saw the intruders as they passed by.

None of them were uniform; each of them wore different sets of armor, and carried different weapons. They weren't even the same people, as she'd spotted a few minotaurs in the mix. The only thing that united them was the fact that they all wore red on their person, sometimes as sashes, other times as capes…all the same sanguine shade of red.

This was less an army, and more a horde of barbarians. And yet, there was a certain amount of discipline between these invaders.

There was no doubt in the girl's mind as to what was going on, and her fears were confirmed the second she noted the axe-shaped crest flown on a blood red standard in the distance.

The Noxians have come.

…

A/N: I'd thought of doing this in two parts, but I figured, why not move the story along a little faster while I'm at it?

Hopefully, this is still satisfactory.

…

Vocabulary:

Warband and Warhost troop numbers—if Noxus was based on Ancient Rome, then a warband would've been the equivalent of a Centuria, with Naruto as its Centurion…this means a warband would have around 80-100 troops. A warhost, would then be equivalent to a Cohort, then the warhost commander is the equivalent of the Pilos Prior, and would be made up of 6 Centuriae, which means anywhere between 480-600 troops.