SHGS - Chapter Five: An introduction to the Zeison Sha

Disclaimer: I do not own, or profit, from Naruto, Star Wars, and all associated media.

A/N

"I've edited the story a bit. Chapters two and three have been merged. Chapter four is now three, and chapter five is now four. Enjoy."

- Darklighter

"Thoughts"

"Speech"

"Abnormal sentient thoughts"

"Abnormal sentient speech"

Yanibar

When Naruto stood to face Traya his training saber was still gripped firmly in hand. This was an improvement over the past months.

Naruto was a born natural when it came to employing the Force. Over the seasons since Traya had touched his mind he had gained an iron hard mastery over the control aspect of using his abilities, and was rapidly coming to terms with the powers under the sense umbrella.

One could sense this was not enough for Traya however, for she drilled him into the ground as the months flew and winter gave way to spring. After his awakening she had divided his days into segments of constant activity - saber training, force exercises, arcane texts, hunting, and of course taking care of any needs or whims that caught her fancy.

He only had time to himself to sleep, yet even then it was in snatches, and he rarely got three hours consistent.

His body became angular and hard as the training sank into his bones.

She brewed Sith potions that accelerated the onset of his puberty. The vile liquors made him long for the dream potion that had awakened him to the ways of the Sith. She had been true to her word and barely allowed him to subsist on the hut's meager winter stores. Instead she had used the harsh cold months to teach him how to hunt. He was inordinately pleased when spring arrived and the animals began to show themselves.

He always grinned, smirked, or smiled when he used the force, and he was doing the former now. Traya herself wore a look of satisfaction. Was it just him or was her chest heaving more than usual? Her eyes were wild at any rate, and her strawberry hair clung to her face in crinkled clumps where strands had come loose from their restraining tie.

"Saber still in hand? Come then bitch," Traya casually flourished her Lightsaber, tossing it from right hand to left, the brilliant beam cast dancing shadows on the slick limestone walls of the training cave.

A part of Naruto realized that he was training for life and death situations. They always fought in semi-darkness; they were guided only by the lights of their weapons. He sought to center himself.

Despite his long months of training the tip of his saber always wavered slightly before he struck - giving away his intentions.

This was an unexpected issue. From Traya's explanation the way of the fledgling Sith was always harder because use of emotions required a great will to exert control.

He used that will now.

She had been getting the better of him too often, and if he allowed the situation to persist any longer she would come to judge him to be weak.

He saw her eyes widen as he settled his stance, and the miniscule openings that had been in his form shrank away. He did not respond to her use of Dun Moch, but kept his carefree grin plastered on.

He settled deeper into the force. She had been treating him like a dog. He had been nursing the brutality of her methods over the months, but for the first time his anger steadied his hand and calmed his nerves.

This was part of what it meant to be Sith.

He felt a tug at his grip as Traya tried to rip his weapon out of his grasp. She had been using the Force to do so more regularly as his training progressed, but he was ready for her this time and casually deflected her attack with a mental tendril of his own.

He rushed in at her then taking two paces before ducking to the right. Naruto twisted his Lightsaber in a stabbing motion; he used the muscles of his right thigh, and the tough calluses on his balancing instep as he surged up at her from his half crouched stance.

She scrambled back and parried as he pitched forwards on his toes almost as if he was some kind of deadly ballerina.

He launched himself into the air from the impossible position; no doubt he used the Force to assist himself in doing so.

Traya followed his arced flight as he tumbled over her. She was ready for him when he landed. She met his blade with her own. Her fingers straining for purchase on the grip of her weapon as she parried and retaliated.

Still he forced her to cede the advantage.

A pattern of strikes followed. They both settled into the rhythm of their duel as muscles loosened fully, and sweat began to pour.

Traya scored him a glancing blow when his precognition abandoned him for a moment, and he miscued a block. His forearm throbbed where it had been touched by the stinging weapon, but he roared and used his considerable strength to drive their locked arms, and her, back across their dueling circle.

The muscles he had packed on drawing a bow to hunt scrawny game in the wintry outdoors, and under her training regime, served him well in that moment.

Yet Traya would not be bested by her apprentice. She called the Force to her aid as her feet approached the lines of the circle. The iron curtain of her will backed her up, and then began to push back against Naruto.

Belatedly he had also called on the Force - attempting a Force-push that would knock her out of the circle. But there had been a lapse of precious milliseconds before he his attempt to counter her power took hold.

He struggled against her for a couple of titanic seconds, but his will was still half trained, and she had only recently began to teach him how to use the Force to alter his environment.

He felt her mind inexorably grab ahold of him. He felt the contempt in her touch as she tried to casually fling him out of the circle.

He tumbled through the air, but he refused to allow her a complete victory. He employed the Force again; using it to cushion his fall as he landed on his feet.

Growling in frustration and deactivated his Lightsaber. Even in the darkness he could tell that one foot hung just outside of the marked training area.

"You are improving," Traya said grudgingly.

She also deactivated her weapon, and it floated serenely to hang on her belt. She contacted the home A.I, so the system activated the lights in the cavern.

Training devices - mats, kettlebells, traditional weights, and assorted implements lay sprawled outside of the dueling circle. In the far corner, right next to the door that led out of the training complex was an old fashioned terminal; the kind that manifested a keyboard for operation, or even required physical keys.

This one was of the former variety, and it actually controlled all the systems in the house, for Traya's dojo also served as her bunker, and there was an escape hatch that led far away from the forest and to the surface in the event of calamity.

"But not quickly enough?" he asked as he followed her. Traya exited the training space brusquely, and she sat before the terminal she idly brushed back her still damp hair.

"No, not quickly enough," she said as her eyes scanned the now active screen before her. Naruto hovered by her seated position on the cuff of her shoulder. "But you will have to serve as you are."

Naruto's eyes also scanned the screen but he could make no sense of the symbols. Deimus had not imparted knowledge of the Sith language to him all those moons ago, and Traya had not seen fit to teach him.

"Serve for what?" his face bunched in consternation despite his efforts to school his expression. His fingers idly played with the hilt of his training saber now clipped to his form-suit. He did not doubt that she was reading a communication from Deimus. He only wished he could fathom the missive.

"Serve what rather," she said, "I don't think I have to tell you that my ends would be the answer."

"Yes but your ends to what?" Naruto persisted. His hand gripped down on the head of her chair. The days when she could bully him physically at whim were long gone. These days they both knew that he only obeyed because Naruto knew he still had much to learn, so he wished to feed his burgeoning power as efficiently as possible.

Traya on the other hand was eager to be off-planet so as to also continue her training with Deimus. Though Naruto did not know it she was rapidly running out of things to teach him, and he was inching closer to besting her in the dueling circle.

Her Master had known that she was not ready for an apprentice. More so she was not ready for this apprentice. In forcing stewardship over Naruto unto her he had also set in play a series of events that would force Traya to remain always on her toes.

"Every Sith Lord is powered by emotion, and by memories of prior wrongs. I think this was my Master's purpose in putting me here. If I can't wrap up the loose ends in my past then maybe I don't deserve to be Deimus's apprentice," she swiveled in her chair to face him. In the Dark Lord's absence they had both taken to using his given name.

"So that's what we're here for? Shouldn't be too hard then," Naruto cracked another cheshire smile. "what with me being here now and all."

Traya couldn't help but smile herself as she stood. She placed a hand on his cheek as she rose from the chair. The glittering false nails on her index and pinkie caressed his flesh and a soft gust of air whooshed from his lips.

She had learned many ways to keep her apprentice in hand. Especially ever since he begun to drink her tonics and start his transformation into a real man.

"But you haven't asked me who my enemy is dear apprentice," she whispered into his ear as his hand came to play deliberately with the piercing in her navel which dangled proud on her exposed midriff. Their bodies were pressed close now, and they would have hugged if it was in the Sith's nature to do such.

"Who wronged you Master?" he whispered back.

"The current leader of this planet's Force Adepts. The Zeison Sha."

Twenty days after the attack on Konoha which would come to be known on Terra in the coming years as: "The Unifying Skirmish."

Hyuuga Hinata was what you would call a shy girl. At ten years of age she had started at the academy slightly late although this was more due to the peaceful nature of the times, and not because she did not have potential.

She sat before a mirror in her room. She brushed out her long dark hair as deep white eyes gazed back at her. Though she would never speak the words aloud she was very proud of her hair. She loved the way it shined when she had it out like this, and the feel of it as she ran her fingers through, but she kept it bunched up and hidden in school. Hinata disliked attention far more than she loved her hair.

She and her classmates had all been stunned dumb during, and after the attack some twenty days ago. Luckily school had been in session at the time. The ninja academy was in the most secure part of town; right next to the nobility quarters where she lived. Everyone in her class had been accounted for except Naruto.

Naruto...

He had been missing for the span of a week before the attack. Everyone had just assumed he had been playing hooky as usual, and though Hinata had missed his presence in class she had little influence over his comings and goings.

Her father had kept her sister Hanabi, her cousin Neji, and she herself cloistered in the house during the week after the attack, and many other high ranking clans had done the suit.

He had become increasingly paranoid. He and some other senior Shinobi had put a lot of faith in one of the strangers. The only one who did not seem to have been a part of the attack. Still everyone in the village, even the children, had been shocked when the alliance with the Cloud was announced.

The two greatest nations in the land united to a common purpose. Albeit only for one, unspecified, mission. The hand of the stranger was apparent in the union, for he had refused to give only Konoha access to his knowledge of the galaxy, and the Cloud's ambassador had been quick to offer him asylum.

While the rest of the world speculated as to what that mission could be, and who the alien stranger was, Hinata was more interested in finding Naruto.

She had summoned enough courage to explore his house, and a few of the places where she had always seen him before. She had no luck in finding him. A part of her was not too surprised at this. Shinobi many times more seasoned than her fledgling self had tried and failed to locate him.

He was known to journey outside the walls; penetrating the thickets of forest, and skipping across slippery stones of the rivers and stream-beds. If he had been hurt while outside during the conflict then it could be weeks before they found his body. After two there were only a couple of Chuunin still given the permanent task of looking for him. Hinata knew this because she had checked to find out herself. The receptionist at the Hokage Tower's front desk had not been very cheerful, but she had atypically managed to wheedle the information out of her.

There was a knock at the door.

She started as her eyes reflexively glanced at the clock. 7.20 A.M. It was a bit early for her to start heading to the academy, and she had never needed reminding before.

"C-Come in," she said.

The door opened, and there stood a member of the branch. The green seal stamped on her forehead was only partially obscured by the kerchief that she had tied around her hair. She knew the middle-aged woman although she couldn't quite recall her name. She usually saw her at the entrance to the main gates.

Her job was to escort esteemed guests to the mansion.

"There is a messenger from the Hokage at the gates for you Hinata-sama," she said as she bowed. "he is a Jounin of the village, and you are to follow him instead of going to school today."

"T-thank you. Thank you very much," Hinata could not imagine what the Hokage would want with her, but the words tumbled forth.

"Should I inform your father?" the woman's eyes quested up to engage hers.

"N- No thank you. That won't be necessary," Hinata said as she ducked the woman's eyes. She could not imagine what trouble she was in, but she did not want her father knowing of it yet, plus she always felt ashamed when faced with the servitude of the branch members. "thank you."

The woman left, and Hinata was left with her thoughts as she got to her feet.

What could the Hokage want with me?!

She felt another panic attack coming along.

Sakura had never met the tall Jounin who had come to pick her up from her home at an unholy hour in the morning. She was still bleary eyed, and had not had the time she traditionally took to apply her makeup before heading out for the academy. The Jounin found himself no higher in her estimation for the fact that he had cut short her morning ritual.

He wore a mask that concealed the lower half of his face, and his forehead protector slung down to cover one eye. She wondered how he could possibly fight whilst his vision was impaired in such a manner.

He hadn't said much after picking her up. He seemed to have his nose permanently stuck in a small orange book. Sakura strained to get a glimpse of its title and cover, but he was actually quite tall, and she could not manage to do so.

All he had said was that they were going to the Hokage tower, and that he had to pick up two of her classmates. She began to understand why he had picked her up first when they left the middle-class districts, which had borne the brunt of the alien attack - and was where she lived, and they entered the expansive area where the wealthy Shinobi clans resided.

Their first stop was in a part of town that every Shinobi was familiar with. The Hyuuga complex was right next to the central training areas; only the Sarutobi clan manse abutted the parks in the same manner.

Sakura hung back as the Jounin engaged in a brief conversation with the matron at the gates. Her sharp brain was already mulling over the unknown reasons behind the Hokage's summons, and despite his blasé appearance she knew that the Jounin was similarly involved.

What could the Hokage want with a bunch of Genin during the most trying period of his reign?

They did not have to wait for long before Hinata eased out of the grounds.

Her shy classmate kept her head low was she walked past the entrance guards.

Possessed by a sudden empathy for her classmate Sakura walked quickly towards her, and embraced her in a hug.

"Good morning Hinata-chan. Did they tell you why they wanted us?"

Hinata seemed shocked at the sudden contact, but her face soon dissolved into a timid smile. They had never been the best of friends, yet the attack on the village had brought out the deep emotions everyone normally guarded close.

"N- No. No one has said anything to me," she suddenly seemed to notice the Jounin. She was facing him, and her eyes locked on the graphic on the face of his book. Sakura had the opportunity to see it for the first time, and her face turned beet red to match Hinata.

"W-who is that? W- W- What is that!" Hinata demanded as she struggled to shield her eyes. Her shyness was forgotten in the moment.

"I'm the guy who has to babysit you all for the morning, and this? This is a classic," the Jounin said as he peered at them from behind the explicit cover of his book. Snapping it shut he continued to look at them. "You can call me Kakashi."

"Come on," the Jounin gestured, "we have one more stop before I take you all to the tower, and this Z rank mission can finally be over."

The gates of the Shinobi academy opened at 8am sharp.

Sasuke had stuck to the same ritual in the two years since his brother had killed everyone that he had ever loved.

He woke up in the empty compound, which by law now belonged entirely to him, at 4.30 every day. He trained immediately upon rising for an hour and a half before eating. Afterwards he would shower and review the lessons of the previous day for thirty minutes, or he would begin to delve into one of the tomes that would serve as his evening reading after the school day, and evening training was done.

His only human contact outside of school was with the lawyer who took care of his estate, and the elderly couple who provided his meals and cleaning.

He always left himself fifteen minutes before class. He liked to arrive five minutes late. There was little the teachers could do since he was always top, and it helped to build his legend.

You can imagine his surprise upon leaving the compound on this morning to spy his dreaded fan girl Sakura. Alongside the blushing girl was another whose name eluded him for the moment.

He did know that she was extremely shy, and a Hyuuga, but he had never paid her much mind beforehand. He liked her because she did not fawn over him, and he had no desire to change that. If he opened up to her she could easily become another Ino/Sakura.

There was a ranked Shinobi with them. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he realized that the man was a Jounin.

"Don't just stand there, come with us," the Jounin said.

"Come with you to where?" he glanced at the girls, "class is about to start."

"They Hokage wants to see us," Sakura said. The majority of her blush had faded, but her voice still came out in a squeal.

"Why would he want to see us? Isn't there a crisis going on or something," Sasuke was well aware of the destruction that had been meted out on Konoha weeks ago. Perhaps because he had lived through the destruction of his entire clan; he had engaged in a sort of guilty pleasure as he spied the etchings of grief on the faces of random civilian, and Shinobi passers-by.

"Enough with the questions already... Jeez. Do you kids think I have nothing better to do with my morning. I'm already tired of shepherding you everywhere. Now that I have got you, Sasuke, we are going to the tower. When we get there you can ask the Hokage himself why he wants to see you so bad," the Jounin said.

His tone brooked no argument, so Sasuke fell into step besides the rest of them.

Yanibar: On the steps of the Zeison Sha temple. (Sha Kalan)

Naruto could not help but gaze in awe at the edifice before him. Divested of his training-saber, and of his form-suit which gave him away as an offworlder, he looked every part the country bumpkin as he stared in wonder at the majestic building.

Like most constructions on Yanibar the vast bulk of its mass no doubt stretched underground into subterranean caverns, but the Zeison Sha had built their temple with tender hands guided by gravitas such that the smooth lines recalled the Jedi temples of their ancestral memory.

Still the building was evolved to cope on Yanibar. Naruto's eyes began to make out the funnels which would channel the wind around the construction, and where the stinging rain would be guided to collect in huge troughs cut into the roof, so therefore leading off and away from the building.

It would be awhile till he saw Traya again.

He had a wistful vision of her face and the curve of her toned waist as he began the steep climb up the steps. There were several benefits to the growth stimulating potions she had begun feeding him over the winter; now a year and a half on Naruto knew a woman's touch, though he was yet to have full intercourse, and his shock of unruly blond hair gave the impression that he was over six feet tall.

He knew that the Zeison Sha would not take him for a tender eleven year old. This was ideal because there was no way that he would be able to hide his maturity from them. Traya had not taught him much about the subtle Sith arts of deception. In many ways she preferred to teach via baptism of fire.

The Zeison Sha were alert to his presence. No one had paid his cowled form any mind as he had struggled through the sparse crowd of the small city that had sprung up to serve the temple's needs, but now initiates and warriors began to flock down the steps.

They had cased the temple for a couple of weeks, but now Naruto was allowing his full presence in the Force to be felt; although he disguised the dark tint to his aura with techniques Traya had taught him for the purpose.

Still he noted the discblades which the warriors had firmly gripped.

The one that came to stand before him was a Twi'leck. He noted the Tan robes that the yellow being wore so reminiscent of the Jedi he had only spied in Holos. Though these people claimed to hate the Jedi they could not help but remained chained to the past they despised.

"Who are you?" the Twi'leck had a deep voice. He was one of the warriors who had his discblade unclasped. Although Naruto was not giving off the aura of a trained Force user, but rather that of an extremely talented neophyte he could practically taste the Twi'leck's fear. "What is your business here?"

"My name is Nathaniel Uzumate. I have a message for your leader from Mara Venton," there was a gasp from the few warriors who had gathered round him that was audible even over the ever present wind. He let tears spill from his cheeks. They had no idea that the hand he used to slick back his hair was slathered in onion juice. "She killed my Da. She says she isn't leaving the planet till your leader faces her in battle," at this point he let the brown sack he held fall to the ground.

The head of the isolated farmer Naruto had killed himself tumbled to the ground, and proceeded to bounce down the steps. The man would not be missed, and his blond hair and whiskered complimented the ruse they wished to play.

Right on cue Naruto crumpled to the tears and pressed his hands to his face. The onion juice was really doing its work.

"We better go inside," without looking up he knew that the yellow Twi'leck had sheathed his weapon, and had nothing but concern writ in his face.

Wordlessly he allowed the other warriors to bear his body up, and the Zeison Sha welcomed him into their home.

Twenty days after the attack on Konoha which would come to be known on Terra in the coming years as: "The Unifying Skirmish."

Mexes was sick and tired of Finton and his thrice damned 'Jedi Meditation.'

He paced like a caged... something or the other as he sought release for all the energy he had pent up inside. Occasionally his eyes would shoot daggers at his partner. The grizzled Knight sat cross legged in the center of the cell forcing Mexes to circle him. The scar evidence of the torture he had borne whilst Mexes recovered, without bacta, was the only barrier between the Mandalorian and his throat.

A fucking Jedi Knight!

Suddenly something unusual happened.

Mexes stopped his constant pacing, and Finton's eyes jerked wide as someone came into the dungeon. It was not feeding time, and their jailors were consistent.

"It's time," Finton said.

There was something in his voice that Mexes didn't like; a sense of foreboding and finality.

"Time for what liar?" he asked petulantly just as their visitor arrived.

It was one of the masked ones who called themselves A.N.B.U. There was no time for Finton to reply because the man began to speak immediately.

He ground his teeth in frustration as he waited for Finton to translate. He hated feeling so powerless.

"He says that the Hokage wants to see us," there was no surprise in his partner's voice. No doubt his 'Jedi' abilities were informing his every action. This was what enraged Mexes beyond anything else. How could he have been so blind?

"So let's go see the Hokage then," he said as the native opened the gate. Their captors hadn't seen fit to bind their hands. All they had done was divest them of their weapons and armor. Mexes supposed that their hosts couldn't be faulted for lack of confidence.

"Just be ready Jedi. I'm busting out of this place and getting to the ship first chance I get." he said.

"I'll be right behind you as always," Finton assured him, and he couldn't help but smile.

Konoha: The Hokage's Office

Sarutobi regarded the three children, and Jounin standing before him. It was a beautiful day to be setting momentous events in motion. That morning he had come to the Tower from his manse before anyone else as usual, and he had stood on the roof watching the city come to life.

These four were ever present in his crystal ball, and in his dreams. He had since sent his guards to fetch the two others who were instrumental.

The strangers cached in the dungeon.

He saw Kakashi's eyes widen as the foreigners came into the room. With a curt wave of his hand Sarutobi dismissed the A.N.B.U members. This was not for their ears.

"Kakashi, children, I would like you all to meet Jedi Knight Finton, and Mexes who is called a Mandalorian. I know you have seen them before Kakashi, but you haven't been properly introduced,"

"Hokage-sama... I don't understand," Kakashi began to protest as he glanced around wildly. It looked as if he would go bolting for the door, and help within the minute.

"Calm down Kakashi. I choose you for this because of the bond we share through the Fourth. Trust me," the Hokage said. There was an expression of pleading on his face that shocked all the Konoha natives. They were used to associating their leader with strength.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," the one the Hokage had introduced as a Jedi Knight held out his hand for Kakashi to shake. The Jounin hesitated before accepting the universal gesture.

The children had no clue why they had to be present for this. If the Hokage wanted to introduce the Jounin to the prisoners that was his prerogative, but as far as they were concerned they were surplus to requirements.

As he stood the Hokage seemed to notice their confusion.

"Children, Kakashi, I am sending you on the most important mission I have ever given anybody. I am asking you to leave your families and head for the galaxy with these men," he indicated the prisoners. Kakashi stood in shock while the Jedi Knight maintained his calm. It seemed as if his compatriot had not been following events, and the other rapidly began to speak to him in an efficient language.

However they both widened their eyes when the Hokage walked around his desk to open a cabinet. Strange items were contained inside; suits of metal, a small cylinder which went to the Jedi Knight, and a bulky cannon which the Mandalorian swung across his front when he had finished donning his armour.

"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi yelled losing all sense of decorum as dangerous prisoners armed themselves before his very eyes.

"Hold your peace Kakashi!" the Hokage raised his voice for the first time. "I am entrusting this to you because there is no one else. The rest of the village is too blind, and the world has put too much faith in Osvaldus. Already we forget the destruction that was wrought upon the land, yet I ask you. Is anyone considering why we are so important to the Zabrak, and does anyone truly know the path he is leading us down?

"From the little he has told us Naruto has fallen into the hands of a group of warriors known as the Sith," here Hinata interrupted with a gasp which was quickly forgotten by the spellbound Shinobi present.

"Finton here says that the Sith are corrupted, and that they use their power for evil. I say that I do not know who to trust, and so I am entrusting you children. I want the three of you to learn all that you can of the Jedi order since the other-side already has a piece. In my estimation Terra needs a voice in every camp, for the galaxy is a huge place.

"I give these children into your care Kakashi. It is up to your head to make sure that they never forget their roots, and where they have come from. There is no one else for this task, and it is a triple S rank," the Hokage said.

"There isn't any time for argument either," he added when he saw that Kakashi still burned to protest. Even Sasuke looked like he had swallowed a bad fish. Eventually the Jounin subsided however, and he settled with glaring at the two aliens amongst them.

The children were still too dumbfounded to speak. Sakura and Hinata immediately thought of their family's while Sasuke was filled with an insane rage. What about Itachi?

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Finton said before anyone else could speak. He had just finished engaging in a heated and lengthy conversation with the Mandalorian.

"Everything you have said is in accordance with what the Force has told me. Everything except for one tiny detail. I am not leaving the planet," the Jedi said.

It seemed as if everyone would start voicing their various complaints. Even the man's companion seemed to understand what he meant despite his lack of understanding when it came to their language.

However Finton silenced them all with an outraised palm. "The others will need a distraction if they are all to make it to the ship alive. The Force has told me this, and I surrender myself to its will entirely."

"How will you leave then?" Kakashi asked.

"I will not be leaving," Finton said, and he gave them a sad smile as he and the Hokage exchanged a knowing look.

The Hokage hastened to the bookshelf behind his desk. He caressed the spine of a particular tome and the obligatory escape route out of his office manifested itself.

"You better get going then."

The End. (Part One)

A/N

"Fear not DAIQ fans. That story is next in line for a couple of updates, I would much rather edit the bulk of chapters I wrote when I was younger first though so please bear with me during this 'messy' time,"

- Darklighter