Naruto looked out at the city they were docking in. It was much larger than Konoha, with one of the largest ports he had ever seen. He saw soldiers walking along the docks, making sure all the cargo was secure and loaded onto the correct ships. Ordinary people were walking around greeting others in ways Naruto had never seen before.
"Excuse me," Naruto turned to see a man with dark red hair and a small red beard growing on his face. He was around twenty one years old, carrying a sword another strange weapon Naruto had never seen before. On his shoulder was a blue patch with gold trim. In his right hand was his hat, black with gold trim around the base of the middle part.
"Are you lost?" The man continued to ask.
"Kind of," Naruto began. "I just got off the ship and have no idea where to go."
"Looks like we're both having trouble,' the man replied. "I'm on the lookout for someone by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. I was to take him to the nearest depot." Naruto could only stare in shock at the man.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said, unsure of this man.
"Lieutenant James Matthew Cunningham of the Imperial Eastern Army, 1st Corps, 16th Infantry brigade." Matthew introduced himself. "Your teacher stopped by here a couple of days ago and told me about you. He was going to bring you here when you began training, but from what I was told, you were banished, right?"
"Why would Jiraiya tell you about me?" Naruto asked. He was still unsure of what this man wanted. For all he knew, he could've been sent to send him back to be executed.
"He told me enough," Matthew answered. They walked into a small building with targets set up all around. "I'm going to find out what you're capable of."
"OK," Naruto replied. "But how do you want me to do it?"
Matthew said nothing and drew his strange weapon from his side. He pointed it at one of the targets and as soon as his finger that was in the small hole at the bottom of it's barrel, it let out a loud bang. Naruto watched in amaze as he fired five more shots from it, all hitting the targets on the head.
"Just show me how well you can hit the targets with your weapons," Matthew told him, emptying his gun before putting more bullets in the cylinder. Naruto nodded and threw his kunai, many of them hitting while a few missed.
"Not too bad," Matthew commented. "You could still use some work, but other than that, it's pretty good."
"I still can't hit all the targets," Naruto said, feeling disappointed. Matthew just looked at him.
"Not everyone can," Matthew began. "The reason I hit all of mine was because I practiced for years with this weapon."
"What weapon is that?" Naruto questioned.
"This is known as a pistol," Matthew explained. "We have different versions of this. Some can fire six shots like mine while others only fire one. It all depends on the officer. As you can see, I prefer the six shooter. One of my friends prefers a single shot pistol."
"So what are you going to do with me now?" Naruto wondered.
"I'm going to train you how to fight like an Imperial," Matthew answered. "While your ninja skills are great, you need to learn other ways to fight. Such as," Matthew drew his sword and swiped at Naruto's head. Naruto ducked and pulled out a kunai and did his best to block Matthew's swings. Naruto was pushed back right into a sword rack. He grabbed a sword and blocked more and swung back, only for Matthew to block every strike. Matthew swiped his foot under Naruto, causing him to fall on his back. Naruto looked up, only to see the tip of the blade pointed in his face.
"That is something you need to watch out for," Matthew suggested, putting his sword away and helping Naruto onto his feet.
"What makes you good with that sword?" Naruto asked.
"Besides training," Matthew began. "You must also have something that you want to fight for. For me, it's hope that one day these wars will be over and I'll be able to live in peace. For my king, it would be to unite the world under one banner and bring peace. What is something that you would fight for?"
Naruto thought hard on this question. For years, he always strove towards his dream of becoming Hokage. He said he would return to become Hokage, but what could he fight for. His thoughts then switched over towards and his friends and he smiled.
"I would fight for my friends," Naruto began. "For Shikamaru, the smartest person I had ever met. For Choji who shows that size doesn't matter. For Ino and her dreams. For my teammate Sakura so she can be with the one she loves. For Kiba, Shino, and Neji for helping me improve. For Lee and Tenten to show that you don't have to be from a major clan to be great. For Gaara to help him make more friends."
"There's someone else, is there?" Matthew asked.
"For Hinata," Naruto said, tears rolling down his eyes. "The one who always believed in me and loved me for who I was, not what I had." Naruto's eyes widened when he said this, worried Matthew would ask.
"Your sensi already told me what's inside of you," Matthew said. "Also, he told me what happened in your village."
Only a few hours had passed since Naruto escaped. The Civilian Council were demanding to know what happened but Tsunade and the Shinobi Council refused to answer. Before Tsunade could call for order, the doors burst open as Dragon troops entered the room, followed by the heir to the empire, Toneri.
"Where is Uzumaki?" he asked, looking at the Shinobi Council.
"They helped him escape," a civilian member said. Toneri looked sharply at the Hokage.
"You had better find him and bring him back now," he ordered.
"We can't," Tsunade countered. "By now he's boarded a ship that's on the way out of here for good."
"Then you had better hope we can find him and kill him no matter where he is," Toneri said. He began to walk away before turning back around. "I also have it on good faith that the other villages have broken treaties and even threatened war. I will be taking over this entire province. No village will be allowed to break off ties and will work for me." He walked out with his soldiers.
After Toneri had made his announcement, all of the villages had no choice but to follow his orders or risk having the Dragon Army wipe out their villages. However, they all knew the Konoha Civilian Council was to blame for all of the trouble."
Naruto just stood there, not knowing what to say. He just looked towards his feet, worried for his friends. Matthew sighed, knowing that he had made Naruto more worried than he needed to be.
"We will save your home," Matthew said. "We just need to deal with these civil wars and then we can prepare for a war with the Dragon Empire. We just need time."
Naruto nodded and said, "When I return, Toneri, The Civilian Council, and anyone who keeps me from freeing my home will perish. I won't stop until the world is free from corruption."
"There will always be corruption," Matthew said. "We can just keep it from spreading." He walked out, Naruto following right behind, a new path being set in front of him. A path to where he would discover his destiny.