Wow, hit 100 favorites and over 3000 views. Thanks for reading this! Here's another chapter for you to read and review! Warning, though. I may not be able to write so much and post it so soon. Most likely next release is going to be three weeks. Schools starting again, and I do need to plot out how I'm going to write this tournament. Also, there seems to be a guest that is rather persistent in flaming. Like I said, if it does have some sort of constructive criticism, then I'll take it. If it's a flat out F U, then your out. Now, some reply to some of the reviews.
Soledge1: It's been 7 years since they left Konoha, so just add seven to what their ages were before Shippuden. If you don't know still, just message me and I'll tell you.
Banjo the Fox- Sorry if I made him weak, but I did want Kakashi and Jiraiya on his side. Don't worry against those who were against him all the way, he'll have his vengeance.
HitmaN007: Thanks for reviewing my two chapters, hope you enjoy this one too.
To most of the other reviewers: Thanks! Happy you like it.
And finally Guest: It's an A/U where it does exist. This fic was inspired by the other empire stories like I said.
Now, then. ONTO THE STORY. There is one scene that I really liked and modified it to my own, so don't be surprised if you recognize it.
As of 10/24/2016, This chapter has been revised to have some of the mistakes to be corrected.
2 weeks later
In Konoha, Tsunade was drinking again in her office early in the morning. She couldn't sleep without having nightmares, so she resorted to drinking to take away her misery.
"Minato. Kushina. I couldn't protect you son. You must be so angry at me right now." she mumbled as she was about to take another sip when the door suddenly burst open.
"Hokage-sama, our sensor-nins detected four unknown people headed our way!" said the messenger.
"So? We get people from time to time now," she said.
"That's the thing. One of them has chakra levels as high as the nine-tailed fox, maybe even higher!" panicked the messenger.
Tsunade stood up fast, shaking off all the drunkenness off her. A mysterious person coming to Konoha with a high-level chakra? Four in total? Maybe Jiraiya found Naruto at last and was bringing him home! Tsunade could certainly reverse the banishment now that she had the Fire Daimyo's permission. Jiraiya had certainly told her he was going to look for him when he left her. Jiraiya. That name ached in her heart. For years, she had ignored and punched Jiraiya, but the man always had a place in her heart. Even during her self-exile, Jiraiya at least sent her letter or love notes. To see his face full on anger directed at her for being unable to protect his godson while he was out of the village was one of her worst nightmares, next to seeing Naruto's face when his dreams were crushed. Now that he was gone, she missed him soo much. Truly, one doesn't know who they truly loved until they are gone. If Jiraiya asked her out on a date anytime, she would finally accept.
"Put up full alert. Nobody is to engage them. I will personally meet them at the front gates. Have the clan leaders do the same!" she ordered the messenger. With that, she ran out of her office to get cleaned up.
Tsunade was at the front gate with a nervous Shizune and other clan leaders. Hiashi was still the clan leader of the Hyuuga due to his strength, but the heir was now going to another main branch member by the name of Hideki who certainly "enforced" the traditional ways. There were rumors how he threatened the branch members with the seal if he didn't get his way, including raping married women. Nobody would confess due to the seal. Tsunade growled at this injustice, but was unable to do anything as it was "clan business only." Soon, the four mysterious people could be seen in view. Tsunade's heart sank, as she didn't see white hair or spiky blonde on any of the strangers. Instead, three people were walking towards them, and the fourth one was sitting on the shoulder of the very tall man. As Tsunade looked at the tall man, she shivered. If words could describe him, Tsunade would say the man bathed in blood. The four stopped in front of them, and two of them bowed in respect. The tall one just stared at them while the child on his shoulder, well she was looking at a butterfly.
"Greetings to the Hokage of Konoha. We are messengers of the Western empire, here to extend an invitation to a tournament." greeted the woman.
As soon as they heard, this bells could be seen ringing in everyone's head. They had been looking for a way to contact them, and they brought themselves here!
"Thank you for your greetings. Allow us to lead you to the council room, where we can discuss more of this," said Tsunade, leading them towards the tower.
The council gathered into the room as fast as possible. Tsunade wanted to avoid the civilian council, but couldn't stop them as news traveled fast about visitors from the Western Empire. Soon, it was full, and many shinobi and citizens were crowding to see them. The well-toned female wore a tight purple spandex with green stripes at the sides. The suit certainly accentuated her figure and her big breasts, and it could be easily seen that she didn't wear underwear, causing quite a few nosebleeds. Her long luscious blonde hair and blue eyes made her a target to chase. The other man wore a white karate gi and kung-fu pants. His brown hair and brown eyes made him seem like he was normal, like a civilian. He was built very well, though. Muscles could easily be seen on his arm, and seemed to be leaning towards a lean man instead of a body-builder. Tsunade signaled the Anbu guarding the room to quickly shut the door so the meeting could get started. The girl on the man's shoulder was eating a box of chocolate, shutting out the tension in the room.
Before Tsunade could speak, Homura spoke first.
"Well, what brings you here to Konoha," he spat out, looking at them as if they were dirt. None of them responded.
"Answer us, you stupid bints!" screeched Haruno Asana.
The messengers just looked at each other before looking straight at Tsunade.
"We were unaware that Konoha managed to employ banshees. None the less, is it not courtesy to allow your esteemed leader to open up the conversation?" said the woman tactfully.
The shinobi council chuckled at this statement while Homura and Asana were left steaming.
"Indeed, I was about to ask when my adviser overstepped her authority. He will be heavily reminded of who is in charge," said Tsunade as she glared at Homura. "May I ask your names and your business here as envoys of the West?"
The female nodded. "My name is Fuurinji Miu, next to me is Shirihama Kenichi. The man with the child on his shoulder is Zaraki Kenpachi and Yachiru Kusajishi. We come on behalf of the Empire to invite Konoha to a tournament. There will be three of them, all held at the same place, but at different times to allow everyone to enjoy. The first one will be a Taijutsu-based tournament. The second one is a weapons only tournament. The last one is where anyone can use anything, as long as you obey the proctor. We can explain it in more details later if you like. You will be allowed to enter a maximum of seven contestants for each one. The person can join more than one tournament, but it will count as one of your entries, of course. I suggest you bring your strongest members to the tournament, otherwise you might not escape humiliation from the other villages."
"Hmph, I could win this easily," said a voice. The visitors turned to see Uchiha Sasuke smirking, who had taken the council seat of the Uchiha clan. Each of them frowned as they remembered who it was that caused Naruto to be banished in the first place. "I am an elite. Nobody stands before me."
"Well then Uchiha-san, you're volunteering to go to the tournament I presume?" said Kenichi, He did not like how he was eyeing Miu.
"Know your place, scum," growled Sasuke, his Sharingan blazing.
"Uchiha Sasuke, turn off your Sharingan! It is forbidden to do that without permission!" yelled Tsunade. Sasuke ignored her until the pink haired girl suddenly appeared in front of his face. Everyone was surprised at the girl's speed and hadn't even noticed her move.
"Hehehehe stupid Duckbutt doesn't know how to listen or stare," giggled Yachiru as she poked Sasuke's eye with her two fingers. The Uchiha roared in pain at this sudden poke and fell down to the ground. He opened his eyes, allowing everyone to see he could still see, although his Sharingan was now off and his eyes were red.
"Yachiru, don't go poking strangers. You don't know what you'll catch," lectured Miu.
"Haii," Yachiru replied as she jumped back onto Kenpachi's shoulder.
"Anbu, seize them for attacking the Uchiha!" yelled out Koharu.
"Enough!" Tsunade slammed her fist into the desk, causing everyone to become silent. "It is his own fault for not obeying my order. Do it again, Uchiha, and you will be taken to Anko and Ibiki again."
Sasuke growled but obediently obeyed. He knew that she had no real power to do so as long as the civilian council and the elders worshiped him.
"As my companion was continuing," said Kenichi, "the tournament is where our people test their limits."
"Hold up, I have a question," said Danzo. Kenichi looked at Tsunade, who nodded and allowed Danzo to continue his question.
"What do you mean by 'other villages'?" asked Danzo.
"Simple. You are not the only major village being invited to this tournament," replied Kenichi. "About now, Kumo, Suna, Iwa, Kirigakure, and even Oto should have received envoys to be invited to this tournament. Tetsu has been given the same offer for weapons."
Everyone was silent at this. Tsunade picked up the conversation, "You mean, you're also inviting our enemies?"
"Rest assured, you will all have different quarters and will be heavily monitored. No fighting unless it's in the tournament will be allowed. The Kages will be allowed to enter the tournament, but is restricted to one tournament choice only. We do encourage them to come watch if they do not wish to participate. We will also allow a maximum of ten people outside the competitors to accompany you. You will all meet at the Land of Spring, where we will provide transportation to the West, where the tournament will be held. Your Daimyos have already been notified and have agreed on a ceasefire in any war for now. The prize money for winning the tournament is...100 million ryo."
The council held their breath. With that much money, Konoha would have enough to funds for the war. Until Kenichi said, "each." At this, the council burst into cheers. Here was a way to be able to make sure Konoha was the strongest again. They didn't even bother thinking about if they lost. The civilians were too busy imagining the Uchiha bringing home the money. While there was much talk, Danzo kept his eye on Kenpachi.
'This man. His chakra level is off the roof. If I use my Kotoameatsukami on him, I would have a powerful tool to help me kick Tsunade off and become Hokage, like I should have been. I could rule all the elemental nations! And why stop there? I could have this whole continent bowing before Konoha!' thought Danzo.
He subtly activated his eye, making sure nobody was paying attention to him and directed it right at Kenpachi. He made sure he used as much chakra as he could to influence him. However, he hit a huge snag on that part.
Kenpachi felt the genjutsu and started chuckling. Before long, it started to get louder, catching everyone's attention. Soon, his maniacal laughter could be heard from even the people trying to eavesdrop outside the chamber, and that was something since there were heavy silencing seals to prevent eavesdroppers.
"Alright who challenged me!?' laughed Kenpachi. He drew his sword out, allowing them to get a closer glance at it. It didn't seem special and had jagged edges over it. Before they could think about it, Kenpachi's chakra shot up. A visible yellow aura could be seen around him, and it was growing. Cracks could be seen in the council room, and all the civilian council fainted and relieved themselves of their waste. The shinobi council had trouble trying to prevent themselves from following the same fate. The roof started to let out streams of dust, letting them know that if Kenpachi continued, the roof would fall on them. The Anbu were rooted to their position, fearing too much against the man, until Miu actually stood in front of them.
"Stop," she said calmly. All of a sudden, that suffocating feeling stopped. Kenpachi glared at her for awhile, before reluctantly agreeing to it.
"Ken-chan, you made me drop a chocolate!" pouted Yachiru from his shoulder. She hadn't even moved when Kenpachi raised his chakra levels.
"What on earth happened," asked Shikaku.
"My guess? Someone tried to influence Kenpachi or put him in a genjustu, which doesn't really work on him since he's very bloodthirsty. Either way is one sure way to make him think someone's challenging him." shrugged Kenichi. "Makes you wonder, though, who did it?"
Tsunade growled at this. Someone had actually tried to control an envoy of the West. This action could have brought the West into the war as enemies, something Konoha did not need. "I apologize for this. It was not my intent, nor was it my order, to do such a travesty to you all. Please, allow me to provide a room for you to rest for the night. I promise nobody will try such a thing again. As for the tournament, Konoha accepts."
"Acceptable. We will leave tomorrow morning back to the empire to give your answer. The tournaments start in a month, and will last for 6 days. We will graciously host everyone for nine days. Two days to get used to our empire, and one day to allow yourselves to pack up and leave. We will, of course, provide food, medical assistance, and beds for you all free of charge," replied Kenichi as he bowed with Miu. All of them went walking towards the exit.
"W-w-wait," stuttered Homura. "You need to be punished for such actions in the council room. Perhaps as hostages with Ibiki and Anko at the T&I department until the tournament will teach you."
At this, Kenpachi felt this had gone long enough. He ripped his eyepatch off, showing that he could see perfectly with his right eye. This surprised all the conscious shinobis until he turned his gaze back at them again and let loose. The yellow aura could be seen again, except this time it thickly saturated the air. A huge skull could be seen forming above him.
"Just try it, punks. I could use a good fight, though it doesn't really seem like everyone in this village would even provide a good warmup." Miu and Kenichi showed no signs of evenly remotely trying to stop him. Kuromaru was trying to dig his way out now, his animal instincts telling him to escape. Now, several of the clan heads had followed the civilians example and fainted, along with the elders. The only people who were still conscious was Tsunade, Hiashi, Tsume, Shikaku, Inochi, Chouza, Asuma, and Danzo, but barely.
Tsunade was able to break out of her fear before yelling, "Stop! I promised you all safety, and I'll ensure it. The elders will be brought to the T&I department for suggesting such a thing."
Kenichi nodded and put his hand on Kenpachi's arm. Kenpachi just made a tsk noise before putting his eyepatch back on and left.
"Be warned, our rules are quite strict. Do something like this again, and the offender will be executed, no hesitation. Once you have made your decision on who will compete and who will accompany them to visit, give your list to the Pekara Merchant house. They are the West's merchant house, after all." Kenichi mentioned before leaving. The shinobis let a sigh a relief out for avoiding such danger when Tsunade whirled upon all of them.
"Get them all up. I want everyone interrogated. I don't want people who would blatantly try to undermine my authority and think they could get away with it. This includes the elders. Nobody is exempt. No exceptions." commanded Tsunade as she ran out the room. She would use the Senju compound to house the visitors, but she needed to make sure that it was clean enough. Also, she needed to relay a command to all shinobis. Nobody was allowed to harass them.
Danzo was there, steaming. How could Kotoameatsukami fail him? Perhaps he needed to see a doctor and make sure that his Sharingan that he 'liberated' for the good of Konoha was working. When Sasuke woke up, he was disgusted and quickly left to change clothes. His thought process was, 'How could that man be so much more powerful to me? I should have that! I must get it to kill Itachi, who I'm sure is out there somewhere.' His thoughts turned towards the female envoy. 'I must have her. She will be able to provide powerful children to revive the Uchiha clan. Her beauty belongs to me, just as everything else should be.'
At all the other major Shinobi villages and Samurai village
While Konoha received their invite, all the other villages were met with envoys of the West. Suna, Tetsu, Kiri, and Kumo, although wary, accepted peacefully. Iwa and Oto had a bit more trouble. Iwa tried to kill them while Oto tried to keep them hostage for Orochimaru to experiment on. Unfortunately for both of them, they found the tables reversed easily. Yusuke was part of the envoy to Iwa and just blasted their ANBU during the meeting with a shotgun. Oto was met with Nico Robin, who just broke their ninja's back using her Hana Hana no Mi to grow arms all over the ninjas with a clutch before they could do anything. She was accompanied by her husband, Roronoa Zoro, who merely needed to stare at them before they decided to stop. They also accepted. To nobody's surprise, that group took longer to get back to the West due to Zoro. Tetsu agreed for weapons tournament only.
Back at Konoha
"Hehe, I'm hungry Ken-chan. Let's go eat, Miu-Miu, Chi-chan," giggled Yachiru after the group had explored Konoha a bit after the meeting. Many citizens were still staring at them, but they ignored it.
"I wouldn't mind getting something to eat, either. Let's head to that place for lunch," said Kenichi, pointing coincidentally at Ichiraku Ramen. Before they could enter, they were intercepted by several shinobis. They were the leftover bunch of Genins in Naruto's generation, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura, Shino, Lee, and Kiba.
"So you're the envoys of the West, huh. Troublesome," said Shikamaru.
Chouji just kept eating his chips, while Ino and Sakura were carefully studying Miu. Her chests, her well-toned body, and her beautiful legs were certainly something to be envious of. Compared to her, they felt, lacking in several departments. Kiba was busy panting like a dog, seeing a beautiful woman, while Shino …..was still Shino. Before anyone could do anything, Lee ran in front and kneeled, carrying... flowers?
"Oh Loveliest of Beauty, please go out with me. My name is Rock Lee, and my Flames of Youth tells me you are the perfect match for me, for we both wear spandex suit!" yelled out Lee. Everyone sweat dropped at this intro. The envoy's first impression was that this man's eyebrows were huge.
Miu just looked at him before chuckling a little and replying,
"I apologize, Lee. You're not my type. Also, I'm already happily en-"
"This woman obviously deserves an elite, like me. Lee, make yourself useful and go bug off, she's obviously going to become one of my wives." interrupted a voice. Everyone looked with disdain as Sasuke stepped forward.
Everyone except Sakura, who was still using her loud voice to proclaim how the Uchiha was the greatest. Ino had finally seen the light, though quite forcefully by a combination of Inochi, Anko, and Shikamaru, and stopped trying to chase Sasuke. She was able to recognize that Sasuke was a jerk, and didn't deserve her attention. Her focus, right now, were a bit more focused on looking for other men, especially the lean looking man next to Miu.
"How about it, Miu-san? Come with me, and you'll bear my children to help repopulate the Uchiha clan. You obviously deserve someone of my elite status," said Sasuke. Without hearing a reply, he went to grab her hand to pull her towards his home. With luck, he could expect a baby within nine months. While he was still dreaming, a punch met right into his face. He flew back due to the impact and rolled quite a bit before impacting on a wall... and went through it. Shaking his head, he saw that Kenichi had just punched him and was standing in front of Miu.
"Do NOT touch MY FIANCEE!" shouted Kenichi. Sasuke growled. This puny man was engaged to the ethereal beauty? Before he could attack, Sakura screamed and threw a punch at Kenichi.
"You bastard! How dare you attack Sasuke-kun! Stand still so I can beat you!" screeched Sakura. Kenichi merely dodged all of them but didn't counterattack.
"Why aren't you attacking back?" questioned Ino. She knew this man could have countered Sakura.
"Sorry, it's a principle of mine to not hurt women," said Kenichi, dodging a kick.
"Then stand still so I can hit you!" screamed Sakura.
"That's why I'm here. To hit women that Kenichi won't hit," said Miu, blocking a fist and uppercutting Sakura. Miu then gripped Sakura's neck and kneed her in the chest several times. She then whirled around Sakura, grabbing her head and using it as a center. Miu kneed Sakura in the head again while spinning. She then used the momentum to toss herself up into the air. Sakura, still dizzy from all the attacks she took, didn't notice the danger that was coming and fell to the floor. Spinning like a high-speed drill, one of Miu's leg was straight up, showing how flexible she was. With one of her legs up, and her hugging that leg, the remaining pivot leg came crashing down into Sakura. The ground behind Sakura broke.
"Fuurinji Kouhouyoku!" Miu yelled. To the audience who saw this, they could have sworn that feathery wings sprouted at the end of her attack, with Miu at the center of it.
'Such power. Such grace. Such beauty. She WILL BELONG TO ME!' thought Sasuke as he prepared to use his Sharingan to hypnotize this woman to come with him. Before he could do such a thing, a pan met with his face, knocking him unconscious.
"I've told you before Uchiha scum, you're not allowed to stop within 100 feet of my shop and my daughter after that stunt you tried to pull!" yelled Teuchi, who had come out to see what was going on. Anbu units appeared before them. Miu and Kenichi were ready to fight, when one of the Anbu with a dragon mask stepped forward.
"Do not worry. We are here to arrest Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke for harassing you. Hokage-sama ordered all shinobi's to not do so. Unfortunately, it seems Uchiha-san thought himself above the rules. They will be taken to the T&I department to be re-educated on following orders." The ANBU took Sasuke to Anko, while Sakura was first taken to the hospital for treatment.
Kiba whistled. He wanted to hit on Miu, but he even he knew when to back off if a woman was already claimed by another man. That, and the woman didn't seem afraid to kick him in the balls if she needed to, and Kiba preferred to remain a man.
"That was... powerful," said Shino.
"You folks are certainly welcomed in my shop if you don't like the Uchiha," laughed Teuchi.
After a quick introduction, the envoys went into the ramen shop while the rest of the shinobis went onto their own business. Orders were quickly placed, and soon four steaming hot ramen were ready. Teuchi didn't notice that Miu had subtly placed a silencing seal on the flaps, so nobody could overhear what they would say while they were eating.
"This ramen is pretty good. I can see why Naruto recommended this place," said Kenichi casually as he finished his meal. Ayame and Teuchi froze up at that statement before tears started to fill their eyes as they remembered the little boy they had come to see as family.
"Where is he? Please! Tell me where my favorite little brother went!" sobbed Ayame. She was so heartbroken when Naruto was banished that she could barely help out at the shop. The Uchiha tried to take advantage of her and wanted to "practice" making babies with her while saying any child wouldn't be part of the Uchiha clan and should be proud he lowered himself to her. That day, Sasuke found out that a ramen cook that occasionally dealt with ninjas and was filled with rage shouldn't be trifled with.
Kenichi looked around to see make sure nobody was listening in before continuing, "He's fine right now. He's at the Western Empire. Naruto wishes that he could see you two again, but couldn't risk dying." He tossed a pouch to Teuchi. "This should more than cover our meal and all the meals Naruto ate at your place on his tab."
As they all left to head back to the location Tsunade had promised to let them sleep at, Yachiru mentioned, "That was good, Teu-kun, Aya-chan. If you wanna leave with us, just show up Seeya," as Kenpachi opened the flap to let them all out.
As soon as they left, Teuchi and Ayame quickly closed the business for the day before rushing upstairs to the privacy of their house. They opened the pouch to see priceless gems and gold. What caught their attention, though, was a letter with Naruto's handwriting. Opening it up with shaky hands, they read the letter. Soon, the letter became illegible as tears were dripping down on the letter.
Quickly, they burned it to show now proof. As it was burning, Teuchi looked at Ayame and said, "Well, I think it's time we relocated our business. We haven't been doing well here, and I see a prospective place we can open."
Thanks for reading, and remember to review! Next time, You'll see who's going to be in the tournaments! More explanation of the tournament will be shown in the future chapters. Also, Most likely for some of the villages I'm just going to put random Shinobi A,B etc to fill out some space. I have fights planned out for some, and I do promise humiliation.