A/N Well, if we go by the words deleted, this chapter is 20k words long. Writing this one was a pain to get satisfactory. Nonetheless, enjoy :D

Shadow of the Empire - chapter 5/Winter Sun

-/\/-

Kakashi groaned as his head hit the pillow of the hospital bed. After the encounter with Night Raid on the ship, he managed to stay conscious long enough to treat Liver's harshest wounds. When the first passengers finally woke up, Kakashi allowed himself to let go and fall unconscious. He woke up in the hospital in the capital.

Given the damage, the ship was turned to ensure the passengers' safety. The medic they had on staff managed to patch them up well enough that they survived until they got to the hospital. The city guard searched the ship, but the assassins were long gone by the time they even docked. Granted, Kakashi was confident that Bulat was dead. He doubted even Tsunade could've saved someone who lost their heart to Raikiri.

His musing was interrupted when something caused his water glass to vibrate. He immediately jumped out of bed in preparation for the attack. He glanced out the window only to see a familiar giant red toad on the horizon. The leaps were causing earthquakes. With the next leap, the toad landed in the capital proper and vanished in a giant cloud of smoke.

"Naruto…" Kakashi resisted the urge to groan out loud. He started to dress up. He stayed in the hospital long enough. As he was leaping through the window, he might've heard a nurse cry out for him, but it could've been the wind and that's the story he's sticking to.

In the other part of town, Naruto happily led Chouri and Spear toward the palace. There were surprisingly few people on the street right now.

"Master Naruto, that giant toad… was it also your chakra?" Chouri finally asked. He was somewhat hesitant to broach the subject while they were riding said animal. Not looking gifted horse in the mouth and all that.

"Eh, half and half. I used chakra to summon him, but Gamaken is his own toad. If he really needed to go somewhere, he could've traveled there from Mount Myoboku."

"Fascinating. I never thought I would see a tamed, intelligent danger-beast like that."

"Huh? I don't think the toad clan would classify as danger-beasts. They are summons clan. And they have their own customs, laws, even cuisine." He shivered. "Though it's definitely different than what I'm used to."

"I can only imagine. Truly marvelous. A whole new civilization." Spear laughed.

"Yeah. Ma-Toad and Pa-Toad actually taught me Senjutsu and everything. Toads are amazing."

Someone landed behind them. In an instant, Naruto sent several shurikens at the newcomer, only for Kakashi to catch all of them between his fingers.

"I see you've finally returned." He gave the former prime minister and his daughter a glance.

"Yeah! And I brought Chouri-san and Spear-san safely."

"Were there any complications? Like for example the carriage breaking a wheel?"

"Eh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "We got attacked by Night Raid and the carriage got destroyed so I summoned a toad to travel faster."

"Did you deal with the attackers?" Kakashi decided to get the information now before they see the emperor. Best to prepare for potential damage control.

"I mean… the revolutionary army soldiers are dead. The assassins got away and I didn't want to chase them. Mission priorities and all that. Like you taught me!"

Kakashi hid his smirk as he watched Naruto beam with pride at following the protocols.

"Hey!" A new voice reached them. A group of city guards ran toward the group, led by nonother than Captain Tatsumi. "You guys are back."

"Hey, you got the promotion I see." Kakashi straightened up. "Are you guys here to escort us to the palace?"

"Uh… I got reports of a giant toad crashing in the middle of the district before vanishing so we came to check." Tatsumi shook his head. "With the tournament later today, a lot of the guards are on edge. I can walk you a bit, but I have to get back to my post."

"A tournament?" Naruto asked as they started to walk deeper into the city, now with several more guards around them.

"General Esdeath is organizing a fighting tournament to celebrate the victories in the north. Fighters from surrounding regions are coming to the capital for a chance to win the reward."

"Oh? And what is the reward?" Spear inquired.

"Well… the main prize is two-point-five million Crests."[1] Tatsumi revealed.

"Oh my. That's quite a hefty sum. I can see why there would be a lot of competitors."

"Say, Captain Tatsumi," Kakashi began, "did you not want to join? I seem to recall that you came to the capital in the first place to get money for your village."

"I did want to join, but then I was assigned to organize the protection of the event. As a form of… 'proving myself'."

"I see…" Kakashi nodded. It appeared that the Prime Minister wanted to be petty for his loss against Naruto's logic at that court meeting.

"Hey! I could join it for you. And when I win you'll be able to send the money to your village!" Naruto offered with a broad smile.

Kakashi stopped in place and groaned before straightening his shoulders. "Now, Naruto. We can't just-" his speech was interrupted by Chouri, who lightly poked the jonin in the shoulder.

"Master Kakashi… He's already gone.

"Blast it."

-/\/-

By the time Kakashi and the others managed to track Naruto down, he was happily standing in front of the arena with a signed and stamped application form.

"Naruto," Kakashi growled.

"Oh! Hi, sensei. I got the forms filled out. The guy at the registration seemed especially eager when I put my occupation down as a Shinobi."

The older Jonin, with a titanic feat of willpower, forced himself not to facepalm. "Of course he did." Quickly, Kakashi ran through possible scenarios in his head. Finally, he got a plan. "Fine. If you want to participate, then go ahead." Naruto beamed at the permission. "But! You're not allowed to use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Senjutsu. This is a martial arts tournament. You may only use your taijutsu."

"What about weapons?" Naruto protested.

"Fine, but only if your opponent brings some." Kakashi wasn't cruel. He hoped this would be some lesson for Naruto, but he wouldn't outright disadvantage him. Besides, his own training sessions with Gai, as much as the Shinobi didn't want to admit it, quite likely saved his life many times over. A proper shinobi shouldn't slack in any of the three main shinobi arts.

"You've got it! I'm gonna show them the Uzumaki Style!"

-/\/-

Naruto breezed through most of the tournament without much trouble. One or two of the opponents were able to give him a decent fight, but none actually matched him. They were good, but not shinobi good.

Kakashi chose to stand with Tatsumi, who was near the arena entrance. The young captain was supposed to make sure that the fights didn't get out of hand. Kakashi still had doubts that the young man would stand a chance if something terrible happened. Then, he looked at the girl who was accompanying Tatsumi. She wore the green uniform of the city guard and held a small fluffy dog in her arms. Kakashi's instincts told him to stay away from that thing and go straight for the big guns if he had to face it.

"What can you tell me about General Edeath, captain Tatsumi?" He idly asked as they waited for the final match to start.

"She is… intense. After her return to the capital, she was granted a special task force to deal with the Night Raid once and for all."

"You don't say…" Kakashi immediately filled that information under very important. It seemed that Honest was back to his tricks. Probably something about accelerating the mission progress. The Jonin was seriously starting to hate that man.

"Yeah. She's also… um…" Tatsumi's cheeks reddened slightly. He didn't speak anymore but nodded toward the balcony high above the arena. They were standing practically directly opposite her seat, so Kakashi could easily see her. And he very quickly understood what the young guard meant. She looked like taken straight from Icha Icha Tactics.

"Curious. Is she strong?"

"She is… probably the strongest woman in the empire. Second only to general Budo, and even that is debatable. Some of the older soldiers say that she has once frozen a raging river without even breaking a sweat."

A-rank, potentially S-rank. Some form of Ice Control or Temperature control. More general can be weather manipulation…

"There is also the rumor she's looking for a lover. Some of the men joined the tournament with the explicit purpose of trying to impress her." Tatsumi added as an afterthought.

"Wait, what?" Kakashi asked, but before he could get an answer, the final show began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The man in the center of the arena spoke. "We are finally here for the final battle of the tournament."

A hulking mass of muscles walked onto the arena from the right doors. His biceps was probably the size of Kakashi's head. Speaking of heads, his was in the shape of that of a bull. He wore the black outfit of the Imperial Fist practitioner.

"Give applause to Kalbi the Butcher." The audience politely greeted the newcomer even though Kakashi noticed they weren't exactly supportive. Some seemed to outright sneer at the man.

Next, Naruto entered the area. The young Shinobi kept his black outfit and orange vest. He wrapped his hands in bandages, not unlike what Rock Lee usually did.

"And now for Naruto Uzumaki." The crowd was more enthusiastic.

"My opponent is this shrimp? The prize money is as good as mine." Kalbi boasted when he first saw Naruto.

"Oi! No one asked you, you half-finished steak." The blond retorted.

"Let the final fight… begin!" Wave leaped back as soon as the words left his mouth.

Kalbi charged Naruto, ready to crush the teen before he could even move, but he only smashed the ground. The concrete shattered on impact, sending chunks flying in all directions. Naruto was already behind the bull-man. He delivered several fast strikes, but they didn't seem to even affect the muscle giant.

"That tickles! Moooo!" Kalbi twisted and delivered a haymaker to Naruto, who barely dodged.

"Did… did you just…" The blond shinobi almost toppled over as he started to laugh. "Wait, is that a mask or your face?!" He pointed at the Butcher's head. In turn, his opponent was getting angrier and angrier.

"I am Kalbi the Butcher! I've trained at the Temple and I have achieved Ninth Level in the Imperial Fist! You puny little rat stand no chance against me! Die!" While Naruto dodged the attack by stepping back, the shockwave caused him to stumble as one of his legs was caught in a crack. His opponent capitalized on it and delivered a debilitating punch.

The blond skidded back, leaving a gash in the ground. He managed to partially block the worst of it, but he was dazed by the sheer force.

"Die!" Kalbi charged at Naruto, prepared to finish the fight.

At the last second, Naruto launched high into the air, delivering a kick to Kalbi's head on his way up. Then, he twisted to slam his palm into the minotaur's forehead, followed by another kick. That was not enough. The bigger fighter was momentarily dazed but seemed no worse for wear.

"Damn it! If I had my Sage Mode, that combo would've been so much stronger." Naruto grumbled before rushing back into melee before Kalbi could get his head back into the fight.

What followed was a fast-paced exchange of blows. For every swing the bull-man took, Naruto snuck three of his own. He was able to dance between most of the punches, only taking one or two when he got reckless and too confident, but the difference in styles was becoming apparent. Kalbi's Imperial Fist was losing to whatever weird mixture of Taijutsu styles Naruto was using. It wasn't Frog Kata as that required Sage Mode to utilize properly, but it also heavily borrowed from its moveset.

The main equalizer was the force they were able to put between punches. Naruto's attacks were sacrificing offensive power for speed. And while his opponent was slowing down from the accumulating wounds, a single hit from Kalbi was probably worth twenty from Naruto. It was becoming a battle of endurance, which would ultimately suit the shinobi just fine. This was where he excelled after all.

"Why!" A punch missed Naruto's head by just millimeters. "Won't!" The blond sprung in the air as the low punch once more cracked the concrete. "You! Just!" Each word was punctuated by an attempted haymaker that Naruto weaved under. "DIE!" Kalbi slammed both his arms into the already cracked concrete, causing even more destruction as the dust rose from the ground and shards of broken material sailed in all directions, pestering the combatants.

"Because I'm fighting for my friend." Naruto's face twisted into a cocky smile. "And because…" He didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he dashed forward in a newfound burst of speed and delivered a powerful kick to Kalbi's chin.

"U-"

Before Minotaur could reorient himself, Naruto was behind him. He kneed him in the back with enough force to lift him off the ground

"Zu-"

The teen got under Kalbi and spun around to add some extra power to the attack as he kicked him in the tailbone.

"Ma-"

In a blink, Naruto was above him. With an impressive show of martial prowess, Naruto delivered a two-palm strike to the beef… sorry, Bull-man that caused him to crash back into the ground with a resounding thud.

"Ki!"

Naruto used the momentum to roll himself into a faux ball and spin in the air before he smashed into Kalbi's stomach, making the man groan in pain before finally fainting.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" Wave announced.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered as he smiled and waved at the audience.

As he looked around, he didn't notice someone approaching him until she was already on the stage.

"Oh, Hi." He greeted the woman with a genuine smile. She was taller than him, but only by a few centimeters. He also noted that she was rather… well-endowed. She still wasn't close to Tsunade, but definitely, someone Ero-Sennin would've loved to peek on.

"Congratulations on your victory."

"Thanks. This was fun." He moved his shoulders a bit in an attempt to get the tension out. "He sure packed some serious punches." He glanced at where a group of guards was trying to move Kalbi onto the stretchers. He snapped back to look at the woman when he felt he hug him.

By the time he caught on to her, she was just finishing clasping a black leather collar on his neck. She was also holding the chain that was attached to the front.

"Hey! What gives!?" Naruto protested.

"From today on, you are mine now." She started to tug at the chain. The surprise made him stumble and fall in her arms.

Confused, Naruto looked at Kakashi, hoping the man would help him, but Kakashi had a perverted eye smile on his face as he was giving him a thumbs-up gesture. Naruto did not get a chance to protest or try to escape as, given he was resisting, Esdeath delivered a swift chop to his neck that caused him to black out.

"Let's talk in my room." She whispered, low enough that only someone with near-inhuman hearing (like Kakashi) could hear. "Just the two of us."

The jonin couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl.

-/\/-

When Naruto came by, it was already dark outside. He woke up in a lavish bed. Someone removed his jonin vest and put it in the corner. He also noticed some of his kunai and shuriken he kept in various pockets were taken away and stacked neatly on the bedside desk. Well within his reach if need be. Naruto wanted to get off the bed, but he felt something around his neck. Reaching for it, he felt the leather collar that the woman put on him after the tournament. He reached for the conveniently placed mirror on the bedside table. The collar had a symbol of the black cross (similar to what that woman wore) sewn on it with white thread.

"Huh…" Naruto also recalled Kakashi's reaction. "Ero-sensei." He grumbled. It seemed that it was safe though since he trusted Kakashi to not act like that if there was genuine danger.

"Did you rest well?"

The blond immediately snapped toward the source of the sound. On the balcony overlooking the capital stood the woman that dragged him here in the first place. The moonlight danced over her blue hair and served to further highlight her almost deathly-pale skin.

"Haaah? You're that crazy lady that put a collar on me." Naruto accused her.

"Indeed. I must apologize. I only wanted to knock you for a while to make it easier to return to my chambers. In my haste, I… forgot," there was a sliver of concealed mirth in her tone, "that you just finished a rather tiresome fight."

"I would've been fine in five minutes. I heal fast." The blond grumbled. "What the hell!? Why did you kidnap me?"

"You are not from the capital, I can tell." The woman seemed to ignore his outrage. "And the gear. Where are you from?"

"Heh? You don't know? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Special Jonin of Konohagakure no Sato." He puffed his chest and smiled.

"Ufufu." She blushed lightly. "You are so cute."

Despite himself, Naruto got flustered. It wasn't every day a beautiful woman told him he was cute. Or any woman period. Actually, he couldn't recall when was the last time a girl complimented him.

"I must admit, I am rather inexperienced, but I am sure it will be fine as long as we give our best." As she started to unbutton her uniform, Naruto was left to scramble.

"H-hey! Wait." He stumbled over his words when the first row of buttons came undone. How did those not shoot off long ago? "I… what? Wait!" He saw that she was already halfway done with the second row.

"What is it, Naruto~?" The way she said his name sent shivers down his spine for two unconnected reasons.

"Look, I… what is it… um… why are you doing this?" He paused, remembering one more, small, crucial detail. "Also, what's your name again?"

That made Esdeath freeze in her tracks. For a moment, she just stared at Naruto with wide eyes, flummoxed. "Excuse me?"

"Sure. I mean you never introduced yourself and I have no idea who are you. I figured you were the lady that organized that fighting tournament, but… you never gave me your name." The blond tried to explain.

That finally made Esdeath calm down. She stepped back and smiled. "I… am Esdeath." Once more, her voice was surprisingly silky and Naruto could spot a faint blush on her otherwise pale face.

"Great! Now… there must have been some misunderstanding. I checked the rules and it said that mercenaries were allowed to join and Shinobi are mercenaries and I also didn't use anything other than Taijutsu so I didn't break any rules. So… could you please remove this?" He pointed to his collar. "Also, I have to go kick my sensei's ass for being a pervert again."

"But this collar marks you as my, dear Naruto. You are my lover."

"Oh." This… suddenly reminded Naruto of a scenario from Ero-sennin's perverted books. Specifically, the one where the hero ended up in a hidden village run solely by kunoichi that tried to lure him into staying forever. The method is rather obvious to anyone familiar with Jiraiya's writing. "Uh… look, nice lady. I mean Esdeath," he quickly corrected himself. "I appreciate it, but the thing is I'm already in love with Sakura-chan."

It got slightly colder in the room, but Naruto wasn't bothered by it.

"Unimportant. You are mine and mine alone." Esdeath refused to back down. Instead, she approached Naruto who backed away onto the bed.

"Hey! What gives!? You can't just declare someone your lover and then ignore them when they protest. And… and… we barely know each other! We don't even know anything beyond our names. What if we don't have anything in common?"

"Oh? And how much do you have in common with that Sakura girl." She sneered at the very name.

"We… uh… ah…" Naruto desperately tried to figure something out. Training? Sakura doesn't really enjoy training. She prefers studying. Maybe gardening? He used to like taking care of plants… He can't recall Sakura ever caring for gardening though. That was Ino if anyone. Okay, what about what Sakura likes? Reading… nah, he was never one for books. Fashion? Wait, Sakura doesn't care about fashion. She wears the same style of clothes every day.

He could see Esdeath's smug smirk grow into a full-blown grin as she just watched him squirm.

"She likes Ramen…?" Even Naruto wasn't convinced by that answer.

Esdeath's stare bore into him. "That's it? She likes… one type of food as you?" For a moment, she just waited for him to try again. "Not even food in general, just one type?"

Naruto was trying. Really damn hard.

The general's grin grew almost feral to Naruto. "Give me one thing that you both like. One serious thing, and I'll surrender." She was bold enough to put everything on the line, and confident about her victory.

Naruto's brain jumped to one thing he and Sakura definitely both like: Sasuke. Though, it wasn't the same way. The thought was still too embarrassing to speak it out loud. Instead, he did his best to avoid Esdeath's gaze. "Ramen?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but she heard it clearly enough.

Esdeath cackled. Her voice echoed across the chamber.

"Hey! Just because Sakura and I don't like similar stuff doesn't mean I can't be together with her." He protested.

"But dear Naruto, didn't you say that I can't be with you because we don't have anything in common?" Esdeath mocked him. "I happen to quite enjoy soup as well."

"Hey, you never tried Ramen before!"

"You can make it for me." She leaned forward again. "Tomorrow."

"W-wait." Naruto stumbled over his words, feeling her chest press against him. "Who said I'm gonna share my precious reserves with you."

"Come now, it's your favorite food. Surely you know how to make it?" Esdeath teased.

"How did you know that!?" Naruto fidgeted below her. "No, what made you think that." He quickly corrected himself but Esdeath only giggled at his futile attempt to cover his slip-up.

Before she could reply, her womanly intuition told her she was being watched. Her head snapped toward the window, but there was nobody there. When she looked back at Naruto, something was different, strange. He appeared slightly more confident. There was no more anxiety.

"Nevermind that." She moved to fully unbutton her shirt. The buttons came undone and the cloth moved away.

"Sorry, gotta go!" The blushing shinobi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, causing Esdeath to fall forward before she could catch herself.

A few corridors away, Naruto's face lit up with a blush.

-/\/-

A slap echoed across the room. Kakashi was massaging his masked cheek.

"You know, I probably deserved that one, but you mind explaining, just in case I missed something?"

"Ero-sensei! You watched me get kidnapped and did nothing." Naruto accused. "You were right there and you just let her take me."

"Maa. Maa." Kakashi's patented eye smile only served to irritate the blond more. "I already knew you'd be fine. General Esdeath wasn't going to do anything bad for you. In fact, you should be grateful that I didn't interrupt you."

Naruto just kept staring at his sensei, expecting some additional explanation. Or at least an apology.

The jonin sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't interfere, but I genuinely thought you could use some stress relief. Besides, I did try to check on you. The General has scarily good instincts though. I swear she sensed me before I even got to the window."

"I did." A voice spoke from the side, making both shinobi leap away. Naruto sent several shurikens while Kakashi launched a kunai. Esdeath simply froze all of them mid-air with a wave of her hand. "Oh my. Jumpy, aren't you?"

"E-Esdeath…" Naruto stuttered as he moved closer to his sensei to be able to throw him under the bus while he made a break for it. Kakashi deserved it for saddling him with the whole mess in the first place. "How did you even find us?"

"You didn't expect a simple trick to fool me, did you? I'm almost offended. Though I must say, your escape method impressed me." Her smile sent shivers down Naruto's spine. "I've decided. You'll join my task force." She declared, seemingly leaving no place for arguments.

"And if we say no? We've got our own mission here." The blond protested.

"Wait Naruto, we should hear her out first." Kakashi interceeded before his student could make them a new enemy. With Honest being as problematic as he was, they needed any political allies they could get.

"Good to see someone's reasonable here." Esdeath gave Naruto a patronizing glance before turning back to the teacher. "I'm assembling a special task force to eliminate the Night Raid threat once and for all."

"Hey! That's our mission!" Naruto barked before he could stop himself.

"Indeed." If possible, The General's grin got even wider. "That's very convenient." She barely stopped herself from licking her lips in anticipation. "Then it's another reason for us to join forces, correct?"

The blond was still clearly unconvinced, but Kakashi's brain was in overdrive. "Outside of having the same goal, I do not believe I see benefits in joining forces directly. It would be more efficient to just exchange information while going after different targets. Night Raid tends to target multiple people at the same time."

Esdeath didn't answer instantly. She looked at the Jonin for a moment, as if measuring him. "That may be so, but I've heard you two have to waste a lot of time reporting directly to the emperor. I, on the other hand, have been granted full autonomy in how I operate. I can guarantee that as long as you're under me, you'll have much more freedom to operate." The barely held-back grin told Kakashi she saw through him.

"Naruto, could you please go outside and wait for a bit? I want to discuss something with the general." The jonin's eyes never left Esdeath.

"Don't wander too far away~." She called after Naruto. When their eyes briefly met, the teen couldn't help but shiver at the intense gaze. He was determined to walk faster to hide how stiff his steps became.

As soon as she turned around, she came face to face with a shining red eye, with three tomoe spinning at a lazy pace. It was accompanied by a crushing pressure of killing intent. Her battle-honed instincts made her try to kill the challenger, but she found herself unable to move. The world slowly fell apart and transformed into a red and black image of the palace throne room.

Despite her rational mind telling her it was all just an illusion, she found herself unable to move as her muscles were locked from the flood of conflicting signals.

"I'm willing to entrust Naruto to you." Kakashi's voice echoed across the room. The columns and high ceiling distorted it. Despite the situation, Esdeath allowed herself to relax just a tiny bit. It seemed she was getting her way. "But if you decide to break that trust, to go against us…"

Everything became black.

"You'll lose everything you ever cared for."

The air grew colder as she gritted her teeth. Kakashi was trying to threaten her?

"Those who break the rules are trash." The words were barely above a whisper of the wind, but in otherwise silent blackness it mattered little. "But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Everything returned to normal. The room was back to how it was and it was as if she never even moved. Kakashi was standing a good distance away from her, relaxed. The mask and the headband covered most of his face, making it hard to read anything.

"So yeah, I have no problems with letting Naruto and you work together. He can take care of himself." Kakashi shrugged and pulled out his book. He signaled her that the discussion was over.

For a moment, Esdeath seemed like she wanted to say something more, but after a quick thought, she decided to just leave for now. She achieved what she wanted. In the end, Naruto would be hers.

-/\/-

[1] Imperial Crest is the currency in the Empire, as opposed to Ryo used in Hi no Kuni