A/N: Warning. This is a bloody chapter. As expected of Arcane.

Still here? Great! You're gonna love this, just watch.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON TWO AHEAD! =D

I wanted this to feel like an episode of Arcane; hopefully I succeeded on that front. Looking forward to your feedback~! Reviews really keep me going despite everything. Appreciate you all~! Do let me know if you want weekly updates! Very important!

As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one! They're tributes to legends far greater than I.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time. Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that. In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~! Here we go. And yes, obvious references are very obvious.

Here we go~!

Time to make Piltover's council squirm a bit.

And here, here at last, we get to see just how DONE Naruto is with Piltover's shenanigans.

A great many of Councils -bar one or two- deserve everything that's coming to them.

You know of whom I speak...read and see...its time to let the monster out.

"I love that look of confusion. When an inferior being meets a higher power...

~?

Come to Bargain

Naruto didn't enjoy playing the Villain.

He could when pressed mind you; he'd so many a time with Konohamaru and the kids during his days in the Leaf. Hammed it up, pretended to be the bad guy, the big boss, all that stuff. The kids had eaten it up, Moegi and Udon most of all, and he was content to humor them and their games. Easier days, those. Carefree times.

How his old pupils would weep to see what he'd become now.

Or maybe the Konohamaru Trio would understand.

Hard to say, really.

Make no mistake, he wanted to be the Hero. He wanted to save everyone, have Piltover and Zaun get along, create a happy ending for one an' all...but that was naive.

If there was one thing Zaun had taught him during his time here, one lesson he learned, it was thus.

Naivete got you killed faster than a knife to the gut.

So here he was, being the bad guy, forcing Piltover to the table, kicking and screaming, holding it still, make the rulers of this so-called "fair" city sketch up a charter and add it to his list of demands. Once it was done, he would have each of them sign it. Those who remained conscious and among the living at any rate. He wasn't blind to their fear; nor their hate. Most were eyeing him like a mad dog, a feral beast that would sooner snap and snarl than speak.

There it was; the look. The fear. He hated it.

But these people wouldn't listen to anything less. They would keep the Undercity contained on the off chance that those within might turn violent; all the while, they considered themselves better. Superior, if only for being born on the right side of the river. Vander had offered them an olive branch once before. They'd spurned it, and Powder's parents paid the price.

What was the city's motto again?

Piltover Stands Proud?

Ha!

Piltover was proud all right, proud of its riches, of its status, of its wealth; lording itself over Zaun.

Well, too bad. Their day in the sun was done. Zaun's had come.

Suck on it.

Sparing a moment for his bittersweet triumph, he looked toward Councilor Bolbok's crumpled form, broken and twisted upon the floor. The metal man could not bleed as most organics did, but all the same there could be no denying that he was very much dead. He'd killed him.

We took his life; it was easy. Utterly effortless.

Killing on the bridge was easier still.

Too easy. It concerned him.

He wondered if he should be sad about that; crossing the line, ya know? Instead he simply felt...weary. Exasperated. Hollowed-out-inside by the slaughter he'd perpetuated. Had to be him. Someone else would've gotten in wrong. If he had to play the adult here and the villain then so be it.

Heimerdinger alone seemed to be the sole reasonable Councilor in this room -older than he looked, that one- but everyone else? Buncha children. Powder was more mature than most of these mewling morons! No one in this room -bar Heimerdinger- had proven themselves worthy of his attention. They were a pack of prattling pricks insofar as he was concerned.

"Better just to kill the lot of them and start over, I say."

To his dismay, Naruto found himself genuinely considering it for a moment. 'Please don't tempt me...

"Tempt you?" Kurama scoffed. "Remember what Vander told us? Most of these men and women turned a blind eye as children choked and died in the mines. Ending them would be justice."

"You're asking for too much, too soon, lad." Heimerdinger's voice caught in his ear suddenly; much to his annoyance, the Yordle had dithered just shy of signing the charter they'd dictated. "This is all a bit much for the people of Piltover to take in. Perhaps, given time, maybe a decade-

Anger coursed through him hot and heady; Naruto sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Did you seriously suggest we wait ten years?"

The poor Yordle tried to rally. "It will zip by in the blink of an eye-

CRUNCH.

Naruto's fist swung down and struck the council table center mass, causing it to snap in half. More than a few councilors shrunk back at that. He ignored them.

"To you, maybe." he silenced him with a dark glower. "Not me. Zaun doesn't have a decade. Neither do I. People die in the mining colonies everyday." taking his hand from the table he swept it out toward the remaining councilors, taking them each in turn. "The fissures aren't safe. Hell, that ventilation system of yours could be turned against us at the twist of a valve." he mimed a turning motion with his wrist and clicked his tongue at the Kirraman in question. "Just a pull of a lever and you'd unleash the Gray on us."

Cassandra Kirraman sputtered indignantly, no doubt feeling her honor impugned at the very notion. "We would never use -

"Wouldn't you?" Naruto vaulted the broken table and thrust his forehead against hers, so close he could've bit her nose clean off if wanted. "Don't be shy, now. Say it to me face. Would you or your daughter hesitate to use those vents against us...?"

She flinched and stammered under his gaze, unable to meeting his blazing, golden eyes.

"Enough, please." Heimderdinger pleaded. "There's no need for this."

Wasn't there?

"Yes, there is." Naruto pivoted away from the Kirraman matriarch with an annoyed noise to face the Yordle once more. "Tell me, how old are you, professor?"

Credit where it was due, the fuzzy fellow didn't flinch this time. "Over three hundred."

"Three hundred." Mind-boggling. "And how have you spent those years?"

"Not well enough," he admitted.

"I rest my case.

"Please," Heimerdinger tried to lift a hand, saw his thunderous expression, then thought better of it. "these things take time. Change can't happen overnight. There will be pushback -resistance to these things."

"When has that ever stopped you?" Naruto turned a blank gaze upon him. "You've run roughshod over this city for far too long. You reap what you sow."

Mel found her voice at last. "We can implement all the laws you like, but enforcing them will be a different matter."

"You still have some Enforcers left." he glared at her over his shoulder. "I didn't kill all of them on the bridge; heck, I was even kind enough to capture Grayson rather than kill her."

Lady Shool slammed a manicured hand down on the ruined table, bristling furiously. "The people will revolt!"

"Then crack down on it!" he snapped back. "You have a sheriff, don't you?! Put her to work!"

His words shocked the Council; he could tell; if the stunned silence wasn't enough to convey it, their shocked faces certainly did.

"If I walked in here with smiles and sunshine and asked for peace, you would've laughed me out of this chamber. Go on, say otherwise." anger and shame flashed across their faces; he thumped his remaining fist against his chest and tutted in bitter derision. Lie to me. I'm waiting. Well?"

Not a word.

"See?" he shook his head, setting his blond bangs swaying. "The silence is your answer. I know your kind." Oh, yes. He knew them very well. "You think you can just waltz in and take everything you want. Because you have prestige, Power. Well, guess what?! I have power, too!"

Kurama loomed larger over them all.

"Mine trumps yours."

WHUMP.

He swept an arm outward and Kurama mimicked the motion thrice as fast, lashing out with a clawed hand at the nearest wall; the resulting devastation obliterated the stone edifice facing the sea, shining yet more light into the darkened room. None of them dared to take the escape he'd offered them; not when it meant plunging to their death in the waters below.

Kurama leaned forward to sneer at the lot of them. "I love that look of confusion. When an inferior being meets a higher power...

The Councilors went mad.

"The Beast speaks?!"

"Gods be good!"

"It can talk?!"

Someone else yelped. Naruto never knew who. Something dark and ugly curdled in his gut as he swept an arm around, indicating the devastating around them and the burning bridge below, visible in the bay.

"Do I have your attention now?!"

Councilor Medarda somehow mustered up just enough nerve to look him in the eye. "Piltover will never bow to tyrants like you. We'll fight if we must."

"Oh, Mel." He gave her words all the attention they were due, which was to say none at all; he laughed at her outright. "Of course you will. Because that's just what you do, isn't it? Fight the good fight. How has that worked out for you?"

Kurama growled above him, ready to grind them all down to a pulp, abstaining only when Naruto raised a hand.

"Idiots." Anger had him in its grasp, his voice rising with every word. "You think you're entitled to everything because you have power, but power isn't enough. You can't just be strong, you have to be smart!" He jabbed a finger against his head at the last word, practically spitting. "Can't just be deserving either, you have to be worthy." that same hand swept up and clenched into a fist before his face, glowing fingers biting deep until his knuckles went white.. "But all you have ever beenIS A PACK OF FOOLS!"

Heimerdinger looked like he was about to say something, but that last shout seemingly shattered his courage, or what remained of it. His long ears drooped, leaving him to slump in his seat.

Naruto ran roughshod right over him. "Now, you're all going to do what I say, or I swear by the sage, I'll kill you here and start over. Next person to object dies."

Salo quivered in his chai, still stinking of urine. "If you think for a moment that you'll get away with this...!

Enough. He'd warned them. Alas, they'd refused to listen...

Naruto stepped in, grabbed him by the head, twisted his wrist counter clockwise, then right for good measure. There was a brief gasp. A moment of rebellious resistance as the thin man screamed futilely against the palm muffling his face, and then...

An awful crack filled the room, echoing unto eternity in the confines of the chamber.

His deed done, Naruto let the councilor fall.

Gravity did the rest for him.

Salo slumped forward onto the table, eyes lifeless, neck broken, dead as a doorknob. A thin line of drool poured out his mouth and began to puddle across the stone.

Councilor Kirraman shrieked in dismay.

Naruto ignored her. Because you see, he'd had enough. Enough, enough, ENOUGH!

Torman Hoskel, still foaming at the mouth in a dead faint, never saw the blade that claimed his life. Perhaps that was for the best. He beheaded him outright. Blood spattered across his whiskered visage, staining his left cheek crimson. He left it there, knowing it would further intimidate his foes. From there, he kicked Hoskel's headless corpse out the chair and claimed it for himself.

"Would anyone else care to raise an objection?"

Lady Shool screamed at him "Why?! Neither of them were no threat to you!

"Heed my words. I kill evil." he countered coldly. "They were corrupt, easily distracted, and ill-tempered; they would continue to be so with or without my intervention.

Small wonder she was panicking; with the death of Bolbok, that left four living councilors. Herself, Mel, Cassandra, and Heimderdinger. None of whom could stand against him.

"Monster!"

Didn't stop her from flinging insults his way, though...imbecile.

"Monster, am I?" He planted his elbow on the ruined table and laid his chin to rest against the underside of his palm, considering her intently. "Perhaps you should speak to me more softly then. I'm not evil, despite what you may think. Sage knows I had every right to be, given how I grew up. My parents were never with me. Everyone in the village feared me. I was alone for the longest time. I've lost people dear to me. Been through so much pain; frankly its a miracle I'm still sane. Count yourselves lucky. If I were a villain, you would be dead."

"You've already killed half of us!

"And four of you are still breathing." he blinked slowly to conceal the anguish he felt at breaking his code and taking those lives in the first place. "I'd call that progress."

The bald woman spat at him, fearful, but defiant, even in the face of death. "Wretched mage!"

He pointed a finger toward Shool; a miniature Rasenshuriken sparked at the digit's tip.

"Shall we make it three after all...?"

A faint pulse of memories from one of his shadow clones caused him to pause.

His finger fell, taking the destructive jutsu with it.

"We have guests.

With those words, the doors to the council chambers swung opened behind them, admitting four of his doppelgangers. They filed in without a word, nearly side by side, a paired group each clutching their hard-won prize between them. For it was no mere items they carried, but rather, people, bound and gagged.

Jayce and Viktor.

Heimerdinger hung his head. "No...

"Yes." he said as the dynamic duo were deposited at the foot of the table. "There will be no escape today, ladies and gentlemen. No aid, no last minute miracles." rising, he circled round the table to greet inventors, still squirming helplessly at his feet. "I've already intercepted Miss Medarda's messages to Noxus and Demacia as well...

Mel shrank in her seat. Thought she hadn't noticed that, had she?

"Piltover stands alone," he continued, ignoring her glare. "It will die alone, if need be. But since I'd really rather not wipe a city off the map, we'll make a bargain...

He drew a kunai from the pouch on his belt. The black metal gleamed ominously in the sunlight.

Jayce and Viktor went still.

...you will agree to my terms and sign that charter, or I'll kill them here and now."

Heimderinger sputtered in absolute horror. "Y-Y-You wouldn't...!"

No. They were innocent. But the council didn't know that. "Piltover needs Hextech." he shrugged a shoulder. "I don't."

Frankly, anything with the potential to rival chakra ought to be eliminated on principle. It was only their innocence and altruism that prevented him from doing so. Because you see, at the end of the day, Jayce and Viktor were genuinely good people. They wanted to improve lives. To help others. They liked to tinker and build and create, sure, but what scientist did not? No, it was their inherent nature that stayed his hand.

Besides, Powder would be sad if he killed them.

The deaths of corrupt officials he could explain, the end of petty power-mongers and cruel men were celebrated, not denigrated. And at the end of the day, he had to leave at least someone alive; you didn't make a deal with a snake and cut off its head.

...or maybe he should do just that.

End their lives and start afresh.

Kill them all.

It was tempting. Terribly so. He had all the power in the world. He could massacre the lot of them, claim Piltover for himself and rule as its sovereign. Who would stop him? No one. He could finally get around to training Powder properly, even take on other students, turn this backwater city into a place of true progress and peace for all.

And why stop there?

From the seat of Piltover he could spread his influence further still, and take the world, molding it in his image, creating a safe and secure empire. He could put an end to all these petty conflicts and wars across the whole of Runeterra. No one -that he knew of- would be able to get in his way, and anyone who did, he'd destroy. For the greater good. And it would begin with the simple sweep of a blade.

All would love him and despair.

.

..

...

"Wait!"

He blinked the idea away, startled.

"Please," Heimerdinger's plea intruded upon his thoughts once more, and he looked down, alarmed to find the Yordle standing between the boys and the blade; he'd taken ahold of his wrist while he wad distracted and all but forced the knife to his throat. "Kill me if you must, but not them!" he brought the blade closer still, words a pitiful rasp. "Those boys are innocent! Have mercy!"

Naruto stilled. Sasuke killed because he could, directed his vengeance at everyone and everything.

At the end of the day, he was not, and never would be Sasuke.

He would not kill for the safe of expediency.

"Mercy." he glared at the Yordle, teeth bared, eyes ablaze. "That's the word. I used to have so much mercy...you get one warning." the kunai fell from his hand and clattered to the floor. "That was it. Now sign the damn paper so we can fix this mess, or so help me, I'll walk over your corpse and do it myself!"

In the end, Heimerdinger admitted defeat and signed the charter.

Once again, Naruto hated playing the villain.

He really did.

A/N: Aaaaand cut~! We'll call it there for today!

Consider this, somewhere Arcane's multiverse, there's a Naruto who probably went and did just that; massacred the council, claimed Piltover and Zaun for himself, then spread his influence outward and forged himself an empire. Probably became some sorta dark king with Powder at his side as his queen.

Scary thought, huh? Speaking of scary, Timeskip is right around the corner. Hope you're ready for it.

As ever, we're following the Ember's Rule here. That's no joke. Really, it isn't. If folks don't like this...well, I'll not continue it. Every bit of feedback helps. Reviews are the fuel which keeps me writing in these crazy times. With my tight schedule, I simply don't have time to write a story folks don't like. Without them, my inspiration cannot take wing and I can't write a word. So by all means, speak up!

Reviews are my lifeblood. Without them, I cannot write.

So In the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Revieeeeew, Would You Kindly?

They keeps an old man alive.

(Preview)

Powder rocked back on her heels, blue eyes wide with disbelief. "They surrendered?! Just like that?! How the heck diddya pull that off?!"

Naruto clasped a hand behind his head, hummed, and kicked up his legs onto the counter as he leaned back in the chair.

"I struck a bargain.

Time flew by like wind...years passed...

And Zaun changed.

Beautifully.

Can't spoil things further than that.

Looking forward to chatting with you all~!

R ~!