AN: Chapter title: Trust Part 2
"Lord Hokage." Hinata was surprised when Hiruen Sarutobi stepped through the doors of Caesar's tower with the rest of the missing Tribunes. She did well not showing it. "I didn't know you were visiting." Her training as a Clan Heiress allowed her to recover, greet the Hokage. "It is an honor to see you here. I only wish Naruto-kun was here to meet you himself."
"It is a pleasure." The Hokage greeted the Tribune with a smile. The others remained behind him, were anxious to both a pale set of eyes and the red eyes of the Praetorians in the tower's lobby.
The Praefectus Castrorum only rose an eyebrow at the man in front of him. His Praetorians were surprised but schooled their features once more at a sharp look. He returned to taking in the aged Shinobi in front of him.
Caesar had met with this man, had ordered his Legion to serve the Hidden Leaf Village after one such meeting. He hadn't met Hiruzen Sarutobi until now.
"So this is a Hokage?" His words were for himself. He stepped up to join Tribune Hyuga. "I am Caesar's Praefectus Castrorum, commander of his Praetorian Cohort."
"His elite unit, correct?" The aged Shinobi's tone was light, would be disarming even to those who distrusted him.
"Has our renown already spread so far?" The blonde let out a hollow chuckle. "You honor I and my men with such praise. My Praetorians strive to be the pride of Caesar's Orange Legion." The Praefectus Castrorum bowed but his red eyes didn't leave the old man in front of him. "Not even the Legate will deny our prowess."
"I'm sure Sasuke-kun holds you all to quite the standard. He's clearly an admirable teacher to bring you all to this level so quickly." Hiruzen's smile remained as he pushed a button sure to draw a reaction.
The Praefectus Castrorum didn't grimace or snarl at the words. But he came close to it.
"Of course." His opinion was made abundantly clear with the way the words came out nearly through his teeth. His hands were clenched at his side before he turned to the Hyuga. Her smile carried more than a hint of satisfaction. "Tribune Hyuga, I'm sure you're familiar with the protocol for such an esteemed guest as the Hokage himself visiting Caesar's tower."
"I'm sure we don't have to go that far." She smiled as she turned to the Hokage after aiming a bitter glance towards the Praefectus Castrorum. "After all, the Hokage has been especially busy. I wouldn't want to exhaust his free time with something as time consuming as a tour."
"Nonsense. A tour sounds like an excellent idea." The Third Hokage stepped forward, made a show of looking around at the lobby of the room. "I've been curious about what Naruto-kun's managed to accomplish here." Hanging above all of their heads was the white banner of the Uzumaki Empire, dominated by the red swirl that symbolized the Uzumaki Clan. Above it, rested the kanji for 'Waves'. Attached to the banner, eleven standards hung beneath it by a crimson cord.
Five snarling hound heads symbolizing the different Nature Transformation beneath a stylized 'I'.
A bloodied blade plunging downward and two crossed bloodied blades behind it beneath 'II'
A surging wave contained by the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan and shields beneath 'III'.
Silhouetted ruins in front of which stood a handful of what could only be Legionnaires beneath 'IV'.
A blade, pilum, and fist all covered in black lifted upward beneath 'V'.
A trio of shields paired with swords facing front, left, and right beneath 'VI'.
Four identical deep orange banners marked with the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan bore 'VII', 'VIII', 'IX', and 'X'.
The eleventh bore no design, was distinct by its deep purple coloring while bearing the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan.
"O-Of course." Both Hinata and the Praefectus Castrorum seemed surprised, shared a glance where they seemed to have forgotten their animosity against the other. The Praetorian seemed to recover quicker.
"I'll instruct my men to prepare the tower." The Praefectus Castrorum seemed set to make himself scarce, stepping back while he brought a hand to his ear. Hinata's slim hand promptly struck like a viper, fingers akin to a snake's fang latching into place on his arm.
"It will be an honor for the two of us to escort you, Lord Hokage." Her smile promised suffering if he tried to get away again.
"…An honor." The Praetorian was trapped and seemed to accept it. His red eyes turned to the rest of the Tribunes. "But, before we depart." He lifted his free hand, wordlessly bid the two Praetorians with him to bring the chest they had been entrusted with forward.
He ignored the Hokage as he fell into his official role.
"Legate Uchiha has sent messages to you all from the capital." He held his hand out and a scroll wrapped in a purple ribbon was handed to him from the chest. The two Praetorians stepped past him and handed out a sealed message to each of the Tribunes.
It seemed to be a point when Hinata received hers last. Where the others received only one scroll, she received two.
"As a reminder, your authority as Tribunes exists through his allowance. As Legate, he is second only to Caesar himself in authority and you have been given power near equal to that when it concerns the Land of Fire. Your authority does not extend to anywhere else unless specified." He undid the tie on his scroll for the second time. His red eyes flickered over what he had already read. He began to read. "Per the Legate: "Tribunes Yamanaka and Inuzuka shall be simultaneously raised to new positions that shall place them on equal grounds to Tribune Hyuga. Tribune Inuzuka, Tribune Yamanaka, and Tribune Hyuga shall henceforth be known and assemble as the Tribune Council."
"All members of the Tribune Council shall hold the power to enact a veto to the actions of any other member. This veto shall end all discussion and halt all action, up to and including issued orders of a Tribune. This veto can be exercised at any time by a member of the Tribune Council. Failure to adhere to the veto shall result in immediate dismissal from the Tribune Council, immediate loss of title as Tribune, and immediate removal from Legion territory."
"All members of the Tribune Council shall be required to adhere to the following guidelines: All members of the Tribune Council shall meet twice daily within the Chamber of the Primi Ordines as set by the Praefectus Castorum. All members of the Tribune Council shall take part in the daily Legionnaire training every other day: The first required training will take place the day after this message has been delivered. All members of the Tribune Council shall present themselves to the Legate upon his return to the Hidden Leaf Village. Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in immediate dismissal from the Tribune Council, immediate loss of title as Tribune, and immediate removal from Legion territory.'."
It was a force of will not to break his eyes away from the order to capture the expression of Tribune Hyuga to his memories.
He rerolled the scroll. The rest of it involved his own personal orders.
His red eyes roved over the Tribunes in front of him, took in their expressions.
Yamanaka and Inuzuka were surprised, hadn't even opened their scrolls. Nara and Choji were equally as shocked. Aburame stared at the two of them beneath his glasses. And Haruno was in deep thought. She was the only one who had unrolled her own message.
"Tribune Hyuga." He took glee in calling out to her, could feel the red-hot glare she directed at him. "My orders entail one more thing before I leave you: You are to read your message marked with the Legate's personal seal before the rest of the Tribunes before they begin their daily duties."
Hinata's smile was paper thin as she broke the seal on the much slimmer scroll in her hands.
Her eyes cut over the paper, narrowed.
Her grip on the paper was enough for her nails to tear into it, threaten to destroy the message before she uttered a single word.
"He writes: "Tribune Hyuga. I have received word from Legionnaires of your behavior in my absence. It is unbecoming of someone who holds Caesar's favor. The only reason I do not dismiss you with this message is because Caesar sees worth in you, sees value unseen by I myself. This barbaric practice you've created, 'Decimation', will cease immediately. Such a practice is restricted to those carrying the title of Legate. Those who defy this order shall be crucified. You will accept your new peers on the Tribune Council. You will behave, suppress your cruel urges, and you will abide by my instructions without complaint."
"Praefectus Uzumaki has been instructed to gather evidence concerning all of your actions as Tribune in order to conduct a full review overseen by himself, the Primi Ordines, and myself. You will not interfere. You will remove yourself from all matters involving discipline of Legionnaires for the remainder of your time as a Tribune under my authority. You will answer for your crimes against Caesar's Legion upon my return to the Hidden Leaf Village. Signed, Legate Sasuke Uchiha."
Her pale eyes focused on the Praefectus Castrorum as she finished, nearly tearing the message in half in her fury.
He met her glare with his fangs bared.
"You are threatening everything." Her voice was one of numb horror. Not for herself but for the dreams of another, how close they had been brought to ruin by the action of one. She spoke what was simply fact to her. "You're involving him when this is all your fault?" Her voice was cold with fury. "Everything I did was for Caesar."
"And it would sicken him!" He snarled the words, his feet closing the distance between them. "You are lucky the Legate has forbidden me from taking this to Caesar himself. He would have you stripped of all authority and lashed to a cross for what you've done to his brothers."
"You understand nothing. You have no idea how deep my devotion to Caesar is. I would gladly die for him, to bring him closer to his dreams."
"And where was that when you commanded that vile Decimation." His hand didn't go for his sword but for the blade he carried at the small of his back. "Your "devotion" would make him nothing but sick. He will despise you once he learns what you did from the Legate."
Even to the untrained eye, Chakra leaked from Hinata's fingers. Her entire body was screaming with tension, was moments from erupting into violence. There was a manic light within her pale lavender eyes, that demanded to destroy the clone in front of her for daring to say such a thing.
"I see things are heated between the two of you." Hiruzen's voice cut through the tension, his hand on Ino's shoulder. He had stopped her from striding forward, from involving herself between the two. His words were meant to break the tension before it could erupt into violence. It wasn't Killing Intent that laced his words but something far more refined. It added weight to his voice despite his soft tone, prevented any of those around him from disobeying his words. "I think it's best if you both separate for a while." He looked down to Ino, a pointed look only seen by the Yamanaka. "Ino-chan, why don't you and Kiba-kun speak with her about your new duties."
"Y-Yeah." Ino swallowed down this sudden anxiety, how heavy it was to receive an order from the Hokage himself. She found herself stepping forward before she could think, spotted Kiba moving out of the corner of her eyes. "Let's head to this chamber place. I don't think we've ever been there before."
The Praefectus Castrorum stepped back.
"I will provide an escort." It was the work of a moment to reach for his earpiece with a clawed finger. In less than a minute, a trio of Praetorians had entered the lobby of the tower from outside. "The Chamber of the Primi Ordines is below the tower. They shall take you to it."
He spared one last red-eyed glare to the Hyuga who matched it with her own. Blue eyes turned to the Hokage.
"Caesar will be disappointed he's missed your visit. Are you sure you won't prefer another time?"
"Unfortunately, I simply don't have the time to wait I'm afraid. With how busy I am? It's lucky enough I can spare this morning."
Hiruzen headed off deeper into the tower, the Praefectus Castrorum forced to follow behind him through the door.
The Tribune Council was already heading off to another door.
And the remaining Tribunes were left alone in the lobby.
None of them would be starting their duties for a while longer, would need time to process everything that just happened. They hadn't even looked over their own individual messages yet.
The walk down the underground tunnel was silent. The only sound was those of travel, of sandals over the floor, of armor meeting.
Hinata would say nothing.
Kiba glanced between Hinata and Ino but said nothing.
And Ino was deep in her own thoughts.
'What made him this desperate?' The shock from her new orders had worn off. Now was the time to think things over. 'What is he planning?' Her eyes couldn't help but glance to the silent Hinata. Her rage was all but palpable. 'And what did she do, what even is 'decimation', and why did she do it?'
She was sure that she wouldn't get an answer to any of those questions even if Sasuke came back tomorrow.
'What else have we missed?' If she had missed the start of this animosity between Hinata and the clones, what else could've happened? 'I knew something had happened but I never investigated, never tried to find out what had happened.' She could only blame herself. 'I let carrying that message get to me too much.'
Still. It was a relief not to have it anymore. A weight was simply gone from her mind, from her spirit it seemed. She didn't even know how much it was dragging her down, distracting her.
The Hokage had it now. He would get it back without Naruto ever knowing it had gone missing.
'That's one problem solved at least.' Her eyes turned back to Hinata. 'And who knows how many more I've let build up.'
"You're far from where you belong." Two metal doors closer to gates marked by the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan stood in front of them at the end of the hall. In front of them stood ten Praetorians. None of them had their weapons drawn but all of them had laid a hand on the sword at their side. "What are you doing down here? This area is forbidden to Tribunes."
"Legate Uchiha has issued new orders. What stands before you is the Tribune Council." One of the Praetorians that had led them down spoke up. "I'm sure the orders have already been replicated."
"…None of that explains why you stand before the Chamber of the Primi Ordines. Entry is forbidden to those below the rank of Primus Pilus." A glance was spared towards the three with the Praetorians. He could only shake his head. "If the Legate commands it." He sounded almost disbelieving as he turned to the rest of the Praetorian Contubernium he clearly commanded. "Open the doors."
"-can stop my men from fulfilling their duty!"
"Enough."
The room wasn't empty.
Seated at the table dominating the room, five of Naruto's clones were speaking. Above their heads hung banners for the First, Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth. The one sitting beneath the banner for the First Cohort was responsible for bringing a halt to whatever discussion had been taking place, didn't let the one beneath the Fifth Cohort's banner continue. His eyes were red when he noticed just who had interrupted them.
It didn't take much to realize that these were the Primi Ordines the room must belong to.
"You said we wouldn't be interrupted." Of them all, only the Primus Pilus sitting beneath the banner for the Third Cohort wasn't on his feet. His eyes weren't even red unlike the others when he looked over the three new arrivals. "Decanus Uzumaki. Why are they here?"
"New orders from the Legate. This is the Tribune Council." The Praetorian answered with what he knew, nodded towards the three that had come down with the three Tribunes. "I'm sure they know more."
'They weren't supposed to be here. So this is new.' Even if these new orders were made last night (which Ino was all but sure they were) the Uchiha wasn't sloppy. He wouldn't want unnecessary friction. He would never have them run into the top clones of Naruto's army. 'Are they getting desperate the longer those two are gone?' It was the easy solution.
"To make a long story short, Sasuke-kun raised us up to the same level as Hinata when it comes to being Tribunes. He wants us in charge now I guess." She stepped past the Praetorians, took in the fact that they seemed more focused on glaring at Hinata than her for once. The Primus Pilus for the Seventh and Eighth Cohorts seemed especially focused on burning Hinata with their eyes alone.
She ignored their looks.
"I won't order you to leave." Hinata made that simple fact known, stepped into the room with a hollow smile on her face. "This…meeting will be short." She finally seemed ready to address the two other Tribunes, the three of them making up whatever Sasuke intended for the Tribune Council to be. "Neither of you two deserve your new powers but I'll explain them."
None of the clones seem to even consider leaving the room as the three Tribunes took in the empty seats.
The two ends of the table were clearly meant for the Praefectus Castrorum and Sasuke. It also provided a glimpse at the Uchiha's personal standard. Instead of orange or purple, his personal banner was a deep blue cloth with a white and red uchiwa of the Uchiha Clan set next to the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan.
The rest of the table was clearly assigned, deep orange banners bearing 'I' through 'X' beneath the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan that rested above each chair.
Ino decided to pick her battles. She remained standing. Kiba stood with her, the Inuzuka glancing to her more than once. If he was nervous, if he was looking to her for cues, she didn't know.
Hinata sat down at the end of the table beneath the purple banner. The Hyuga was uncaring of the glares directed at her, of the hate that was almost tangible in the air.
"Your new authority extends beyond the Land of Fire, involves the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools. Save for issuing orders to mobilize an inactive Cohort or raising other Tribunes, your authority is unquestioned. Bar an order from the Legate or Caesar himself."
From the looks on their faces, none of the clones agreed with their new powers (or Hinata's authority).
"Madness." The Fifth's Primus Pilus seemed to speak for them all as he shook his head. "What has the Legate thought of now?"
"Whatever his reasoning, his orders will be followed as if they were issued by Caesar himself." The First's Primus Pilus met the red eyes of the Fifth's. The clone turned to the three Tribunes. "If you've gained Tribune Hyuga's authority, I'll be forwarding a copy of my reports to you two as well now." He leaned back in his seat. There was a strange look in his eyes as the red bled away. "And my brothers will be doing the same." He didn't look at any of the clones but his words carried the unmistakable weight of authority.
"I'm sure the Praefectus will order an emergency meeting concerning all of this." The Third's Primus Pilus seemed the most relaxed, spared the three new arrivals a glance but that was all. His eyes were focused on the clone further down the table. "Shall we continue?"
"You jest." The First's Primus Pilus wasn't amused from his voice. He rubbed at his eyes. "As we've been at this for hours and reached no agreement, I don't see the point of continuing." He raised a hand to stop any of the others from speaking. "We are done. We've spent as much time as I'm willing to spend on this. I will reach out to the Ninth and the Tenth. I believe they are fourth or so in standing, I'll see what men they can spare but that is all I can do."
Looks were exchanged between all of them but the clone speaking, one of begrudging acceptance. He rose from his seat and brought his fist to his armored chest.
The other four followed after him.
"I'll see you all tonight."
In a moment, the chamber was empty save for the Tribunes.
Hinata narrowed her eyes at the empty chairs.
"Wonder what they were talking about…" Kiba looked to Ino for information she simply didn't have.
'Just another thing to try and figure out.'
AN: 5/6 chapters for this update.