Chapter 32

"Kurotsuchi-sama." A shinobi with a mask said, appearing inside the office. "We have a situation."

Kurotsuchi frowned deeply.

She didn't need to deal with any more crap than this. She needed to prepare for her talks with the Empire and Suna with Konoha playing the referee. She needed that to drag her village out of the shit hole it found itself sinking in.

Of course, the talks would not be easy but at least she had been given the impression that it was not impossible to make the trouble go away. She just needed to swallow a bit of her pride to deal with the situation.

"What?"

"Roshi and Han were captured by the Akatsuki."

"What?!" Kurotsuchi demanded.

"Not long ago."

"Dam it!" Kurotsuchi cursed loudly before dismissing the shinobi. There was not going to be a mission to rescue them. She was not going to lose anymore men.

Kurotsuchi leaned in on her chair, wearing an expressionless mask. What was happening here? The Emperor could not possibly have something to do with this. She had already received a message from both Suna and Konoha but she hadn't responded to them.

First of all, she'd thought the Kazekage was just weak. But, the danger had occurred to her. The power of those two could not be underestimated. They meant nothing to the Emperor, but to other villages it was a major power that could deter people from making false moves against them.

And now they were gone.

According to Konoha's message, there was a greater threat at play.

No doubt there but she hadn't been willing to acknowledge it then.

She had her reasons.

In this situation, it was no longer about personal issues but the greater good of her village. Iwa was being threatened in this situation and she could not allow it. She could be fine with the Emperor being hunted down for his Bijuu but the fact remained–it would only put the future of her village at greater risk.

There were still questions that needed answers but the path ahead was obvious.

She could not decide anything else.

Uzushiogakure

Naruto was sitting behind his desk while clones sealed some of his things and his work. Karin watched this, standing at the entrance. He was really leaving Uzu for his new home. Perhaps it was also a way to step away from the politics of the clan.

Moving out of the village to have his seat in the Sound also meant taking away some power from it. It would not have as much influence as it would, if the Emperor rested here. Then again, their clan politics would have probably drowned him from ever doing most of his work and it would probably make him make some decisions he would not want to make about the clan.

His love for his clan was unquestionable.

But, if the clan was taking a direction he did not agree with and found it irrational, he would step on the throats of some people.

"Are you not going to help me?" Naruto asked in a quiet tone.

Karin shrugged and moved away from the door. She went to a shelf and scanned through the books before responding.

"You seem to be handling it well. Besides, who would help their husband move away from them?"

"Those who want separation from their husband."

Karin turned to face the Emperor.

She had a small sad smile on her lips.

"Well, I don't want that, do I?"

"I cannot answer that question. You have the answer," Naruto said, watching Karin carefully.

She was apparently coming along these days. It was still something. The progress he could accept.

"We have had our fair number of issues but things have not been that miserable. We had our fun moments…" Karin said, fondly remembering the good days.

That was before all the other women came and threatened her place. At least she thought that much. But she knew that no one could remove her from her place. Not when the clan had her and Naruto still loved his clan. Ever since the others came, she had become bitter.

And Naruto had not indulged her.

He had responded with coldness.

"Not entirely my fault that things have changed. You chose to live differently. We had told you of what was to come but you changed. My treatment of you has been only reactive." the Emperor said. He then smiled. "But I must admit, the good days cannot be compared."

He had never hated Karin. He had always enjoyed their moments. Her sharp response. She had not been overly dramatic then. She was strong. But now she had become this weak willed woman who was overly emotional.

Perhaps it was the stress of this life. But she had still been someone he could laugh with. When was the last time he had one of those moments with her or with anyone else for that matter?

He had been overly robotic over the last couple of years. The days with Jiraiya were light, even in Konoha. Perhaps he could act like that again to make things better. Relationships could be very fragile at times. Emotional attachments were based on trust and mutual understanding.

The moment the trust was broken and the understanding became non-existent, everything changed.

"Do you think we will ever go back to those days?"

"I don't believe in past glories."

"You are not inspiring any hope, Naruto. Then again, when it is convenient, you think hoping is irrational." Karin responded with a slight shake of her head.

"You are taking my words the wrong way. While I don't want to get stuck in past glories, I believe that we can make new memories…Not relive the old ones. You can choose to compare but that just drags you down. Everything is your choice. You choose whether you want to be happy or miserable."

"Says the person who can be very miserable…"

"I have my issues." Naruto said with a shrug. He stopped talking, watching Karin walk toward the couches. She settled down peacefully and he continued talking.

"I will make arrangements on how I come here in the coming days. But no one must sit on my throne. Any person who does so will be tried."

"Including me?"

"You are a person, no?" Naruto responded calmly.

Karin shook her head. It was not like people were allowed to stroll into the throne room in the first place. She didn't have to worry about having to dish out any punishment to anyone.

"I'd prefer it if you just came to me. I am your wife. It isn't like when you come, I'll be out seeing another man. The schedule will make everything predictable and for romance, that would be dull."

"I thought you preferred such things."

"But not for my personal issues. I prefer to separate my work ethics from my personal life. The moment I start treating my life in the same manner as my work, everything becomes an experiment." Karin explained. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine that kind of life where everything was an experiment.

"Are you really going to be alone in there?"

"I don't know. You are the only one I would want living with me."

Karin stared at him with a raised eye brow. "I thought you'd say Temari or Koyuki. The latter seems to press the right buttons with you. But that may be because she is a perverted woman…"

"Temari forces me to draw on emotions and that is draining. I also fear that being truly close to her means that I may change. I don't want that to occur."

"Even the Emperor is afraid of change. But I guess if you change your heart, and become emotional, well, at least go to a point where you recognize other people's emotions because you care, most things about the Empire would change and it may or may not be as great as you want it to become."

Karin knew that Naruto had to take some extreme decisions.

Even in a peaceful world, tough decisions would need to be taken. Just because the nations were not actively fighting wars didn't mean that there were no evil people. Humans would always turn to the dark side of things. As long as people remained unique, there would be conflicts, there would be criminals, and there would be a need for dark arts against such people

"It isn't necessarily change that I am against. People change, for the best or worst–that is the process of life. We are all go through different phases in our lives. What I don't want is growing too attached that the attachment stops me from doing what I must do as the Emperor." Naruto said.

Karin was silent for a couple of moments. She really didn't think there was a time that was going to come where Naruto would fail to do what he needed to do. He had programmed his mind to operate in a certain way. Some of the things were not things that he had to sit and plot, but it was simply an instinct for him to react in such manner.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, but then again, you never know anything about life. The heart is a mysterious thing. You can never really predict how it will react to all situations. I thought I was going to be fine with you marrying multiple women. Even though I knew this, and had been prepared for it, when it started becoming a reality, I became angry. The reasons I understand. But the emotions overwhelmed reason and I lashed out."

This was something that Naruto wanted to think would never happen again.

He didn't want to end up dealing with the same thing over and over again.

He had his patience.

"You seem to be coming along just fine…"

"Yeah." There was bitterness in Karin's tone as she responded. "This is only after being grounded like a child and then held hostage by my husband."

"Some people learn though experience and some through pain." Naruto said with indifference. "You know I'm not going to hold what you did over your head for the rest of your life. Not unless the same thing happens again."

"I'm not planning on getting pregnant again. After this one, I wish to rest a bit and allow this one that is still forming to grow. I don't want two brats crying for me."

"This is your child, not mine. We will have mine when I want."

"We will do that if you can carry the child. If I have to carry it, you can lock me up in prison and it is still not going to happen unless I am ready." Karin responded in a sharp tone.

Naruto only smiled hearing those words.

"Welcome back, Karin."

The atmosphere within the Sound was truly different from the one in Uzushiogakure.

The compound was separated from the rest of the village but here, it was not. Naruto felt that he was within the large city he had built. He could feel it. The many empty buildings. The many men and women running around carrying materials to furnish the buildings that they had built.

The center compound was built with three floors. The top floor was reserved for him and Haku–it was made as their living quarters. Haku would still work at the tower Guren had built.

The second floor was left for the Imperial workers who would be handling administrative duties.

The ground floor housed the throne room.

It was located at the heart of the compound.

The other four buildings were majestically built. And of course, the walls had the paint of crimson. Not all of them, but just part of them.

Naruto was standing at the entrance. It was a small gate, with wooden walls stretching after them. A single guard stood at the entrance. He wore a dark crimson long cloak, a forehead protector with the letter 'E' written on it.

He had already said his greetings and expressed happiness that the Emperor was 'coming home.'

He had simply taken it all with just a nod of his head.

From the entrance, there was a clear path that lead straight to the large crimson doors of the center building. Trees were planted in between the buildings. A man-made stream of water ran around the center building, with multiple small bridges built for people to walk through them to enter the building.

The road was paved, with trees lining up toward the main building.

Aside from the large crimson door that led to the throne room, there was another door that was left open. It was the main entrance to the building. Naruto did not go through it but went through the throne room. It was built from the underground to create more space.

The hall was huge, with three crystal pillars on the left and three on the right supporting the dark blue crystal ceiling, they all carried the Empire's flag. The entire ceiling was purely crystal. It had a certain glow about it that created some light colors within the throne room.

The stairs leading to the throne were covered by a crimson mat. The throne was a gigantic thing with its back touching the ceiling. It was dark blue, with the back painted red.

Naruto settled gracefully and leaned against it. It was comfortable. He closed his eyes. The moment he did so, he felt chakra signatures flashing in one by one. When it all stopped, his eyes opened.

Guren was on one knee, about seventy masked shinobi in crimson cloaks lined up in rows of five kneeling behind her.

The doors slowly opened, and Haku walked in, with Yugao behind him.

He marched between the gathered shinobi and stopped beside Guren, but did not kneel.

Yugao felt compelled to kneel beside Guren.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty. We hope that this is to your satisfaction." Haku greeted with a small smile on his lips.

But there was a bit of steel in his tone.

Naruto did not offer an immediate response as he searched the men behind Guren one by one. After a couple of moments, he finally spoke.

"I have no complaints. Whoever designed the throne did well. It is rather comfortable and stands tall above all other things. I like it."

"It was the work of Guren, Your Majesty." Haku said.

"I see she has also prepared fine shinobi. I can feel their chakra. Guren, you may arise and address your Emperor."

Protocols were in place.

Haku had demanded that they be in place. Naruto didn't complain. It was time to play his role as Emperor with all the necessities that came with it.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Guren said as she stood up.

She was honestly happy that Naruto liked the throne she had created for him. She was also happy that he was finally moving to this place to make it his home. How could she complain? Her Emperor was coming here. Once more, she was going to be working close to him. Any subject would relish working close to her master.

It was also pleasant that the master she now served was fair and not a cruel bastard who could never compliment anyone unless it was for the sole purpose of trying to win support and continued loyalty.

"I selected these men to be the Police of the City. It will be their duty to patrol and guard the city against any threat. They will have their own supply of intelligence and working stations that is different from other forces. I have developed a system that ensures that they execute their duties without any interference. I understand that politics will play around this city, and as such many people of influence may take residence. When you have such people, they will like to have control over those in charge of protecting the city. Their only limit is when it comes to the 'Imperial Guard' The Imperial Guard will be the one responsible for your protection, along with Haku's and any other leader who comes to the city."

Naruto nodded.

The Imperial Guard would still need some work. Uzumaki will play an important role in the Guard. He could leave its command over to Naori, his prime guard.

Haku could also give them orders as his right hand.

"Expand the scope of work to the entire country…" the Emperor said. "And of other forces?"

"We are still in the process of recruiting and doing training." Guren answered. "I remain in command of all other forces. But I won't be in charge of the Police. We believed it would be best if they only reported to the one who controls the city."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes. "One who controls this city and one who controls this country is the same person. Haku, you have so many duties and cannot do all things. Guren, I will have Yukimaru trained to become leader of this country. But he shall be succeeded by your child…If he does remain alive to that point, at least."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Guren said.

She was at least happy that something like that was going to come to pass. But, she knew that the one who would control this country would always play second to the one who controlled this city. All power of the country would rest with Haku and the Emperor.

But, she was not complaining about it.

"Do you have a training ground prepared for me?"

"Yes, it is just outside of the city. I had Noroi erect a barrier around the area to close it away from public eyes. The city itself as more than 17 training grounds. We have managed to keep the 'closed' to public eyes as well."

"These men behind you, 4 PM today, they must be on my training ground, ready to battle me with the intention to kill me. I am so far impressed with their chakra, but if they cannot show me that they are worthy of protecting my country, you'll get rid of them and recruit new people."

A test from the Emperor?

"I will ready them." Guren said.

"Good; we will have proper introductions then. For now, they are dismissed."

Guren motioned for the men to take their leave and they disappeared in a flash. Yugao was the only one who remained on her knee. She didn't get up, but just stared at the Emperor. He hadn't given her a look since she arrived with Haku but she was not going to speak when not offered the opportunity to do so.

"Are there any issues you brought with you?"

"This city might come under attack from the Akatsuki looking for the Sanbi and me."

He knew that. He was the key to all that and for Madara to get to it, he would need to get to him. With how things are happening, it was apparent that some members of the Akatsuki would come to him for that battle.

It was not that the Sanbi was here, but he knew where it was.

Haku frowned. "You are putting this city in danger just like that?"

Naruto shook his head. "Deidara and Sasori are the only ones who can damage to it. But they will not come here because Noroi has given me their location and tomorrow, I am going to hunt them down. I also won't wait for Madara to come here for me to battle him. This minimizes the risk to everything we have built."

"I still don't like it. You are the Emperor and there is no other place you can go. We cannot expel you from you own home. Just so you know, we don't have money for anything else. We actually owe some of the builders. I've had to borrow money to patch up some things." Haku said.

"How much did you borrow?"

"Three hundred and fifty million ryo. It was for the completion of the hospital and equipment as well as some for the trains."

Naruto was silent for a couple of moments before speaking. "What about the money from Yoshino's schemes?"

"It wasn't enough and it isn't coming in large sums…" Haku said.

"I didn't want to damage the Wave or request aid from other nations within the Empire because I didn't want to burden them. The Wave had its own situation and Ame is spending in building its trains. Not to mention that due to its closed doors, it was not exactly rich."

"But, the Wave has reserves."

"Indeed." Haku didn't deny this.

"We owe a lot of money and will need to borrow more to build the trains." Naruto said with a shake of his head. "Consult Tazuna and half the Wave's reserves. Use the money coming from the mines, and business Yoshino took over to start servicing our debt. Kurotsuchi has still not paid up, has she?"

Haku shook his head. "But, I have been in contact with the Earth Damiyo about the transfer of 100 million Ryo."

Naruto tapped his fingers on the throne for a couple of moments before speaking.

"Deidara and Sasori have large bounties on their heads. We can cover this new debt you made. Kisame has another. There is also Kakuzu, his is rather big. We will make ourselves rich by turning over their heads…That should solve the problems we have, no?"

"But you must get them first before the other nations."

"Tomorrow, I will pick up Deidara and Sasori…We can move quickly to get the others. I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you haven't said anything to argue against this. I am thinking about profiting from the death of the people." Naruto said, staring straight at Haku.

Haku shrugged lightly. Some things had to be done. He knew he was kind and that Naruto held back from telling him some things because he knew he would object. But, the more he was exposed to the line of work, the more he realized that certain people could not be moved with just mere words.

"They are criminals who have murdered many. If their deaths can bring fortune to us, I cannot complain." Haku said. "I am only against the death of innocent people. They are not innocent. But I won't say they deserve it."

Naruto smiled.

"I think you are just being stubborn there." He said and then turned to face Guren. "You teaching him the value of working hard?"

"He is learning through the job. Being a leader exposes you to all kinds of things. When he was still with Zabuza, he could leave the killing to his master. And with you, even when faced with difficulty, we handled it. But when he was alone here, there was no other choice but to act. He has been saying you don't need to know everything…And that teaches him some things."

Naruto was silent for about a minute. "I don't need to know everything, huh? What don't I need to know? You mean the fact that it was not Haku who borrowed money but you and from business people who then threatened to take this place hostage? And because of politics, you could not simply kill them to erase it."

Guren turned to Haku who simply shook his head to say he didn't say anything. She turned back to the Emperor. His expression was unreadable.

She could not tell if he was angry with her or not.

"Such things." She ended up saying.

Naruto nodded. "As long as the end solves all things. We needed the money to move things. But we shall cover gaps with bounty. I'm certain Kakuzu also has a cave where he hides all his money. I know he hunts down shinobi and people with large bounties…What does he do with all that money?"

Guren grinned just thinking about a large stack of money hidden somewhere.

It was plausible that the man did have somewhere he hid his money.

"We'd have budget to play around with things." She said grinning. "I can pay my people well for their work."

Naruto nodded. He would need to be extra careful tomorrow but straight to the point. He would not need to fool around. He would jump to the throat the moment the battle begins.

"You can stand, Yugao." Naruto instructed. "What is her role?"

"She will serve directly under me." Haku said. "You don't have a problem with me changing her position, do you? I don't have someone I can trust to work for me and she is skilled. You did say we can trust her."

"Hmm…I still wonder about that…" Naruto adopted a thoughtful look.

"You know I am not that kind of a person." Yugao said to Naruto with a straight face. "You've known me for years now."

Naruto did not address this.

In fact, he just acted as if he hadn't heard her speak.

"She can stay with you…We will talk later Haku…"

He turned to Guren.

"You may approach the throne."

Guren did not move, not until Haku and Yugao started retreating. She didn't know why the Emperor was calling her closer. She felt slightly nervous as she walked up the stairs. Her heart beat was a little faster, but she managed to keep all emotions off her face.

"You need not be so nervous; I'm not thinking of punishing for anything. But we must talk about you and Haku."

The Following Day

Deidara grinned when he saw the Emperor sitting on a small rock, facing the sky. He could not help smile.

There was no other reason for the Emperor to appear before them in this manner. It was for battle and Deidara was ready for it. It didn't matter if it was the Emperor. He had been itching for this day. Zetsu had said that this day would come and here it was.

He knew Naruto was powerful and it was probably going to take both him and Sasori to take him down. He would not dare underestimate this man. Still, his excitement began to build quickly seeing the man. He didn't usually get to fight such a powerful opponent.

"So the day has finally come for you to come before us. I'd always known that we would have to face you one day." Sasori said.

Naruto turned to face the two Akatsuki nins with an expressionless mask. Perhaps Sasori would pose a bit of a challenge but Deidara was not known for being the quickest shinobi out there.

Naruto had plenty in his arsenal to decide how to go about this battle. He just needed to chop their heads off and take them to collect the bounty and he would then go home and get some sleep. Maybe he could even summon Mei to his chambers as a way to celebrate collecting the massive bounty on these two.

"You have always been special, Sasori. What I also admired about you was your effective spy network. You planted sleeper agents all over the Elemental Nations and I had admired that work. I opted against utilizing it because I knew if I liked it, I'd find getting rid of you irrational." The Emperor stated while still sitting calmly.

"Praise from the Emperor, I will take it."

"Let us just do this, hn!" Deidara said, balling his fists.

His body grew tense when Naruto suddenly flashed in front of him along a small breeze. He hadn't sensed anything nor seen anything.

He just blinked and the Emperor was gone.

He realized that the air was strong around the Emperor. His eyes were also different. He was surrounded by wind.

Was this what they called a wind armor?

Did it increase the speed in such a way?

"Are you sure you want to get this done quickly? Your only way of fighting is through your so-called art. You are not that quick, neither is Sasori in that form. This means that I can cut both your hands before you even do anything. It is honestly disappointing that S-rank shinobi can be lacking in such a manner."

Deidara smirked. "You are serious, hn." He said.

If the Emperor wanted to cut him that easily, he would have swung his sword already.

"Don't do anything suicidal, I'll just diffuse it." The Emperor said before shifting slightly and then moving towards Deidara's left side.

He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and then spoke once more.

"Next time, I will simply cut you. Be ready…"

Deidara didn't have the time nor the energy to do anything when Naruto's fingers dug into his shoulder and with just one hand, even when he tried to resist, the blond pulled him, and twisted around in the blink of an eye before hurling him towards another direction.

While airborne, Deidara fought to control his body, gritting his teeth for a moment.

That was just ridiculous.

The raw strength was just inhuman.

"You think you got me?!" He then grinned, shouting loudly. "Art is a blast… Katsu!"

Naruto's eyes shifted down and he saw two small white birds dropping down. They were just below the height of his knees.

A burst of lightning occurred, and the clay was turned into ashes.

"Shit!" Deidara cursed loudly.

This was his worst enemy. Fighting someone who manipulated lightning which his Element was weak against meant that he could not ignite his art.

About twenty needles were shot towards Naruto by Sasori. They flew toward him from the right side, heading towards him.

Naruto simply waved his right hand and then released a powerful gust of wind. The gust slammed into the needles, deflecting their path.

"Are you two really serious about this? You won't be alive in the next couple of seconds if this continues…" Naruto said while taking out a kunai.

He coated it with wind chakra and then flung it towards Sasori.

Naruto was using wind, and with the speed of the kunai, there was no doubt that the kunai was coated with wind. If he let the kunai hit, it was going to burst through his puppet. His metal tail swept from behind, the blade of the tail shifting to the sides as the kunai neared him.

Within a second, metal clashed when the kunai hit his blade and was deflected to the side.

If he had natural eyes, Sasori would have widened his eyes when the Emperor suddenly appeared in front of him in a crouched position. He was indeed too damn fast.

Once more, he hadn't seen anything. It was like the wind was surrounding him. Hikari's mouth flung open as he tried to release poison needles but before a single needle could even leave, the Emperor shoved a ball of flames inside Hikari's mouth before flashing away.

Boom!

Sasori knew it was over for Hikari when the ball of flames touched his cloak. The Emperor was known for creating condensed ball of flames that were capable of making huge explosions.

Even though he was not looking at Deidara, Naruto was watching him. He didn't seem to be at all concerned about Sasori. Naruto did know that the blast he released was not enough to defeat someone like Sasori.

Seconds later, something jumped out of the flames.

Naruto stared at Sasori with a raised eye brow.

Sasori should be much older. Looking at him, Naruto realized that he was not looking at blood and flesh but something else.

"I see," he commented without saying anything in particular.

Had anyone else destroyed Hikari?

Deidara could not remember and this man had done it within seconds of starting a battle with them. This was going to be a dangerous battle. He was also problematic since he could not use some of his abilities because he didn't want to end up killing him.

The blond was a Jinchuriki and death was not to come to him or unless he would be held responsible for the 'death' of the Kyubi.

"This looks like it is going to be difficult." Sasori said to him from the other side. "Be careful that I don't get caught in your explosives…"

"Art!" Deidara corrected. "But don't worry. Whoever's art takes him down proves that their art is superior and the real art!"

Naruto spoke before Sasori could respond.

"I heard that you two often have this debate. But I'm afraid we won't get to see that. I didn't come to fool around with you both here. If I had the Sharingan, I would have just engulfed you in black flames but I am Uzumaki, so I used a seal." He said while looking at Deidara through the corner of his eyes.

Deidara was not stupid. He clearly read what the Emperor was saying. He didn't say he would use a seal but had already used a seal.

But he hadn't seen him applying one on him.

This made him tense.

Naruto turned to face Deidara, and help up his right hand. There were strange marks on his palm. "Most of my seals are stored here. I use my chakra to imprint them on targets. It is sort of how my father could mark you with one of his seals for his jutsu. I can do that but I choose not to because there would be no fun in that."

He smiled.

"Can you guess what I did do you? Ah, you won't feel the effects now because I haven't activated it."

Deidara frowned deeply. That moment the man touched him on the right shoulder. Naruto had targeted the hand he used. This was not anywhere in the information they had about the blond. How was he going to deal with this? He could be-

His thoughts came to a halt when he felt like a hand was gripping him on his right shoulder. He quickly tore off his cloak to see what was happening. Black marks started to spread around his shoulder through his arm.

He gritted his teeth when he started feeling a tightening of his muscles.

When he tried to move, nothing moved. His brain leapt, shouting the commands but the muscles failed to react. Nothing in his body was moving. He could not move his neck. His eyelids couldn't even blink. Everything was just stiff.

"Guh!" Deidara cried.

It was only the voice that came through gritted teeth. He wanted to move, but his jaws refused to clench.

Silver rods protruded from his shoulder. They were six of them, and they were conducting electricity. He knew, it was his chakra being turned into lightning. The lightning kept him paralyzed as it was going through his body.

But this could not go on forever. He would run out of chakra. And when that happens, he was going to die. He couldn't glare at the Emperor. He could do nothing.

He felt frustrated. Helpless. Anger bubbled within his thoughts. But he could now no longer even cry.

"Stay there for a little while because I want to deal with Sasori. I imagine by the time I am done with him, your chakra will have been drained already."

Sasori was not pleased about this but he was not going to risk anything. It was likely that if he neared, those rods would discharge electricity, electrifying anything close to him.

"That is some complex work." He ended up saying in a calm tone.

"Nothing compared to the many seals that I have developed over the years." Naruto responded as he turned to face Sasori.

"Don't worry, I won't do any on you. You have plenty of puppets that will make it difficult for me to get near you to apply anything… ah oops, I just shared a secret. Oh well, it isn't like it changes anything…"

Uzushiogakure

The throne room was not a public place that allowed people entry. But, there had been times the Emperor called people here. There were those 'leaders' in the streets for civilian matters. It was the only chance common people found the ear of the Emperor.

When he was on the throne, he was a different person. Of course, it all depended on the mood. Miyuki had seen the man looking pleasant, creating an atmosphere that permitted normal people to be around him freely.

Naturally, there was always a shadow behind him, giving a warning sign.

Perhaps it was only visible to her perceptive eyes.

For some reason, Miyuki could tell the throne room was completely empty of the people who usually listened in when the Emperor was talking to some people.

With Haku away, it was just cold.

As she moved closer to the throne, Miyuki felt like she was stepping closer towards the king of hell. He had an imposing look. The atmosphere was just pregnant with violent tension. Even when she felt that, Miyuki didn't change the expression on her face.

She continued smiling.

"Your Majesty." She greeted the man on the throne.

Naruto raised an eye brow. "Is that how you address the Emperor, Miyuki?"

Ah, they were going to do this.

She knew there was danger here. But, she also knew she was going to get out alive. The moment Naori came to tell her that the Emperor wished to see her without wasting time, she had known there was something wrong.

"Apologies, your Majesty. It is a habit since I usually stand." Miyuki said as she knelt down.

Was this part of the humiliation? Being forced to be like this. Women were usually allowed to remain standing–all that was expected from them was to face the floor as they speak unless commanded to face the Emperor.

"I think you read the mood a lot better than that Miyuki," Naruto said. His expression changed slightly. "We have not spoken in private in quite some time. Not since the day we first met."

"Indeed. I'd always thought that you were avoiding me. Our conversation that day had gone so well…"

Naruto smiled.

"I will not disagree with the anything you said. I tend to avoid dealing with a woman who can manage to convince me to do certain things that I would rather not do. You also seemed to hold your liquor far better than most people."

"It isn't like you easily get drunk. But, I don't remember trying to convince you to do something you wished not to do. I was merely curious why the Emperor would be sitting in a bar–alone with a miserable looking face."

Thinking of those days, Naruto truly missed them. He missed that peace. There was always chaos in a bar, especially at night. People lost it easily when drunk. Chairs could be thrown around. Bottles could find themselves breaking in someone's face. The bar life was like that.

He'd always found it peaceful to be still in a place where there was nothing but chaos around him.

His expression changed once more and he rested his head on the palm of his right hand. His eyes were sharp as he started speaking.

"I know you are a traitorous spy who met with Zetsu in the Wave Country or somewhere within the island outside of the village. Do you deny that?"

Miyuki shook her head.

She had examined Yoshino to see if he knew but he hadn't revealed anything. It was not ignorance. He had merely said he had suspected her to be one. But taking Yoshino's word was dangerous. That man was a slithering snake. She had known. But then again, so was she.

She had always believed that he was much more dangerous than the Emperor. Of course, he always denied it, saying she must not be fooled by how the Emperor behaves.

"I did meet Zetsu years ago. It was around the time this was just ruins. My village was one of those who left the ruins. Of course, we did return when it became unsafe outside. The world doesn't take much of liking to those who are different."

"And yet I have not seen anything different about you."

"Do you want to see?"

"No, I am not interested."

Miyuki was a little surprised by that.

He didn't know and yet has no interest in knowing?

Was that why he had allowed her to continue doing as she pleased even when he suspected her? This situation made her a little uncomfortable thinking that perhaps he knew already. But naturally, his mask was unreadable.

"What is going to happen?"

"I don't know. I don't really care that you are spy. I don't hate people. But you are thinking that because you are Uzumaki, you leave this room, even though you admitted to being a spy."

"Am I wrong?"

"No, but I can snap your neck just to prove a point."

Miyuki knew when someone was serious and the Emperor was serious about that.

Still, he had said he didn't know what would happen to her.

"You have evil intentions towards me. It doesn't show in your eyes or face but I know it is in your heart. You are one of those people who believe that I should have not led the clan to the direction it takes. You are most likely one of those rats the elders sent when they disagreed with me and believed I was leading the clan into the right path. You might also resent me for not taking action against Konoha, and Kiri. For you personally, Kiri shinobi killed your family and Konoha watched it all happen. Oh they knew about the attack and could have stopped it, but they did not. Zetsu told you as much. And I never denied it.

"You don't wish any harm to the village. Not at all. You'd never permit such a thing. But people believe that I could bring ruin to the clan with my actions. Domination is usually through bloodshed. Although you know things about the clan, which you could give for Zetsu to bypass the security, you've not done so. But you've only ever been interested in knowing the location of the Sanbi. Zetsu knows I took it."

Miyuki was silent for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

It was a hollow laugh.

Devoid of any emotion.

"How do you think like that?"

"You train your mind." Naruto said. "Nobody knows the location of the Sanbi. I am the only one who knows. You can tell Zetsu that tomorrow when you visit the Wave Country."

"So, I am going to leave here…"

"Of course. You are a precious Uzumaki woman. You are going to breed little Uzumaki for Yoshino. Your elders will be most pleased."

Really, he was just going to say something like that to her face? Did this man not have any limits? She then smiled.

"Unfortunately, I cannot bear a child."

Naruto smiled. "You are smart, but you became emotional when I mentioned that you would do what you don't like. The only reason I'd keep you alive after being a spy is for the simple reason of increasing our numbers. If you become useless on that as you have been useless to Zetsu, there is no need to keep you alive, now is there?"

Of course, even to members of his clan, he could still think like that. Miyuki knew the Emperor for his logical way of thinking. She despised having uttered those words. They just gave her away.

Naruto got up from his throne and then slowly walked towards Miyuki. He bent down slightly and stared into her face.

"Such a waste of a fine woman. What does Yoshino's grandfather want? He is part of the elders…And has been a staunch opposition of mine. The Empire is growing and before I decide whether the clan will have greater influence, I must know the intentions."

"What do you think he wants?"

"Yoshino to be Emperor. But as long as I am alive, that is not something that will happen. Yoshino will never betray me."

Miyuki could not dispute that. She had observed and the elders had realized it already. No matter what they said, Yoshino was never going to go against his Emperor in any way.

"You care about politics. But that is a game you hardly play. The clan politics are deep and I know both Karin and Yoshino hold more political power within the clan than you."

"Hmm, I often find it bothersome since I tend to think of killing people I find useless. There is a different way of killing someone politically but I don't think it is effective." Naruto said with a shrug. "Does anyone wish for me to die?"

"Most of the elders do…But you know that."

"Indeed. I know that once things settle. There will be politicking a lot. If I cannot be killed, I must be reduced to a puppet. Life is a traitorous bitch, isn't she?"

"Depends."

"Of course, you'll say that." Naruto said with a smile. "So, what do you want?"

"Doesn't matter…I know I won't get it."

"You understand things quite well and you know if I so please, I can confine the elders to this village and spread the Uzumaki around. Now, the only problem is Zetsu. He isn't going to kill you. You know nothing, you are useless. But do give him the message I gave you." Naruto said before placing the palm of his hand on Miyuki's forehead.

The hand glowed slightly before Miyuki let loose a loud pained screech.

"Ahhh!"

She cried holding her forehead before falling on the floor, twisting and turning. There were marks on her forehead, spreading across her face. Veins popped up around her head, the ones on her neck seemed as if they could burst.

After a couple of minutes, she finally stopped, but did not get up. Her breathing was labored, both hands covering her head.

"I trust you'll be a good girl from now on. You won't be compelled to do anything–at least not for now," Naruto said before standing up straight.

He then walked toward the exit without saying another word.

Yoshino was standing just outside, hands folded across his chest.

"I think a part of her likes you…You can keep her."

"You never shared some of the things you shared with her."

Naruto closed his eyes and started walking past Yoshino.

"When you invited her to your home, you knew I knew something and never asked. I decided it was best we keep our thoughts to ourselves to avoid any puddle that might cause us to slip."

"It is much more than what I actually thought…I could never get anything out of her…" Yoshino said following the Emperor.

"I did most of the talking…She merely confirmed some details…" the Emperor paused, glancing back at Yoshino for a moment.

"Did I not tell you sort out your elders?"

"They are stubborn and won't listen."

"People will continue to call this the Uzumaki Empire but it will officially be simply named "The Empire." Uzumaki will be out of it…I cannot have politics that will only cause me to stumble. You have no control over the elders…if you did, I'd let it continue. But you don't. Tell them, on my orders, they must never leave this village. However, I will alleviate your position. In due time, you shall be appointed as the Emperor's left hand with Haku being right. That means you will play around within the Sound. Acceptable?"

"Acceptable…"

"Good, anything else?"

"Noroi confirmed that the clones that attacked Sasuke are the same that attacked Guren. I am gonna go talk to her about it and see if I cannot squeeze more information out of her."

"I've already given you the go ahead and you don't need my supervision. Do what you must. I want to see results." Naruto said.

Yoshino had at least earned that much. Haku was the one who worried him because he was simply too kind, even to enemies.

"I am going to go above what the Empire does with Iwagakure when talking to her. I wish to know if you are okay with that."

Naruto opened both his eyes. Yoshino was talking about allying Iwa and Uzushio. It would need his approval to be the final thing. This was still a village he had rebuilt.

He closed his eyes once more and then responded.

"It is fine. There are people within the Water Daimyo's palace who are questioning things. Mei made efforts with the Daimyo and it worked. But there are people who are still talking. Some are even questioning our association with Nadeshiko and want to claim it for the Water country."

There was always something happening. This was the shinobi world. Greed ruled people. There was always the hunger for something. The thirst for something. Some people were never satisfied with what they had.

Yoshino had known that he would always have to do things.

"Elimination or diplomatic?"

"We don't have time for talking. We have bigger issues. Nadeshiko is important for our share in the control of the sea. With it and The Wave, our shipping business thrives. The Wave needs Nadeshiko. Until the capital grows and surpasses the Wave, we must show extreme caution."

Yoshino smiled. "The right hand is for diplomatic missions and the left is the stick that hits them."

"Guren has created a group she named "Empire Black Ops" Embo, for short. Only you, Haku and Noroi know of its existence. When you must carry out missions that require termination, talk to her. For now, we don't need a bloodbath. It will raise too many questions and Mei will turn to us. Have the Daimyo purge the people we don't want in his council."

"I will call for Noroi."

"Tell me when it is done."

Kisame grinned when he saw Naruto sitting below a tree, eyes closed, leaning against its trunk. He didn't seem to notice him but he knew this was not a coincidence. The Emperor had been waiting for him. The Emperor was on the hunt. Madara didn't seem to care about this.

He'd merely said the Kage were going to gather and if they declared war, the Bijuu would gather. There was of course the likelihood that they would be hidden from him and taken away from battle. He already had in his possession three Bijuu and from what Zetsu told him, Madara was personally going to collect both the six and seven tails.

Both would be easy pickings with the former secluded away from other people. The latter was just a stupid woman who wanted to make friends with everyone.

"Is it my turn?" Kisame asked, still grinning.

Naruto didn't offer an immediate response. He hardly had time to meditate these days with the duties he always had to deal with. After a minute, he opened his eyes and then responded in a quiet tone.

"Yes. I'm sure you've been itching for it for a long time. I wouldn't mind either having a bit of fun fighting against a man who is infamously called a Bijuu without a tail."

That was measured up by his large supply of chakra. Not to mention that glutton he carried on his back also gave him chakra. Kisame would no doubt be different from the others.

Of course, Naruto would need to be careful with fighting him given that the glutton will only consume his jutsu. He would have to make do with taijutsu and kenjutsu.

"Itachi always spoke about how dangerous you were. He honestly feared you for what you would become. He always knew you were strong, despite never having seen you in action. Compared to what other people saw, I'd say he saw the power you kept hidden." Kisame said. "But I'm sure he'd be happy that some of his fears have not come true."

Naruto raised an eye brow.

"What fears?"

Kisame shrugged carelessly.

"I'm sure you know since you were quick to have Sasuke kill him for you. You knew what he wanted and once he was no longer useful, you pushed him to meet his end."

"I cannot take credit for that. Death in the hands of his brother was ultimately what he desired." Naruto said with a wave of his right hand.

He slowly stood up.

Seeing the blond get up, Kisame lunged without warning. He didn't swing his sword but as he neared the blond–who didn't even seem to have taken notice of his movements–he swung his right hand, fist formed. As he touched down just a foot away from the Emperor, his fist drove toward the Emperor's head, just on the side.

It wasn't that Naruto hadn't seen it. He was just prepared for it. He rose his left hand, almost in a lazy manner but there was raw strength behind it.

Kisame's punch collided with his hand, creating a slight shock but Naruto didn't move, not even an inch.

"That's tough." Kisame said before jumping back. "It felt like I just hit a rock."

He smiled.

When he looked at Naruto, his smile widened.

"Senjutsu, huh? I was told it gives you some incredible physical strength but I didn't think it would be so much that I'd hurt just hitting you."

"Surely you jest." Naruto said calmly. "Someone of your physical strength should not complain over something like that, especially when you did not try your best. Let me also try, no?"

He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Only dust remained from where he once stood.

Kisame didn't even need to see the Emperor. His reaction had simply been something of instinct. He quickly grabbed his sword and placed it in front of him in a defensive manner. Naruto's fist collided with the sword in a brutal manner. There was a loud sound when it connected with Samehada–who could not simply absorb the blow.

The stretched scales did nothing to deter the blond from attacking and the breathing sword let out a small shriek as Kisame was forced to skid back slightly from the force of the punch.

"Speed and strength, hu-" Kisame wasn't allowed to finish talking as a powerful gust of wind slammed into him.

The gust had enough power to send him flying backwards and crashing into a tree.

It wasn't long until he recovered but he was forced to drop down when Naruto's feet crashed in front of him, backing him against the tree. The blond was swinging a sword with his right hand. The swing cleaved through the air, moving just above his left shoulder.

When he dropped down to avoid it, the sword cleanly cut through the trunk of the tree.

Kisame drove his sword towards Naruto's gut as the tree behind him started to fall. The sword never reached the blond. Even when the scales were sharpened to deter any retaliatory attack, Naruto's left foot still stomped on the sword, slamming in into the ground with such forcefulness that its head got buried down.

The Emperor then strengthened his muscles and used his left foot as balance while swinging his right foot towards Kisame's head. The former Kiri Nin raised his right hand toward his left side to block the kick. He winced slightly when it connected.

Despite his strength, blocking an attack like that still stung.

"Hmm." Naruto started, eyes staring down at Kisame. "You pass for your physical strength. But do get serious or I will break you." He said that while holding a small ball of flames in the palm of his left arm. He intended to shove it towards Kisame's face.

Kisame could feel the intense heat coming from the flames. It was not the sort of thing that would leave him without burns if it hit him. And the Emperor was not targeting the sword because he knew it would absorb it.

It was very clever of him.

But then again, it was something that Itachi would likely do.

"Suiton: Water Gun!"

Kisame blasted out a powerful stream of water from his mouth to counter the jutsu before it could even be launched toward his face. Naruto seemingly didn't try attacking but allowed the water jutsu to hit his. When water and fire collided, the flames became steam which rose quickly, obstructing their views.

Kisame felt Naruto jump away from him but before he could rise, he felt something strong get a hold of him.

He frowned deeply when the steam cleared and found himself shackled by chakra chains.

"So, these are the infamous chakra chains capable of holding down even a Bijuu." Kisame said, trying to move.

The chains did not budge, not even a little.

Samehada was not touched and was free to move.

Once more, he tried moving, but there was still nothing. He became frustrated in trying to break free.

"Curious little things aren't they?" Naruto said holding out his sword with his left hand. He then pointed it toward Kisame, more specifically his right shoulder.

"Not really, but I must admit. They are tough to break…" He still didn't sound too concerned.

"Are you gonna free me so we can actually fight?"

"I don't know about allowing you to attack. Simply not giving you the chance to attack means that you don't get the chance to show me what you can do and giving me some trouble. I entered Sage Mode right away because I wanted to dictate this…Why should I give away this advantage?"

"Is it really fun like this?"

"No." Naruto admitted. "It is actually boring…Wind Sword."

Within a second, Kisame felt something piercing through his right shoulder. The invisible sword just cut through, without him even seeing anything.

He just felt the pain and then saw blood gushing out.

He smiled a bit warily.

"You are not going to torture me, are you?"

"For what reason?"

"When you hang around certain people, you pick up their tendencies." Kisame explained lightly.

Naruto shrugged as he put away his sword. He held out both his hands and formed small Katon Rasengans. He then hurled the one on the left straight towards Kisame but it missed him. It hit the trees behind and erupted into a huge column of flames just behind Kisame.

The Akatsuki Nin whistled. "That's frightening."

He could feel the flames lick the trees behind him. Why hadn't Samehada moved? Was the sword thinking of betraying him?

It would be most unpleasant if the sword did something like that.

Naruto dispelled his last jutsu thinking he didn't want to incinerate Kisame and lose out on his bounty. He formed a Rasengan, and then started forming blades. The jutsu started spinning around, making a loud screeching sound.

Kisame knew he could not survive being hit by that.

"Get up, you stupid sword!"

"This will just kill you and keep your body intact." Naruto said before positioning himself to hurl the jutsu towards Kisame.

He suddenly changed positions, twisting around and as he did, the chains dispersed, freeing Kisame.

Naruto hurled his jutsu towards the trees. The Rasenshuriken slammed into the trees, expanding massively before exploding into a powerful blast.

The trees became engulfed in the dome of chakra.

Kisame didn't hesitate to take advantage of Naruto's situation. He grabbed his sword and lunged toward the Emperor. The Emperor had yet to turn to face him when he swung his sword with both hands while still just above ground.

Kisame gritted his teeth when something pushed through him from behind.

Chakra chains pierced through both his shoulders and knees before holding him suspended in the air. His sword never reached the Emperor as it too was held.

He glanced behind through the corner of his eyes and saw a redheaded man standing there.

"You exposed yourself, Your Majesty." Noroi said, letting lose of a small breath of relief. "He reacted far quicker than I thought."

"Zetsu…He has...Disappeared now," Naruto said with a frown. "I can afford to do that since you were around…" He then added while slowly turning around to look at Kisame who was floating above the ground, held by chakra chains.

"I'm contemplating on having him free you just so we can have an honest battle."

"Why don't we do that? This has not been a battle."

"I rigged this place to suit me…" Naruto said. "There is a large seal placed on the ground that slowly sucks away chakra that is not Uzumaki. Of course, it creates a perfect battle ground that I cannot be beaten within. You should never allow an Uzumaki to fight in his preferred place if you don't have the Doujutsu to spot the seals placed around."

"You say it as if you are going to give me a chance to do it right."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. "Meh…I do love to battle but I went to such lengths to actually avoid battling you. I never had any intentions of fighting you in the first place. But I must admit, I was using you as a practice for a battle against Madara. Of course, you are not him, so everything went well…Well...Almost well. I had to spend energy…"

He then glanced at Noroi.

"Deal with it. I have to be somewhere. I'll allow you to leave this place before me."

"Of course, Your Majesty…" Noroi disappeared in a flash after saying those words.

After Noroi disappeared, Naruto slumped down to the ground, breathing a bit heavily. After a moment, he calmed his breathing.

"Nope...This won't do." He said.

He'd lied about only the chakra of those not Uzumaki being absorbed. He was no different than anyone else. Of course, he took some measures to protect himself. If he was simply fighting using Taijutsu and Kenjutsu there would be no problem but he used Ninjutsu and the moment he did that, the protections stopped helping him.

Having his chakra absorbed was not much of a problem if he had Senjutsu activated but the mental focus needed to keep everything in balance was a little too much.

He needed another plan.

Against Madara, he would get exposed easily.

Nothing was ever easy, was it?

The young child in him had thought that nothing would go wrong the moment he plotted to have Obito killed. Zetsu had never been a problem. Not until after Obito was killed and he started revealing his true colors.

Naruto even wondered if the creature was indeed the will of Madara.

How did Madara even come to achieve that?

As a user of the Rinnegan, he could have used the Creation of All Things.

Nothing was certain; it was all just a huge mountain that had to be climbed. When was the last time he'd actually had this kind of challenge? When dealing with the Kage, it had never been the case. While he would still not want to face all of them, he still knew that it was easy to pick them apart if they ever showed signs of uniting against him.

"You could use more of my chakra and boost your power." Kurama suddenly stated in a measured tone.

Naruto was silent for a couple of moments after hearing the voice of the Bijuu. They didn't usually talk. There wasn't much to talk about anyway. But still, for the Kyubi to start talking to him now must mean his troubling thoughts about Madara must have come to the attention of the beast.

Then again, there was no one else in this world who knew him better than the Kyubi. They have been together since he was conceived inside his mother's womb.

"I am a proud shinobi who trained hard to do away with the dependency on your chakra as most Jinchuriki do. Perhaps it was also the fact that I didn't want to become a weapon. I more than anyone else know that none of the Bijuu can match your power, even in your current state." The Emperor said.

Just because the Gyuki was the second in rank after the Kyubi didn't mean that it could try to reach the Bijuu.

No, there was a major power difference.

It was baffling when he actually thought about it.

It was no wonder that no one was able to capture the Kyubi until after Madara came with his blessed eyes and then Hashirama came with his Mokuton.

"Current state?"

"You only have half of your power. I'm considering summoning Kabuto to perform the Reanimation jutsu to revive Minato so that we can get that other half from him."

"Knowing Madara's power, that would be best. At your level, you are no match for him. You'll need me in your battle against him. I have fought against those of the Sharingan and the Susano'o. It seems to be your primary concern that if he is to release it, you would not have any fire power to stop its attacks. Before that, you could probably go head to head with him a battle of Ninjutsu. Madara may have the Sharingan but one thing you learned from that old man was understanding the fundamentals of chakra and learning how to break down jutsu."

"Your contempt for Madara reaches even me…" Naruto answered as he appeared within the seal. He stood right in front of the freed Kyubi, which had its head resting on its paws, those huge eyes staring at him with hatred.

"I would rather work with you and maybe your father if it leads me to victory against that Uchiha."

Naruto had to smile.

He hardly saw so much hatred in the eyes of someone. Perhaps if it not for years of meditation and dealing with anger issues, he would have the same look about so many things and people in this world. He had certainly suffered.

"Number one on the list, huh?" He said, still smiling. "I hear you, Kyubi. And I will use your power. But you want it to be something that is done united so we use the full extent of your power, yes?"

"If you have the answers, why ask?"

"If you have the breath to waste asking that question when you could have simply said, 'yes' why even bother?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "I've gotten a grasp of Mokuton but it is still something that needs more practice in battle. Your power and the chakra I've taken from other Bijuu will be what I need to now learn to control. But before that, I will require to get your other half. I already have an unlimited supply of chakra from nature, I can dance with Madara all day. It is good that you have started the conversation because I would not have started it easily. I want to see that battle between Madara and Hashirama. I'll learn more about Mokuton that way and more about Madara that way."

Kyubi stared at Naruto. He said he wanted to see it, and it was in his mind. There wasn't anyone else who knew that battle as much as he did. He could understand the power Madara wielded because he had fought in that battle.

But still, what a beast Hashirama was.

Even though Madara had him, he'd still lost.

But of course, Kurama didn't think that it would be the same with Naruto.

The blond primarily used his power for healing and surviving fatal wounds. Madara could stab Naruto through the chest, but if he was fast enough, he could still heal the blond and he'd get up and fight again.

"If this is the only way that Madara can be defeated. And if we succeed and I get the chance to escape, I will take it."

Naruto shrugged indifferently. "My people will just capture you again."

"I might decide against showing you anything." Kurama threatened.

"You can but I have ways to force the information out of you. You have a mind, that's why you can think and Madara can manipulate you using the Sharingan. You know I am not that of a kind person that I would not resort to extreme measures to get what I want." the Emperor said in a cold tone. "I am just a reasonable person–that is why I asked."