Naruto: Rise and Wrath of the Emperor

Chapter Five

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. Remember, O Lord, the Children of Edom it the day of Jerusalem who said, 'Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation.' O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed. How happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

- Psalms 137: verses, 1, 7-9, as quoted by Joshua Graham, Fallout: New Vegas

Nine months had passed since the conclusion of the Imperial Kumite in South Ichiyama.

Since then, the Western Empire had signed a non-aggression pact with both Iwagakure and the Land of Earth, as well as establishing an Azura Outpost in the Earth Capital. Onoki also agreed to have Iwa medic-ninjas come to Kimon to learn under Hinata in order to keep Iwa's casualties down. Second, Naruto had reclaimed the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools and annexed it. He did not revive Uzushiogakure no Sato, as there was no need. He did, however, make Whirlpool into a major Azura Outpost.

In the nine months following the conclusion of the Imperial Kumite, Sasuke Uchiha had defected from Konoha and had murdered Asuma Sarutobi and the Konoha Civilian Council on his way out. The incident would become known as the Uchiha Slaughter. Given the fact that he had run off years earlier and that he wielded the Mangekyo Sharingan, he was labeled as an S-class threat in the Bingo Book. Orders: Kill on Sight. Naruto knew that he fled to Otogakure, as he was the one who manipulated Sasuke to head there in the first place.

Now, it was only a matter of time before Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kumo would invade Konoha. Orochimaru had not only been training Sasuke in learning how to control his Cursed Seal but also had recruited bandits and missing ninjas to the Land of Sound, swelling his ranks with the majority of which had been subjected to the Cursed Seal. As expected, Orochimaru had ordered his ninjas and the Kumo ninjas not to antagonize the Azura merchants and their caravans, as he did not want the Western Empire on his and Katsuragi's backs. Sasuke balked at the order, but honored it, as Orochimaru did have a point. Kabuto had seen first-hand the Imperial Forces in action, as the Akatsuki found out the hard way.

"We will make our move against the Western Empire and their interest soon enough," Orochimaru had told Sasuke. "But right now, our main focus is Konoha."

It did not occur to Orochimaru that Naruto was manipulating him into attacking Konoha. Kabuto had his suspicions, but dismissed them, as he assumed that Naruto could not plan such a grandiose scheme. It did not occur to Sasuke that Naruto had manipulated him into defecting from Konoha by making him look worthless in the eyes of the ninja world, nor that the blackout notebooks from Danzo and the Fifth Hokage were planted by him. He had failed to take his late sensei's words to heart: "Look underneath the hidden meanings."

It did not occur to Tsunade and Jiraiya that they had severely underestimated their ex-godson. They thought he had the devil's luck in avoiding their hunter-ninjas and establishing the Western Empire, that he was like Jiraiya when the Sannins were under Hiruzen's tutelage: a dead last. They did not expect to be manipulated by Naruto, or that he would use Orochimaru, Sasuke, Oto, and Kumo to bring about Konoha's destruction with Naruto himself delivering the coup de grace.

Nine months later, Hinata had given birth to their second child. A daughter. The couple named her after Hinata's late mother, Aya. Aya Uzumaki. As the Western Empire celebrated the birth of their new princess, Orochimaru decided that the time was right for his forces and Katsuragi's forces to attack Konohagakure. Captain Asahina had sent a communique to the Imperial Capital, notifying Naruto and Hinata of the invasion of Konoha. Even though he did not want to leave his newborn daughter, Naruto had to make sure that Konoha and by extension, Oto and Kumo, could not threaten his family or the Western Empire. Hinata had understood and told him to do what he must, and that he had better come back alive.