Ouroboros: Side Stories. 1001 nights of the Snake Sage

A/N: I dunno if this even qualifies as fanfic anymore. This, good people is basically me taking different plots, scenes and ideas from Ouroboros and shoving them into an oriental setting with modifications for the setting. Crack galore indeed. However do we have something here perhaps? I've yet to see a Naruto/1001 nights combo. Either way enjoy and yes, Ouroboros proper will soon be updated.

The glass windows rattled in the storm that was raging outside. A distant thunderbolt tore through the sky and for a single instant it illuminated with its cold blue light the man standing in front of the window, looking at the drops of rain that struck against the window like so many arrows. The man was an aged, bearded figure with broad shoulders and a straight back. Strain of gray was visible in his blonde beard just like how the crow's feet had come to appear around his eyes. At the moment he was wearing a long robe and a scarf around his hair, standing with his hands fixed behind his back. While his face was proud and regal there was also weariness in it, a weariness which had set over him as he contemplated what might happen this dismal night.

This man was Sultan Minato the Great, ruler of the Konoha Empire, one of greatest empires the world had seen. He was the glorious warrior and sagacious judge, the beloved father of the nation and the greatest ruler it had seen in centuries. Under his lead a grand yet crumbling empire had been forged together into one united nation again. Terrible invasions and horrible civil wars had broken out during his reign and they had all ended with him standing victorious. Its old customs and laws had been reformed and rewritten for the good of the people, the entire people and not just the nobles. Time and time during his reign it had seemed as if the empire was about to fall yet every time he had pulled it back from the brink.

And tonight he was so weary. The great Sultan silently watched the rain as he contemplated what might come to pass tonight. A choice was going to be made tonight, one concerning one of the empire's greatest heroes. One of those who had been his most valuable subject, who had done more than few others to keep the empire strong, might be a traitor. And what more, if such was the case it implicated his son.

The sultan had to his eternal shame never understood his son. It was not the fact that prince Naruto had been a child more interested in studies than the way of the warrior. That was a good thing to the Sultan; that his firstborn would be a sage rather than a soldier sat well with him. No it was not that. It was the fact that for ten years now the boy had been apprenticed to the possible traitor Minato was waiting for the final verdict on. Naruto was a brilliant young man. He was a calm and rational person, a sage already and a truly awe-inspiring mage despite his young age. Yet despite all that Minato had never understood him, never truly gotten him as a person.

One would not have thought that was how the boy's life would play out. He had been a happy child while young. While the Sultan had been occupied by the duties of his station he had nevertheless done all he could to find time for his child and wife queen Kushina both. His family was the greatest of all the empire's riches to him, that Minato had made clear from the beginning. This had been doubly true when Kushina had blessed him with a daughter and Naruto with a sister. For a few months there, as the queen's stomach grew and grew, Minato had truly felt that all was right in the world.

Then that damnable beast of chaos and calamity had struck against the empire. A fiend from the elder ages had awoken, a beast undefinable and terrible in its sheer force. This monstrosity had torn a bloody swathe through the empire and entire armies had fallen as they tried to stop it. The grand power of Konoha, which had turned back and indeed nearly undone even such a great realm as the Iwa federation to the north, had stood impotent against this thing. The thing's goal was clear; it was heading for the imperial capitol and it had seemed as though all hope was lost.

And yet, in the nick of time a coalition of grand heroes had come forth. With him at the lead they had met the beast just outside the city gates and in an epic battle put an end to the creature. Not killed, for such a creature couldn't be killed. Instead it had been sealed away. At the cost of the sage of sages Sarutobi Hiruzen the creature had been sealed into Minato's then only hours old daughter, named Kimiko.

A victory it had been proclaimed to be, yet Minato could only remembered the devastation the battle had caused, the tens of thousands who had died in vain against the creature, the uncountable innocent lives taken during its rampage and the chaos that had followed. Konoha had been weakened and needed its emperor more than ever before that day and Minato had rode out at once, leaving a distraught wife, a daughter with an ancient demon sealed into her and a terrified, confused son who couldn't understand what had happened.

In the chaos that followed the queen had been terrified and come to dote on her youngest child. Every care that could be given to Kimiko was given and prince Naruto... slipped through the cracks. He vanished more and more, his attendants trying to bring to the queen's attention how he spent more and more time in the library. The boy hardly ever left it and when one attendant had tried to force him out in order to bathe him the boy had screamed at the old man in a rage and ordered him whipped.

It had taken months for Minato to return home, finding his wife almost unreachable in her grief and his son alone in the library. As he had personally dragged the boy out and seen to his needs he had been too horrified to realize the miracle which had happened inside that library. At the prince's workdesk several giant tomes all lay, arcane tomes on the topic of the demon now inside his sister. The boy hadn't understood what had happened and therefore tried to understand it, tackling tome after tome written by sages for sages and actually managing to slowly make his way through them. If that had not been a miracle, then what would be?

Such shame they had felt, he and his wife. Such a disgrace for him and her to have the boy completely ignored. Minato had spent months piecing the empire together and now come home not to his family but to the seeming ashes of it.

And then an offer had come from an unlikely source to say the least.

Moving to one of the armchairs nearby, Minato sat down and sighed. Looking up at the bookshelves, he remembered that time clearly. The soul-wrenching regret was still there and he had in his darker moments thought too many times to count that when he one day stood in front of the almighty he would and indeed should pay with eternal damnation for this heinous betrayal against his blood.

"Great Sultan," a soft, smooth voice said silently to his left and Minato startled, quickly looking to the side into the darkness of the room. He had not noticed anything and been caught truly off guard. Sitting up somewhat straighter, he braced himself for the worst. Another lightning bolt crashed through the sky, illuminating the figure that stood a few meters from him with his head bowed respectfully. He wore white and light green clothes, the semi-robes of a sage, and wore a turban and veil as was customary amongst the mages.

"What have you found?" he asked lowly, his voice more raspy than he remembered it. The figure looked up and revealed his eyes, eyes which had once been deep black and which now gleamed with the strange, golden color of magic. Pulling down the veil and revealing a face much paler than it should be, his son held out a stack of papers.

"What I believe we both hoped would not be true," he said. Minato accepted it with a heavy heart and his son stepped back.

"Take a seat," Minato said almost absently and his son obeyed, sitting down stiffly in the other armchair. It hurt him to see his son being so stiff. The young man sitting across the small reading space from him was so far removed from the boy who had insisted on crawling up into his father's lap no matter the situation. His bronze skin was now pale white, his hair the same, and his eyes were the color of the sun. There was little doubt he wore the veil as much as possible, Minato had heard the whispers of how he had become a freak. And yet most of all for Minato it hurt that the boy now seemed to have stopped seeing him as his father. There had been years since he called Minato "father", "Sultan" being the only way he addressed him these days.

Focusing to the papers, Minato quickly begun to read them and what he read unsettled him deeply to say the least. Correspondence with the outlawed Red Dawn cult, thorough details of human experiments on living beings, indeed even notes on schemes to mind control the Sultan. The list just went on and on, Minato realizing that Naruto must have just picked the top of the iceberg judging from how compact the list of crimes his master had committed seemed to be.

It stood as clear as day and without any doubt the truth was evident. The Serpent Sage Orochimaru, one of the empire's greatest heroes and one of those who had fought alongside him stopping the demon all those years ago, was a warlock, a law-breaker and traitor.

That it would come to this...

"Where is he now?" Minato asked silently.

"He is preparing to flee the city," Naruto said, Naruto said. Minato couldn't help but notice how calm the boy was. "As we speak he is heading for the city gates. I was told to meet him by the hill within the hour.

"You heard him," Minato said and by the side of the window a suit of armor moved, one that had been standing so still one could take it for a statue. Carrying a heavy axe and a round metal shield, the man that now stepped forth wore chain mail and plate armor in equal measure and his face was covered by a veil of chain mail. An Immortal had stepped forth, one of the ten thousand elite soldiers who served as the royal guard and which were said to be the deadliest soldiers in the world. "Take a company of Immortals and apprehend Orochimaru. If he resists, kill him."

"Hayj!" the Immortal answered and Naruto spoke up.

"Wait!" he said, "respectfully great Sultan, you are sending those men to their doom. The snake sage will not be stopped by mere soldiers." Minato gestured for the man to stay and looked at his son.

"Do you have another suggestion."

"Let me lead them in this." So cold a thing to say! "I know the man's magic from the inside and out; there are few things he has kept hidden from me and many things I have kept from him. I can shield the men if he fights back" The boy offered to be the one to apprehend his master since ten years. To be the one to kill him if needed. It was so dutiful, so honorable, yet Minato only wanted to cry. He did not deserve a son like this, nor did Orochimaru deserve such an apprentice. And yet Minato found himself doubting.

"I could send Golden Fire magi instead," he offered, Naruto shaking his head.

"Respectfully mighty sultan," he said, "those men are amateurs compared to my master. He's the Snake Sage, one of the great heroes. Those fortune tellers will be no match for him. I am the only one who can stand up to him. The other sages are too far away to be reached in time and he does not know I am here in this moment."

"You plead with more passion than I have seen from you in years to be allowed to be the one throwing your own master in chains and manacles," Minato said quietly, Naruto not averting his eyes.

"Read the sixth paper mighty Sultan," his child told him, "I am part of his vile plans." Minato flipped over to said paper and when he threw a glance at ht his heart froze to ice. "When I became Sultan he planned to possess me," Naruto said, detailing what was in those papers, "take over my body and through that rule these lands. Whatever bond we shared he and I is secondary it seems to his vile greed. And if such is the case I will not be weak enough to keep crying for the affection of a man who already abandoned me. Give me the Immortals mighty Sultan and I swear that before dawn I shall deliver him to you, dead or alive."

Minato looked into his sons eyes, seeing nothing but determination in them. It pained him to see it, that cold and heartless gaze of someone who would do anything it took to achieve their goals. It pained him even more that he couldn't gauge where his son truly stood. For all Minato knew there could be something else hidden behind his seemingly sincere request.

Yet in the end, could he do anything else? The Snake Sage could not turn on the kingdom. He had to be stopped. Minato therefore slowly nodded.

"Follow the prince," the Sultan told the armored warrior, who saluted the prince by slamming his fist into the breastplate. Naruto stood up and bowed to his father.

"I will not fail you," he said before he turned around the leave, the Immortal following him silently despite his heavy armor.

"Stay safe," Minato said as his son left, too quietly for anyone but himself to hear.

By the garden outside the city gates, under the light of the moon which had deigned to come out, a single man was waiting. Stalking back and forth, the pasty-looking old man with a black turban and yellowish-white clothes looked this way and that. His yellow eyes were slitted like a serpent's and he had his teeth bared. Two saddled horses stood further away, anxiously tossing with their heads.

After a while this figure was given company. Over the wet rocks of the road a young man in white clothes came hurrying, carrying several tomes in his hands. The man waved frantically for the newcomer to come up to him.

"Your laziness will be the death of me!" he hissed with a hoarse voice, "what is happening in the palace."

"The sultan is aware of your actions master," the boy said as he panted, "he's ordered the Immortals to seize you dead or alive."

"Damn that whoreson!" Orochimaru hissed, "come, we ride for the north. I've got allies amongst the tribes of Oto. We hide there," the Snake Sage started towards the horses but Naruto stayed behind, looking after his master.

"No," he said coldly and Orochimaru stopped. Slowly looking back to his apprentice the Snake Sage let his eyes narrow. A sneer slowly crept up on his face as he looked at his apprentice.

"Even you," he said as the Immortals came hurrying up behind the white-clothed young man, "my apprentice?" The heavily armoured soldiers had already surrounded them with raised shields and drawn axes. They formed a perfect circle around the two.

"Surrender," Naruto said, "Your heroic deeds may yet grant you clemency."

"How graceful," Orochimaru spat as he took a step to the side. Turning his body sideways, the snake sage's face twisted in anger. "So what shall this clemency be? Medicine to quell the pain when my tongue is cut out? A pillow in the dungeon I will be thrown into? That the hangman takes off his hat before putting the noose around my neck?!"

"You can come peacefully or you can come as a corpse," Naruto said as he raised his hands and pulled down his sleeves in a symbolic gesture. Orochimaru only laughed however.

"No matter," he said, "We all will die one way or another after all… I'll just take you with me!" With that the man raised his hand and a cobra shot out from his sleeve. Launching itself at Naruto, the snake hissed with its maw wide open yet it didn't reach Naruto in time. Instead, the prince reached into his sleeved and took out a black powder from it. Throwing some of it straight onto the cobra he made it fall apart into ashes in mid-air and collapse to the ground in an uneven pile. Naruto now raised the hand and pulled down his veil, blowing the last of the powder straight onto Orochimaru. Like carried by a billowing storm the powder threw itself straight onto Orochimaru, capturing him in a storm of black ashes.

For a second one might have been forgiven for thinking it was over. The cyclone of black ashes seemed to have captured the man. Yet after only a few seconds the sands burst, flying in all directions as ropes shot out from them. The ropes wrapped themselves around Naruto and were stopped only when they burst into flames from a single snap of the prince's fingers. Moving said fingers in an arc, Naruto returned a fireball towards Orochimaru, who raised a hand to strike it aside, leaving it streaking through the night and straight into the Immortals' shield wall. The face of Orochimaru the Snake Sage was now twisted into nigh inhumanity as he grinned maniacally. The veil had been let go and now the man's vile insanity stood plain for all to behold

"So able," he hissed, "my errant apprentice? I should have devoured you a long time ago."

"Yet you didn't," Naruto said with an ice cold voice, "and that is your undoing."

When the pale prince walked into his room he noticed that there were a couple of people he never had seen before there. Both of them were his age, the first of them a fair young woman with her long hair in a curious shade of pink and the second was a handsome young man with black hair, pale skin and a lithe yet muscular frame. Dressed in simple yet decorative clothes, the two were evidently waiting for him judging how they kneeled before him the instant their eyes met.

"Your highness", the man said with a deep voice. The woman said the same with a soft one and Naruto walked up to them, stopping in front of the two. "The three houses sends their sincere congratulations concerning your elevation as well as their most sincere well-wishes. My name is Sasuke and this is Sakura," he gestured towards the young woman beside him, "we have been sent to offer you our servitude" Now the prince raised an eyebrow. Indeed? The three houses thought to ingratiate themselves with him? Amusing yet perhaps expected.

The three houses of Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi might be commoners but through the centuries their power and wealth had come to rival that of the noble houses. They held an iron grip on three parts of life in the empire. The Naras were consummate gamblers who owned countless gambling halls and who ruled by the "board, card and dice" in the empire. It was said that millions passed through their hands every year. The Yamanakas had an equal iron grip on all pleasures of the more carnal, from courtesans who offered song and dance only and whose companionship would cost a thousand gold for one night to the shabby and diseased whorehouses down at the docks. Companionship no matter it shape was how they ruled. And lastly the Akimichi. Ironically this seemingly mellow and law-abiding clan was the most powerful of the three, being the kings and queens of food and drink. There were only a handful of inns in each province not connected to the great Akimichi house and from wineyards in the south to the nomadic cattle herders in the north the purchase, distribution and sale of these things were the Akimichi's. They had defined the empire as much as any Sultan, the three. Indeed old names such as inns were archaic these days. The term Inoshikacho, a place of gambling, companionship, food and drink all together, was the common word.

Yet who were these two?

"I have little use for servants," the prince said as he sat down in a nearby chair, "however I do not believe the three houses would have been ignorant of this fact. Tell me, what can you offer me?"

"I have been trained in all the arts of companionship your highness," the pink-haired woman said, "especially games and music to offer you whatever balms you may desire to lighten the burdens of your station."

"I have been trained to act as your agent in the shadows and amongst the people your highness," Sasuke said now, "for your benefit I will say no more." Naruto smirked internally at this. A courtesan of the more cerebral kind and a spy. If he needed servants he did suppose that this was the better kind. Also: having the Inoshikacho triumvirate on his side was a quite valuable asset he supposed. Still, these two could just as well be agents meant to keep an eye on him. Then again though that was the case with everything.

"Let your masters know their gift is appreciated," Naruto said eventually. "Do you play chess, Sakura?"

"I do your highness," the woman said. Naruto couldn't help but notice a slight tone of anticipation in her voice. That made him suspect that this woman was not just a player but a master.

"My set is on the shelf there," he said, "set it up. Sasuke," he continued,"when you've told your masters that I accept their gift and been told how your espionage on me should be done I have a parcel down I need retrieved." Reaching into his robes, he took out a small note and gave it to the black-haired spy. The two obliged quickly, Sakura moving to set up the board with graceful, almost dancing moves and Sasuke leaving as quickly as it was soundlessly. This would be interesting the prince thought to himself.

"Shouldn't the riders be able to run straight forwards?" the young princess of Konoha asked as she looked at the table, "why can the serfs move two steps in the beginning? What's with that move?" The redheaded little girl was as energetic and lacking in decorum as always. Even in the beautiful silk dress she wore and the tiara peeking out from under her cowl she seemed more of a wildling child than a princess. At the moment she was looking at Naruto and Sakura as they were enjoying a game of chess. Or rather tried to. Ever since the princess had arrived with her attendants in tow it had been harder and harder to focus on the game.

"As I've said before princess," Naruto said calmly but tersely, "those are the rules." He found his younger sister, quite frankly, one of the most annoying creatures in this world. She for some reason adored him and spared no chance to come by his quarters.

"But why?" she asked, leaving Naruto to sigh explosively. It would not have been nearly as trying had she been a person of introspection and contemplation like him. He would have tolerated her visits if they had been spent with her across the board instead of beside it and with a head filled with asinine questions.

"May I your highness?" Sakura asked sweetly now and Naruto looked dryly at her for a second. She had thus far been an adequate servant, this one. Her skills were immense both at chess and music and Naruto found himself enjoying her company. Eventually waving for her to speak up, Naruto watched the woman silently. "The riders are the empire's most flexible of warriors your highness Kimiko," Sakura now explained, "they serve best under the commander who understands to use their speed to move unpredictably and strike the enemy's flanks rather than charge. Their movement reflects this."

"Really?" Kimiko asked, looking at Sakura with wide eyes. That was also something that vexed the prince somehow. The girl did possess a profound curiosity but she was much too impatient for the studies of the world. "Is that the same with the serfs?"

"No," Sakura smiled angelically, "their first movement can be two squares simply because it speeds up the game and lets you come to the interesting bits quicker."

"Cool!" Kimiko said and Naruto flinched at the commoner-like expression.

"The honourable sage Iruka of house Umino!" the attendant standing by the door called out and Naruto looked up to see the scarred sage Iruka come storming in through the door with a thunderous look on his face as usual. His young sister's face meanwhile turned pale white and she shot up from her seat and darted for the back door, once again without any decorum whatsoever. The Immortal-turned-sage was even faster though and just as Kimiko reached the door a hand slammed against it and stopped her from opening it. Naruto couldn't help but smile now as the princess of Konoha slowly turned towards her teacher with a forced smile on her lips.

"H... honourable teacher," she begun, Iruka's face showing his fury.

"I am not amused by chasing you around the palace princess," the man growled, "to the study, now."

"Surely it is too late for..." Kimiko begun.

"If you have time to spend pestering the noble prince you have time to study," the former soldier told her icily. "Now princess, before I tie you up and drag you like a mule!" Naruto raised both eyebrows at this. What impertinence! The man should by right be flogged for something like that. Then again knowing who he dealt with it was probably the only thing that would work. Kimiko deflated now and bowed her head.

"Yes honourable teacher," she said meekly. Iruke took a deep breath now and rubbed the scarred bridge of his nose before pointing at the door.

"March," he told her and Kimiko begun to move. "My apologies your highness," he proceeded to say and bowed his head towards Naruto.

"No need to apologize," Naruto said as he moved one of the riders to capture one of Sakura's Immortals. "I would advise chains and manacles," he added evenly. Iruka nodded his head.

"The thought has struck me," he admitted candidly, "I shall leave you to your games noble prince." With that, he walked after Kimko and closed the doors. Right after that however Naruto could hear a muffled curse outside as Kimiko no doubt darted away again. Naruto noticed the small smile on Sakura's face.

"Anything you find amusing Sakura?" he asked pointedly and Sakura bowed her head.

"Forgive me your highness," the woman said politely, "the princess adores you quite profoundly. I was never blessed with siblings; I merely find myself a bit envious."

"Keep your envy to yourself," Naruto told her as pointedly. "It is your turn." Sakura bowed her head again now before sitting up straight and moving her remaining Immortal into a position that if Naruto took it it would provoke a long series of captures that would end with him in checkmate. Naruto looked dryly up at her before moving his king to the left. She might claim one of his sages due to this but that was also all. "I find myself wondering if it is the demon she acts as host for that bestows her with that wild personality of hers. I find her seeming more like an Iwa tribesman than a princess.

"I shall keep my opinions to myself as per your command," Sakura answered sweetly and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Very droll," he told the woman.

"How extraordinary," the black-haired woman said from her place on the divan as Naruto entered the small room. The mist from the hookah filled the room and Naruto felt the smell keenly. There was more than merely tobacco in that hookah. "The great prince Naruto comes to these quarters to visit a measly prostitute like me." "These quarters" referred to the fact that the large house in which they both were lay in a part of the city that generally was avoided by most nobles, namely the red lantern district.

"As acerbic as always lady Mitarashi," he said and the woman smiled wryly at him. Naruto could tell from her eyes that indeed there was more than tobacco that she smoked.

"Come in little princeling," the woman said now, much less sarcastically. "There's space enough for two and smoke for four."

"I will have to decline," Naruto said politely as he looked around. Sure enough this was in no way outright bad quarters but to someone like lady Mitarashi, a consort to one of the great heroes of the empire, it came across as squalid. The lady only chuckled and took another sip of smoke from the pipe she held.

"Suit yourself prince iceberg," she said, "so what brings you here then? Surely you are not here for "that" kind of companionship, not with that pretty little pink courtesan of yours."

"I do not partake of her in such a manner," Naruto pointed out, "my appreciation for her is much more intellectual."

"Very well then," lady Mitarashi said with a chuckle before putting the pipe she held in its holder on the hookah and leaned back with her back arched. Slowly, her clothes seemed to almost run off her body and Naruto was treated to a sight that no man could remain unaffected by. Her lips slightly parting to let out a husky sigh, lady Mitarashi now revealed large parts of her soft skin and generous curves as she reached up to pull aside the flaps of her robe. Naruto sighed however and ignored the stirring sensations coming to him.

"Please desist," he drawled, "you've offered me a dozen times and my answer remains the same." Lady Mitarashi laughed at him now and donned her clothes more properly again.

"Really little princeling," she said as she picked up her pipe again, "you come not for my body or for my smoke. What more do you want?"

"I suppose neither of us will ever know," Naruto said dryly. "Why do you live here?" he asked frankly, the woman raising one eyebrow at him.

"Hm?" she asked.

"You are one of the finest courtesans in the empire," Naruto said, "what more you are a skilled enough sorceress that the title of sage is within your reach. I know you, you could succeed in so many fields, why remain here?"

"Little princeling," the woman said airily, "I am the whore of the traitor sage, a woman who drips of the poison that man spread across the empire. Unlike you, whose exalted father and whose valiant defeat of said traitor has made you a hero instead of a villain I am expected to poison whomever I touch. I am spat upon and reviled by you exalted nobles. A commoner I was born as and as a commoner whore I will die." She smiled at him now and the prince could see the pain in her eyes.

"Not if you had my sponsorship," he said frankly, getting to the reason why he was here. Lady Mitarashi put down her pipe now, looking at him with a surprised look on her face. Naked surprise was there, plain as day for anyone to see. She had not expected to hear this from him at all and she found himself unable to answer. It was a sight Naruto found glorious to say the least. To see his master's old consort for the first time ever robbed of her ability to retort was wonderful enough that he could have offered her this only to behold this. And yet there was so much more to why he did this. He might never have said it and indeed probably wouldn't, but this woman was in many ways the reason he had remained at least partially free of his master's control. Her constant playfulness and seeming defiance of her client had been a source of strength for Naruto. She was not afraid of Orochimaru and had many time clashed with him. More than once Orochimaru had banished her only to call her back after a while. It had opened Naruto's eyes to his master's failings and made it possible for him to remain himself rather than a pawn of Orochimaru. Naruto owed her far too much to let her languish in this place.

The grand throne room was packed with people. Dignitaries, nobles and countless other people were all gathered to watch the great sultan reward the woman before him. Flanked by his wife and his two children, the man stood in full imperial regalia and was addressing the currently kneeling warrior woman who was on her knees before him. Naruto watched the ceremony silently with some conflicted emotions in him. On one hand what would happen sat well with him and yet on the other he hated public appearances so it balanced out.

The currently kneeling woman had once been one of the snake sage's most loyal servants. Her name was Guren, a warrior-sage without peer and of mysterious parentage. Not even Naruto knew more than a little about her even after these latest months. Fortunately one of the things he knew was that she was a person of honor, one who Orochimaru had used like everything else. Guren's people had an alien but firm code of morals which Orochimaru had savagely circumvented and used, manipulating entire tribes amongst the Oto peoples into becoming his slaves. And yet some of these had retained their honor and when the more deranged of the Oto tribes begun to raid the empire these warriors had stood against them. Naruto would prefer to keep his hand in the matter hidden though. Better to let this woman and her clan have the glory, especially after the struggle had all but destroyed them.

"Let it never be said that Konoha does not honor its debts and rewards its heroes," Minato said now, "Even after a son of the empire tainted your noble people and turned them from their path there were still people who stood firm, stood nobly, and fought against his wickedness. And by this I can think of no more fitting reward than the highest I can bestow. Your tribe use the camellia flower, the one we name Tsubaki, as its mark, do they not?"

"They do, great sultan," Guren answered. While she was kneeling her head was still held high and proud.

"Then let it henceforth be known that you and your clan within Konoha's borders shall be known as the house of Tsubaki!" Minato stated firmly, Guren looking at him in shock. "From this day henceforth, you are part of Konoha's most exalted houses." Snapping his fingers, Minato summoned a servant carrying a green cloak with a white Tsubaki flower embroidered on it. "Rise," he said, "Tsubaki Guren, and take your rightful place amongst our most sagacious rulers, our noblest warriors and wisest sages." Guren stood up now, the woman towering almost as high as Minato, and the servant clasped the cloak around her neck. If anyone amongst the nobility found this decision objectionable they were now drowned out by the Immortals who lined the path up to the throne all slamming their axes against their shields.

"Long live the house of Tsubaki," a hundred voices thundered and Naruto could see the look on Guren's face. For a split-second their eyes met before she turned around to look at the gathered crowd. Indeed both of them knew to keep what truly had transpired up on the north silent. People didn't need to know it was Naruto's hand which had moved in this matter, turning Guren from an Orochimaru loyalist into the leader of the resistance towards said loyalists.

Let people have their heroes and let the ones propped up as such benefit from it, especially when the truth would only provoke disgust and horror.

Entering the garden where the sultan would be waiting, prince Naruto struggled to keep his annoyance in check. No doubt had the sultan called him here for another of those heartfelt conversations he seemed to keen on trying to initiate between them. While the wondrous hanging gardens where he now walked was an amazing place Naruto had little desire to once again sit and politely try to dodge the old man's attempts to bond with him again after all these years.

And yet as he entered the area where the Sultan was awaiting he did find himself surprised by what he saw in there. The man, one he had always assumed faithful to his mother, was sitting next to a stunningly beautiful woman in regal yet tantalizing clothes. She was paler in the skin than Konoha people usually were, with auburn hair that covered one of her eyes, the other sparkling emerald green. Her clothes were of the finest azure-colored silks and cut in a way that showed the world her beauty without any shame and which at the same time gave her the bearing of a queen. A consort was his first thought yet after a second he found himself hesitating.

"You called for me, great sultan?" he asked calmly and his thoughts about it being a consort came to him again when Minato all but bolted from his seat in surprise. The woman meanwhile only leaned back, supporting herself with her hands and turned to look at him with a mysterious small smile on her red lips.

"Ah, prince Naruto," Minato begun, clearing his throat. The man seemed as though he had been caught red-handed with his pants down and the woman kneeling in front of him for how uneasy he seemed. "good that you could come so swiftly."

"I am at your service great sultan," Naruto answered, "I see we have a guest?" he asked mildly and indicated the woman.

"I am Queen Mei of the Terumi dynasty," the woman said with a deep, husky voice, "regent of Kiri." Now that surprised Naruto. Kiri, the island nation far out on the sea, was one Konoha had little to do with as a rule. They were barbaric warriors whose nation had been a mire of conflict for over a century. Naruto wondered just what had brought this barbarian queen to Konoha and why did his father seem to embarrassed? Nevertheless he bowed his head.

"It is an honour to meet you," he said politely.

"And a pleasure to meet you," the queen purred, looking at him with something almost predatory in her eyes. "I have heard much about you, prince Naruto."

"My reputation precedes me," Naruto answered evenly. "I cannot say the same for you however your majesty. Your people are distant to these lands."

"They are indeed," Mei smiled mysteriously, "yet that can change very soon." Naruto came to the conclusion he did not like how she looked at him. It was a hungry gaze, a predator's gaze. Rumors about the Kiri women's appetite for men were of course well known to all sailors and yet Naruto had put little stock in such stories whenever he had come across them.

"You have me at a disadvantage your majesty," Naruto said now. What did this woman want?

"Queen Terumi has come to Konoha on a diplomatic mission," Minato said now, having managed to regain his composure enough to behave as a sultan should. "her nation has long been ravaged by conflict and yet now this has finally come to an end. The Terumi dynasty is now the sole rulers of the thousand islands of Kiri and she had come seeking bonds with Konoha. She has, simply put, asked me for a bond of matrimony between our dynasties."

Like lady Mitarashi had when Naruto had offered her sponsorship, the prince found himself now utterly stunned and without any words to answer with.