Hello there everybody this is Apollo. Well it has certainly been a long time indeed, almost two years since I last updated "The Last Apprentice", and to inform everyone that read this previously I would want to explain that following that chapter some events occurred that required my attention and following suite a terrible case of writer's block. In hind sight I was losing interest in Star Wars, which was more of a fling coming off Episode Seven, however, due to a resurfacing interest thanks to Episode 8, I have begun to rethink this story.

Originally, I planned on developing the story in a way that would show Naruto's struggle in adapting to his new training under Sidious that would undermine all his beliefs as Sidious would slowly manipulate Naruto into accepting the beliefs that were going to be thrusted upon him, which is why I kept Naruto's character rather innocent for the beginning. What would eventually happen is that Naruto would suffer the realization that his kindness was his ultimate weakness. How this would happen will not be specified as I plan on doing the same thing here, but through different means.

The original concept was supposed to be a trilogy in of itself with a combined AU of Star Wars and Naruto, however, it was never fully developed. I will admit that I'm still working on the lore of this combined AU, however, I have developed enough for me to feel safe enough to start writing this again. The story of "The Last Apprentice" will be the first of a trilogy still, the first installment that will follow Naruto's advancement into becoming a Sith Lord, note the advancement part. I don't plan on him becoming a Sith right out of the gate, sorry but I want to explore the change in his character that would allow him to embrace the Sith ways and abandon his old beliefs, so for those wanting a fast change, don't expect it from this story. Furthermore, since this will follow Naruto's advancement into becoming a Sith the story will remain on Naruto's home world, the Shinobi World, where, mind you, some dark stuff will happen that I personally am really itching to write, more so than before by a large margin.

I will give a least a brief idea for what you should expect.

1.) This story will be darker than the original concept. I don't know what it is, but I personally can't see anything bright and happy happening in a story where someone has their entire beliefs crushed before their eyes and accept a creed under the Sith banner. It will also not be campy or bombastic in nature, basically Naruto will not be battle hungry or anything like Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach for those that know what I mean.

2.) Naruto will evolve away from his original character. I can't emphasis this enough that this Naruto is a direct result of his environment, and certainly there will be many events that shape him over his life.

3.) I have already determined the pairing for this story and the Trilogy, it does not involve any of the characters from the Star Wars Universe, due in part that none of them would have been aware of Naruto, who resides on his home world for his training, this means it is a character from the Naruto universe, who I will reveal later on, note I am set on this decision, so please bear in mind this if you wanted a couple from the Star Wars universe.

4.) I will consider recommendations, however, if they will be incorporated or not will be up to me. Please also keep that in mind. I will say that I will pull from the EU in some regards revolving specific events that I will have occur in accordance of this AU, so note that I will be doing this in conjunction with the new cannon, as to make a blend of sorts.

5.) Lastly the rating of this fic is subject to change, at the current moment I'm thinking of making this T+, but if I feel that this story is going into a more mature route I will change it, so for those reading this consider what it is that I'm saying here regarding the terms of service on the site.

Okay, I got all of that out of the way so now I can move on with the story. From here on out this story is subject to change as we venture into darker territories. I do not know entirely how this story will turn out as I have heard from Ares, my friend who does VGD on this profile, has explained how the story can have a mind of its own at times, minus the pivotal moments already outlined. Now with nothing else to say, I think it's time for the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Naruto. Both are owned by their own respective owners and distributers. This is purely for entertainment and is no way for profit. Please support the official release!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

The Last Apprentice

Chapter 1: Awakening

0 ABY

The bridge was silent as Sidious sat pondering his current situation. He had felt it, something had awoken, something dark, ancient, powerful, and more so evil. The feeling loomed over him as he attempted to reach out with the Force as to distinguish the source of this occurrence. When he did Sidious was instantly swelled with fear as the darkness that he had sensed reached out in return. It was smothering, dense and antagonistic. Ceasing his action instantly Sidious released a silent sigh of relief upon noticing that the feeling had disappeared.

The sudden action had reaffirmed his decision as he stood over the bridge with the Admiral of the fleet he was stationary in, Admiral Massas Laster of the 23rd Imperial Fleet. Seeing the sudden distress of his emperor, Laster questioned if he was alright or if he needed anything. "No Admiral, I was just testing something with the force." Sidious explained. It was well known to many of the upper command that the emperor was a user of the force, unlike the Jedi whom they hunted however, which concerned many, but none allowed that to sway their loyalties to this man, whom held up the government in its most desperate hour.

"Admiral," One of the crew of the bridge approached gaining Laster's attention. "The Captains of the Nazaro, Dellro, Regger, Tiberion, Centurios, Humaeos, and the Orios have arrived." Handing the admiral a datapad with the information on it.

"Thank you corporal." Laster said as he looked over the information before returning to the Emperor. "My Lord, shall we head towards the briefing room?" Laster watched as Sidious rose from his seat and made his way around it as to make his way there.

"Admiral, have all the men been informed of what we are about to partake in?" Sidious asked as Laster followed him down into the corridor leading away from the bridge.

"Yes, my Lord, they have been briefed over our departure away from the Empire and have been informed that from now on that all communication will strictly be maintained only between members of the fleet." Laster explained.

"Good, then this meeting will flow smoothly, we have a lot to get done Admiral and time is of the essence." Sidious mentioned, the Admiral, nodding in understanding, moved with his Emperor down to the Briefing Room, where waiting for them were the seven ship captains of the fleet, the ISB General Adendoni, Tactical-Co-Ordinator Rolam Litamr, and the Army Commander Soloemn Vash. All seated in positions corresponding with their ranking around a round table.

Standing in attention, all the men in the room watched as Sidious entered the room followed by Admiral Laster. Taking his seat, which was assigned so that he could see everyone in the room and faced the exit, ensuring that no one entered or left without his notice, and the spare seat to his left being taken by Laster. After the Emperor had taken his seat the other officials took theirs and faced Sidious waiting for the information of their current voyage.

"I'm sure that everyone in attendance is curious as to why we are leaving the Empire at this pivotal moment in time." Sidious began, noticing the small signs that proved his statement. "The Rebellion is on the rise with the successful acquisition of the Death Star plans from Scarif, however, Lord Vader has informed me that he is in pursuit of the rebel traitors and will reacquire the plans personally. However, this transgression is not the reason for this voyage."

All of the officers became curious, at first some thought that this voyage was in some ways in response to the sudden rebel incursion, and that Sidious wanted to seek isolation in order to think clearly upon how he would deal with that problem, such as he had done before. "I have sensed an awakening in the force," The grimness in Sidious's voice caused a sudden chill to run down some of the younger officers, while the older men remained stern. "upon realizing this sudden event I attempted to locate it through the force, however what I felt was ominous to be blunt. This occurrence is something that hasn't been sensed before, as I have searched through the archives of the Jedi temple and Sith artifacts to determine the cause, yet there was no meaning derived from any of them."

Unsure of what to make of this situation one of the Captains, Talvin Midas, the Captain of the Nazaro, raised his concerns. "My Lord, are sure that this anomaly is something that requires your personal attention? Surely the inquisitors or Imperial agents could go and determine what the source is."

"I assure you Captain that this requires my direct attention, had it not we wouldn't be sitting here." Sidious stated calmly while Captain Midas retreated into his seat, unwilling to raise any further questions.

"How long will we be gone for my lord? If it is an unspecified amount of time we must begin preparations to ration our supplies carefully." Rolam questioned. Taking to his role as the Tactical Co-Ordinator to heart, it was his job to ensure the upmost efficiency of the fleet and its supplies for this mission.

"As far as I can tell, it will remain unknown until I can further train myself to determine the exact location of this anomaly." Sidious stated, receiving a nod from Rolam, who activated a datapad and quickly began to, as they all assumed, to begin issuing orders to those in the distribution of supplies and anyone else directly under his command.

"Sir," A voice rose up gaining Sidious's attention. Looking over at another of the Captains, Grym Barca, the captain of the Humaeos. Barca was perhaps the youngest individual sitting at the table. Being only in his thirties, he was considerably younger than some of the other men in the room, but his skills and military accomplishments allowed him to move up in the Imperial Naval Leadership, and eventually landed him a position as a Captain of his own ship. "as far as we can tell this voyage will be for an unknown amount of time, but considering this what of your absence? Before long it will be noticed and this rebellion could gain support."

It was a serious question that was in some regards a show of the tactical mind that was developing within the young captain, and Sidious approved. "It is true that if my absence was revealed that entire systems that are being suppressed by imperial martial law will surely rebel and the entirety of the galaxy could erupt into a large and violent civil war, however, I have already thought ahead of this matter." The officers grew curious as to what method their emperor had thought up that would prevent such an occurrence from happening. "Utilizing the cloning technology of Kamino I have created a hidden cloning facility that is currently working as to create a clone to replace me in my absence. This clone will be instructed to resume command of the Empire until my return."

Many in the room grew worried about the risks of allowing a clone to take over in Sidious's stead, due in part to the issues that came with the accelerate aging system. "As for the rebel problem I have left Lord Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Admiral Thrawn in charge of dealing with them, so that upon our return the Empire will be in complete stability." Accepting this reasoning the other in the room began to follow the remaining tad-bits of information that Sidious was giving them to do while they were undertaking this voyage. From gathering necessary materials from worlds when necessary, to conduct experiments with new technology being amassed in secrecy.

With a rough overview of the total number of forces the fleet had that it could launch, including the special forces units that would be kept in reserve. With a total war potential consisting of the entire crews, gunners, soldiers, land and aerial vehicles of about 415,528, all of which were under the direct command of the Emperor himself.

After concluding the meeting everyone exited the room and went straight to their stations, raising the fleet into full awareness. Returning to the bridge, Sidious took to his seat as he and the Admiral waited for the confirmation that all ships in the fleet were ready. It was only a matter of minutes before each Captain reported their ships were prepped for the voyage. Checking with all the other officers that were in attendance, once everything was ready the Admiral turned to Sidious to inform him that the fleet was ready.

"Admiral, give the signal that as of this moment the 23rd Imperial Fleet will be voyaging into the unknown regions and that all communication with the Empire will cease." Sidious instructed. Laster, doing as commanded communicated the fleet the Emperor's commands and with that the fleet began to advance into the unknown regions where something was waiting for Sidious, something that he himself demanded to find.

10 ABY

Ten years to the day they left the Empire following the orders of their Emperor and the destruction of the first Death Star. Eight years since the probes they left behind reported that the Rebellion was on the ropes after the invasion of Hoth. Six years since the destruction of the second Death Star and the defeat of the massive Imperial Fleet above the moon of Endor. Five years since the final defeat of the Galactic Empire at the "Battle of Jakku". Within ten years the 23rd Imperial Fleet became the sole surviving Imperial force in the galaxy, with no hope of returning to their previous lives.

For ten years Sidious had attempted to find a way to the source of the Force anomalies, but each time he'd think that they were close the anomalies would start resonating elsewhere in the unknown regions. Over the course of the decade Sidious grew more and more discontent, and considered abandoning his quest until he received word of the defeat of the Empire by the rebels at Endor. Realizing the importance of the event Sidious ordered the fleet to return to the crumbling Empire. Their return, only a few months away, was tossed aside once what little of the Imperial forces were defeated by the rebels at Jakku, prompting instead for the fleet to return to the unknown regions for preservation.

Over the past ten years the fleet experienced issues that presented great challenges to them. Half-way through the sixth year their remaining supplies were spoiled due to system malfunctions due to issues in maintenance, so for a time there was no food to distribute. Thankfully Sidious managed to steel the minds of his men and eventually they came across Thrawn, who had previously escaped into the Unknown regions prior to the final defeat of the Empire with a tangent of Imperial forces. In turn Thrawn was surprised to learn that his Emperor was still alive.

Guiding the 23rd fleet along with the remaining Imperial forces to the Chiss homeworld, Thrawn assisted Sidious in having his fleet resupplied and repaired. When questioned by Sidious if he was still loyal Thrawn stated that regardless of the loss of the Empire he still believed that Sidious was still an important asset to his people. Questioning why it was the Emperor had set out on a quest in the Unknown Region Sidious replied by stating that his current goal is locating something to which he asks Thrawn for the mapping his people had of the region.

Before leaving Sidious asked Thrawn if he wanted to remain in command of the remaining Imperial Forces. Adamant, Thrawn explained that for now he believes that it would be for the best that the majority remain with the Emperor, while the remaining few stay to protect the Chiss Ascendancy, so long as Sidious approved, to which he did.

With the meeting over the 23rd Imperial Fleet was enforced and renamed to the Imperial Sovereignty 1st Grand Fleet, consisting of nine Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and 8 Imperial I-class Star Destroyers. Considering his losses Sidious decided to continue his search for two more years, which ended in a bitter acknowledgement that he couldn't find the source of the "Awakening" and so it was decided that instead Sidious would the allow the force to guide him to a place where he can rebuild his empire, and for a year and a half they surveyed and explored hundreds of worlds before the force reached out to Sidious once more. Something was drawing his attention. It wasn't the feeling of the anomaly, instead it was as if the Force was whispering to him.

Following it the fleet was ordered into the direction the Force was guiding Sidious, and before long Sidious found himself looking off the bridge at the sight of a bright blue planet below him. The readings of the planet informed him that there was life below, isolated life. Contemplating what it was the Force was trying to inform him of, Sidious grew frustrated as he was no Jedi, but a Sith, the Force was never this "pushy" prior to him meeting his former apprentice, but even then, it was faint. 'Something down there is trying to reveal itself.' Sidious thought. 'Whatever it is, the Force is wanting me to see it, but what if this is a trap?'

Sidious was no fool, he himself had easily fooled the Jedi by hiding in plain sight, blocking their abilities to foresee events that could have easily changed the fate of the galaxy, which means that the same could also happen to him, especially when considering the past ten years.

"My Lord," Driven from his thoughts as he looked over to his left at Admiral Laster. In the time since their departure the now Grand Admiral has gained some grey, much like the other officers, although his demeanor never swayed even when trifling times occurred. "The probes have been launched and the first images will be revealed in a few minutes depending on atmospheric interference."

"Very well." Sidious stated simply before returning to his thoughts as he reflected over the past decade and everything up to this point. Thinking, and thinking on plans that might be possible if this planet harbored something he considered in the back of his mind, but for that he must first see what this planet held.

Waiting for the images of the planet below, Sidious bided his time patiently, and when the images appeared his interest peaked. The planet below them was a place of conflict and strangeness. Filled with people whose acrobatic abilities rival that of force wielders and creatures of immense power. This whole world was chaotic and nonsensical in many regards when compared to the rest of the galaxy, yet Sidious couldn't look away.

The way the people and creatures utilized what he determined was the force in different and unique ways. Observing the monitors further Sidious took note of signs of political conflicts and ongoing conflicts. Reaching out to the Force Sidious realized why this planet was so strange. "A Force Nexus." Sidious stated allowed garnering a look from Admiral Laster. "Interesting, to think that an entire planet would be the center of such a unique Force Nexus, hidden away in the Unknown region."

Walking over to the front of the bridge, Sidious viewed the planet once more as he felt the tugging from the Force, ushering him to venture below. Curiosity and a sense of unknown was driving Sidious to this planet, and he was going to find out what it was.

Turning away from the windows he walked to exit the bridge while informing the Admiral to prepare a shuttle for his immediate departure. "My Lord we aren't sure if it's safe enough for you to go down there yet, please allow us more time to gather more information." Admiral Laster begged as Sidious continued to exit the bridge ignoring the Admiral entirely as he reflected everything in his mind.

Walking through the ship Sidious could move around rather quickly as troops and personal moved out of his way immediately, and even a few of the troops took it upon themselves to assist in him movement throughout the ship until his personal guard could arrive. Moving ahead to inform anyone in his path to please move aside. Following the complies all crew in the path stood at attention, while the troops remained in parade rest.

With the information quickly spreading that Sidious was heading to the hanger to depart immediately to the surface of the planet, twenty elite units of the Imperial forces amassed and split up to escort Sidious properly to the shuttle and to wait for him at the shuttle to guard him while he explored the new planet.

Upon reaching the hanger Sidious was met with hundreds of Stormtroopers, engineers, piolets and many members of the ship's crew standing in attention on two sides of the hanger with a single row separating the two sides that led all the way to his personal shuttle.

Striding across the hanger towards his ship, Sidious noted that Commander Vash in his white, black and gold armor standing in attention with ten elite stormtroopers behind him, adorned in their black armor and guns in parade rest forming a tunnel for Sidious to enter the ship. "My Lord the preparations have been completed, in response to the hastiness of this assignment I have decided to accompany you on your trip below to ensure the proper security measures necessary to protect you." Commander Vash spoke as he bowed his head to his Emperor.

"Very good Commander, we shall depart immediately." Sidious spoke as he walked into his private shuttle followed by the elite troops that escorted him.

Looking at the remaining Imperial Special Forces, Commander Vash gave the order, "You heard the Emperor, move! We're leaving now!" All the troopers quickly entered the shuttle and took to the seats followed by Commander Vash who moved passed his troops to the front of the shuttle to check on Sidious and report that all the troops were loaded onto the shuttle to the piolets, who nodded before closing the hatch and initiated the forward thrusters. Returning to the back of the Shuttle Commander Vash took a standing position while placing his helmet onto his head and held onto a strap hanging from the ceiling of the shuttle.

Lifting itself off the hanger bay, the shuttle rose up and moved out of the hanger where the extensions of the Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle lowered. Fueling the thrusters with more power, the piolets accelerated the shuttle towards the planet, leaving the orbital fleet.

Sidious could hear Commander Vash informing the troops in the back to expect anything and be ready to engage. His thoughts went to a hologram projector that buzzed. Answering it Sidious viewed the small holographic image of Admiral Laster. "My Lord, the fleet is on standby. I have order each ship to prep a squadron of Tie-Fighters in case of emergency." Laster informed as Sidious acknowledged. "I hope that you find what you're seeking my Lord." This was the last thing Laster said before the transmission ended allowing Sidious to view the approach of the planet and contemplate.

The approach to the planet was long as they quickly entered the atmosphere. The approached was bumpy, as expected, but before long they were through the rough part of their journey down, from there the piolets would fly around allowing Sidious an up-close view of the planet's surface.

The terrain was unique considering how different and diverse it was when compared to the other planets of the galaxy. Entire ecosystems differed depending on the region, often separated by sudden differences in the terrain, as in one part a desert met two heavily forested and rocky mountainous regions. It was if this planet had taken parts of different planets and mixed-mashed them across its surface, an interesting discovery.

More so Sidious could view a conflict from a far of a monstrous battle between two massive beasts, each with a different person riding on them. Strange, and perplex as it was Sidious just grinned. He had never seen anything like this world where technology didn't exist except in a few regards, but for the most part was primitive. The life on this planet was certainly affected by the Force Nexus that he was sure of, and so he reached out once again.

Connecting to the Force, he felt a vision enter his mind. A location with a massive mountain that held carved faces upon its side and a settlement residing below it. Surrounded by a sea of diverse trees. Pulling himself back to reality Sidious order the piolets to head in the direction to which the Force was guiding him.

Noticing that it was now reaching twilight, Sidious pondered more and more as he felt that they were approaching the destination. 'What could it be I wonder? To make the Force reach out like it did, is it the source of the anomalies, or something else?' These thoughts and more raced through Sidious's mind as they approached the location, circling overhead to confirm with Sidious if this location was accurate. Once confirmed the piolets searched for a landing zone nearby. About a mile away they found one.

Masking their approach in the cover of night the shuttle landed in an open field with a single stream running through the middle of it. Upon landing the shuttle door opened and the troopers in the back filed out along with Commander Vash, who ordered them into two groups, the first group would remain close to the shuttle establishing a perimeter, while the other group would accompany Sidious as his guards.

Turning back to the shuttle, Commander Vash watched as Sidious exited the shuttle and made his way over towards him. "My Lord, I have half of the men forming a perimeter as we speak, while the other half will be joining me in escorting you through the area." Commander Vash explained.

"Very good Commander, now come we must begin to make our way towards the settlement." Sidious ordered receiving a nod from Vash who rallied the escort unit around them as they, along with Sidious began to make their way down a path that led to a main road into the settlement.

The walk was expected to last until it was nightfall, which was perfect for the group. Approaching the main gate, which was something that resonated power just by looking at the size of it. Walking forward Sidious could sense they were closer to whatever it was the Force was beckoning him towards.

Noticing the two guards stationed on the side in a small booth, it was clear that they were preparing to leave when one of them noticed the group approaching. "Hey," One of the gate guards called out to the group only to be shot down by two of the troopers, whose rifles still smoked from their shots before returning in following their Emperor. The group moved into the settlement, taking to the alleyways and backstreets to avoid any of the remaining civilians that were walking the streets, and any military patrols that might be around.

The search led them into an area of the settlement that was impoverished with parts in ruins and buildings ready to collapse. Strange as it was Sidious approached a building that in some regards appeared more stable than others around it, but the conditions were just as terrible. Sensing that the source was on the third floor he took to the stairs. Vash had four men guard the entrance while the others followed the Sith Lord to a door on the third floor.

Analyzing it the group noticed that it was molded and seemed as though it was ready to come off its hinges at any given moment. Moving to open the door, Commander Vash pushed it with just enough force that it fell at his touch into the building.

Activating the light attachments to their equipment, the group noticed just how rundown the building truly was. There was little insolation and insects and rodents running amongst the floor and walls. Sidious, ignoring the scene before him moved further into the interior. He could feel it, the Force was radiating from something within this building, smothering it almost, the feeling was surely intense as he approached an open doorway that led into another room. Walking inside he noticed that there was something in the corner of the room. A small bundle was moving ever so slightly. Making his way over towards the bundle Sidious reached for it. Before he could touch it however he felt a sudden darkness rise from the bundle, stopping Sidious from touching it at first. Pausing as to what it meant Sidious continued and pulled the covering off the bundle and the first thing he noticed was a wad of messy blond hair.

Pulling the covering off further, Sidious realized that the bundle, the source of the tugging he felt from the Force was nothing more than a small child. The child in question had three lines tracing across both cheeks on his face and the lack of meat on the child's bones was also quite evident. Sensing the darkness radiating from the boy a sudden realization hit Sidious. This child was strong with the Force, more so than even himself, it reminded him of his former apprentice almost, but this child was smothered in the Dark Side. "Interesting." Sidious snickered as he picked up the boy. "The Force certainly works in mysterious ways indeed."

Confused as to what Sidious was talking about, Commander Vash looked over his Emperor's shoulder and saw the young child in his arms. Noticing the signs of deprivation and the words spoken by Sidious Commander Vash quickly began to determine what it was that was transpiring. "Commander, inform the shuttle and the men that we will be departing back to the fleet immediately." Sidious ordered as he turned to exit the room. Still perplexed over the whole issue he radioed in to the shuttle and the rest of his men that they would be departing the planet.

Departing from the building Sidious observed the child in his arms. He was weak and frail, but he figured that a trip to the bacta tank along with some regular meals could fix that. 'I have no idea what it is that has occurred that resulted in this boy to be living in such conditions, but surely this will bring about something rather beneficial to myself.

The group moved through the settlement with slight haste, but with enough pacing to remain stealthy. Moving around just like before the group soon found themselves facing the same gate they had entered, however, as they moved to exit they were cut-off by the sudden appearance of masked individuals with body armor and swords on their backs.

The troopers raised their rifles at the individuals that stood before them. Sidious looking around the group noticed that the ones that stood before them weren't the only ones. Surrounding them on all sides, from rooftops and even, surprisingly, the side of walls. Each one held the handle of their weapons that varied from the swords on their backs to small knife-like weapons that extended a decent length.

"Hmm, it does seem that we're surrounded Commander." Sidious stated nonchalantly. The Commander agreed and with his spare arm pressed a small receiver button on his right wrist, sending out a silent signal. "It seems as though they won't let us pass."

Landing in front of the group was an elderly man, who sported a mesh shirt and black armor on his body with the symbol of the settlement adorned on it. He wielded a large staff that seemed ready to strike at them. The elderly man spoke towards them in words that none of the men present understood. However, it wasn't hard to determine what it was he was saying based off the actions before them.

Sidious couldn't help but cackle at the situation that he was in. He walked forward and as he thought the older man saw what was in his arms and his eyes sent daggers towards Sidious. "Oh, how interesting." Sidious laughed. "It seems as though you want what I have, yet from my view this child's suffering seems to be immense, why is that?" The mocking tone in voice seemed to anger the elder further, of course he knew that he didn't understand what he said, but judging that he seemed to get the gist of it made the whole exchange far more entertaining. "Commander, I would like to return to the fleet and prepare my newest apprentice."

Commander Vash nodded as he placed his gun on his back as he walked in front of Sidious, while ordering the rest of the group to pick their targets. Each one following in their commander's example as they put away their weapons. Sidious just grinned as the group of primitive beings prepared to attack drawing their weapons. The elder before them issued a command and with it they charged.

The first one that approached Commander Vash was surprised when the armored man dodged the attack, only to follow up with strike to the gut from Vash's knee before having their face punched by the man. The impact from the hit shattered the mask, causing blood to escape the individual's face before Vash grabbed him by the arm and tossed him into another advisory that tried to strike him while he was distracted.

The rest of the soldiers dealt with the group much of the same way. Some simply fought off the assault with hands by dodging and then grabbing the individuals to deal extreme pain, or like one did, snap their necks, effectively killing them.

All around them the group fought off the assailants but when they noticed that it was becoming too much they redrew their weapons and began slaughtering them. The sudden surprise when the energy based weapons began to fire and cut down the enemy force caught them off guard, forcing many to take shelter. Commander Vash drew his rifle as well and proceeded to shoot at the elder man, whom, upon viewing this began to dodge the firing.

Dodging with grace the old man reached Commander Vash and struck him with his staff, sending the man toppling to the ground. Raising his gun, Vash shot at the elder, who leapt away. More forces were beginning to show themselves as the ones behind cover moved in having studied their enemy and their unknown weapons.

Striking with ferocity, the native warriors attacked the undermanned force that so desperately attempted to hold them off. Though their shots hit their targets, they were not as effective as before as they warrior had learn to avoid them and most of the time were only nicked by shots.

Commander Vash raising himself back up faced the elderly man again, this time returning rifle to his back, while instead prompting to pull forth a melee weapons that extended to an arm's length upon activation. The weapon was metallic and emitted an electrical property to it. Steading himself he watched the old man. Having seen how this man moved, along with the others of their race, it reminded him of the Jedi and the inquisitors.

Slowly readjusting his poster, Vash took a stance with the weapon pulled back over his right shoulder slightly. Seeing this the old man charged with great speed, bringing his weapon down onto Vash, who moved out of the way and swung a horizontal thrust towards the man. Upon contact with the weapon electricity surged through the staff and in conjunction the old man who leapt away.

Raising his left arm at the man, from the gauntlet a small grappling hook was launched grabbing onto the elder's ankle. With a strong pull Vash pulled him back down onto the ground in front of him before recalling the hook back inside the gauntlet.

Seeming surprised Vash brought his weapon down his right arm forcing the elder to dodge. Seeing their leader in danger two masked warrior charged at Vash. Dodging them Vash shot his hook at one's arm tossing him into the other forcing them onto the ground. Another attempted to strike him. Moving out the way he tied the line of the hook around the neck of the individual before tightening it enough that blood splattered from the neck before the head fell to the ground.

Sidious sat in silence as he watched the scene before him. Watching as his troops held off and killed several enemies, utilizing similar techniques to Vash. He watched as one trooper tied the line of his hook around one enemy before activating an electrical current through it that electrocuted the unknown warrior to death in an instant leaving only a charred corpse before recoiling the hook. One warrior he saw tried to cut the line of one hook, instead he watched as their weapon got torn apart as the weapon tore through it as it continued its reach to the intended target. Acting like a grater, tearing away at the weapon with ease before the electrical current was sent forth stunning the warrior.

An interesting sight did occur as he watched as one trooper forfeited the use of any weapons but their hooks as they used the grappling hooks on both arms like whips lashing out and grabbing hold of individuals, searing them while digging into their bodies. Such gruesome scenes were only possible because these troopers that he had protect him were not just Imperial Special Forces but also trained Jedi killers that utilized Mandalorian iron into their equipment.

Watching his warrior fall before him the elder couldn't seem to comprehend what was happening, as Sidious could only guess that he didn't understand the difference in technology between the two groups. Soon though the masked warrior began to withdraw as they pulled out their weird looking knives with a strange tag on the end of them. Making a strange sign with one hand the remaining warriors tossed the knives at the small group as the tags ignited with a sizzling sound.

Watching this Sidious grinned as he lifted one hand. With a sudden boom a serious of explosions resonated engulfing the group. The elder, seemingly was surprised as he yelled at the warriors to stop, to which they did. Unknown to the other group the masked warriors were limited in what they could do in consideration that they were behind the walls, and that they were there to rescue the small child taken away from his home.

Worry was quite evident on the elder's face as he looked on in hope that the child would be unharmed. Silence feel amongst the area as some civilians that were nearby approached to see what was happening, while be turned away by the masked individuals.

As the smoke cleared many were surprised upon seeing what hid behind the smoke. The group consisting of the Emperor and the elite Stormtroopers and Commander Vash were not harmed in the slightest by the rapid explosions, nor the ground beneath their feet showed signs of scorching, instead a black circle of soot and ash. Each of the masked warriors took a step backwards as they were completely flabbergasted, while the silence was broken by the cackling of Sidious who lowered his arm.

"Your primitive weapons are of no use when compared to the power of the Force." Sidious spoke to the old man. The elder seemed to have determined that it was Sidious that saved the group, to which he was glad, regarding the child in Sidious's arms, but spiteful all the same. "Perhaps now that you've seen what my troops are capable of you will change your mind and allow us to leave before I have your home erased from this galaxy?" The mocking tone was emphasized as Sidious realized that the man was analyzing him ever more furiously. "Or do you wish to die by my hands?"

The elder didn't have time to guess at what it was that Sidious had said to him before a strange sound was heard among the wind. A noise that the Imperial group recognized easily, but to the primitives this sound was strange. Before they could guess what, it was the walls of the settlement erupted in an explosion of blazing fury as green lights, similar, but also larger, to the weapons used by the Imperials rained down upon the village igniting it into a sea of fire.

In the air were nine squadrons of tie-fighters, each one circling around and raining down hell upon the surface. It was like a scene of horror for the primitive as they had no idea what was happening to them. Before long shooting was heard as the second detachment of Imperial Special Forces shot at them with fury. The suppressing fire was so that the others could reach safety as bright lights from the night sky descended to the ground before the entrance of the gateway surprising the primitives even more.

Seeing their exit, the group made for the shuttle while the second detachment laid suppressing fire. Two troopers however tossed signal flares on the ground on either side of the shuttle, informing the squadrons of their location. Seeing the signals, the squadrons circled around and bombarded the surrounding area around the gateway allowing the group of Imperials to make it to safety.

Halfway to reaching the Shuttle the elder attacked knocking aside the troops in the rear and brought up his staff to strike at Sidious from behind. For a moment, it seemed that he would deal a fatal blow from behind to the Sidious's head, but he was stopped mid-air by an unforeseen force. Holding him up in the air, the elder couldn't move as Sidious turned around to face the elder, who noticed that Sidious's hand was raised once again. "Commander," Sidious spoke up getting the attention of the Commander in question. "Take the child and await on the shuttle with your men, I will be teaching this fool the difference between him and I."

Taking the boy from the Emperor's arm, Vash ordered the rest of his men to the shuttle. Those that were knocked aside pulled themselves up and quickly made their way there, running pass their emperor.

Releasing the elder, who landed on his feet, Sidious was snarky in his speech as he faced down the old man. The elder realizing that Sidious was far more dangerous than he initially perceived realized that if he was to save the child then he would need to go all out. Placing his staff down, the elder flew through a series of hand signs, and upon completion two smoke clouds appeared and two copies of the man emerged causing Sidious's grin to enlarge as he laughed. "Ha, now that is quite unique, let me see just how unique your kind truly is!" Sidious laughed as he stood still.

Rushing forward the two copies and the original aimed for a pincer formation. Instead Sidious reached out with the force and force pulled the two copies towards him. Following this he jumped up forcing the two to collide into each other before force pushing them into the ground, dispelling them and landing on his feet.

The elder stopped in his tracks as he quickly reflected on what he just saw. Deciding to try something else the elder flew through a different sequence of hand signs before taking a deep breath and a stream of fire spewed from his mouth towards Sidious, who, using the force, extinguished the flames by using an enhanced force push, dispersing the flames and slamming right into the elder, sending him into the air.

Sidious, wanting the old man to realize his mistake, grabbed him with the force and slammed him into the ground before pulling him towards him. Once he was close to Sidious, the elder summoned forth his staff out of thin air and attempted to bring it down on Sidious, who leapt away. The old man, watching this extending his staff, surprising Sidious, but was more so taken away when a sound yell of pain came from the staff.

Examining the staff, the elder noted that it was sliced cleanly in half, and that where the cut was on both sides, the area was singed. Within seconds the staff dispersed into a puff of smoke, leaving the elder without it. Looking over at Sidious the elder saw in his right hand a red glowing blade of energy. "Well now, that was certainly surprising, I see that there is still so much mystery to this world." Sidious stated before the elder was suddenly pulled forward. Within a second pain shot through his body as he looked down and saw the energy weapon had pierced his lower abdomen. Looking up at Sidious he saw the eyes of his attacker, and he realized just how terrifying his opponent truly was, for he saw no light, only an endless darkness.

Cringing in pain the elder fell to his knees as Sidious withdrew his lightsaber from the man's body. Deactivating it, Sidious concealed it away into his cloak while looking down upon this weakened man. "I guess I should thank you." Sidious started as he lifted the elder into the air with the force. "Because of you I have found my newest apprentice, and I will ensure that he comes back to destroy the home that was so cruel to him."

With a large grin on his face, Sidious unleashed the power of his force lighting onto the old man, who cried out in pain. Laughing at the scene, Sidious intensified the power of his force lighting charring the man's old body, and with a strong force push Sidious launched the elder into the top of the gate causing it and the surrounding standing sections of the wall to crumble and be sent flying into the settlement. The screams that followed amused Sidious greatly as he turned and began making his way onto his shuttle.

Once on board the remaining Stormtroopers that were guarding it quickly entered and the shuttle to off and headed towards the orbiting fleet with the nine squadrons of Tie-Fighters escorting it. Watching as this scene transpire, the elder, knowing his life was ending attempted to reach up towards the shuttle, his last thoughts being of the child that was now forever out of his reach.

6 hours later...

A feeling of lightness was felt throughout Naruto's body. It was strange, yet welcoming. He felt refreshed, he might even go as far as saying that he hadn't felt this good once in his entire life. Opening his eyes, he found his vision blurry due to a strange blue hue. Before long however, his vision adjusted and he soon realized that he was floating in liquid in something akin to a jar. Looking around he jumped slightly as he felt a sudden shock as the liquid that he was floating in began to drain away lowering him down until he was on floor of the tube.

Once all the liquid was drained from the tube it opened and a strange metal appendage reached out and pulled Naruto onto his feet. At first, he could barely stand. When he attempted stand up all the way he fell over and was caught by another metallic appendage. "Please take it easy sir, you have been in the bacta tank for several hours, and the effects of the amplified healing has restored some of your damaged muscles, however, there are still several muscles that need repair, so please take it easy." The voice was strange sounding, Naruto couldn't quite understand why though. Looking up at the source of the appendages Naruto saw why. The being that was assisting him was made entirely of metal, and was in many regards alien to him. "Come, I shall assist you into your clothing and guide you to your hot meal." The metallic being spoke.

Within a matter of ten minutes Naruto found himself fully clothed and sitting in a strange room observing the weird hot food before him. Taking one of the tools given to him to eat with he poked one possible sources of substance and was glad when he didn't see anything blow up. Bringing a piece up for him to smell Naruto when the door to his left opened, surprising him with the sheer suddenness.

Walking into the room, a cloaked man walked over and took the seat directly across from Naruto. Ever wary of people he didn't know, Naruto analyzed the strange man, and found him to be older looking than old man Hokage.

"Hello there, my boy, I see that you're fairing much better than when I found you earlier." The man greeted, gaining a confused look from Naruto in return. There was no immediate reply from Naruto, but the man already could tell that the child was wary, most likely a result of his life up to this point he figured. "How are you enjoying your stay on my ship?"

"Ship? What's a ship?" The young innocence was evident in the small child and Sidious just couldn't wait to begin his new plans. "Also, where am I?"

"Well to answer your first question a ship is a vessel used to travel a great distance with ease, and as for where you're at currently," Sidious rose from his seat. "come and I will show you." Hesitant at first Naruto eventually capitulated and walked over to the strange old man.

Watching as the old man pressed a button on a side panel, the wall in front of them rose and revealed a glass window for him to view where they were. "My boy you are in the greatest sea of them, the sea of the stars, space." Sidious revealed as he gestured for Naruto to look downwards. "And that is your homeworld."

Looking down at the planet of his origin, Naruto had no idea what to make of this as he tried to process everything in his young mind. "Hey mister, what is space?" He asked getting a chuckle from the elder in the room.

"Why an endless sea of black filled with all the stars and planets in the universe my boy." Sidious explained.

"But what is a universe?" The curiosity was welling in the child's eyes causing Sidious to chuckle. Memories of a certain apprentice of his came to mind bringing forth a strange sense of emotions, both nostalgic and hatred, but in the case of the present Sidious knew that he would need to learn from his previous mistakes when taking on apprentices if he was to fully establish a legacy that would stand the test of time, so for now he would be patient.

"Ah, a universe is what everything is in. All of the stars, planets, and galaxies." Sidious explained. He noticed the confusion of the child when he brought up galaxies and decided to be a step ahead of the game. "And a galaxy is something that holds all of the stars and planets. They are smaller and more numerous than the universe."

Naruto was still confused, however, Sidious expected this as he knew that Naruto was too young to truly understand what it was he was saying. "So, if I'm not in my village, when can I go back?" Naruto asked. It was a strange question that Sidious hadn't expected. "I can't be gone for too long otherwise Jiji will be looking for me, and I want to go and visit Mr. Ichiraku and Ayame-nee chan."

From what Sidious could guess based off that his translator didn't quite register specific words, then they were honorifics of some kind, this was mainly assumed based off how Naruto spoke of the individuals in question. 'I haven't a clue what he is speaking about, however, he must have some people that he cares about, whether their alive or not will be something that could easily assist him in his advancement through the dark side.' The thought was something that being filed along with others like it as Sidious took note of everything that Naruto did and said for him to truly understand his new apprentice.

"There is no need for you to worry about that Naruto," Sidious started, causing Naruto to questionably raise an eyebrow in confusion. "you will be able to return once you have finished your training."

"My training?" Naruto repeated in confusion causing Sidious to smirk in amusement.

"Yes, your training to become a Sith Lord." Sidious spoke with a hint of mystery surrounding his wording. Naruto hadn't heard of a Sif, Seth, Sith Lord before. It sounded weird and hard for him to pronounce.

"What's a Sif Lord?" Naruto asked as he struggled pronouncing the word correctly.

"A Sith Lord is a user of the Dark Side of the force." Sidious replied flatly as he attempted to fix the pronunciation issue there, so that there wouldn't be any further problems later during development.

"Are they stronger than shinobi?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Is that what you call your warriors back home?" Sidious asked a question himself.

"Yeah, there's even an academy to become one. Jiji said that once I got a little older then he would let join. Of course, I won't be let in until I'm six years old." Naruto explained.

"And how old are you right now?" Sidious asked.

"Four." Sidious, on the inside was gleeful at such an opportunity. Never has he had a chance to train someone so young and powerful before, he just knew that this would certainly be his crowning achievement, the legacy that he was hoping Vader would have been, someone who would forever follow his example.

"Well then, going back to your previous question the Sith are by far the most powerful warriors in the galaxy!" Sidious proclaimed causing a little glimmer to form in Naruto's eyes. It was quite evident, the sought for power which compelled so many before them to go to the Dark Side.

Sidious watched as Naruto seemingly contemplated over the information he was given. Looking up at Sidious, a sense of tension formed, whether accidental or not, Sidious felt the Force around Naruto intensify as said child grinned up at the old Sith Lord. "Alright old man, I'll take up your offer." Naruto exclaimed causing Sidious to grin as well. "I want to super strong, so strong in fact that I can become the Hokage and protect those I care about."

The grin on Sidious's face lessened as he thought on the wording his new apprentice expressed his willingness to become his apprentice. 'A sure weakness indeed, if I'm able to rid him of it he will surely not be limited by attachments, and become something that will be the epitome of the Dark Side!' Sidious thought.

"Very well from now on you will be my apprentice, and I your master. I am Darth Sidious the former Emperor of the Galactic Empire." Sidious introduced to the child who didn't seem to understand what it was he said, but ultimately ignored it.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am the future Sith Lord who will be the strongest Hokage there will ever be!" Naruto introduced in return not knowing the future that was in store for him, and just what kind of fate he would subjugated to from this agreement in a galaxy far, far away…

Well there you go the first chapter to the newest version of "The Last Apprentice". Alright for those that will leave me messages about skimming over specific details, like the encounter between Sidious and Thrawn in the Unknown regions I decided to do that so that I could get straight to the main point, and that is Naruto. I mainly incorporated those details just to inform you of what you might be able to expect in future content.

Also, the conversations between Sidious and some of the officials. I know it might seem repetitive, but seriously aside from Vader and Luke, whom confronted the Emperor around this time, all the military officials pretty much said the same thing for respect of Sidious and also because they knew their place in regard to the hierarchy that was established by Sidious in the Empire.

To those that have noticed the year in corresponding with the Star Wars timeline, this is in regards to what I plan to have happen later on in the story, so keep a careful eye on the years, because everything has a purpose here! (Minus any sort of gag that might occur as a little extra here or there, but for the majority, here!)

With that part off my chest, I would like to ask this of everyone that reads this. To those who've made it this far and are considering leaving a review, NO FLAMES! ONLY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! I won't read any of it otherwise because you'll just be wasting my time. Also, it looks rather embarrassing for yourself as well because if you must resort to flaming instead of leaving a constructive reason for your argument then your opinion is rather invalid in my view because one you haven't given a solid argument or any facts to support it. Note anything half-assed like "Your story sucks because the characters aren't amazing," or "I hate this story, you can't make anything entertaining" then you obviously aren't putting forth the effort to effectively assist me in my writing as such I'll see you as nothing more than an annoying insect, which this site so very evidently has based on all the "GO KILL YOURSELF" reviews I've seen on this site. Effectively if I get this kind of message I'm just going to laugh.

Aside that from that mini rant inside of a message I have nothing else to really say. Regarding reviews, if you guys leave questions in there I will answer them in the next chapter, although if you want a quicker reply you can PM me and I'll get back to you as quick as possible. Please note though that there are two people on this profile, myself (Apollo), and my friend, Ares (writer of Vessel of the Golden Dragon), so please specify when you PM, thanks!

Speaking of the next chapter I will be skipping forward in time to where this story will truly begin. Naruto will still be training at the point we come back to, however, he will most certainly develop a little bit during this time, and if you can already guess the shinobi world will different thanks to the sudden attack on Konoha and well you know.

I don't have anything left to add, so please let me know what you thought of this first chapter of "The Last Apprentice". I'm currently looking for as much feedback as possible "good" or "bad". A little bit more on the bad side so that I can improve. With that as the end note, thank you for giving my story a read regardless if you enjoyed it or not, and have a great day!