Book One: The Return

Chapter 1: Sith Asleep

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."

―The Sith Code

Three-thousand six-hundred and fifty-three years before the legendary battle of Yavin, the Jedi and republic with the undisputed most powerful forces in the galaxy. They had grown in power since the believed fall of the Sith oh so many years ago. Then came the fateful day when the Sith Empire attacked. Marked as one of the darkest days in Jedi history, the Sith Empire didn't just defeat them but destroyed their prized temple and nearly killed them all. Leading the charge of the Sacking of the Jedi Temple was Darth Malgus, a Sith Lord who had proven himself far superior to the average Sith.

Now what many didn't know was that Malgus actually took on an apprentice soon after he killed his own master, such is the way of the Sith, but he didn't just choose anyone. No, Malgus wanted someone just as strong as he was, just as hateful as he was, and just as skilled as he was. The powerful Sith Lord went through a hundred potential apprentices before finally settling on one, one who far surpassed any of the others. This boy had been taken from his home planet, which had been taken over by the Sith, and had proven himself to be very capable in the Sith arts.

Becoming Malgus's apprentice at the age of ten, this boy trained every day, soaking himself in every single aspect of the Dark Side, and emerged a powerful Sith Warrior. At the age of sixteen, Malgus and his apprentice were chosen to lean the assault on the Jedi Temple, a way for Malgus to regain his honor. This mere boy was once named Uzumaki Naruto but gave up that name once he gained the title of Dark Lord. Once that day had come he became known as Darth Strakh.

(Day of the Sacking of Coruscant)

Walking towards the famed Jedi Temple were three distinct figures, two of which were male while the third was a female Twi'lek. Clearly not Jedi, given their black robes and the aura of pure hatred that glowed off of them, the three figures slowly ascended the steps of the temple, only to be met by several blasters being pointed at them. Without even lifting so much as a finger, the second hooded figure reached out with the force and began to strangle the soldiers with it, even going as far as to lift them all up into the air a few feet. With nothing but a simple gesture, the lead figure motioned for his other companion to go up to the bounty hunter that was watching them from above.

Walking over to one of the walls the figure just seemed to walk up it like he was walking on flat ground. Once at the top, he nodded to the female bounty hunter and they both entered the Jedi Temple through one of the larger vents. It didn't take long for them to reach one of the secluded hallways, which had three guards right by it. Once again reaching out with the force, the Sith killed them all by simply crushing their necks. Meanwhile the bounty hunter checked her map and saw a shuttle inbound in less than twenty seconds.

"It's time," said the bounty hunter, her helmet distorting her voice ever so slightly, while the Sith beside her nodded and lowered his hood.

Like most Sith, his skin was pale and he had a red tattoo of the outter ring of the Sith Quad-Sun symbol frame his left eye, which was blue while his right eye was the taletell luminous, sulfuric yellow of those who had immersed in the Dark Side of the Force. His wild, spiky blond hair stood up all over like the spines of a sea urchin was held in a low ponytail, and on each cheek were a trio of pencil-thin grooves that resembled whisker marks. Under his black cloak was advanced Sith armor with a total of three lightsabers attached to the left side of his belt. Covering his hands were a pair of clawed metallic gauntlets that could stand up to a lightsaber blade long enough for him to retaliate if necessary. He was Uzumaki Naruto and he was Sith!

"Good, we don't want to be late to the party," there was some humor in his voice but it was cruel, just like he was taught to be.

"After you boss," and with that said, both bounty hunter and Sith made their way to the upper levels, since most of the Jedi went to greet his master on the ground floor.

Moments later, a Republic shuttle slammed in through the large doors to the temple, taking out several large pillars before coming to a stop just a few feet from the hooded Malgus. Naruto could feel the anticipation of every single Sith on that shuttle, feeding off of it to fuel his own growing power, just before all hell broke loose. Within only a matter of seconds, the once peaceful Jedi Temple turned into the hell known as a battle field. Many fell, on both sides, within the first five minutes just from the amount of blaster fire and the collision of the two forces.

Reaching for his first lightsaber, taking the smooth chrome hilt into his hands, Naruto felt the Dark Side course through his body, making his heart beat faster than normal and for his senses to become razor sharp. Leaping down to the battle below, crushing one Jedi as he landed, Naruto activated his weapon. Instead of a normal straight crimson blade, which all the Sith seemed to be using. A several meter long lightwhip came to life and began to burn the ground that it touched, almost demanding to be used by its master.

With a loud roar, Naruto spun the whip, bringing it to life, before wrapping it tightly around a single Jedi and pulling as hard as he could. Unlike other light whips, Naruto modified his own to be almost as strong as a normal lightsaber, which meant that the unfortunate Jedi was not nothing more than a pile of burnt flesh on the ground. Spinning around, Naruto's weapon lashed out like a coiled viper and instantly removed the head of another Jedi, who had been attempting to sneak up on him.

High above Naruto, using her sniper rifle, the bounty hunter began to pick off unsuspecting Jedi, since none of them even bothered to actually look up. A small hiss of energy and another Jedi was no more, although her attention was drawn to the lightwhip-wielding Sith that she had been hired by. Personally she didn't care about most Sith, seeing as they were all doom and gloom, even if they did pay well, but that guy wasn't all about trampling over others to steal their power. The main reason Malgus was even still alive, given that Naruto had plenty of chances to kill him, was simply that Naruto wouldn't kill weak people.

"And there goes Jedi number six," she almost laughed, how many other bounty hunters had six Jedi kills under their belt?

Through her modified scope, the bounty hunter covered Naruto as he carved his way through the Jedi, his lightwhip keeping them from getting close while her own shots killed them if they did get too close. With all this chaos, none of the Jedi saw Naruto coming until it was too late, that is until one of them managed to Force Push him right into a wall, nearly making him go through it. Pulling himself from the wall, Naruto found a female Twi'lek pointing her lightsaber at him, apparently wanting to duel him.

"Alright Jedi, I'll fight you," said Naruto, deactivating his lightwhip, placing it back on his belt, before pulling out an actual lightsaber.

Leaping at the Jedi, with enough force to crack the ground when he jumped, Naruto activated the lightsaber in midair and slammed it into the Jedi's blue lightsaber. There weren't many who could face Naruto in a duel, Malgus made sure of that, but the Twi'lek sure was using her flexibility and speed to her advantage. Instead of meeting his attacks head on, the Jedi dodged them or simple glanced them away, but Naruto didn't let up for even a second. The fight around them soon become nothing more that noise, neither of them paying any attention to it. Even when all of the other main battles had been finished, they continued their duel.

At one point another Sith tried to step in, only for Naruto to snap his neck with the Force. So they all decided to watch, even Malgus, as the two highly skilled Jedi and Sith fought each other. Feeding off the chaos that was consuming the entire planet, Naruto continued to press his attack, although a few misses had actually caused him to hit the ground and actually pierce down to the floor below.

"How long do you think you can keep this up, Jedi?" asked Naruto, locking blades with her, not noticing how the floor around them had weakened from all the damage it had sustained.

"Long enough to defeat you," she answered, no sign of anger or any other emotion that Naruto could use to his advantage.

Then the ground gave way beneath their feet and they fell to the floor below, causing the surrounding Sith to rush over to the hole and see if either of them were still alive. Apparently the power generators had been destroyed because all they could see were the glows of the two lightsabers moving around in the darkness. It was hard enough to fight normally, trying to anticipate your opponents movements, but it was even harder fighting in the dark, not even being able to see your opponent.

Down below, where neither of them could see even two feet in front of them, both Jedi and Sith continued their fight, using the glow of their lightsabers to guess where their opponent was. Naruto, finding it of no use to keep his eyes open in the darkness, closed his eyes and focused on his other senses, trying to get a feel for the Twi'lek.

'Where are you?' Naruto thought to himself, only to feel the searing pain of a lightsaber suddenly grazing his left arm, making him lash out in that direction, only to his nothing.

"You won't be able to fight me down here Sith, I know every inch of this room while you stumble around in the dark," said the Jedi, her voice seeming to come from every direction so Naruto couldn't get a fix on her location.

"A Sith fights their best in the dark because the shadows serve only the Sith," responded Naruto, feeling something warm near the back of his neck and ducked down just before a blue lightsaber could take off his head.

'He dodged?' the Jedi thought, surprised that he was even capable of doing so in the dark, but her train of thought was cut short when Naruto's lightsaber grazed her side, although she managed to jump back before it could do any real harm.

'So I can't see her, I can't hear her, I can't sense her with the Force? I looks like I'll have to go with touch then,' Naruto thought, standing completely still and waited for the next attack.

When it came, Naruto was ready. Blocking the Jedi's lightsaber with his own red one, Naruto's free hand lashed out and grabbed the woman by her neck, actually lifting her completely off the ground. Now wanting to risk getting hit by the lightsaber, the Sith then threw her against what he guessed was a door, which broke the moment it was hit. Bright light shone in through the broken door, apparently leading to a second courtyard that was completely empty.

"You're skilled for a Jedi, just a step or two behind myself," Naruto complimented, walking out into the light while the rest of the planet was being attacked in the background.

"And you're rather honorable for a Sith," the Twi'lek responded, lifting herself off the ground, only to find her lightsaber missing, no doubt having been thrown over the edge and to the chaos below.

Without even a second thought, Naruto deactivated his own lightsaber before casually throwing it to the Jedi, who caught it and gave him a questioning look. Naruto simply ignored the look she was giving him and pulled out his third lightsaber, this time the blade was purple in color but with a hint of blackness to it. Both of them took a ready stance, unaware of Malgus watching them from above, before charging at each other.

Naruto was the first to swing, sliding down onto one knee while attempting to slice the woman in half, only for the Jedi to flip over the blade. Both Sith and Jedi turned around at lightning fast speeds, their lightsabers clashing before their bodies were fully turned, sending sparks everywhere. Naruto's brute strenght far surpassed the Twi'lek's own and he overpowered her in a matter of seconds, but not before she kicked his feet out from under him. When Naruto's back hit the ground, he was forced to immediately bring up his lightsaber to block the Jedi's downward slash, which would have no doubt killed him.

"Getting tired, Jedi?" asked Naruto, seeing how the Jedi's chest was rising and falling slightly faster than normal.

"Not even slightly!" the distraction had been enough for Naruto to send the woman flying back with a force-push and allowed him to get back to his feet.

Naruto ignored the pain in his left arm, mainly where the Jedi actually managed to hit him, and instead let in fuel him, pushing his body to its limits. He could feel it, the fight was taking its toll on the Jedi, although she hid it very well. The wound he gave her back in that room as made her movements with that arm slow and not as powerful.

They sprung at each other again, the Jedi doing her best to dance around Naruto's attacks. One mistake was all it took to injure her right leg and all but end the duel. Falling down to one knee, the Twi'lek found a purple blade just inches from her face but the blond haired Sith just continued to stare at her, his chest moving up and down while his heart pounded against it.

"You fought well Jedi, I'm honored to have faced someone as powerful as you," said Naruto, his lightsaber deactivating before he knelt down in front of her and took back his other lightsaber.

The blond haired Sith then proceeded to turn around and simply walk away, leaving the injured Jedi right there. Malgus already knew how his apprentice thought and understood why he spared this single Jedi. It wasn't out of mercy but out of greed, he wanted the Jedi to grow stronger so that, the next time they met, he could have an even more exciting fight. If there was one thing Naruto loved almost as much as life itself, it was a good fight against someone strong enough to match him. Malgus didn't like this way of thinking but hardly any could meet Naruto's standards, besides they still had a war to fight.

"Why would you spare me and not the others?" the Jedi asked, making Naruto pause just before the door.

"You have heart, Jedi. You don't fight simply because you are a Jedi but also because you truly wish to protect others. You deserve to live...for now," and with that said, Naruto was gone.

(Hours later: Capital Imperial ship)

Naruto currently found himself staring down at the burning planet below, the sacking was still in progress but he had no interest in joining it at the moment. He silently wondered if that Twi'lek had managed to get off world or if some Imperial found her and killed her. Banishing those thoughts from his mind, Naruto turned to face his approaching master.

"Master," Naruto greeted, not bothering to bow when Malgus had said he no longer needed to.

"You did well today, my apprentice, especially against such a highly trained Jedi master," said Malgus, but Naruto knew those words were only meant for Naruto to let his guard down.

"Tell me, why did you spare her life?" Naruto had seen this coming from a light-year away.

"You know why, master; if you're here to punish me, then best to just get it over with," the blond haired Sith wasn't in the mood for any games, even if stating so would cause him more pain.

"You've been called back to Korriban. The Dark Council seems to have taken an interest in you and insists that you leave at once. This will be the last time we speak to one another," it wasn't kind or even pleasant, but Malgus never was any of those things.

Naruto didn't say anything else, he simply left for the hanger where his own personal ship was fueled and waiting. His ship was a Fury-Class Imperial Interceptor with a cloaking device and a little extra fire power, for those bad days. The ship had been a gift from Malgus after Naruto killed his first Jedi in battle, nearly losing his head in the process. Sure it might be a little big for one Sith but Naruto didn't mind all that much.

It only took a few minutes to prep the ship before he took off into space and began his trip back to Korriban, a place he hadn't been in many years. Setting the ship to pilot itself, Naruto retreated into his room and sat down on his bed, closing his eyes to meditate. While most Sith would meditate on their anger or fear, which were most common in everyday life, Naruto focused on all of his emotions, not just the negative ones. No one knew he was doing this, because positive emotions were seen as weak emotions, but it gave Naruto a sense of clarity. The Force spoke to him more often and he could better understand what it was trying to show him.

"What is your name Sith?" a voice spoke to Naruto through a vision.

"You've been charged with the murder of citizens of the Republic! Your sentence is death!" another voice said but it was hateful, hidden by neutrality.

"You're no longer a Sith, you're my friend and a friend to the Jedi," Naruto couldn't see who was speaking in the vision but could hear them clear as day.

"You are not a Sith! You are a Jedi pretending to be a Sith! The true Sith are more powerful than you could possibly imagine, and I'm the strongest!"

Naruto was suddenly ripped out of his meditation by his ship suddenly shaking, as if being it by an asteroid or something. Quickly running up to the cockpit, the blond haired Sith checked the scanners, showing something that made his mismatched eyes widen. Chasing him through space was a large Imperial battle cruiser and it was currently firing at Naruto with everything it had. The scanners picked up incoming fighters, but that didn't stop Naruto from activating the automated weapon systems while taking control of the ship.

"Dammit, flying is for droids!" Naruto yelled as another blast his his ship's shields, nearly taking them down.

With a small grown, he hit a switch and channeled power from his weapons into his shields and engines. There was no way he would be able to take on a battle cruiser, even if he managed to somehow land on the damn thing, and thought it best to try and outrun them. Naruto didn't know why they were attacking him, although he was flattered that they sent a battle cruiser after him, but he couldn't think about that at the moment. Then the sound of his proximity sensors going off made him swear. When his hyperspace engine had been shut of, which he didn't know how that was possible, it had dropped him right next to a damn black hole and that was the last thing he needed!

"Warning the gravity field of the black hole will trap this ship in five-point-four seconds, have a nice day."

Everything went black for Naruto, he felt out of sight and mind. For a moment he even thought he was dead, until he heard those damn alarms going off again. Slightly glad that the black hole hadn't apparently trapped him, Naruto wondered why his ship was even still in one piece, not that he was complaining.

"Attention unidentified ship, this is the Republic Star-Destroyer Resolute, you are in restricted Republic space. Prepared to be boarded."