Hi. This is a continuation of the great story by Snafu the Great titled "Naruto:Wrath of the Emperor". If you haven't read that, please do so first. Besides being a great story, none of my story will make much sense without the background. Snafu has said he is done writing Naruto stories, which makes me sad, but I have a lot of ideas for continuing on. He has given me his blessing, so I hope you enjoy. This is my first FanFic, so feedback is always welcome.

Chapter 1: A Simple Ruling

Minato Namikaze had become famous for using the Flying Thunder God to annihilate a sizable portion of Iwagakure shinobi. Now, Konoha and Sound had gotten a full taste of the combined wrath of the Yondaime and of the Emperor. First a crimson flash, followed by a yellow flash, and the dying started.

When the flash faded, carnage was left behind. Kushina and Kurama had cut down a number of shinobi from both sides. Naruto had cut down Sakura Haruno and Tsunade and Orochimaru were mortally wounded, Naruto placing a special seal designed to nullify his powers before severing his spine. Tsunade had been stabbed repeatedly by Kushina, the wounds causing her to bleed internally.

"Behold," Naruto began, arms spread out, looking around the ruined village, "the end result of your betrayal."

"N...Naruto..." Tsunade pleaded. "Please...don't destroy Konoha...I'm sorry for betraying you...please...show mercy..."

"Mercy? I don't show mercy to traitors. Now, it's time to end this," Naruto stated calmly as he retrieved Sasuke's Chokuto and Orochimaru's Kusanagi as trophies of war. Turning to the dying Tsunade and Orochimaru, he gave them his final words, ignoring Sasuke's screams. "The both of you won't die just yet. You will live long enough to see Konoha burn. I think what I have in store for Konoha's fate is fitting. Farewell."

The bijuu queen and the Namikaze family then vanished via shunshin.

Outside of Konohagakure...

Kushina placed one hand over her husband's own. "Minato. I'm sorry, but this had to be done. It's hard for me too."

Minato sighed. "I know." He turned to his son. "Naruto, you know what to do."

His son nodded. "Kurama, level the village."

"Gladly," the fox replied.

The Bijuu's signature attack was the Bijuudama – the Bijuu Bomb. It is also considered the strongest of the bijuu's techniques. Now that Minato Namikaze's soul was released by the Shinigami, Kurama's Yin chakra had been restored, Kurama was back at full power.

"Fire." Naruto calmly commanded.

Kurama fired the Bijuudama.

Three years later…

First Sovereign Emperor of the Unified West, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was so engrossed in visions from the past, he almost did not notice his wife, Hinata Namikaze, Empress Consort of the Unified West, enter their bedroom.

As Naruto gazed out the window above the desk he now sat at, Hinata silently walked up behind her husband. She didn't kid herself, she could be as quiet as a whisper, but Naruto always knew when she was near. As she encircled her arms around his shoulders, 'What troubles you my love?" she whispered knowing full well that it was the anniversary of the destruction of Konoha, and he always got moody on this day.

"Did we do the right thing Hime," he said, his voice strained, "did we?"

"Absolutely Naruto!" she reassured him. "Konoha had become a threat to stability in the East, and therefore a threat to the interests of the Empire. You did what you had to for the benefit of all. Please don't torture yourself."

"I know that." Naruto said as he rose. He turned to Hinata and said, "I've always believed in the chance for redemption though, no matter your crimes, if you were truly repentant. Did they all deserve to die? If you tell me they did, I'll believe you."

Hinata took a deep breath before responding, "All of them, Naruto, all of them deserved to die. They had ruined the dream of Konoha, and squandered the Will of Fire. Do not shed a tear for them dear." She gently grasped both sides of his face as she gazed into his eyes, "You are here with your family that loves you, and the people of an empire that adore you, and ALL of us believe you did what was right, and just."

He paused as he felt himself drawn into those twin, lavender colored pools that were his wife's eyes. "You always know what to tell me Hime. Whether I want to hear it or not, it's always what I need. That's why I love you so much. You've always been there for me."

Hinata giggled as she said, "And here I thought it was how I looked in a low-cut leather jumpsuit!"

"Hi-Hime, please!" was all he managed before he started blushing.

"I can still fluster him." she thought wryly as she cutoff his stammering with a deep kiss which he returned fiercely.

The moon was passing by their window allowing beams of weak light to play throughout the room as Naruto carried his still giggling wife to bed.

Many kilometers west of the Empire, across the body of water known as the Dead Swells, due to its notoriously rough seas that claimed more than their share of sea going vessels, rose a 12 story tower. The tower seemed to radiate a malevolence that made outsiders blanch at the sight of it. The tower was festooned from the ground to the very tip with statues and carvings of dragons, evil-looking human hybrids, and creatures not seen since the days the Old Gods walked the Earth. The most amazing feature of the tower however, was what rested beneath it, Yami no Toshi, the City of Darkness, or just simply Yami to its inhabitants. The sprawling city was 10 square kilometers and went down roughly 500 meters. Directly in line with the tower, almost a kilometer down, was a chamber, 50 meters in diameter, which housed the power generation. A pulsating and undulating sphere of bluish purple energy, 25 meters in diameter, rested in a magnetic containment vessel which had massive conduits connected to it at various points. Beneath the containment field was a shaft that was said to go to the center of the planet. If one was brave enough to lean over the handrail that surrounded the field, and look down, you could see an orange glow coming from the "bottom" of the shaft. How far down the shaft went was anyone's guess. Personnel who manned the station had to be rotated out every 6 months, or the "voices in the machinery" would drive them insane.

Much of Yami's Eastern border was connected to the cliff face that ran North and South for many kilometers. This imposing cliff wall was pocked with platforms and balconies, many of which carried weapons. There was an enormous 500 meter wide, 100 meter high gap in the wall which acted as access to the elaborate harbor inside the cliff. This harbor could easily house 100 ships or more, from trade ships to mammoth warships. The harbor entrance was protected by an enormous seawall that ran 300m out to sea and was 20m high.

This night, dark clouds were above the city and had started swirling around the tip of the tower. Unnatural energy in the form of blue/purple lighting occasionally arced from the clouds to the tip of the tower. Inside the tip of the tower was a chamber less than 10m in diameter with 6 figures surrounding a circular, raised dais. The hoods, and loose-fitting robes, made their sexes indecipherable. One had a staff with a glowing circular head, and from the timbre of her chanting, you could tell she was a woman. The other 5 were softly chanting ancient words of power, as their bodies started swaying to the rhythm of their chants.

The woman was striking her staff on the floor, as if to emphasize certain words as she intoned them.

"Hate! Blood! Death! Revenge!"

As her mantra rose in volume, blue energy seemed to drip from the tower's pinnacle and coalesce in front of her face. At first, the steadily growing ball of energy lacked form, but as the chanting increased to a fevered pitch, the ball started rotating, faster and faster. As the leader slammed the butt of her staff into the floor, she emphasized each word until she was almost shouting.

"Hate!" A face started to form in the energy ball…

"Blood!" Details were starting to appear on the face…

"Death!" Spiky hair the color of a sunset, and a lop-sided grin…

"Revenge!" The face of the Emperor of the Unified West hovered in the ball of energy as the chanting reached a crescendo.

As she brought her staff down with the strength of a deep-seated hatred, the tower shook as every torch and candle in the room suddenly flared to life. The visage of the Emperor disappeared as the spinning ball of energy suddenly became a black viscous fluid which dropped down into a waiting bowl. The woman leaned on her staff and peered at the fluid. She imagined she could hear it hissing in the bowl. This brought a smile to her lips.

The ceremony now completed, one of the hooded figures made their way to the woman and her glowing staff.

"The Gods have answered your prayers my queen." he said.

"Of course they did Kyo, I am the vessel for their will!" she flared.

With a mental sigh, Kyo thought to himself, "Impudent woman! Why the Gods chose you baffles me! I must bide my time however. I'm sure, given time you will make a misstep, and I will be there to seize favor!" Outwardly he said, "Of course my lady. I meant no disrespect."

"I take it the preparations are proceeding as planned? I grow impatient Kyo."

"The patient hunter gets the prey." he responded, "The Lord of Shadows teaches us to hide in the shadows, bide our time, and strike when…"

She cut him off, "Do not patronize me old man! I know the teachings!" she clenched her fist as she slowly said, "I demand justice, for myself and my children, and I will NOT be denied!" With that, she spun on her heal, and stalked towards the elevator.

Kyo gave a mental shrug as he watched the elevator doors close and hide his queen. "I wonder what will kill me first, old age, or the righteous fury of the bitch queen?" he muttered. He was not betting on old age.

Morning light was streaking through his bedroom window as Naruto turned off his alarm. "Remind me to have the East window blocked up Hime!" he yelled as he tried to cover his face with a pillow. He didn't really expect an answer. Naruto was never a morning person, but he felt he was getting better over the years. Hinata on the other hand rose before the sun, and had her day well underway before Naruto did.

With an exasperated sigh, the Emperor of the Unified West rolled out of bed. Looking at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, he sighed, channeled his will, and said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Three clones popped into existence by the desk.

"You guys know the drill, yes?" The three clones looked at the paper stack and nodded.

The middle clone winked his eye and said cheerily, "Gotcha boss! And if you ever need help with the missus, we're here to help with that too."

Naruto spun on his heal already making the hand sign to release the clone, storm clouds forming above his head. The other two clones, eyes wide, were staring at the offending clone as if he had just sprouted a second head. They backed away hoping not to share in his impending doom.

Before he could force his will into the release, the clone was waving his hands, "Oy, Oy, Oy!" he stammered, "I was only kidding! We all know how you feel about her! We feel the same way! But you're the friggin' Emperor! If we can't bust your balls, who can?" he said with a lop-sided grin.

"Just get to work." Naruto said as he lowered his hand and turned to leave.

"Just keep an open mind boss, is all I'm sayin'!" the clone said.

Naruto spun back again, channeled his will, and yelled, "RELEASE!"

"Aaaiiieee-! Was all the clone managed before POOF! he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Anyone else care to bust my balls!?" Naruto glared a challenge at clones 1 and 3.

The clones, who just now remembered how to blink, glanced nervously from Naruto to the paperwork. Number 3 said, "Heeeey, look at this, something about a petition against Pekara Merchant House."

Number 1 flicked his eyes to the paper. "Huh. Maaaaybe we should, ummm, look into that?" he said glancing back to Naruto.

Confident his clones were all business now, Naruto strode out to meet up with his wife after he freshened up.

Minutes later, he walked into the garden, where he knew Hinata was. He was dressed in his casual black leather armor with crimson trim, his O-katana strapped to his back.

When he turned the corner, his breath was taken away by the sight of his wife. This morning she was dressed in a white kimono dress with lavender flowers which flowed around her while she performed the kata the two of them had developed. Her waist-long hair was unbound and flew around her head, as if it had a mind of its own, as she spun.

Hinata smiled to herself as she detected her husband's arrival. She could hear his heart flutter as he saw her. Enhanced hearing was a gift of becoming the Third Fox Sage. She refocused however, on her kata, because she wanted to show Naruto how she had improved with the katana.

The words of her sensei Sonshi floated through her head…

"Fighting, is like a dance, in which two partners rehearse choreographed moves until they become instinct, and then dance to the tempo of ringing steel..." he said with a rare smile on his lips, "…also, experience is what you get immediately after you needed it. The trick is, to find steadily better dance partners until your experience can be called wisdom."

She was so immersed in her kata she did not notice Naruto had joined her and was matching her movements perfectly.

With their kata complete, the couple faced each other. Naruto said, "Katana, I see eh? Sonshi finally convince you to use a longer blade?"

"Yes..." she smiled proudly, "… I'm still not convinced however, although Sonshi sensei said I have greatly improved and show great potential."

"Show me." Naruto said with a grin.

The clash of steel as Naruto and Hinata crossed swords, brought onlookers, including three of the Empire's most trusted advisers: Hiashi Hyuga, current head of the Hyuga clan, and father of Hinata, Ay, deposed Raikage of Kumo, whom Naruto had saved during the coup to remove him, and Kurama the nine tailed fox's very human, very female form.

"Yes!" Ay declared pumping his fist, "Nothing gets my blood pumping like the ring of battle!"

With a practiced eye, Kurama could see, even though Naruto was on the offensive, Hinata was putting on a brilliant display of defensive maneuvers, baiting Naruto into taking a risk she could exploit. Kurama decided to do some baiting of her own.

"Hmmm... Naruto really seems to be on his game today, but I bet Hinata could maybe pull it off."

"Hinata is over matched Kurama. She has not attempted any strikes at all, and she will eventually lose with that strategy." Hiashi said with a scowl.

"I've got 1000 ryo that says Naruto wins the duel!" Ay said with enthusiasm.

"Now to set the hook..." Kurama thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Make it 2000 and you've got a bet."

"Done!" Ay said with an emphatic nod of his head.

Kurama slid her eyes to Hiashi who nodded once with a typical Hyuga grunt thrown in. The fishing done, she turned back to the randori with a predatory grin to see what she had landed.

Naruto was beginning to doubt Hinata was going to go on the offensive at all. So he was surprised when he took a horizontal slash at Hinata's head, and instead of parrying, she corkscrewed her body towards the ground spinning clockwise while his sword passed harmlessly overhead. He recognized that she would try to sweep his legs as she spun past, so he transferred his sword to his left hand and cartwheeled to his right, timing Hinata's rotation so he could dodge the leg sweep. It was in this position, upside down with his right hand planted on the floor and his sword in front of him poised for a counterstrike, that time seemed to stop for Naruto as he realized he had made two crucial mistakes. First, he had forgotten his wife has such precise chakra control, she can discharge it through her hands and feet, almost like a propulsion system for her limbs, and if she packs her body in tight enough, can significantly increase her rotational speed. Second, he fell for Hinata's leg sweep feint, as instead of extending her leg along the floor, she uncurled to a standing position, and upon completing her 720th degree of rotation in the last second, planted a perfectly executed, chakra assisted, roundhouse kick to his midsection.

With an explosion of air, and an, "OOF!" Naruto rocketed away from Hinata to impact against the wall.

"Good thing I'm wearing armor," thought the not-so-dignified Emperor, "or she would have punched my liver out my back!"

"Ooooooh!" was all Ay could manage as Naruto slid down the wall on to his head, and then crumpled to the ground.

Kurama had a smug look on her face as she looked back and forth between Ay and Hiashi. "Time to pay up yet?" she said while managing to keep from gloating.

"Hell no…" Ay said, "…this is just starting to get good!"

As if on cue, Naruto pulled himself up off the floor, and wiped his mouth with the back of his sword hand.

Slapping his stomach, Naruto exclaimed, "Good hit Hime!"

"Thank you love!" she said as she bowed her head. "Do you give up yet?"

With a click! and a snikt!, Naruto split his special weapon into two swords.

"As expected." Hinata breathed, a grin spreading on her face. She crouched into a fighting stance to await Naruto's assault. "That's why I love him." she thought to herself.

She didn't wait long as Naruto leaped into the air for his next attack. Cartwheeling in midair, he swiped at Hinata with a double overhead slash.

She deftly parried both weapons with her katana and ninjato.

"Just when the hell did she draw her ninjato?!" Naruto wondered to himself. "Damn, she's fast."

Naruto decided to try some high-powered double-handed spinning slashes to get her to thinking about high attacks so he could attack her low. When he decided the time was right, he did a horizontal slash with his left hand, while performing a lunge with his right hand.

As he came around and started his attack, he turned his head to sight Hinata, and instead came face to face with Sasuke, blood running from his eyes with their swirling red pupils.

"Why did you have to kill me Dobe?" he asked, his teeth covered in blood.

Naruto blinked, and Sasuke was replaced by Hinata once again. He had hesitated though, and he knew it would cost him, in more ways than one.

Hinata saw the attack coming (she didn't remember activating her byakugan). "I have to be precise! I can do it!" she thought to herself.

Hinata brought her katana up to cross block Naruto's. As she let Naruto's blade slide up her own, she simultaneously, reversed the grip on her ninjato, while slamming it down to deflect his thrust outward, away from her. She then threw her left hip forward to ensure the strike would not land. When she deemed Naruto had committed enough to his attack, she winced inwardly for what was to come next.

In what looked like a flash to the onlookers, Hinata brought the butt of her katana down hard on Naruto's right hand, at a pressure point she knew would cause temporary numbness and paralysis in his hand, and she clamped down with her left elbow, trapping Naruto's right-hand weapon against her hip. She then released chakra to rapidly spin herself counter-clockwise. This had the effect of ripping Naruto's weapon free and flinging it across the garden, where it imbedded itself in the wall between Kurama and Ay. Neither adviser flinched however, they were so engrossed in the ongoing struggle.

Hinata continued and accelerated her spin as she once again corkscrewed her body towards the ground.

"Not this time Hime!" Naruto thought to himself as he threw his knee towards his wife's downturned head.

Hinata used both hands crossed in front of her face to deflect his knee as her chakra-accelerated foot struck Naruto's remaining foot so hard, he flipped 450 degrees before landing hard on his back.

Hinata stopped her 3rd rotation by slamming her right foot down on Naruto's outstretched left wrist, pinning his remaining weapon there, while she drew her katana, which she had switched to a reverse grip, to his throat.

"How about now love?" Hinata asked a big smile spreading across her face.

"I give up." he wheezed.

Kurama yelled, "WHOO HOO! She did it! Pay up suckers!"

As Hinata listened to the fox in human form collect her winnings, she released Naruto's wrist and straddled her husband.

She brought her face to within centimeters of his and whispered, "What's wrong? Please don't lie to me. I could see it in your eyes." her eyes narrowing.

Naruto hesitated as he looked into her eyes.

"What do I tell her? What do I say?" he thought to himself.

Tears of concern started to well up in her eyes as Naruto couldn't find his voice.

Their time for discussion was coming to a close as Kurama danced towards the couple. She stopped halfway though and spun to face the dejected men.

"YOU should have more faith in your daughter Hiashi! This is NOT Konoha…" she yelled pointing a finger at him. "…and YOU should know better!" stabbing a finger at Ay.

Hinata stood up, but not before softly saying, "This is not over."

Her demeanor brightened as Kurama bounded towards Hinata to wrap her in a bear hug. "I knew you could do it! That was masterfully done Lady Hinata!"

Kurama beamed at her former student as she proudly exclaimed, "I would expect no less from the Third Fox Sage!"

"I have recently come into a great deal of money!" she whispered in Hinata's ear, "We MUST do some shopping next Unification Festival." Hinata's eyes shone as both women got a case of the giggles.

Naruto groaned as Hiashi and Ay helped lift the Emperor of the Unified West back to his feet. Ay was dusting him off as he said, "We have a little over an hour before today's petitioners boss. We have to get you ready."

Naruto brushed Hiashi's and Ay's hands away as he turned to his wife, and placing his hands at his sides, he bowed deeply to her.

Touched by his acknowledgement, she returned the gesture. "I love you." She said as she raised her head.

"I love you too." he replied through gritted teeth. He still managed a lop-sided grin however.

He then silently turned and walked towards their private bath for a well-deserved soak, Ay and Hiashi on either side trying to pre-brief him on the petitioners who's cases he was about to hear.

Hinata, her brow furrowed in concern for her husband, started to make her way to follow him.

"I would not worry overmuch my Empress…" Kurama said softly, "… his body will heal. It's his pride that will take awhile."

Hinata nodded silently as she walked after her husband, not wanting to tell Kurama about the haunted look she had seen in Naruto's eyes during their randori.

Inside the palace proper was the Hall of Commons, where the Emperor would be called on to mediate disputes between parties who had failed to find common ground through the court systems. The emperor would listen to both sides and make his judgment. The catch was however, the emperor's word was final, there was no appeal process, so to come here was almost considered an act of desperation.

The two brothers, Eiichi and Eito Tachibana were desperate. The family business, "Tachibana Emporium" was on the brink of bankruptcy. Eiichi, as the eldest, bore the shame of his family's business failing.

He had nightmares, where his father, Fusao Tachibana, would glower at him, "Eiichi! How could you be so incompetent, how could you lose my business?!" Even though his father had passed away 10 years ago, his spirit still managed to torment him.

Eito roused him from his reverie, "Brother, are you sure it's wise to come here? The Emperor's word is final! Shouldn't we wait for the courts to hear our appeal of their last decision? Surely they will come to see reason and favor our business?"

"If we wait on the courts, there won't BE a business fool!"

From his brother's reaction, Eiichi realized his tone had been a little harsher than he had intended. He softened his tone when he said, "Eito, the Pekara Merchant House wants us to use the courts, to prolong this dispute, until we have no more money. Then they will win by default."

"But…"

"No buts Eito…" Eiichi interrupted, "I am the eldest and you will obey me!"

With that, the discussion was over. Both brothers went back to their own silent musings, one worried about an uncertain future, the other dwelling on the past.

While the brothers brooded, the Empire's first couple relaxed in their private bath.

With a heavy satisfied sigh, Naruto said, "If this is losing, I don't ever want to win."

Hinata stopped rubbing his shoulders, having already scanned his body with her byakugan, and finding no internal injuries, she slid into the water next to her husband. "We're alone now love, and I want to know what's troubling you." she said.

Naruto sighed wishing, not for the first time, to have the old Hinata back that would faint every time she saw him. "I have a bad feeling Hime…" he started, "… I don't know how to explain it."

Gently, trying to understand, Hinata said, "OK, during our randori, during your last attack…" Naruto winced as he recalled spinning through the air, "… when your eyes looked at me, it seemed like you were surprised to see me, just for a split second, but I know what I saw."

Naruto nodded his head as he remembered, "I had a vision Hime..." his voice almost a whisper, "… when I came around, I didn't see you, I saw Sasuke. His eyes were bleeding, and he looked rough, and he said 'Why'd you kill me dobe'. It was gone in a flash though."

Hinata's eyes grew wide when she heard this, but she never doubted her husband. "It must be the stress…" she said, "… every year around this time, you get in a thoughtful mood. With how much pressure you've been under, I'm not surprised with a vision or two."

"But this time just feels different..." Naruto said, "… almost like a warning or something."

Hinata, ever the patient one, placed her hand on her husband's cheek and said, "Ru, I promise you you're not having premonitions. Even if something does happen to be coming, I'll be here by your side. Me, Ay, Kurama, and all the rest will never leave you. You are never alone."

Naruto grasped his wife's hand, and brought it to his lips, where he kissed her palm. "I love you Hime."

"I love you too…" she breathed as she raised her lips to his.

Despite the nagging feeling in the back of his head, while he kissed his wife, Naruto, as he always came back to, decided that he liked this version of Hinata much better.

Refreshed and dressed in their formal attire, The Emperor and his consort led an entourage of advisers to the Hall of Commons. As he came around the last bend in the corridor before the Hall, he put his arms out and stopped. Hinata and Kurama peered around the corner to see what had piqued his interest. Roughly 5 meters further down, in the middle of the corridor, rested an inconspicuous looking toy dragon. Just beyond that on the floor, laid what looked like a child's drawing of a tiger.

The group backed up until they were out of sight of the items, then about a minute later, they re-emerged, Ay, his perpetual scowl etched in stone on his face, was in the lead. He was followed by Naruto who was flanked by his wife on one side, and Kurama on the other.

Naruto assumed the trap was to be sprung when he was in the kill zone between the two objects. He was not disappointed. As he stepped over the toy dragon, both it and the piece of paper exploded into puffs of smoke.

From the smoke that used to be a drawing, exploded a pint-sized, 4 year old girl. Moka Namikaze, with her mother's lavender eyes, and her father's gift for mischief yelled, "Crouching Tiger!" as she planted her feet on her dad's chest, pushing him backward, while also grabbing his collar.

The other puff of smoke morphed into the heir apparent, Minato Namikaze, crouched on all fours behind his father's ankles. "Hidden Dragon!" he announced.

The attack worked flawlessly, as Naruto tripped over his son and fell flat on his back, Minato jumped up and landed on Naruto's right shoulder, pinning it to the ground, while Moka held down the left. "We win, we win!" they coursed together.

Naruto grinned at his children and said, "That was a great attack you two… well thought out and executed..." both children smiled broadly for the praise, "… but you forgot one little thing."

Both kids only had enough time to say, "Huh?" before 4 more smoke explosions occurred. When the smoke cleared, the clone the children had pinned to the ground was gone, and the two transformed clones of Naruto now held the squealing children by their feet, to be scrutinized by the real Naruto.

Naruto leaned down as he looked at his children. Moka, her eyes wide, had her balled fists against her mouth. Minato, for being upside down, remained calm. "What did you do wrong?" his father asked.

"We failed to take into account there might be shadow clones of you in your ranks." Minato calmly stated.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at Moka as he said, "And…?"

Moka hesitantly replied, "W-We were in the middle of the floor. We didn't hide… I think."

Naruto stood up and put a thoughtful expression on his face, tapping his chin with an index finger. "I have to agree!" Naruto exclaimed. As he turned to his wife, who had come around the corner with the rest of the smiling advisers, he asked, "So what punishment do you think?"

"Punishment!?" Minato blurted, Moka returning her fists to her mouth.

Hinata nodded, then explained, "Of course punishment… how else will you remember the lesson?" As she turned to her husband, she asked, "Would 1000 be too much?"

"Not at all!" announced Naruto.

Both children looked at their father nervously as he crouched into a fighting position, both hands raised in front of his face. "1000 Tickles of Death Jutsu!" he yelled.

Naruto's hands became blurs as he repeatedly tapped the dangling children, tickling them in their various tickle spots. Both the prince and the princess burst into peals of laughter as their "punishment" was meted out.

When he was done, Naruto nodded to the clones, who placed the children on their feet before disappearing.

Naruto, with one more look at his children, said, "Come on you two, we're almost late." He turned, and with a broad smile on his face, and Hinata, who was also smiling, on his arm, strode down the hall.

Ay picked up the children and placed one on each shoulder, as he followed his Emperor. "We'll get him next time." he said to the children with a wink for both.

In the Hall of Commons two hours later, Naruto was readying to hear the last case for the day. He rubbed his temples and nodded in gratitude as a servant brought a fresh cup of hot tea, and placed it on the desk next to his chair. He preferred to try to relate to the commoners, so there was no throne in this Hall, only a large desk with three chairs behind for himself, Hinata, and usually Ay, but sometimes Kurama.

To the side of the desk was a box with seats for advisers and honored guests. Today Naruto and Hinata's children, Minato and Moka, were seated there, flanked by Kasumi Aihara, the Minister of the Interior, and The Minister of Health, Kokoro Yamada.

As the petitioners, Eiichi and Eito Tachibana filed in, Naruto took their measure. Eito wore a simple business suit, and his eyes nervously flitted to and fro taking in the room, while trying to look inconspicuous. Eiichi looked almost regal in his flowing orange (orange?!) robes, but he carried himself with a stern demeanor, and his unflinching scowl never left the Emperor's desk.

While the Tachibana brothers were seating themselves at a desk which faced the Emperor's desk, the defendants in the case made their entrance. Ryujii and Haruka Shinzen, the co-Ministers of Finance for the Empire, and also co-founders of the Pekara Merchant House, walked calmly to sit in the desk adjacent to the plaintiff's desk. While Ryujii was the head of the clan, it was understood, Empire wide, that his wife Haruka was the motive force for the juggernaut known as Pekara.

Not to be "out-scowled" by the elder Tachibana, Ay did his best impression of a thundercloud in the flesh as he announced, "The petition of Tachibana Emporium against Pekara Merchant House."

Naruto started off by saying, "OK Tachibana, I'd really like to hear why you've brought a petition against me and the Empire."

Eiichi blanched as he stood up. "I've come too far to turn back now…" he thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "My Lord Emperor, I meant no disrespect, but there are, what I think to be, some unfair business practices going on at Pekara."

Naruto's brows knitted together, and he gave a sidelong glance to Hinata. "Uh, oh…" she thought to herself, "…usually when I see this look on his face, someone dies." Hinata held his gaze for a moment, trying to soothe Naruto's mood. Whether it worked or not, she would have to wait and see as Naruto turned his gaze to the eldest Tachibana.

Calmly and softly, (not always a good thing) Naruto said, "That is a pretty serious accusation Tachibana…" his eyes narrowed a bit, "… I hope you can back up your claims."

Eiichi unflinchingly returned the Emperor's gaze. He turned to his brother, who was currently vividly imagining over 100 colorful ways he was going to die today, and nodded to a stack of papers he was clutching. Started from his reverie, Eito sheepishly handed the stack to his elder brother.

Turning to the Emperor, stack of paper in hand, he gave a sidelong glance to the Pekara contingent before gazing at Naruto. "These documents show the efforts Pekara Merchant House have made to stunt the growth of my family's business, Tachibana Emporium, my Lord."

"I've read your documents Eiichi Tachibana." Naruto stated bluntly. The clones he had used earlier related the information on the documents when they were released. Eiichi seemed taken aback by the proclamation, but maintained his composure. Naruto continued, "I've read them, but I'm more interested in what you have to say. I want to hear it from your own mouth."

Eiichi was dumbfounded by the revelation offered by the Emperor. He stammered at first when he replied, "M-my Lord, I don't know where to begin." He glanced at his brother before turning back to Naruto and continuing, "Tachibana Emporium has been in my family for generations, since long before you unified the Empire. We prospered in the old regime. Then shortly after your victory came Pekara. They have lowered their prices to ridiculous levels to where I can't compete! They are always trying to maneuver us into a corner, in an attempt to take my family's legacy away from me!

Eiichi took a breath, looking to continue his rant, when Naruto lifted his hand, and the elder Tachibana's mouth went shut with an audible snap. "What do you have to say to these allegations Haruka?"

"My Lord, it's true our prices are lower than the Tachibana's, but it's with no malice that they are so. We just have a vast network of outposts that provides us a stability that allows us to charge less for our goods." Haruka said.

"You're vast because the Empire subsidizes your income! With funding like that, we could be just as big, if not bigger than your operation!" Eiichi thundered.

Hinata chimed in for the first time with, "We do not subsidize their operation Tachibana-san, we allocated money for them after their relief efforts during the war with the Akatsuki, and after their involvement with the incident with Konoha."

"But my lady, the heads of Pekara are your financial ministers!"

Naruto fielded that one with, "They're our financial ministers, because I suck with money, and as the owners of the largest financial establishment in the Unified West, I thought it would be best to listen to their advice."

Both Shinzens inclined their heads as they said, "We are honored to serve the Empire."

"Honored?! Rich more like…"

"We offered to buy your business. The profits from our generous offer would have allowed you to retire…"

"Pittance! It was a mere pittance for my family's legacy…!"

"… and when that failed, we offered you a loan so you could expand your business…"

"With interest! Interest you could use to further deplete our funds so you could line your greedy pockets…!"

"Enough!" Naruto's voice rose above the din, "I have heard enough bickering!"

Eiichi turned to the Emperor, "But my Lord, surely…"

"Silence!" Naruto's chakra enhanced voice was punctuated by his palm slamming against the desk with enough force to reverberate like a thunder-clap in the hall. "You're a greedy bastard Eiichi, bent on nothing but the accumulation of wealth! Instead of arguing with the Shinzens, you should be taking notes. As for being smaller than they are, I've won against a much bigger opponent than that…" Naruto remembered his epic battle with Gaara during the Chuunin exams, "… but now he's counted amongst my closest friends."

Naruto stood up as he looked sternly at Eiichi, "I deny your petition Tachibana Emporium!"

Each word hit Eiichi like a hammer-blow to the chest. He absently scraped his discarded stack of papers together, and he and Eito made their way out of the Hall.

Naruto almost felt bad, but he hoped he had instilled some fighting spirit into those two, especially the eldest.

Eiichi balled the papers in his fist, and angrily threw them in a trash can. "Brother…" was all Eito managed before Eiichi spun angrily to his brother.

"No more sniveling Eito! You heard the Emperor, there's no one to help us now! We must do this ourselves!"

"Y-you have a p-plan brother?" Eito stammered. When Eiichi told him his plan, Eito's face paled and his eyes grew wide. He knew better than to question his brother on business matters when he was in a mood. He had bruises to prove it.

Eiichi spun again after divulging his plan and stormed out of the Hall with Eito in tow.

Naruto nodded as he watched the retreating backs of the two brothers. He turned to Hinata who was also watching the figures leave the Hall, "Well, even with all the arguing, I still thought it was a pretty simple ruling."

Naruto turned to reach for his cup of tea, but was stopped by what he saw. The cup had a thin straight crack in the front, through which his tea was leaking onto his desk. As he contemplated the spreading pool of tea, the premonition of impending doom returning, he thought to himself, "I just wish whatever is coming, would just get here already."

Unseen by everyone in the Hall, including the brothers as they stormed by, the third dragon statue from the left had eyes that tracked the eldest Tachibana as he stalked by. He sighed inwardly and thought, "The die is cast…"

After the brothers left the Hall, his eyes returned to stare at Naruto, "… and so it begins."