I do not own Naruto, Dragon Age (minor, not to a degree warranting a crossover status(in my opinion) nor any other element that may arise in this story. I'm fairly sure that has well been established at this point...In any case, this story is for entertainment purposes only. Why else would it be in FanFiction?

Answer me that, I dare you! (Supreme glare (OF DOOM)!)

Of consequences: From it an Empire

A prologue years after

No matter where one was born, no matter the age, no matter the nationality and circumstance be it war or peace, even if one had somehow escaped any sense of familiarity with war other than its barest definition as a written word, one would be quick to recognized the synchronized pattern of samurai ready for battle, ready to end their own lives if need be if by some miracle it allowed their comrades in arms to strike the final blow in their stead. Even in the decline of fighting in recent years spanning close to a decade the march was the most distinguishable amongst all others noises to be heard, especially within the normally quiet courtyard walls of the palace where idle chatter was the preferred norm.

All eyes available were drawn upon three battalions of samurai, one unit armed naginata whereas the rest were armed with the more commonplace katana. Even those inside the palace proper, politicians, servants, patrolmen alike were made curious enough for such a show of force to be made necessary in a time of peace, tenuous as it was at the worst of times. The eyes of a great many narrowed at what lay between three battalions of samurai with two additional units of bowmen angling themselves to put all that was between them in their crossfire: Foreigners, five of which from the eastern lands; the 'civilized' lands.

Seldom was it that those who crossed over to the 'savage west' as they called it had anything resembling a noble intention in centuries past. Many an aspiring warlord, a even greater host of successful ones and even the more rare influential wisher of peace had died at their hands for the sake of their own peace; personal ambition, boiling blood and even excessive greed kept the West in a seemingly endless state of war, and the East, for all it's 'civility' despite being divided as it was itself, found it much more to their liking that way. The constant warfare kept most of the ambitious warlords within their own lands in the Western territories, and even then should one cross the desert that divided the Elemental East and 'Savage' West, their Elemental shinobi often took care of them before they became too great a threat. But most of all, shinobi were often sent into the West to ensure the wars never stopped. For untold years they had succeeded in slaying people who had the potential to unite the land, regardless of their own intentions be it genuine peace or warmongering; divided as it was, The East would be hard pressed under the best of circumstances to fight of an aggressive, unified West before they themselves united under one banner. Yet in the end it was only a matter of time that someone rose up, never tasting the death wantonly gifted to his predecessors in spirit; the First Emperor of the Empire, the one man to survive the odds and make the Eastern fears all the more tangible.

Undoubtedly the guards stationed on the walls were on high alert since the march began. Without even a shred o doubt the samurai and police patrolling the city were as well. Even the guards behind the palace walls proper were undoubtedly riled up at that very moment whilst shinobi lurking within its shadows began to coat their weaponry with poisons, all the while eying the shadows for any sign of an intruder that hadn't been caught as of yet. Of the samurai who hadn't dared go on patrol in favor of being ready to assist on a moment's notice, one man on a horse made his way towards the back of the palace, to the odd sight that was a farmer's field where farmers milled about once their duties were done as well as a few men-at-arms patrolling in pairs; off to the side was a large house, ever constantly monitored by the patrols and other guards on duty. In all haste he madly dashed to the yard of which, to the man resting in the shade of the porch alongside a bored boy playing with a black cat with a white tipped tale.

Due to his urgency he easily drew attention of both the boy and the man as the rider neared them in a gallop, halted the horse in a hard stop that had the horse skid along the ground and hopped off to dash to the man. Upon nearing the border of the porch the messenger stopped, bent down to one knee and urgently averted his gaze to the ground, effectively dodging the exasperated look on the man's face that was aimed at the samurai. Meanwhile the boy, a dark skin child of silvery hair and blue eyes roughly the age of eleven, looked at him in curiosity, giving the cat enough of an opening to latch onto the fern he was using as a toy with the feline equivalent of a victory cry.

"My Lord!" the soldier announced. "Foreigners from the Eastern Lands have brazenly approached the city gate to demand an audience with you!"

The man sighed as he leaned forward from his chair. "Dignitaries?" he lamely asked.

The samurai's head ducked even further in a bow. "So they have said, my Lord! Yet they're attire betrays them to be Shinobi from the East!"

What ease the man had evaporated in an instant whereas the child visibly brightened in excitement as he turned to the emperor. "They're the ones with the super cool moves, right dad? Like your shadow clone technique and rasengan? Can I go see them? Please!" By then he was already on his knees and facing his mother who only wearily looked on from the shadows of their house. As for his father, the emperor, he ran a hand through his golden hair and sighed.

"What village?" he asks the kneeling man.

The man bowed even lower than before as a troop of yari wielding samurai began their dutiful march to his home, in front of them was a smirking purple haired woman with a large snake lazily draped across her shoulders. "They had the symbol of a leaf imprinted on their headbands! That is all I know, my Lord!"

The man didn't move nor stiffened in the least. Instead he languidly darted his eyes to the only woman amongst the new arrivals, the samurai parting into two lines and standing at the ready. She had on a tan trench coat that sat on her shoulders beneath the snake which partially covered the maroon kimono she wore, adorned with black lilies. Underneath of which and only visible through a slight parting in the dress was a fishnet shirt. Peeking out from underneath her robes were shinobi sandals, Eastern shinobi sandals, colored black that made her white socks stand out all the more. On her head, doing little to keep her short, almost wild hair back from her slightly wrinkled face, sat a headband with a caricature of a whirlpool stamped in the middle. She only gave him a renewed smirk as a response while propping her hand against her hip.

"Kenzo, stay here." The man got up and without ceremony headed inside, taking in his son's complaints in stride as he followed him inside.

Almost immediately the boy darted past his father to reach his mother, a dark skinned woman of dark pair and golden eyes, who stood to the side of the hallway with a frown. "Mom!" Kenzo whined, "Dad won't let me meet a bunch of shinobi from the east!"

With a frown the woman who wore a form fitting black, short legged leotard with a careful garnishment of golden flowers to her right leg turned to the man. "Which village?" she asked, concerned evident in her voice which was matched with a frown.

"The Leaf Village," he all but mumbled aloud.

"Mom!"

Her attention switched back to the young boy, her son. With a smile, albeit a forced one, she reached over and ruffled his hair much to his audible irritation. "Say, did you have lunch yet?" she asked in a playful manner.

"Mom!" he groaned again he gave her a pointed glare. She sighed in return.

"Don't fight your father over this. He has his reasons after all." She hooked an arm around her sons neck and gave him a wear smile as she led him to the kitchen. "Now let's get ourselves some lunch."

"But mom!"

"No buts!" she sighed as she lightly bopped the back of his head with the palm of her hand. "Not even people as powerful as your father gets everything he wants. This certainly isn't one of them!"

Meanwhile in the upstairs in the bedroom a door to a wardrobe was slammed shut as he retrieved the final piece of his lordly attire, the one suited for combat when he had the luxury to half expect it. In record time he had discarded the clothes he was wearing earlier and quickly adorned himself with a dark green kimono vest not unlike the one he remembered from ages past and a pair of black hakama pants. Tabi socks and zori were on his feet. Next he lashed to his waist a ninjato with a wakizashi just above it at a slight angle. Last but not least was a orange haori with a yellow trim he had just fished out of a drawer. Before he considered getting out of the bedroom however he deigned to stop to look into a full body mirror to inspect himself for a moment before smirking with a snort of a chuckle.

"Care to clue me in on the joke, boss?"

Slowly he canted his head back to spy on the kunoichi from earlier who was now leaning against his doorway with a slight grin on her face.

"Nothing," he murmured as he returned his gaze to the mirror and grinned slightly at the image of himself. "Just I can't help but think palace life is starting to affect me a little..."

The kunoichi smirked, rolled her eyes and shook her head all at once. "Okay, I'll bite: how is it affecting the "Weird Emperor" who'd rather spend all day attending his fields than suffer one day actually living in the palace?"

He grinned a little wider as he turned to her and pinched his haori for emphasis. "The colors clash," he stated.

She owlishly blinked at him before her smirk returned only to morph into a grin itself. "Too little orange for you?"

The man smiled as he finally turned to the door and sauntered to it. "Something like that," he muttered with a soft chuckle and a lopsided grin.

The woman only shook her head as she playfully slapped his shoulder in his passing. Let's go see what those punks from Konoha want, shall we?" Soon enough she found herself following him down the hall and subsequently the stairs. "

XVX

Palace steps

Large and ornate as a imperial door should be, the door groaned as it was opened by guards unassociated with the yari honor guard but nevertheless stood at the ready when they were able. As if they weren't at attention before, the samurai surrounding the Leaf shinobi went rigid, their hands clamping at the handles of their respective weapons for a ready draw, never mind the reason behind it. Regardless, the shinobi barely paid them any mind as their free eyes wandering up the stairs to find a veritable wall of upright spears descended the stairs as if to safeguard the man behind them as well was the woman wearing a trench coat.

"Geez, it's like they still don't trust us after taking all our weapons," one sighed and groaned as he combed a hand through his black hair in mild exasperation while he looked up.

One nudged the arm of a another shinobi, kunoichi rather, to get her attention. With a slight tilt of his head he managed to point at the woman in the trench coat who smirked at them in return. "Is that who I think it is?"

The woman's red eyes widened in surprise. "I thought she was dead," she murmured.

"It looks like she wasn't the only one to come back from the grave as it were." Both glanced at another shinobi of dark, shoulder length hair who was intently staring at the golden hair emperor still descending the steps at a stern but unhurried pace, the kunoichi but a step behind him as she seemingly sized up each of them. As for the emperor by deduction, his eyes were keenly watching the only other blond within the company of the shinobi who gawked back at him.

"... Are you sure?" one of them whispered. "I mean I guess it would be him after fourteen years but I can't tell with the beard in the way."

The honor guard of thirty dutifully stopped when the first line of ten reached the base of the stairs As for the emperor and his escort who remained a step behind him, he stopped just before the highest step their highest set of spears could reach.

The slightly older man frown in evident confusion. His very features bore a more aged appearance than the one who stood above him and yet it was more than apparent their appearances were similar to one another: tanned skin, golden blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a white coat licked by a red decoration of flames along the bottom quarter of which. On his chest was an olive green flak jacket which obscured whatever he wore beneath it. On his legs were blue shinobi pants made a little dirty from the trip, a state his matching shinobi sandals shared in. Upon his brow was the very leaf stamped head plate the man above couldn't help but glare at in remembrance.

"Naruto?"

"Don't you dare address the Emperor so casually!" Every soldier at hand from the honor guard to the archers drew their weapons of choice and crouched if they could for an attack, causing the shinobi in turn to hunch over in their own combat poses, one of which having his hands at the ready in a two handed hand seal.

For a moment nothing but latent aggression filled the air. Eventually the samurai relented, sheathing their weapons or else having them back in the upright pose as before much to the confusion of the shinobi till a curious glance revealed that the Emperor, Naruto, had one hand up in the air, their apparent sign to stand down though not without reluctance on their part.

The woman shook her head with an amused grin. "Kids these days," she sighed, "looking for a fight at the drop of a hat." She leered at the shinobi with a grin. "Though I can't blame them, especially since you guys, as they put it, "brazenly approached the city gate."

The dark haired woman stepped forward and spoke up. "Anko, is that really you?"

Anko's grin only broadened as her gaze fixated on the dark haired woman with red eyes. "Hey Kurenai!" she greeted with a jut of her hand out in a wave. "I thought that was you! What it been what, twelve? Thirteen years? How's little Mirai doing?"

A grateful smile split itself on Kurenai's lips. "She's doing fine." Her smile was lost soon afterward however. "Anko, what happened to you? You just disappeared out of the blue years ago..."

A bitter smile dominated the once mirthful grin on the purple haired woman's face. "I was sent to die," she answered her simply as he smile became more bitter. Upon looking at her shocked face as well as the general state of denial of the others she shook her head. "What, I take it was an off-the-books mission, Lord Hokage? Or is Danzo holding things from you like he does with everyone else despite your so called deal?"

The older blond sternly frowned at her but said nothing. Regardless, she shook her head with a defeated smile, her eyes closed all the while. "Either way it doesn't matter." She reached into a pocket of her trench coat and retrieved a worn headband with a Konoha plate riddled with numerous battle scars. Without so much as glancing at it she drew her arm back, across her chest, and flung it through the forest of spears in a straight shot to the shinobi, or rather the ground at their feet. As the headband tumbled along the ground she spoke up again. "Consider that my resignation, about twelve years overdue."

"Anko!"

"Enough, Kurenai. Just by looking at her it's obvious she has no qualms about this," the shinobi with the clear eyes interjected as he narrowed them at the blond emperor whose gaze never left the older man that stood between the awaiting samurai.

"So," he finally spoke up, "are you going to tell me why you bothered to... visit me?" His eyes narrowed. "I imagine this isn't a social visit. Even if it was, I would think it more than obvious that you're not welcomed here."

From below the Hokage hesitated before speaking by taking a quick glance at the scowling samurai surrounding himself and his team. He bowed before him, Anko and the contingent of samurai that separated them. "Indeed that isn't the case," he uttered more mindfully than before. "We've come before you in hopes of forging an alliance between the Empire of the West and the Hidden Leaf Village."

"For what exactly?" he intoned, his eyes narrowing.

The Hokage stood straight and looked at the younger blond in the eye. "For years Konoha has been embroiled in a war with an alliance between Oto, Iwa and a myriad of other smaller villages... As it stands our own forces consist of our own, Suna, and what mercenaries we could cobble together if only barely." He dipped his head. "We've been holding our own for awhile till two years ago when requests for missions began to gradually decrease even amongst out most loyal clients, in turn the mercenary portion of our forces began to steadily dwindle as our treasury became drier by the month; we only have a tenth of our hired forces since every other village took a neutral stance towards this war."

"I see... and where exactly is the Fire Daimyo in all this?" the emperor stonily asked.

The Hokage looked away with a grimace. "Since it's been deemed a war between shinobi, our allotted stipend from taxes remains the same. It's enough to maintain our own forces but ultimately we haven't much support outside what Suna and mercenaries can provide."

"I see... and you were hoping that perhaps with news that an empire has allied with you that your enemies will grant you a reprieve, is that it?"

The Hokage all but snapped his head at him and frowned. "It's more than that!" he calmly exclaimed. "Though it may not be considered it one since no lands or towns are being captured, it is still a war nevertheless! One that would surely mean the destruction of the Leaf Village, your home, and its only ally if no one intervenes!" Though he hadn't yelled out a single syllable he took a calming breath. "Please!" he begged. "We're in dire need of your support!"

Throughout it all Naruto didn't bat an eye in the slightest. Anko, however, at least frowned in perhaps pity.

"While you perhaps considered this, you seem to be operating under the assumption the world stops at the furthest borders of this empire," Naruto stated. "It doesn't. Not in the least." His hand at his side tightened ever so slightly. "And though it is beside the point now, I haven't considered Konoha to be my home in some time."

At that statement the shinobi below did their best not to squirm as they saw what route this was to take. Yet they remained silent all the same.

"Assuming of course I was sympathetic enough, even if it did sway your own war in your favor, how are the daimyo of the Elemental Countries suppose to react if news spread that this empire sided with you, sent you supplies, troops even? Even if they turned a blind eye, how will your enemies react?" His blue eyes at last narrowed. "While I do no doubt the capabilities of my troops and their commanders, I will not have our attention divided between two fronts."

The shinobi and his comrades paled slightly in anticipation...

"Go home, you wasted your time for nothing here." At long last Naruto turned and slowly made his way back up the stairs with Anko but a step behind him once more. The naginata wielders began to part way for the shinobi though their weapons of choice were still held at the ready.

"Is this decision of yours because of what happened fifteen years ago?"

The emperor came to an even stop as did Anko who turned to look over her shoulder with a leering smirk. "You guys give yourselves too much credit," she almost laughed as Naruto, like her, turned to peer past his shoulder to send them a irritated glare.

Regardless, the Hokage continued. "You should know that it was never my intention to hurt you!" he stated. "It was a horrible joke that spun out of control long before I or anyone else realized it. For that—" he dropped down onto his knees and bowed till his forehead touched the ground "—I am sorry!" He paused only for a moment before speaking up once more. "Please, reconsider your decision!"

The emperor's eyes narrowed... "It's just like Anko said," he rumbled. "You give yourselves too much credit. Even if that was the case, it is like what I said before, the world's far larger than you care to think, Hokage." He turned back to the palace and resumed his ascent. "Besides, fifteen years later and I'm still not amused by your 'joke' in the least, Father."

Anko gave them a grin and a two fingered wave of her hand before turning away from them, following after the emperor while humming to herself, perfectly content with leaving the sullen shinobi under the care of the guards whom intently watched them.

XVX

Uzumaki Manor

For a brief moment her eyes flicked away from her sulking son to the kitchen window . Her eyes narrowed in the company of a concerned glower as she watch her husband as he sauntered back to the house with a small detachment of patrolmen following behind him, her shoulders slumped as if a part of his life had been taken away and crushed. She glanced at her son and bit back a sigh upon seeing him still sulking, his crossed arms were on the kitchen island and he was burying his face in them.

Smirking to herself for only a moment, she got up, walked over to and reached over the fridge and pulled down a cookie jar which she planted on the island. Immediately it grabed the attention of her son upon its careful clacking on the landing. "Our little secret," she said with a wink before leaving the room. She smirked once more and shook her head, especially considering she knew full well her son was looking left to right at tthat very moment as if searching for a trap before virtually teleporting himself to the cookie jar and devouring its contents with a ravenous hunger. Her grin was lost however the minute her husband walked through the door at long last, his features set in a thoughtful frown whilst his eyes were glazed over in rumination.

"Ryo for your thoughts?"

He looked at her with a jerk of his head and gave her a tired smile. "Sorry," he sighed. "Just thinking of how this all started for me..."

She gave him a wan smile, approached him and embraced him in a tight hug which he returned though at half as much strength. When they parted she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Go get changed," she told him with a small smile. "I'll go get dinner ready." She took a step back and grinned at him. "Or would you prefer to give everyone a heart attack by going out to eat?"

He smirks at her and makes for the stairs. "I'll be down in a minute."

Slowly he made his way up the stairs and then to the very bedroom which he had originally changed his clothes in. Once inside and having closed the door he took a few steps inside before sighing and sagging a little more in place. With another sigh he ran a hand through his hair and grunted when he dipped his hand back to massage a budding stiffness to his shoulder, his eyes closed in the meantime. Upon opening them once more his eyes glance at the mirror he stared into earlier. He turned to it and straightened himself out as he looked at his own image. Blinking, he found himself younger, his beard nowhere to be seen and his younger self now bearing a katana, wearing the forearm and shin guards of a samurai over an orange garb of a shinobi of the West, complete with a mesh shirt underneath the vestments of his kimono-like shirt. On his shoulders was a green haori, albeit slightly shorter than the one he wore now. Before he realized it his younger self's face was dirtied with dirt and grime from working on a field and his clothes were once again replaced, this time with the remnants of a farmer's ragged, worn attire riddled with hand sewn patches, in his hand was a plow. When he blinked once more it was again a younger version of himself, much younger than before if only by a year, the headband of Konoha proudly worn on his forehead. His clothes was that of a orange jacket, the upper third of which garnished with a black bar that consumed half of his sleeves by a considerable margin, outmatched only by a matching pair of orange pants minus the dark color; a kunai case was tapped to his leg.

Without realizing it he felt a breeze, one that neither came from a a partially open window or the air vents that ruffled his clothes as his younger self turned around and walked into the depths of the mirror, into the destroyed streets of a recovering Konoha.

A/N: Inspired by the now missing fanfiction written by ChrisM2011(also gone, or perhaps changed his name) as well as too many hours playing Total War: Shogun 2...

Bit of a spoiler here but after reading it awhile back and a couple of... spin offs...I noticed that basically no one (that I'm aware of at least) goes through the trouble to say how it began and how our favorite blonde got from point A to point B. This story is that of how he got there. Whether or not it follows the route taken by the others remains to be seen.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and enjoy the story as it unfolds!

Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.

*Edited on 7/23/2016... a much needed edit... (WHERE WAS MY BRAIN DURING ALL THIS?! (Please don't answer that. I will steal your Tostitos if you do!)