Chapter 1 Victory Day
Kohl lined her wide impish eyes. Lilac irises betrayed her demonic heritage. She left her lips unpainted. Either way, half of her face was hidden beneath a translucent lavender veil. The lady could not have cared less about her appearance. If this much is suitable to be presented before the Emperor, she would stop. As soon as the harem madam approved of her, Hinata stopped grooming.
While the women of the harem preened and plucked themselves, Hinata wandered out. So long as she made it back for the evening show, Kabuto didn't care.
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When she had first awoken in the desert canyons, she hadn't remembered anything. Many of mercenaries and caravans had fled the city of Suna that day, this was what she gathered from their conversations amongst themselves. At the time, she was grateful. With nothing but bloodied rags for clothes, Hinata would have died in the canyons.
A caravan slave-driver had asked her what her name was. Out of nowhere, she had blurted this name. Maybe it was muscle memory.
"Hinata. What a pretty name, it means she who lives in a sunny place." How ironic that its owner has only lived in the shadows thus far.
Scrunching her face together, she took a deep breath. If today was her last day to live, why not enjoy a little? If she were to die a ghoul, would it not better her to die on a full stomach?
Oddly, she felt style calm. How many children and people died daily because of starvation and war? Who was she to expect a fate better than them? Her one additional body in the death count meant nothing.
Hinata walked to the feast table. Unlike the nobles, she had no clay bowl to hold her food. Pulling out her handkerchief, she placed dried fruits and a piece of lamb into her hand. She stood with her head lowered, as one of her status should.
Holding out a plate to her, Kabuto greeted her, "Already done dressing my muse? For you, it is a special day after all."
The djinn was touted as a "rare beauty" by Kabuto. As she sat down next to him and ate with his allies, she smiled and deliberately revealed her ignorance. Despite her distaste for the Harem Head Master, the information she was eavesdropping was useful for her piecing her world together. She was at a disadvantage with how little she knew about her surroundings.
Kabuto. Why this sleazy, disgusting piece of slime. Hinata kept her head lowered, and took the bowl. Kabuto was a man who profits off the harem girls and assassins among the harem, and today he was sending them to their deaths.
Despite how clueless she was as an amnesiac, her gut instinct was too often accurate.
Execution and failure were the most likely outcomes. The current Emperor Naruto Namikaze belonged to a family that has ruled the empire for the last half millenia. He was the son of Emperor Minato and the grandson of Jiraiya the Sage.
If the assassination attempt succeeds, the orchestrators would place a more suitable Emperor for their agenda. More likely however, if the mission fails, the harem girls participating will be like flower scattered on the blood path.
Regardless, the orchestrators would learn more about the Emperor's weakness.
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Konoha was the grand capital of the Empire. Within the Empire, there were five kingdoms. Today the new king of Suna, Gaara, would be crowned by the Emperor himself.
Gaara was a man with crimson red hair and teal eyes. He was a djinn, who takes the form of the demonic racoon dog, the One-Tailed. From the past five years of friendship with Gaara, Naruto knew Gaara as a straight-forward and curt Prince of Suna. If it had been up to the former Kazekage, Prince Kankuro would have inherited the throne.
However, after the death of the late Kazekage, it became obvious Prince Kankuro's practices caused civil unrest and suffering. The emperor, Naruto decided to intervene and named Gaara as he next king. Upon first appearance, the Emperor is simply rewarding the warrior prince for his victories. However, with this maneuver the emperor had prevented war between the two princes.
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Opulent blue waters danced beneath her soles. The full moon was her spotlight. A lady with long navy hair held a bronze bastard sword in each hand. She began her dance slowly and leisurely upon the artificial oasis. It was quite beautiful.
Unfortunately, Naruto hated sword dances. What emperor wouldn't be weary?
Judging from her ability to walk on water and those shocking lilac eyes, the lady was a djinn. Seductively, she arched her back and showcased her well-endowed assets. The bastard swords would have been quite heavy of a lady of her size, she was well-trained. The Emperor was becoming more suspicious by the minute.
Magnificently, she played with ease and manipulated the waves. The beams of water launched upwards from the marble-lined pool. Clapping among the nobles erupted as multiple beams of water formed. A water show of this scale was impressive. He could see her chakra spreading into the forty water beams dancing on the edge of the pool. This was all from one person's chakra.
She was manipulating that much chakra while dancing at the same time. Suddenly, the dancing maiden struck the water with her blade and the water rose. Using the chakra within her sword she was guiding the water like an arch.
Elegantly and artistly, the lady continued to dance. This magnitude of chakra manipulation, the pale-colored djinni eyes, and her mastery of the sword. It was obvious she was an assassin. The Emperor kept his hand on his sword handle.
It pissed Naruto off how obvious it was. And rather this was the first time he's seen someone with this amount acuity. Djinns were rare within the Empire. Even then, for a djinn capable of controlling her energy to this extent was rare. She could be anything she wanted. How was the harem controlling someone like her? What vendetta did they have against him?
"Resting her hand on his arm, his consort, Tayuya whispered. "Your majesty, don't make a scene."
Right. An emperor must not act fearful or cowardly. It was frustrating to wait for this dancer to strike first before he could draw his blade.
As the suggestive music continued on more dancers joined the show. They lined the edge of the square pool. To the mere nobleman, it was a seductive show pandering to their desires. Perhaps at the end of the show, the noblemen could enjoy the company of one of the harem girls. The men eyed the women greedily. The Emperor couldn't afford to fall slave to his urges as impulsively as a common man. Naruto's mind was elsewhere.
Grumbling to himself, he counted the ways they could try to kill him in this scenario.
The maidens threw their swords into the beams of water. Were they planning to launch the swords at him using the chakra-infused water as projectile launchers?
Naruto drew his sword. Manners be damned.
The water swallowed the swords to the bottom of the pool. The maiden on the water formed a water barrier around herself.
And all hell broke loose.
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AN: Why do I like to write my fics out of order? Because I like pain.
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