Chapter 4: The Empire
Winter in the Land of Spring was actually quite normal for its people, especially considering that the country had once been called the Land of Snow. And like every year, when the great machine needed rest in order to function through the rest of the seasons, snow once again blanketed the landscape. Only this time—unlike in past years—it wasn't bitter. This time, it was a beautiful winter scene.
But setting that aside for the moment, Koyuki Kazahana stood on the frozen planks of the dock. She was more worried now than ever before in her relatively young life—and it wasn't just because of the cold still biting through her bones, even though she was bundled up in a thick layer of coats.
The worst part was that she was genuinely nervous and scared.
After all, from what she had been told, the Emperor of the Rising Sun was arriving today, and she couldn't help but feel a deep fear at the idea of meeting the man rumored to have brought the entire world under his command through nothing more than unmatched brute strength.
Her normally calm and expressive eyes darted anxiously from side to side with the unease she hadn't felt since the days when her uncle was still alive and trying to kill her. Her eyes constantly scanned the horizon for any sign of the ship that would bring the most powerful man in the world—hoping that knowing his arrival was imminent would ease the anxiety clawing at her chest.
And yet, just the thought of seeing the man made her mind spiral again and again.
How was she supposed to greet a figure like the Emperor?
What could she possibly say that wouldn't offend him?
Those questions and many others made her shiver every time they crossed her mind… because she couldn't think of a single thing that might be enough not to insult a man who had risen from nowhere, brought down gods and legends, and crowned himself at the top of the world.
How the hell was she—a simple daimyō—supposed to compare to someone of that scale?
And the mental images that formed in her mind only grew more terrifying.
She always pictured a towering figure with an unshakable gaze, like some kind of god descended from the heavens to walk among men. Of course, the imperial envoy didn't help calm her nerves at all when she casually said that the image wasn't far from the truth… though she said it as if it were charming, not frightening.
And when asked for more details about the man, the envoy had described him as someone incredibly kind—to those who earned it.
A warrior hardened by a thousand battles, tall, imposing, and with a beauty unlike any man she had ever seen.
And yet… he had horrible taste in clothes.
Still, he somehow managed to look both elegant and intimidating despite his complete lack of fashion sense.
The woman genuinely seemed to be in love with the Emperor, and honestly, she wasn't far from the truth.
From what Koyuki could tell, even Tsunade—who was standing next to her—was on the same wavelength, both in regard to the Emperor and the woman clearly enamored with the man by her side.
Shizune, on the other hand… was clearly on a different train of thought.
She looked far more anxious—if the way she was fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lip was any indication.
But it didn't seem like she was nervous about the Emperor himself, rather that her dark eyes kept glancing at the girl beside her as if she wanted to ask something—but couldn't find the right words, for fear of offending her.
As for the diplomat who had been sent to their land—her name was Shiori Todoroki, and she was, quite frankly, impossible to ignore.
The girl stood out like a sore thumb anywhere in the elemental nations.
She herself had confirmed that, while she wasn't affiliated with the White Lotus Trading House, she was well-connected and firmly established within the Empire, despite only being 23—two years younger than the Emperor, who was now 25. And the confidence in her bearing made them believe every word that left her lips.
The girl's hair was half red, half snow-white, cascading softly down her back.
She had beautiful ice-blue eyes that gave her a charming, but more than anything, deeply mysterious aura—which only made her more attractive to anyone who looked at her.
However, the most striking thing about her wasn't her hair or her body—though hell, Tsunade would've killed to have a body like that when she was younger—it was her outfit.
While the other three women in the group were wrapped in heavy coats, the bicolored-haired woman was wearing a navy blue skirt, dark tights, light shoes, and—most baffling of all—a black crop top that left her flat, toned abdomen completely exposed.
Almost as if the freezing cold around her… scratch that—she clearly wasn't affected by the cold at all.
In fact, she seemed to enjoy the icy wind brushing against her skin.
And that was exactly why Shizune hadn't been able to take her eyes off her since they arrived at the port to await the Emperor, alongside Koyuki's party.
Finally, after a while longer, the dark-haired woman couldn't hold it in anymore and asked the question she'd been biting back.
"How can you dress like that in this weather?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it—especially when Tsunade shot her a hard glare, even if she herself was just as curious.
Shiori simply laughed brightly at the question, then turned to look directly at her with those captivating blue eyes and a dazzling smile.
"It's due to my parents' heritage."
Damn, even her voice was incredibly beautiful—almost like a siren's song. And considering what was said about the lands beyond the Great Wall, this woman might very well be one.
"Half of my body is extreme cold and the other is blazing fire, which makes me immune to most hostile climates. I don't feel cold or heat… my Emperor calls it 'exotic.'"
They weren't entirely sure, but part of them was fairly convinced she wasn't referring to her elemental powers… but rather to her body itself.
That realization made Tsunade and Shizune exchange a matching look of pure confusion, before coming to a shared conclusion:
"The Emperor just has really weird taste in women."
And almost as if fate—or more likely, the very man they had been silently discussing—had a way of reading their thoughts, their musings were interrupted by a sound that resembled the roar of some great beast coming from the sky.
And the moment all four women saw what was approaching—despite it still being kilometers away—their jaws almost hit the ground in shock…
A shock so powerful that Shiori had to physically close their mouths. After all, inhaling the smog being left in the air by that thing was not advisable.
Said "thing" being none other than a massive flying machine, currently hovering nearly a kilometer above them, held aloft by no fewer than six engines whose spinning rotors tore through the air with such speed they produced the deafening roar that had drawn the women's attention in the first place.
"This is the Helicarrier—our mobile operations and intelligence base," Shiori announced in her usual calm tone, though Shizune picked up the faintest trace of malicious glee in her delivery.
Of course, she had no way of knowing that this machine was essentially a floating military fortress—and far from being unique.
In fact, according to what Shiori herself knew, each King of Heaven commanded one, and there were several more in the hands of trusted generals.
As Naruto had explained, it was better to have many and deploy them globally than to rely on one that always arrived too late.
After all, Naruto used them for practically everything—from delivering humanitarian aid to underdeveloped regions (though dropping heavy construction materials from the air had proven… let's say, not ideal), to suppressing uprisings before they even began, once insurgent activity was detected.
In other words, the Empire's great aerial fleet served both as guardian angels and as executioners.
And each carried enough firepower to—without exaggeration—reduce an entire continent to ash.
The fact that Koyuki swallowed hard just from the sight of the Emperor's personal transport—even without knowing any of this—proved that the fleet served its purpose perfectly: to intimidate any outsider… and to inspire total security in those within the Empire.
Soon, the massive metal structure descended slowly, landing as if it were the most natural thing in the world to see a gigantic aircraft settle gently on water.
It landed with surprisingly little sound—barely a whisper compared to the roar of the engines just moments earlier—and it caused only a small ripple across the surface.
Koyuki could only stare at the vessel in stunned silence.
In all her thirty-three years of life, she had never imagined such a thing could float, let alone fly.
It didn't even look like it was designed to stay afloat—and yet there it was.
The craft finally came to a stop about two hundred meters from the dock—or at least that's what Koyuki estimated.
It was only then that she noticed the… things.
She wasn't quite sure what they were—strange flying devices that began to land gently on the platform.
But according to Shiori, just one of them had enough firepower to reduce an entire city to nothing more than a smoldering crater.
She wanted to ask about it—she really did—but the fear of it being true kept the words stuck in her throat.
And before she could gather the courage to speak, the unmistakable sound of a heavy metal door opening cut her off entirely.
It was a mechanical, ominous sound—the kind that would make any non-shinobi… like Koyuki herself… instinctively want to hide behind the first shinobi in sight.
And luckily for the daimyō, she had two very willing human shields at her side, which allowed her to peek and see where the sound came from.
It was the massive flying vessel—its cargo hatch had opened.
And from it emerged what could only be described as an amphibious transport vehicle, the kind that could only mean one thing: the Emperor was inside.
And judging by the number of people aboard, he wasn't alone—he'd brought the tournament fighters with him.
And, if what Shiori had said was true, two of his wives… and his favorite daughter, who was easily identified by the way she leaned over the railing to wave cheerfully at the bicolored-haired woman standing beside her.
The vehicle soon docked, and not long after, the group began disembarking—one by one.
And of course, the little princess was the first to step off.
Naturally, she ran straight into Shiori's arms, throwing herself at her while calling out, "Mommy Shiori!"
The other three women stared at the scene in wide-eyed confusion.
But before they could ask anything… they felt it.
A power unlike any other.
It hit the moment the remaining fighters and the two wives stepped off the boat.
Then came him—the man who was, without question, everything Shiori had said he was… and more.
He was tall—Tsunade estimated close to two meters—handsome, even though they couldn't see his eyes, as they were covered by a blindfold.
And powerful—if the fact that the dock cracked beneath his foot was any indication.
"I'm not paying for that," murmured a man with black hair and matching eyes, who simply stared at the young Emperor with the best poker face he could manage.
After all, Zeref knew better than anyone that Naruto could control his titanic strength—and had clearly done this just to put on a show for the onlookers.
For several minutes—longer than either side would ever admit—the place fell into silence.
Koyuki didn't want to offend the Emperor by being the first to speak, and Naruto… well, he was a great ruler, but a terrible diplomat. His talents lay in administration and combat.
Finally, seeing that no one else was going to do it, Shiori broke the silence—though not before setting little Mordred back down on the ground.
"Daimyō Kazahana, I present to you my lord, His Majesty Qin Shi Huang, Emperor of the Rising Sun."
Of course, Shiori could have used Naruto's real name, but formality required the official title. And even though Naruto hated that title—because to this day, he refused to accept those bloodthirsty lunatics as his first kingdom—Qin Shi Huang remained his official title as Emperor.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, Your Highness," said Koyuki with a deep bow. After all, in matters of hierarchy, an emperor stood above all.
"The honor is mine," the Emperor replied, without returning the bow.
After all, Zeref had drilled the rules of nobility into his head—with a lot (really, a lot) of help from Liscia.
Still, his voice was clear and respectful.
And yet, the moment she heard it, Koyuki couldn't help but frown slightly.
There was something familiar about the Emperor's voice. Or rather, she was sure she had heard it before—but dismissed the thought almost instantly.
With how vast the world outside the continent was said to be, it was perfectly possible that many people had similar voices.
It wouldn't be strange if a servant or acquaintance from her past sounded like the Emperor.
Shrugging off the thought as quickly as it had come, the young daimyō turned to introduce her own companions.
"Allow me to introduce the director of my country's health program and a close personal friend, Tsunade Senju."
"Tsunade Senju…"
Those were the first words out of the Emperor's mouth upon hearing a name he honestly never expected to hear again.
"A doctor so renowned that even the finest physicians in the world wish to meet her."
It was a polite lie.
In truth, there were very few doctors who actually wanted to meet her.
And the ones who did were like House—idiots who just wanted to mock her for not discovering some cure they themselves had figured out before the imperial era.
Tsunade, for her part, had no idea how these people—from the other side of the world—even knew about her.
Seriously, how the hell had they gotten information about her?
Then again, from what Shiori had told them, the Empire knew more about the Elemental Nations than the Elemental Nations knew about themselves.
And that particular memory—though she didn't realize it—was making a certain perverted idiot shudder violently, as if he could sense his days were numbered.
The Emperor, of course, pretended to be oblivious to whatever was running through Tsunade's head.
Seeing that they had now introduced their group, he figured it was his turn to introduce his.
Starting, of course, with his daughter—whom he shamelessly described as "a hyperactive sugar ball."
Something that earned a visible grimace from Zeref.
After all, it seemed that Naruto was never going to be a proper diplomat, no matter how many damn protocol lessons were drilled into his skull.
And so, he went down the line introducing everyone in his entourage, finishing with Zeref, who looked more and more mortified with each colorful description Naruto gave.
And when he finally got to him and said, "This is my brother in all but blood, Zeref Dragneel," the man couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Because Naruto had a bad habit of calling him a lolicon, when Zeref knew full well that Mavis wasn't actually a child—she just had a small body.
With introductions complete, Koyuki invited the imperial delegation to the feudal palace, where Shiori took charge of the warriors—except for Gilgamesh, who (surprise, surprise) said he was going to go sightseeing.
Which the Emperor fully supported.
Not that he could've stopped him anyway.
Gilgamesh rarely obeyed anyone… unless it was Enkidu.
And even then, it depended entirely on the Golden King's mood that day.
End of Chapter