AN: Let's answer some reviews!

First off to the odd flame/critique from NoOneInParticular17: yes you're right most of the powers pale in comparison to the stuff in the shinobi world, I even stated as much. So go back and read a little more carefully yea? As for the whole betrayal thing. Who said Naruto was going to end up betrayed? Not even close to what I got planned. And you not liking it in the game…dude…how could you not? That was literally the central theme of the whole damn plot. For gods sake their motto was "Revenge solves everything".

Onto other reviews!

Sasuke will NOT be getting the mark. Kishimoto overpowered that fucker already, I'm not gonna do the same. If anyone would be getting the mark I was thinking maybe Danzo (fits perfectly), or maybe the other Jinchuuriki? Who knows maybe no one will be getting it.

As for Naruto spilling the beans. His main characteristic has always been seeking attention, wanting to feel needed. The Outsider even spelled that out. So yes it was a bad mistake on his part but vital for the plot and you'll see what I mean this chapter.

On the topic of him being loyal. The villagers never outright beat him or anything like other fics portray. Sure they ignored him (which is still pretty fucking horrible for a child, especially an orphan) but they didn't do much else so Naruto has no real reason to hate them or the village.

Him and Corvo are similar in that. Despite numerous betrayals and backstabbings they both kept coming back and for what? Because of precious people – dead and alive - (Emily in Corvo's case, lord knows we all know she's his daughter. For Naruto it was a collection of people).

Naruto and powers. No he won't be limited to just Blink and Dark Eyes, far from it. He also won't be limited to just powers Corvo had. Dark Vision is actually a mixture I made combining Dark Eyes and Daud's Void Vision. The reason for that will come up on soon. So Naruto will be getting a mixture of powers available to both Daud and Corvo, both active and passive. Though Vitality and Blood Rage are redundant with Naruto being a jinchuuriki.

And the pairing! Now that I put some thought into it I'm thinking of having it be Yakumo (I like her and think she got the short end, besides ultimate stealth and assassination couple right there), Ino (the assassin and the interrogator?), Yugao (perfect Assassin combo but with an older woman), or Tayuya (…its Tayuya need I say more?). Let me know what ya'll think!

Story time!


Naruto awoke that morning an hour and a half before the sun would even start to rise. The Hokage had told him the night prior that today was the day he was going to be starting his training and for Naruto to take on the mantle of Royal Guard he would have to be strong, stronger than most Anbu. For that to happen he would have to train for as long as he could and with Naruto's amount of stamina that was quite a lot of hours.

Naruto rose from his bed and began his morning rituals, a light workout of a dozen pushups, sit-ups, and pull ups to get the blood flowing followed by a shower and brushing his teeth.

Following that he sat down to enjoy a few cups of ramen, the only thing he could really afford with the stipend he got from being a ward of the village.

When Naruto walked out of his small apartment the street lights were still on and the sky had begun to take on a dark purple hue, an odd time when the moon was out yet had begun its journey out of sight with the sun arising to take its place. Naruto inhaled, taking in the brisk air of the early morning and enjoyed the small moment before leaping off to the roof adjacent from the balcony of his apartment complex.

An odd thought occurred to him as he journeyed across the rooftops of his home village.

Today…everything changes. Even if I don't succeed and take the title of Royal Guard I'm still likely to be placed in the shinobi ranks. I won't be just some civilian anymore. I'll be a protector of this village. From today on my duty will be to protect this village and its people to the best of my abilities…I won't fail 'tebayo!

And so with a renewed vigor and a grin on his face Naruto picked up the pace, eager to begin his training.


"For the next year I will be personally overseeing your training. For obvious reasons I can not be with you all day and during the times I am not I will leave you with something to work on or study. At the end of every other week we will have a test of sorts to see how your training goes," Hiruzen lectured to the blonde Uzumaki.

"Aww c'mon jiji, tests? Do we really need some test to measure how awesome I am?" Naruto pouted.

Hiruzen chuckled at the childish display, "Don't worry about them too much Naruto-kun. They won't be tests like the ones you had back in the academy. Instead they will be a lot more practical and pertain to the things you will be trained in."

Naruto perked up at that statement, "By the way jiji what exactly will I be training in? Will I be able to spit fire like the Uchiha used to!?"

Again the Sandaime found himself chuckling at the blonde he saw as a grandson.

"Unfortunately I don't think such a skill will be helpful in your future position, so for now jutsu are out. Instead what I will be teaching you is battle tactics, planning, the basic academy jutsu, physical conditioning, and chakra control."

Naruto was once again pouting, mad at the prospect of not being taught how to use such a devastating technique. Nonetheless he could see what the Hokage meant by such jutsu not really being vital to any job he would have as Royal Guard. Besides it was the Hokage himself who was going to be teaching him for a year which was something only the legendary Sanin could say. As such he acquiesced to his new sensei's lesson plan.

"There is however one jutsu that I will be teaching you that will be an invaluable asset to not only your future position, but your training as well. Normally this technique would not be available to you unless you reached Anbu position and got permission from me to learn it, but seeing that you're a….special case I will be personally teaching it to you," Hiruzen said with a grin.

"Is it some awesome, super cool Hokage technique!?" An excited Naruto asked.

"Something like that yes. It is called…the Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Naruto looked confusedly at the Sandaime.

"A different type of clone jutsu? What's so special about it?"

"You'll see very soon my boy."


A half hour later found the Sandaime gazing proudly at two madly grinning Naruto's.

The boy may take after his mother in terms of personality and mannerisms, but he does indeed have his father's looks and genius. He learned a B-rank kinjutsu faster than any experienced veteran; put my record to shame too, Hiruzen thought as he puffed on his pipe.

"So what's so special about this bunshin jiji?" Naruto called out.

The elderly kage merely beckoned the clone over to him where he then whispered something the real Naruto couldn't hear. Once he was done the Kage bopped the doppelganger on the head where it then disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

As Naruto opened his mouth to question the old man, he froze, realizing what had just happened.

"They transfer their memories back to the original?" a wide eyed Naruto asked.

Without a word the Sandaime merely grinned and nodded his head.

"That is so awesome 'tebayo!" Naruto yelled out excitedly. Realization then dawned on the blonde as he took in what the Sandaime had told his clone.

"I'm gonna be learning ninjutsu next year too?"

Again the Sandaime nodded, "Yes, along with taijutsu, assassination, espionage, and trap setting, though I think you may be better at that aspect than even our village's best," the elderly kage ended while chuckling.

"Before any of that I think it's about time to get started on what I will be teaching you. First make five clones."

Naruto nodded, his face set into one of pure determination. Doing the now memorized hand sign for the Kage Bunshin, 5 puffs of smoke appeared revealing several more blondes.

"Now one of you will be reading this text called 'The Art of War', another of you will be reading this scroll on basic chakra control techniques, the third one of you will be playing a game of Shogi with one of my own clones, the fourth will be reading this scroll on the basic academy three with the help of the last clone. You yourself Naruto will be coming with me to get your body into shape."

"You got it jiji! I won't let you down 'tebayo!"

"I don't doubt that my boy, not at all…"

And that's how it went for several months. One clone would spend it's time reading some text or other covering historic battles, basic battle strategies, and the philosophies of various well known nin. Another clone would focus on chakra control whilst another clone was either playing a game of shogi against the Hokage's clone or debating on some political matter. The last two clones were mastering the basic academy three so that Naruto would no longer need hand signs to use them.

Naruto himself was running himself ragged. If he wasn't doing some sort of physical exercise he was working on using the abilities The Outsider had gifted him with. He wasn't able to make them any stronger or less draining without the help of the Runes or Bone Charms but he had been able to reduce the amount of time he needed to use them. Before it had taken a bit of concentration and forethought for Naruto to Blink but he could now do it with but a swing of his marked hand, the thought of it being as second nature as walking was. Dark Eyes could be turned on with, literally, the blink of an eye.

That had lead to an interesting observation on the Sandaime's part. He was thoroughly worried when he witnessed Naruto using the Dark Eyes in person. It turned out that when Dark Eyes was being used Naruto's normally sapphire blue eyes turned into pools of pitch black, not unlike the eyes of The Outsider himself.

After that revelation Naruto was told by the Sandaime to make sure that when he used the eyes to make sure no one could see his eyes being changed. Naruto had of course asked why, telling the elderly kage that they could pass it off as a new kekkai genkai. His eyes were quite disturbing yes but so were the eyes of the Hyuuga and Uchiha when they used their own doujutsu.

The Hokage had then told Naruto that due to the nature of his eyes and how frightening his eyes looked there would be questions asked, questions that shouldn't be asked in the first place. He had then told his blonde student that he would tell Naruto the answers to those questions at the end of their training together, when the boy would be a little more mature and able to handle the answers.

The elderly Kage held true to his word.

After the Sandaime had personally tested the young Uzumaki, making sure he was adept at picking apart enemy strategies, could easily water walk, plan his own strategies, and run several obstacle courses made for Anbu members Hiruzen sat Naruto down in his office, the privacy seals that covered the Kage's office being activated. And so he told Naruto everything; who his parents were, his status as a Jinchuuriki, and even the law he had made regarding said status.

For a few minutes the blonde had sat there, not moving and not speaking. It worried the Sandaime that Naruto would react badly and hate his own parents, which honestly was somewhat justifiable for what they had done to him. But the Sandaime was happy to see that Naruto merely gave him a determined look and said, "I'll make them proud and I will do what they wanted me to, protect this village and its people."

When asked about how he felt about his parent's Naruto replied honestly, "I don't like what they did, far from it, but I can also see why they did it. I may never have the chance to know the warmth of a mother's love or anything, but I will make sure that no one in this village has to suffer what I suffered through."

The Sandaime further asked about how the blonde felt about being a Jinchuuriki and how he felt about how the villagers had treated him. Again the old man was surprised at the answer.

"I can see why they ignored me. I'm a living reminder of what they lost that day. I can't say that I forgive them for that either though. I was just as much a victim as they were but no sense in crying over spilled milk. Just because they can't move on doesn't mean I won't."

The Sandaime smiled at the response, happily surprised by just how mature Naruto had grown to be.

Today however was different for Naruto. Where normally he would be starting his usual training routine the Hokage had told him to meet at training ground 7 to meet his new teachers for the coming months.

When Naruto arrived at training ground 7 he saw what had to be one of the motliest looking groups of people. he'd ever seen. None of them looked bad at all in their state of dress or anything but it was more like they looked like they weren't even from the same village and did not belong in the same group.

The first one to catch his attention, aside from the Hokage, was a tall man with striking silver hair that seemed to pay no heed to the laws of gravity. A mask covered the bottom part of his face while he wore his headband crooked, covering his right eye. He wore the standard jounin outfit of Konoha.

Next to him was an equally tall man who was…odd to the say the least. The man was wearing an extremely tight green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and the jounin flak vest. The man's bowl hair cut and bushy eyebrows creeped Naruto out.

Next to the two men were two females who looked to be good friends, if the way they were talking was anything to go by. However the two seemed to be complete and total opposites in every way.

The woman on the left, a purplette, wore tan trench coat over an equally tan, but short, skirt and mesh shirt….and that was it. That was all the woman had on in the way of clothes. Sure she had leg guards and shinobi sandals but those were minor compared to the flashy style of clothing she wore. The fact that the woman was actually attractive with generous curves in the right places just helped the sex appeal she seemed to ooze.

The purplette's friend on the other hand was more refined. Where her friend was sexy she was beautiful. Some type of bandages wrapped around her body, hiding her curves from sight yet still leaving her legs and arms bare for all to see. Her friend looked to be happy showing off her curves, but she instead showed enough to catch people's attention yet covered enough to leave them asking for more. Her wine red eyes and curly black tresses only complimented all of that.

When Naruto fully walked into the training ground, catching everyone's attention, the Hokage nodded at him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun."

Naruto bowed, "Good morning Sandaime-sama."

The Hokage had seen fit to teach Naruto some manners and how to behave in front of politicians and the like. It was pretty much mandatory for his position. Since the Sandaime also wanted to keep Naruto's identity hidden when he did take up the mantle of Royal Guard having the blonde go around calling him jiji was counter-productive.

"Naruto-kun meet your teachers for the next couple of months," Here the Hokage stopped to extend his hand towards the silver haired man. "Kakashi Hatake is one our best nin in the village and is a ninjutsu specialist second only to myself. He is also one of our best assassins having been in Anbu for many years."

The silver haired man nodded his head at Naruto, the blonde returning the gesture.

"Next to him his Maito Gai, our village's best taijutsu expert and master of several styles, his most famous being the Goken (Strong Fist)."

The now named Gai gave a thumbs up and cheesy smile at Naruto. Naruto in turn chuckled nervously at the odd man and nodded his head.

"On my right we have Anko Mitarashi, one of our village's best interrogators and a good trap expert, though I think you may end up teaching her in that regard," the Sandaime chuckled.

Everyone there laughed at Anko's expense, the woman only pouting at the jab to her skills.

"Nice to meet you Anko-san...er sensei," Naruto said.

"Yea yea whatever gaki," Anko said nonchalantly.

The Sandaime coughed to garner their attention once more.

"And finally we have Kurenai Yuhi, a genjutsu mistress as well as being a more than proficient kunoichi in espionage."

Naruto smiled and nodded at the stoic woman, the beauty only returning the gesture.

"Each day you will send three clones to Kakashi to have them work with him on anything he sees fit. You yourself will be going with Gai to learn a taijutsu to fit your style. Anko and Kurenai have agreed to train you together so you will be sending six clones to them learn from them. If during the course of the day a clone pops you are to send one to fill its place."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" Naruto said.

"I am trusting Naruto-kun to all of you, do not let me or him down. Be as brutal and thorough as need be. Remember I want him to be able to protect not only himself but me as well."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" chorused the assorted jounin.

"Then I will leave you to it," the Kage said before nodding and grinning at his young charge. In a swirl of leaves he was gone.

For a moment no one said or did anything, the jounin staring at Naruto as he did the same. It was hard to tell if each "side" was gauging the other up or if no one just didn't have anything to say at the moment. That all stopped when Naruto grinned a foxy grin and cockily said, "Well bring it on then. Let's see what you guys have got for me!"

Kakashi eye smiled, Anko grinned her own somewhat psychotic grin, Kurenai merely nodded her head, and Gai….

"YOSH! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU NARUTO-KUN! LET US FEED THEIR FLAMES BY RUNNING FIVE LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE!"

The next months are going to be….interesting, Naruto thought.


The blonde jinchuuriki's statement was proven correct. The past five months had indeed been interesting, but they had also seen Naruto grow stronger then what he previously would have thought possible.

While he was nowhere near being a walking ninjutsu library like the Sandaime or Kakashi he was more than deadly with his own small arsenal of jutsu. He had mastered both Kawamari and Henge to such a degree that he no longer needed to form their hand seals or even think about performing them. They had become as second nature to him as Blink and Dark Eyes.

He had also learned a few large scale and "flashy" jutsu that Kakashi knew like "Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" and even "Suiton: Daibakufu (Water Release: Great Waterfall)". His chakra nature was, unsurprisingly wind while he also had a minor water affinity. Of course since both Kakashi and Naruto knew who his parents were they were none too surprised by that.

That had been an interesting bonding point for the two. Kakashi had seen Minato like a pseudo father and Kushina like a mother figure. By default this meant Naruto was kind of like a little brother to him and so he had told Naruto stories of his parents when they were relaxing or taking a break from training.

When Naruto hadn't asked Kakashi why he wasn't there for the blonde Kakashi had been curious and brought up the question. Naruto shrugged and stated, "Being in Anbu you probably had more important things to do than worry about some blonde brat."

Kakashi had both been shocked the maturity and saddened by the thinly veiled jadedness that Naruto spoke with.

In an attempt to make some amends for not being there for the Uzumaki when he was younger Kakashi had taught Naruto one of his original jutsu, the Chidori. Unsurprisingly Naruto had learned the jutsu in only two days. Unfortunately he suffered from the techniques one fatal flaw, tunnel vision. His Dark Eyes did not help eliminate this like the Sharingan could as Dark Eyes did not gift him with all seeing perception of the things around him like the Uchiha clan doujutsu did, rather it improved upon what Naruto's own eyes were already capable of.

However after he had learned the technique The Outsider had seen fit to visit him and let it slip once more that should he find the necessary Runes that Naruto could "upgrade" his eyes into the Dark Vision ability and that improved version of Dark Eyes had a solution to his tunnel vision problem.

Nonetheless the jutsu was still useful to him as Naruto wouldn't be using the Raiton jutsu on the open battlefield where its weakness was easily exploitable. Naruto's battles would be taking place in much smaller locations that actually helped to lessen the severity of the jutsu's flaw.

The Rasengan would have been a better jutsu to learn still but seeing as Kakashi was himself unable to actually use the technique as intended, his whole reason for creating the Chidori, he was unable to teach it to Naruto. The blonde wasn't bothered by this and had sought out the Hokage and asked if his parent's had left him anything.

The Hokage had seen fit to inform him of both the house that was now his and the jutsu library that was in the house as well.

Unfortunately since Naruto was still a minor and was not a ninja of the village he could not lay full claim to the house and the title of clan head of both the Uzumaki and Namikaze families. Since Naruto was a ward of the village he would have fallen under the civilian council jurisdiction. However since he was from not one, but two prominent shinobi families and was a jinchuuriki he instead fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Shinobi council and the Hokage. As such he could, with permission, enact certain rights temporarily. One such right was access to the library of jutsu inside the home his mother and father had built.

In that library was the scroll containing the Rasengan and how to learn it. Naruto had mastered the jutsu in one day's time.

Gai had not slouched in his teaching of Naruto either. In fact he had been one of the harder task masters of the group. He had put Naruto through his pacings and further. Both student and sensei knew however that the Goken taijutsu was not for Naruto. So instead they had focused on building up Naruto's speed, flexibility, and stamina. The blonde jinchuuriki was indeed capable of some bone shaking punches if allowed, but his true ace was his speed and stamina. Gai had capitalized on that and taught Naruto a style of taijutsu that was made to either wear the opponent down with highspeed dodging and guerilla warfare tactics, or take out the target in a few short and simple moves.

Both Anko and Kurenai had done what they could as well, Anko eaching the boy the basics of interrogation and had even dipped into some of the torture aspects of that field. Naruto however wasn't yet mentally strong enough to stomach that are of shinobi life so that had been put off to a later date. Instead Anko taught him various tricks he could use to mess with someone's mind and even how to pick up on when someone was lying to him.

Kurenai had tried to teach him the basics of genjutsu, but Naruto's massive reserves would not allow him to learn anything that wasn't damn near a reality altering genjutsu and even then they could be easily broken. This due to not only to the size of his reserves but the very nature of his chakra. Uzumuaki chakra combined with Bijuu chakra was just not subtle enough to properly pull of genjutsu. Instead the Genjutsu Mistress taught Naruto several methods to break out of even some of her stronger illusions.

When that had been done she then helped Naruto in the field of espionage. Naruto was already amazing at stealth, even being able to hide from her and Kakashi, which dumbfounded them considering the massive amount of chakra the boy had. Nonetheless she taught him how to put that stealth to use and how to gleam information from even the vaguest of clues. Combined with Anko's teaching of how to tell a lie from the truth Naruto had become spy through and through.


So at the age of ten Naruto was put to the test. The Hokage and his sensei's had designed the perfect testing ground for Naruto. He was given two simulations to pass. The first involved the Hokage (a Kage Bunshin acting as a stand in) coming under attack while in his office and then again in the open streets of the village. In both cases Naruto was able to easily get the Hokage to a safe place or help him prepare to combat the threat by neutralizing the offenders quickly and quietly.

He was then tested in two different combat situations. He was given a target (another Kage Bunshin) and told to eliminate it without giving away that he had even been there in the first place. To all their surprise Naruto was in and out in under five minutes, bypassing several security seals and guard patrols, not once even alerting said guards.

The second situation was like the first in that he was given a target to eliminate however the ante was upped. He was to be theoretically caught and forced to first finish his mission and then escape. Naruto once more performed spectacularly showing that while he would have some trouble putting his knowledge of open combat to use he was still more than capable of defending himself against several chunin class bunshin.

Obviously this was all far from a realistic situation as the threat of life or death was something that could not be experienced outside of actual missions and taking the life of a clone was nowhere close to taking the life of an actual person.

However the jounin and Kage all knew that Naruto would overcome those obstacles and with time would gain the experience he needed to turn him into the perfect assassin.


So it was that we find Naruto Uzumaki kneeling before the Hokage garbed in a set of clothes tailored specifically for Naruto and his new position. An all black coat with gray linings around the cuffs of the sleeves, hood, and bottom that reached to Naruto's ankles was closed by brown leather straps that criss-crossed his chest. The straps revealed what appeared to be a dark gray vest underneath. He wore fitting black Anbu pants that were tucked into ankle high brown boots.

All in all Naruto cut quite the imposing figure.

"I Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, officially name Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze as both my guard and my right hand. From hence forth none shall know of you or your position. You will protect me and this village from the shadows. You will be the Konoha no Kage (Shadow of Konoha). Do you accept your new position and title Naruto Uzumkai-Namikaze?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage, steely blue eyes staring into the Hokage's own. He then crossed his left hand across his chest, his hand clenched into a fist and facing outwards to show off the mark of The Outsider which began to glow a bright white.

"I Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze hereby pledge myself to the title of Hokage and those who hold it. I will give my life it means the safety of my Kage and my village. On my honor as a denizen of this village I swear this."

"Then stand my sword and shield and take this mask and with it mark the beginning of your new life."

Here the Hokage handed Naruto an intricately designed mask that looked far more advanced than anything Anbu could get their hands on. The mask was a steel gray color, being made of steel itself, with streaks of a blood red color dotting it here and there. The mouth of the mask was shaped into a rather intimidating looking grin with thin rods of metal criss-crossing from the bottom of the open mouth to the top. The eye holes were what looked to be some sort of reinforced glass of some type, chakra treated glass if Naruto had to guess. That meant he could send chakra to the eyes of the mask which would allow him to "zoom in" on things like a pair of binoculars. Atop the mask was a pair of fox ears of the same steel gray color. The inside of the "ears" was painted a deep crimson.

The inside of the mask was padded with a cushioning of a soft cotton material of some sort that would allow the mask to be worn for great lengths of time if need be. (1)

Without a thought Naruto grabbed the mask and placed it on his face, it molding to his face through the use of various seals so that it wouldn't come off unless he used chakra to do so. He then turned around and stood, facing his teachers.

Kakashi whistled at the imposing figure the ten year old made. Gai gave a thumbs up. Anko grinned at the intimidating figure and Kurenai had to resist the urge to shiver at the frightening thing that stood before her.

With the hood of his coat up and covering his bright blonde tresses and the mask hiding who he was Naruto had ceased to exist. In his place was the Hokage's personal guard and assassin.

The Royal Guard of the Hokage had been born at that moment.


(1) Yes Naruto's mask is based off of Corvo's. Constants and variables (yes that's a Bioshock Infinite reference). Having my friend draw the picture for it so you'll have an actual visual of it soon-ish.

AN: And thar be the second chapter of Dance with the Devil! If you guys are wondering about the title it's a reference to one of my favorite Breaking Benjamin songs.

And finally it has all come to fruition. Naruto is now officially the old man's right hand.

Some may ask about the vague references of time and for those of you who are sticklers for that kind of stuff; in total a year and half passed that Naruto spent training. First year with the Kage to get the basics down and five months with the other jounin to learn other things.

Where does Naruto stand now? Hmm well you'll have to wait and see! MUAHAHAHA.

Seriously though you will, but fret not Naruto is not now on the level of Pein or anything, far from it. Hell he's not exactly on Anko's level just yet.

Does he have a lot of KNOWLEDGE? Yes. Talent? Undeniably. Skill? Ehhh sorta. Power is a mix of knowledge, talent, skill, and experience. Naruto currently lacks experience and therefore is not that skilled. He has a lot of theoretical knowledge and a considerable amount of skill due to his own innate talent and drive to work that puts him above the average bar.

Thank you for the twenty reviews on the first chapter! Means a lot you guys it really does.

Review, pm me, spread the word and all that!

Remember the pairing has yet to be full decided so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Choices are!: Tayuya, Yakumo, Ino, and Yugao. If I get a convincing enough argument I am willing to choose someone that is not on this list though.

Right off the bat though I will say no to Hinata and Sakura (see my list of pairings I refuse to do).

Peace out peoples!