Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mega Man Zero.

Naruto took the offered metal gauntlet and looked at it appraisingly in his hands. He put it on and started channeling chakra through it.

"You're telling me that this thing can help me fight Leviathan?"

He was currently in Cerveau lab with Cerveau and Ciel to help out on a project that would supposedly improve his battle capabilities.

Cerveau shook his head. "You really need to listen more carefully when I'm explaining things to you. Ciel and I are currently constructing body armor that allows you to withstand harsh environments likebeing hundreds of feet underwater. That may help you in a pitched battle against Leviathan. The primary problem, however, is still mobility."

Naruto nodded. "Leviathan was insanely fast outside of water. While I don't think she'll be toomuch faster in water, my speed will definitely be drastically reduced and she'll play water polo with me as the ball."

"Water polo is played with the ball above water, Naruto," Ciel responded immediately and almost absentmindedly as she looked at electronic tablet to check the numbers coming in from the gauntlet.

"Whatever…" Naruto muttered as he attempted to create a Rasengan in his gloved hand. "You get the idea."

Ciel didn't respond, no doubt distracted by her work. Naruto was tempted to roll his eyes. One thing he discovered about the girl was that she became absolutely engrossed in her work. Nothing short of slapping her on the face would get her to look up when she was thinking deeply about an academic matter. Naruto was convinced that she'd marry her work if she could.

Fortunately, Cerveau wasn't like that. "Like you already mentioned multiple times, giving you armor will raise your durability, but at the cost of speed. In water where you already have an issue with speed, this problem can be fatal."

"And I'm guessing that there's no possible way we can create an armor strong enough to negate Leviathan's attack to the point that mobility no longer matters."

That had been one of Naruto's ideas. Instead of trying to fight on Leviathan's terms—speed underwater—Naruto would made it a battle about pure power. And he never lost in fights like that.

Cerveau shook his head. "We did all sorts of tests. Leviathan's attack power is nowhere near Fefnir's, whose attack power is the strongest out of the Guardians, but her specifications in that regard aren't anything to laugh at. Her harpoon can slice through even the toughest of metals and shatter the strongest solid energy plates."

"So we're back to trying to improve my mobility," Naruto said in a disappointed tone.

"More or less," Cerveau said in an equally despondent tone before brightening. "Well…that's why we're trying to come up with new technology altogether that would make the armor far more responsive."

Naruto frowned as he curled his fingers. "I'm guessing that it has something to do with the fact that the glove itself feels like part of my hand."

"That's right. We're using a thin coat of solid chakra as an interface between your body and the gauntlet. And the metal used to make the gauntlet was dipped in pure liquid chakra."

"Similar to how chakra metal is made," Naruto murmured. Of course, there were some differences. In the past, blacksmiths would saturate the metal itself with their own chakra; after all, there hadn't been a way to create liquid or solid forms of chakra then.

"Chakra metal?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's not that important. It's just that in the past, we had ways of making non-human material more responsive to chakra."

"I see," Cerveau mused. "Well, this is a bit more complicated than that. We're trying to figure out a way to link the armor itself to this 'chakra network' that you described to us. If we succeed, the metal might as well be a part of your body."

Naruto blanched at that. "You're making me into some kind of robot?" Naruto instantly took the glove off in a hurry. "Sorry, but Uzumaki Naruto likes being Uzumaki Naruto. And Uzumaki Naruto is human."

"Eh? The results stopped coming in," Ciel exclaimed as she looked up. Her eyes drifted down to see the gauntlet on the ground. "Oh, Naruto…why did you take off the gauntlet?"

Cerveau rolled his eyes. "He thinks we're making him into an android."

"Oh." Naruto twitched as Ciel blinked cutely at that. Damn hormones. Naruto cursed in his mind. He really didn't need that distraction right now…or ever. "Why would you think that? We're just testing out new technology to create an interface between your body and metal. If things go well, this can open new avenues for humans to interact and communicate with digital devices."

Naruto glared and pointed at Cerveau. "That's not what he said. He said you guys were making the metal a part of my body! I like being completely organic and eukaryotic thank you very much. Don't go changing my body without my permission!"

"I'm glad you're studying up on human physiology, but over ninety percent of the life-forms within the human body are prokaryotes," Ciel said with a small smile.

Naruto snorted. Ciel was clearly making fun of him now. She had been doing that more lately and it was driving him up the wall. If he didn't know that Ciel was so sweet and innocent, he would have sworn that she was doing it on purpose to try and get a rise out of him.

He did, however, occasionally see something akin to a tiny smirk on her face whenever he was about to fume. Nonetheless, he was sure that he was imagining it.

"You know what I mean!"

Symbiotic bacteria in the gut and invasive bacteria within the bloodstream most certainly did not count as part of his body.

Cerveau groaned. "Naruto, stop being such a baby and put the damn gauntlet on again. Just think of the metal as your clothes or something; we're not making any sort of true neural connections between you and the gauntlet—that's not even possible even with today's technology—so relax…you're not going to become an android."

Naruto glared suspiciously at the gauntlet on the ground before leaning down and picking it up. "Alright…"

Cerveau picked up his lecture from where he had left off as Ciel returned to poking away at her tablet. "If we succeed, no matter how bulky the armor is, it will respond to your will as if it were your body." Cerveau gave Naruto an annoyed look as he emphasized those particular words to address Naruto's concerns. Naruto just returned the glare with a cheeky smile. "The next step is obviously to improve your mobility in water. That's where the interface also comes in. If we somehow are able to link devices to your body using chakra, instead of responding to buttons or written codes, the devices will be able to respond directly to your will."

"Instantaneous jet propulsion in water," Naruto realized. "Something similar to what Leviathan has."

"The jetpack that Leviathan has is already part of her body and her brain is already directly connected to it."

"So she has the Reploid equivalent of neural connections with her jetpack."

"Something like that," Cerveau acknowledged. "Reploids are inherently more intimately connected with machines than humans are so designing something like that is possible if it's done at the beginning stages of Reploid creation. It's impossible for humans though, which is why Ciel is excited about this project."

"Just imagine the possibilities," Ciel said excitedly. "Humans will be able to mentally connect to computers and give non-verbal and mental commands. This has applications for plenty of things from more efficient coding to perfect prosthetics."

"Sorry to rain on your parade," Naruto said wryly, rather amused that Ciel was almost shaking with excitement, "but this is only possible because of my chakra right? Aside from you, Ciel-chan, people nowadays don't seem to have any chakra. I couldn't sense any from the humans the few times we went out to the towns nearby."

"Well, right now, the primary goal is for you to use this technology to get an edge over the Guardians. Ciel is getting a little ahead of herself," Cerveau answered as Ciel blushed at that. "But Ciel does have a point. Most forms of technology developed by the military are readapted for civilian use years down the line."

"Right. Right," Naruto said dismissively before glaring down at his gloved hand. "So when can I take this damn thing off?"

Naruto rolled to the side to dodge another blow before leaping straight up and smashing his knee into Faucon's face.

"Don't gamble," Naruto scolded as he back-kicked the Reploid straight into Dande, who had been firing shots from a distance. The two Reploids slammed into the wall with a huge thud.

"That wasn't a gamble, Naruto-shishou," Faucon groaned as he got up. "It's just that you're too fast."

"Tell me about it," Dande agreed. "Even from a distance and with a greater frame of reference, I can hardly see you move. Is it really possible for humans to have reflexes that fast?"

"Well, I'll admit that I have a big advantage over the two of you because I taught you how to fight. The moment you begin an attack, I already know your movements…even without the Sharingan," Naruto admitted. "I didn't really expect the two of you to push me all that much. I just wanted to correct your forms in a battle simulation. Both of you overcommit to your attacks. That's a horrible idea against stronger opponents and more so if your natural defenses aren't that great."

"Our defensive abilities were tripled though," Faucon argued. He glanced to the side to look at Dande. "At least…mine were. I figured I could take a hit or two and survive."

Naruto frowned. "That doesn't make your defenses at all considering how fragile the two of you were to begin with. You'll last two or three hits instead of one now. That's not much breathing room."

"So it's still whittling away at our opponents?"

Naruto looked around the room to see the result of multiple charged shots from a mega buster and charged strikes from Faucon's new beam saber that he had received from the strange Cyber-Elf they had met the other day.

"I hardly call charged strikes 'whittling away' at your opponents' health," Naruto replied dryly. "Those attacks could have killed me in one or two strikes, you know."

The rules had been simple: Naruto would use only taijutsu while his two students would throw whatever they could at him. Naruto had won without getting hit once, of course, but with their new power-ups, his students were more than capable to delivering massive battle-ending attacks. The room was only intact because of the thick walls reinforced with Naruto's seals.

"Ugh," Dande grumbled after few seconds of silence. "And I thought we had a chance this time, too."

Naruto laughed. "Well, did you really expect to be ready this quickly after receiving your upgrades?" Naruto shook his head. "You're not ready now but with some more time and experience, against most Reploids, if the two of you fight together, you'll come out on top. Even individually, you'll probably be strong enough to stand a chance against most enemies standing in your way."

"But not X and his Guardians…" Faucon pointed out.

"Probably not," Naruto admitted before sighing when he saw the dejected looks on their faces. "Look, being strong is good and all, but there's more to life than just fighting. I get that the two of you lived most of your conscious life in war, but fighting is seriously the least important thing in the world. I taught you how to fight so you can defend and protect, not so that you can march into Neo Arcadia to have a showdown with X and his Guardians."

"But if we took down X, the war would be over!" Dande argued.

Naruto shook his head. "I doubt it. Neo Arcadia has the capacity to build another Reploid with abilities on par with X's. There is only one way to 'win' this war—take away the enemy's reason to fight."

"Ciel-san's research."

Naruto nodded. "That's certainly one way and the most peaceful way. Theoretically, you could break the enemy's will to fight by demoralizing them or by making them run out of resources, but neither of those options are possible with the resources that we have. Even if the two of you were as strong as X, that still wouldn't change." Naruto paused. "So don't be so down. Just trust in Ciel and try to hold out as best as you can."

"Well Paon, it looks like you're almost completely fixed." Ciel looked at the monitor next to Paon's bed. "There have been no anomalies in the last two weeks even with all the advanced training you've been undergoing. Your body is adapting nicely to the new parts we added. We outfitted you with latest models so you should see an improvement in your reflexes and movements. You should be completely ready to go in a day or two."

"It's still not enough," Paon murmured from her bed. "It's not like I can fight."

The past few weeks had been a time of rapid "militarization" of the Resistance.

First of all, Naruto divided all the Reploids into civilians and fighters, and then split the fighters into squads of four and implemented new protocols for training. With the vast improvements she had seen in Dande and Faucon, Ciel couldn't really complain, although Colbor put in request to keep his team as it had been before. Second, she and Naruto, along with Jaune's and Rouge's help, reorganized everything in the Resistance Base to streamline everything. A result of that policy was setting up the Trans Server in mission control and improving communication systems to allow for reinforcements to be sent quickly anywhere and at any time. Cerveau's laboratory, the training rooms, and military bunks were moved higher up, closer to the surface, while the civilian rooms and storage rooms were moved down where it was safer. Each of the rooms was connected to a P.A. system to allow for faster transmission of messages, especially official messages.

Ciel wasn't sure she liked all of the changes, however. While the Resistance was slowly organizing itself better and operating more as an actual military organization, it was simultaneously losing the family-like atmosphere of a shelter for Reploids with nowhere to go.

"There are other ways you can help, Paon," she said gently.

"I'd like to join a combat unit as well, similar to Dande-kun," the Reploid girl insisted.

Ciel sighed as she looked at Paon again. This was yet another part of the militarization that she could have done without. Why was fighting the only thing people seemed to care about?

She didn't want young Reploids to fight needlessly. Paon had been sent to resupply one of their scouting teams last time and she still had been caught by Neo Arcadia. The chance of something similar happening was even higher in the combat units.

But with Naruto's presence and casualty rates drastically falling—in fact, no one had died in the last few months—everyone was filled with a sense of invulnerability. All throughout the base, there were whispers that they should all "take a stand and fight."

"You don't have to do this, Paon. You're still very young for a Reploid," Ciel explained patiently. "And it's only been six weeks since you escaped from the secret base. No one will blame you if you take some more time off."

Paon shook her head. "I didn't suffer as much as some of the others did. The Neo Arcadians knew that I was a non-combatant and didn't have all that much information about the Resistance. My body is completely repaired and I want to fight now. Naruto-san…he's fighting a war he has no business fighting…I want to do more…"

Ciel shook her head in response, perhaps a bit more firmly than she should have. "It doesn't matter what Naruto has done or is doing. Naruto is Naruto. You are you. I understand that a lot of people are feeling inspired by his feats, but Naruto…Naruto…is special."

And she meant that in more ways than one. Naruto was not only the embodiment of hope for the entire Resistance but also someone dear to her.

"I wish I had been born as a combat Reploid," Paon continued on, seemingly ignoring everything Ciel had just said. "Then I wouldn't feel this helpless and I wouldn't feel as though I was dragging everyone down. When we were children, Dande-kun always looked after me, standing up to military Reploids who often picked on me for being weaker and a female. Dande-kun wasn't really all that much stronger than I was, but he always made sure to take care of me. And even now, he's making sure that I'm okay. I…I wish…I wish I wouldn't be such a burden to him."

Dande had come by for hours every day in the last six weeks whenever he wasn't training with Naruto. Some of the repairs that Paon had undergone had required her to be been unconscious, but that hadn't stopped Dande from keeping the Reploid girl company.

Even to a scientist who specialized in Reploid science like Ciel, it was rather strange that Reploids could be so human, even more than many humans themselves. The humans in Neo Arcadia were actively turning a blind eye to everything going around them. In the initial days of the Resistance, Ciel had ordered massive and flashy attacks in hopes that humans would recognize that something was wrong, but she was only disappointed when humans simply accepted the talking points from the Neo Arcadian government that Maverick activity was on the rise and that all the Mavericks had to be taken down with no exceptions.

"I doubt he thinks of you as a burden," Ciel said softly. "If anything, he feels guilty for having brought you into the Resistance. You wouldn't have been listed as a Maverick if it weren't for Dande-kun's refusal to follow orders."

Paon shook her head. "I like to think that eventually I would have disobeyed orders on my own accord. I spent too much time acting as if I were a simple robot." Paon spat out the last word scornfully. "I don't understand why Neo Arcadia creates Reploids with intelligence and free will when all they want is the ability to control us. Why not simply make robots with artificial intelligence but no free will? Weren't there robots like that two to three hundred years ago?"

"Yes, there were." Ciel nodded. "But I can't really give you an answer to your question."

The creator of the original X had prototypes that were just that: intelligent robots that were able to process data and make decisions for themselves as long as those decision didn't go against the programmer's orders. Dr. Light eventually created X in hopes that robots could truly become alive. It was a shame that Copy X was actively working against Dr. Light's dream, even if Dr. Light wasn't Copy X's direct creator.

"Is there a way I can become strong?" Paon asked, shedding a few tears. "Dande…"

Ciel sighed. The girl really was overly obsessed about the young Reploid boy. It was to the point that she was recklessly willing to throw her life away in a battle she shouldn't have to fight.

But it wasn't like Ciel was in a position to talk, as she herself was obsessed about a boy as well. And she knew from personal experience that love made people act irrationally. Wasn't that the reason why she was doing all she can to get Naruto to notice her liking teasing him whenever the opportunity presented itself or trying to make herself look as pretty as possible when she knew she was meeting up with him?

"You know as well as I do that Dande-kun loves you." Paon blushed brightly at that but nodded. "And when you love someone, you don't expect anything from that person. You just want to give that person the entire world. I don't think he blames you or wants anything from you besides your happiness."

Paon looked at her in surprise. "You…you…feel the same…don't you, Ciel-san," Paon said in shock. Ciel didn't answer. "You're really speaking from experience…about…about your feelings for Naruto-san."

It wasn't like denying it would do anything at this point. People in the Resistance Base were absolutely convinced that she and Naruto were an item, even if they actually weren't…mainly because of Naruto's lack of feelings towards her. He would give her a bright smile or maybe a hug that would make her think that he might reciprocate her feelings, but nothing really blossomed from any of those encounters.

Ciel allowed a bitter smile to appear on her face.

"Do you blame me? I'm supposed to be the leader of the Resistance and I'm supposed to treat everyone fairly and equally…and yet…yet, I fell in love with Naruto."

"No," Paon shook her head. "I don't blame you at all. I haven't gotten to know him as much as everyone else has, but he sounds like an amazing person, Ciel-san. Dande-kun is always raving about how great Naruto-san is."

Ciel laughed. "Really now? Dande-kun is always complaining to me about how hard Naruto is on him. I haven't heard him utter a single sentence about Naruto without adding a curse or two in."

Paon smiled lightly as well. "That's just his way of showing affection. I can tell that Naruto-san means the world to him. But Dande's always been a bit roundabout with his emotions."

There was no doubt about that. The two Reploids had known each other from birth and Dande was still avoiding any talk about any sort of relationship with the female Reploid despite their feelings for each other being painfully obvious to everyone and to both of them.

Ciel closed her eyes as she went through the memories in her mind about her interactions with Naruto. "Naruto…at first, he was someone I placed my hopes in…someone who could help make my dream of a peaceful world come true, but now, nothing would make me happier than for him to not fight and place himself at risk."

"But we don't have a choice!" Paon argued. "We'll die if we don't fight."

Ciel nodded. "But that doesn't mean all of us have to fight. Even Naruto admits that fighting does nothing but cause pain." Ciel tried another line of argument. "How happy do you think Dande-kun would be if you were putting yourself at risk?"

That gave the Reploid girl pause. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find the right excuse.

"I…I…I still want to be of use to him!" she decided stubbornly. "The best way to be of use in a war is to fight."

"Well-said."

Ciel looked to the door and saw Colbor who was standing there.

"Colbor-taichou!" Paon exclaimed.

"Colbor-taichou?" Colbor was a stickler for formalities and Ciel was more than willing to oblige. "What brings you to the medical bay?"

"I was looking for you to inform you that I have selected a scouting mission for my team. We were planning on leaving in a few days, but…" Colbor looked meaningfully at Paon.

Ciel understood immediately what Colbor was suggesting.

While Colbor had somewhat warmed up to Naruto, Colbor wasn't completely trusting of Naruto and argued that the Reploids in the Resistance had to figure out a way to remain independent in case Naruto ever decided to leave. To compromise and keep everyone happy—although Naruto was decided amused by Colbor's, in Naruto's words, "tantrum"—Naruto had proposed to let Colbor have more autonomy than most squad leaders as the entire Resistance organization was being overhauled and restructured. And so, Colbor was free to recruit whomever he wanted, provided he followed the training protocols.

Ciel shook her head gently. "She's far too young, Colbor-taichou," "She has a bright future ahead of her and I don't want her to cut that short in a misguided attempt to be heroic."

The Reploid frowned. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're too much of a pacifist and idealist, Ciel-san. There is no future unless we fight. You shouldn't try to hold a girl like Paon-kun back."

Ciel's shook her head even more firmly. "No, I won't allow it."

Colbor's look softened. "This is something we all decided for ourselves. We knew that we were all living on borrowed time the moment we defied Neo Arcadia. What better way to struggle than to fight?"

Ciel frowned at that. Again…the idea of fighting…

There were plenty of options "better" than fighting in Ciel's opinion. Even someone like Naruto, who was born and raised to fight, agreed with her as well.

Fighting should always be the last option.

Yet…why was it the only thing people could think of when trying to solve a problem?

"And you even let Dande-kun join as well," Paon added. "Dande-kun is no older than I am. And Faucon-kun is only six months older than both of us."

Ciel wanted to say that at the time when they initially joined joined, there had been no choice as the Resistance was taking heavy casualties on even the simplest of missions, and with Naruto taking a bulk of the missions now, there was more room to be picky and choosy now, but there was no way that sort of answer would have gone well with anyone else in the room.

An answer that would have been even less well accepted, especially to someone like Colbor, was the fact that Dande and Faucon were now powerful enough to actually fight some of the combat Reploids with the enhancements given to them by the strange blue Cyber-Elf they encountered in the shrine they found Naruto in.

"I'll personally guarantee her safety then," Colbor offered. "Ultimately, you're worried about the younger ones, right? Add Paon-kun to my squad and I'll personally guarantee that Paon-kun returns from every mission even if it costs me my life."

Ciel blinked in surprise. She always knew that Colbor's heart was in the right place even if he was a bit gruff at times, but Colbor never made any guarantees like that.

More than anyone else, he was aware of his own mortality and the uphill struggle that the Resistance faced. He was someone who had always prioritized the mission of his life or the life of his squad members.

But now he was saying that he would bring Paon back after every missions?

Ciel looked at her most successful squad leader carefully. Maybe Naruto's efforts were changing something inside of Colbor as well. If Colbor was so determined about this, then how could she say no?

Ciel decided to relent. It wasn't like she should dictate the actions of others anyway; otherwise, she'd be no different from Neo Arcadia.

"Very well, Colbor-taichou. I'll add her to your squad."

"Great!" Colbor looked at Paon. "We're leaving for a scouting mission in about…" Colbor paused to think about the training protocols, "…three hours. It's been one that's been on hold for a while and I think it's worth exploring. You haven't been adequately trained in the new protocols, but what you already know should be more than enough for a simple scouting mission. Get ready."

Paon smiled and nodded excited, but Ciel couldn't share the young Reploid's enthusiasm.

"Report," Harpuia ordered. He was currently in what could be considered his office. It was a tower that overlooked the Strong Air Battalion airbase, his personal army within Neo Arcadia. It was only natural, Harpuia supposed, as he was the strongest Reploid to use aerial combat.

His lips twitched and he couldn't completely suppress the light smirk that appeared on his face.

That didn't mean he only relied on aerial combat, of course. He was the strongest of the Guardians for many reasons, after all.

"As you ordered, Harpuia-sama, all activity along the subway track NAS-1 was completely shut down after the bombing of the train carrying the top-secret Cyber-Elf Shelter," the military secretary Reploid reported.

"And?"

Harpuia nodded as he twitched again, this time in excitement. He hoped that the Resistance would send Naruto, to investigate and try to find a way into the Neo Arcadian Shrine. They discovered from DR-31's and CS-58's memories that CS-58 requested DR-31 to deliver the Cyber-Elf to the Neo Arcadian Shrine. If Naruto had overhead the conversation, he would have known that the train was heading to a very important location.

They also knew that Naruto was alive as well. Maha Ganeshariff had not shown up to his scheduled meeting with the Guardians. A simple scouting mission was all it took to reveal the retired bodies of hundreds of Pantheons and Maha Ganeshariff. While it appeared that most of the troops died from buster fire, something Naruto wasn't known to use, Maha Ganeshariff died from electrocution.

And lightning attacks were something Naruto regularly used.

Harpuia looked expectantly at his secretary.

"We found a team of nine Resistance Reploids in the designated area."

"Do you have visuals?" Harpuia asked.

The secretary nodded and typed in several commands into the computer. "Here are the visuals, Harpuia-sama. Do you want their serial numbers as well?"

Harpuia took a close look at all nine people. None of them appeared to be Naruto.

Harpuia let out a small curse.

He had hoped that the knowledge of getting into the Neo Arcadia Shrine would be too tantalizing for the Resistance, and especially Naruto, to overlook.

After months,it finally seemed that the Resistance took the bait, but unfortunately, they still didn't send Naruto. The more reasonable and cautious Dr. Ciel must have reigned Naruto in somehow in order to protect her most powerful weapon. Or maybe making it appear as if the entire area was almost completely abandoned aside from several Pantheons that regularly patrolled the subway lines hadn't been a good idea.

From what they knew of Naruto, Naruto tended to show up in areas where maximum amount of damage could be inflicted. The more dangerous and more likely to cause a massive—and messy—fight, the better it seemed for Naruto.

Battle crazy idiots. Harpuia mentally groaned. All that planning and waiting gone to waste. And all because the trap appeared too "safe" for a suicidal nuthead like Naruto.

Well, Neo Arcadia had someone who could relate.

There would have to be a change of plans.

If Naruto wanted loud and openly dangerous, that could be arranged.

"No, that won't be necessary. It doesn't matter who those Reploids are. Unfortunately, the one I wanted to flush out isn't among them, but these Mavericks will have to do."

Harpuia stood up.

"Sir?"

Harpuia waved his secretary off in a dismissive manner. "The one I want isn't there, but I have the perfect means to draw him out. Call Fefnir. Tell him I have something interesting for him."

"Wait…can you just repeat that for me again?" Naruto stared at Ciel incredulously when she did. "Let me get this straight." Naruto shot a glare at Jaune and Rouge as well. "Yesterday, you sent Colbor on a scouting mission that wasn't properly vetted simply because he wanted to go." Three collective nods. "Then you also sent Paon-chan, a young Reploid girl who was a prisoner of war just barely several months ago, on this mission with Colbor because he guaranteed that she'll return alive." Naruto didn't miss the guilty wince from Ciel. "And now, you've lost contact with everyone on Team Colbor."

"To be fair, Naruto-san, scouting missions are relatively low-risk. There was little risk he would get into a major battle," Rouge said in a guilty tone.

"How many of them were there?" Naruto asked curtly.

"It was an eight-person squad before Paon-san was added," Rouge reported. "Every other member on the team was a veteran so we thought it should be fine."

Naruto groaned as he looked at the coordinates on the monitor detailing where Colbor and his team had last been detected. "You've got to be kidding me. Colbor was looking for a way into the Neo Arcadian Shrine through the subway path that I destroyed a while back." He looked at the three women in the room. "And you expected Neo Arcadia to sit back and twiddle their thumbs? There was a reason we all listed this as a mission that needed to be vetted more. I'm not the most academic person alive, but even I know basic military tactics."

And Neo Arcadia abandoning a previously crucial supply line was an obvious trap.

Naruto had considered waiting a few more weeks to probe around in the area with some shadow clones, but it looked like that idiot Colbor jumped the gun in order to appear like he was an important and independent member of the Resistance.

"Well, you yourself suggested that Colbor-taichou have autonomy over the missions he takes," Jaune added rather unhelpfully. "He was adamant that we look into this. He said it was an opportunity that we couldn't overlook."

Naruto scowled. Technically, Jaune was correct. This was just as much his fault as everyone else's. He hadn't thought that Colbor would be this reckless especially after the mild thaw in their relationship.

He was just surprised and upset that Ciel had agreed to send Dande's little girlfriend along.

"Naruto," Ciel said slowly. "I…I…I'm sorry. I just—"

Naruto shook his head and grabbed Ciel's shoulders. "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault at all. This is my fault. Jaune was right. I'm the one who proposed this crazy idea that Colbor should have autonomy in the first place. I treated him and the situation as a joke. Military organizations should never be operated like that."

Naruto sighed. It was just impossible to please everyone.

He completely understood why Ciel had sent Paon along. From his brief interactions with her, Naruto knew that Paon, while smart, had a fiery personality. That and Colbor's guarantee must have shocked Ciel into relenting. To be honest, Naruto might have done the same thing. And in the past, he certainly pestered his village leaders to send him on crazy missions. He would be a hypocrite if he held this against anyone else.

Ciel's eyes widened. "No! It's my fault for accepting your proposal! I'm the leader! It's—"

Naruto laughed and gave the girl a warm, reassuring smile. He wasn't feeling particularly optimistic, but he had to be for Ciel's sake. He'd kill himself before he let the look of hope in her eyes fade. "Look, let's just say that it's none of our faults once I bring all of them all back, okay?"

Ciel nodded. "Be careful, Naruto…"

Naruto rushed to the training room where his two students were training. What he had planned could end up being a brilliant move that he would take pride in for years to come or a completely idiotic decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.

But Naruto regularly gambled in high stakes situation and often came out on top. He hoped that his luck was with him this time around as well and would carry over to his two students.

"Both of you, pack up your weapons and gear," Naruto ordered. "We're heading out. We have a mission."

The two of them just stared at him.

"Um…Naruto-shishou?" Dande asked hesitantly without his characteristic spunk. "Didn't you tell us just yesterday that we're still not ready for high stakes battles against the strongest Reploids? We still haven't become used to our drastic increase in power."

Naruto didn't really blame them. Their powers exponentially increased from a civilian's to perhaps around a C-rank, maybe low B-rank, combat Reploid. Not only were they still not strong enough to handle the most powerful Reploids that Neo Arcadia had at its disposal, they also lacked full control over their powers, making it a dangerous combination.

And Naruto had a hunch that this trap involved one of the Guardians as well. There was no other reason why Team Colbor wouldn't have been able to send an SOS at the very least. They probably had been killed or captured within seconds.

"You're not," Naruto admitted, "but I always found that my abilities drastically increased under the pressure of battle."

The two of them stared at him again.

"And so…in your infinite wisdom, you're taking the two unready and untested combat Reploids out with you on a mission," Faucon deadpanned.

"I wouldn't say untested…" Naruto argued back weakly, "you two did beat Maha Ganeshariff in your unenhanced states."

"There's something wrong here, isn't there?"

Naruto nodded, noticing with some satisfaction that Faucon instinctively knew there was something was srong about the situation. Faucon wasn't a genius, but he definitely had a level head on his shoulders.

"Yes." Naruto grimaced. "I don't know how to tell you this…" Naruto paused. "But Paon-chan was sent on a scouting mission yesterday with Team Colbor…"

Naruto winced as he saw realization dawn on his two students' faces. It was particularly painful to look at Dande's face, even with his helmet covering his eyes.

"She's missing, isn't she?" Dande whispered. "And considering that you of all people are requesting backup, you suspect that there's a Guardian involved."

Naruto would have whistled in appreciation if the situation were not so severe. It looked like Dande wasn't just a bumbling idiot after all.

Naruto nodded and put a hand on Dande's shoulder gently. "Jaune and Rouge said that they only lost contact with them about thirty minutes ago and it was a scouting mission, so the chances of them being alive are still high. We can't waste time. Let's head out."

Paon looked around her with her buster in ready position in case any enemies shoed up. She was excited to be placed on her first official mission. The last mission she was on didn't really count even if she had been intercepted and captured by the enemy.

This time she wouldn't mess things up and come back to the Resistance Base as someone who has actually contributed to their cause.

And it's Team Colbor, the best Reploid squad in the Resistance! She thought proudly.

Naruto was more of a one-man-team at this point and didn't take his subordinates on official missions…yet. She would rub it in Dande's face when she came back with a successful mission under her belt. She had been tired of hearing Dande brag over and over again about how great Naruto was. Paon was definitely grateful to Naruto for having saved her from the hidden Neo Arcadian base and thankful in general that he was soloing the most dangerous missions even when he didn't have any reason to fight, but she didn't need to hear about him every second of the day.

They had taken a low-flying a transport plane—to avoid radar detection—to the location where a Neo Arcadian supply train had crashed. Per intelligence reports, the train had been heading towards the Neo Arcadian shrine, the entrance to the Neo Arcadian headquarters. It was deemed too dangerous to investigate earlier because of all the Neo Arcadian activity in the area but the surveillance appeared to have almost completely died down over the last two months or so.

Paon had her own doubts about the mission—it made no sense for Neo Arcadia to simply abandon an important route—but she had the utmost faith that Colbor had vetted the mission thoroughly.

"It's like the reports said, Colbor-taichou…" Oyie, a female Reploid veteran on the team, remarked from next to her. Oyie was Paon's direct supervisor and bodyguard for the mission. Paon had insisted that she was fine without a guardian, but Colbor had insisted that the older Reploid girl, who looked like she was in her late teens, guard her. Colbor was apparently taking his promise to guard her seriously. He, Oyie, and Paon were currently towards the back as the others, split in two groups scouted out both sides of the large track. "There's nothing out here."

"It's too quiet," another Reploid added warily over the radio from up ahead. "There should be regular guards posted throughout Neo Arcadia. Even if Neo Arcadia decided to abandon this track, it makes no sense for them to leave it unguarded when it's supposed to lead to the Neo Arcadia Shrine."

"Maybe the enemies might be hiding?"

"Idiot," a derisive voice said through the radio. "Where would the enemies hide? It's a completely open area. The ground itself doesn't seem to be completely level, but there aren't too many areas where enemies can take cover."

"Maintain radio silence. We're on a mission," Paon heard Colbor order in a gruff tone. "Keep your eyes peeled."

"Right," everyone responded.

Paon heard Oyie giggle—with the radio off, of course—from next to her. Paon gave her an inquisitive look.

"Colbor-taichou has been trying to be extra serious ever since Naruto-san showed him up on his first and only mission with Team Colbor," Oyie whispered lowly so that Colbor couldn't hear.

That caught Paon's attention. She had heard rumors and whispers that Colbor and Naruto didn't get along. It had only been two months for Paon though—most of which had been dedicated to recovery—and she wasn't able to ask too much about specifics.

"You went on a mission with Naruto-san?"

The older female Reploid nodded and her eyes sparkled. "Oh yes. We were cleaning out an abandoned factory and Naruto-san stayed behind alone to buy us time to leave when a powerful combat Reploid showed up. There was no way any of us would have made it out with Naruto-san there. It was worse because Colbor-taichou made his first mistake ever on that mission."

"Ouch," Paon winced. "So there was truth to those rumors I heard about from the others." The captain making a mistake on a mission was usually fatal for the team. And Naruto performing exceptionally well on the mission probably didn't sit right with the captain.

Oyie frowned. "I think it's actually overstated. Colbor-taichou isn't particularly insecure or anything; he just has a hard time trusting those he views as outsiders. His personal past was particularly brutal, even by our own standards, so he's not the softest of people. Moreover, Naruto-san doesn't seem to be one to do things by the book like Colbor-taichou. It's just not a good combination."

"And what about Naruto-san? How does he feel about the whole thing?"

"Naruto-san seems more amused by the whole thing although he was definitely annoyed on our first mission when Colbor-taichou refused to be flexible on certain matters." Oyie shrugged. "Naruto-san doesn't really care about formalities, hierarchies, or anything like that so none of this supposed feud really matters to him at all."

Paon didn't say anything for the next few seconds as she swerved her head around to continue to look for the nonexistent enemies.

"How is Naruto-san so strong?" she finally asked. "At…at…at the hidden base that he saved me from, he was able to fight hundreds of Pantheons, take out Blizzack Staggroff, and survive in a battle against Fairy Leviathan? Just how is that possible?"

"Who knows…?" Oyie answered. Paon didn't miss the light blush on the older Reploid girl's face.

"You like him, don't you?" she accused.

Oyie didn't lose her composure though. "Ah…well…I'm really glad that he's fighting for us." The female veteran shook her head when her attempt to deny Paon's accusation failed. "I wouldn't say I like him…it's just he's really inspiration. But anyway, it doesn't matter how I feel. It's not like things would work between a Reploid and human. I can tell that Naruto-san already feels rather awkward around Reploids. He's simply not used to seeing people like us. And besides," Oyie smiled, "Naruto-san and Ciel-san are in love."

"Ah…" Paon nodded. "Ciel-san actually told me that herself. She seemed rather resigned."

"Well, she and Naruto-san were just too obvious." Oyie giggled. "Even someone who's been out of the loop as long as you have noticed that they're in love. There was never really any doubt. After all, Ciel-san's eyes twinkle when she looks at Naruto-san."

"Twinkle?" Paon was wrestling with her own feelings about a certain person and wanted a bit more clarification on matters of love.

The older Reploid girl nodded. "They just get this special light to them. It's hard to explain. It's something you have to see for yourself. In any case, I'm not too surprised it happened. Naruto-san has given everyone hope. It wouldn't be strange for Ciel-san, someone who's grown so discouraged over the years, to fall for someone like Naruto-san who is a beacon of hope. Everyone is slowly beginning to think that we can win this—"

Oyie instantly went on alert and pulled the trigger to her buster, shooting down a Pantheon that suddenly appeared out of nowhere several meters ahead of them.

She saw dozens of Pantheons teleport themselves right in front of their group. There were even Pantheon Flyers that had teleported themselves directly into the air.

"Crap!" someone hissed over the radio. "Neo Arcadia had set up an instantaneous warp point here! That must have been why no guards were here. They didn't need guards when they could just warp here at a moment's notice."

"Fire at will!" Paon heard Colbor shout. She didn't miss the panic in his tone.

That never bode well for the team.

The entire squad started firing at will at the Pantheons and started pulling back. For some reason, the Pantheons weren't shooting back but merely taking the shots. Paon wasn't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth and continued to fire her buster.

"You Resistance Reploids…Freeze!"

Paon felt a chill go through her body when she heard the new yet very familiar voice boom out over the area. She had heard this voice many times during her time at Neo Arcadia via televised announcements.

The center of the Pantheon line parted as a red combat Reploid slowly walked forward.

No one on the team even had the courage to curse at their predicament.

Fightning Fefnir.

They were all going to die.

Author's Note: I lied. I said October, but I post up a chapter relatively soon after the last. But that was because I decided to make changes, allowing me to paste in (later) scenes that I had already finished into this chapter and the next.

And yes, I changed it up from canon. Instead of Harpuia, they get Fefnir, although we did get a Harpuia sighting in this chapter. It was actually supposed to be Harpuia battle in this story as well, but I decided I wanted to speed things up. So I cut the "Duel in the Desert" battle with Fefnir (which hadn't been written and was supposed to be placed in this chapter), replaced it in the Team Colbor arc, and moved the battle with Harpuia back. In other words, this means that in the Mega Man Zero portion of the story, Naruto will fight Leviathan twice, Fefnir twice, and Harpuia once.

Careful readers will also probably notice that this chapter was extremely choppy & lower in quality compared to the previous ones. This is also for the same reason. Instead of editing and reediting to make scenes as descriptive as possible, I didn't take as much time adding much meat to the bare-bones plot. I apologize for that, but this was really a filler chapter anyway. The next chapter is where the real fun is at.