"Captain, what do you plan to do about, Commander Uzumaki?" asked Arthur, as his eyes narrowed in a bit of anger. The whole crew had been alerted to who Commander Uzumaki really was and since then there had been a rise of hostility aboard the ship towards the man. It was lucky they were about to reach ORB in a few hours otherwise who knows what would have happened.

"There is nothing I can do about him because whether you like it or not, he outranks me. He is a member of FAITH, which means he only answers to the Chairman and unless you want the Chairman to demote us all and assign the Minerva a new crew, I suggest everyone needs to calm down," said Captain Gladys with a hard look in her eyes as she gazed over at the others who were on the bridge with her.

Arthur was about to say something else, but was silenced when the Captain interrupted him.

"Listen, I know what you and everyone else is feeling towards that man since I had many friends and people I considered family killed at the destruction of Boaz, but we are soldiers of ZAFT. You will do as you are told, because I will not allow there to be insubordination on my ship. If anyone makes an aggressive move towards Commander Uzumaki then I will personally put you behind bars for the rest of your military career so make sure everyone else aboard the ship understands that," finished Captain Gladys and everyone just nodded their head grimly.

"Captain, we are within ORB borders and they have sent us a message welcoming us to their nation. We have also received permission to dock," relayed Meyrin.

"Alright then, let everyone know that we will be docking in twenty minutes in ORB," ordered Captain Gladys.

"Yes ma'am," replied Arthur before relaying the orders.

Athrun & Cagalli

Cagalli was sitting on her bed and staring at her hands to avoid the piercing look Athrun was giving her. She knew why he was giving her look and knew she deserved it, but wasn't sorry for what she did.

"Will you stop looking at me like that?" grumbled Cagalli angrily.

"I understand that you are upset with him, but what you did was just plain childish. How many times have I told you to control your emotions as you represent ORB and can't afford to speak without thinking," sighed Athrun.

"I know, ok, I know, but they were going to find out eventually so it doesn't really matter," said Cagalli defensively. Athrun just frowned at her, which caused her to stand up and huff at him angrily.

"Yes, but in your anger, you forgot to mention how he saved millions of lives because of his efforts at Junius Seven, which exceeded my own efforts. He probably even saved ORB from destruction with all the debris he destroyed," pointed out Athrun.

"Fine, I will go apologize, but I won't mean it," grumbled Cagalli, as she left the room causing Athrun to shake his head at the girl. He may love her, but sometimes she could be so thick headed.

Minerva Hangar

'Hmm, it feels oddly comfortable to be hated. So much easier to deal with then to have everyone looking at me in awe and respect,' thought Naruto as he stared up at Epyon.

In less then twenty hours, he had once again become the most hated man on the planet, well at least on the Minerva. It was amusing to see the looks of betrayal on some of the crewmembers faces as they learned his identity, which was stupid because he never lied to them about who he was. He had always used his true name so it wasn't like he gave them a fake name and background. The fact of the matter is they never cared to ask him more about his background and as long as they didn't ask him something too personal he would have freely admitted he fought with the Earth Forces in the Blood Valentine War.

Oh well, it didn't bother Naruto one bit because he was used to being hated and feared so it wouldn't stop him from doing his job. He was a soldier of ZAFT now and he would do his duty. That was all there was to it and if someone tried to take revenge on him for what he did then he would deal with them accordingly.

"Did you want something?" asked Naruto as he glanced backwards and saw the ORB princess glaring at him. He had sensed her about two minutes ago, but decided to ignore for the moment as he finished going over his thoughts.

"I came to apologize," mumbled Cagalli as she walked up to Naruto and stood in front of him with a defiant look in her eyes.

"No," replied Naruto, to the confusion of the girl.

"What do you mean no? I am trying to say sorry and you are just brushing me off?" growled Cagalli angrily.

"You aren't sorry for what you did so there is no point in you apologizing," said Naruto, still not bothering to look at the girl.

"Argh, whatever, I tried to be nice," scowled Cagalli before leaving the hangar. Naruto just glanced at the girl before returning to his conversation with Epyon.

Shinn, Rey, & Luna

Shinn was glaring at his plate of food while he brooded on the new information he had received last night about Commander Uzumaki. He had always blamed the Attha family for the death of his baby sister along with his mother and father, because if they had just signed the treaty with the Earth Alliance then ORB never would have been attack. Now though his anger was direct at his Commander as well now that he knew he was the pilot of Wing Zero, which played a major role in capturing and destroying ORB. Unlike everyone else, he couldn't care less what the man had done at Boaz, but what he did at ORB, but knew he couldn't do anything against the man without being severely reprimanded.

Luna sat across from her two friends and she was having many of the same thoughts they were having about their new Commander. She had respected him greatly for his piloting skills and position above them as a member of FAITH, but now she didn't know what to think. He was the former pilot of Wing Zero that had destroyed Boaz with a single shot and killed many of her family friends that were stationed there. Then again, she had watched the battle footage of Junius Seven and knew that he had also saved millions during the Junius Seven incident, both Naturals and Coordinators who lived on Earth instead of at the PLANTs. It was as if his bad deeds with the Earth Alliance were made up for his good deeds while serving with ZAFT. Luna was conflicted on whether she should dislike her Commander or not.

Rey was the last member of the group, which was sitting at their table with a contemplative look as he thought about Commander Uzumaki. He had always known the man was different, and finding out he was the pilot of Wing Zero explained so much. The only problem he saw was that he believed it was impossible for a Natural to possess such piloting abilities. There was just no way, Commander Uzumaki could be a Natural when he possessed such high reflexes along with hand and eye coordination. He planned on finding out more about his Commander and learning all his secrets before this new war ended.

"Attention all crew, we will be reaching ORB shortly. Repeat, we will be reaching ORB shortly," announced Captain Gladys over the speakers.

"Well, at least we will finally be able to get some rest," said Luna with a hesitant smile. Shinn's glare just intensified before he stood up angrily and stomped out of the mess hall to go to his room to brood alone.

"Don't get too comfortable, chances are we will spend most of our time fixing repairs to the ship," said Rey as much as a killjoy as ever before taking his leave as well. Luna just sighed and wondered how she ever became friends with the two stiffest people in the world. Hmm, maybe she should go visit Athrun before he leaves for ORB permanently.

ORB

"I want to thank you for everything you have done for us, Captain Gladys. We are extremely grateful," bowed Cagalli with a warm smile on her face.

"It was our pleasure representative, and thank you again for allowing us to do our repairs here," smiled Captain Gladys with a bow of her own.

"Come Cagalli, it is time for us to go," said Athrun as he came up behind the two women on the ramp. Cagalli was about to say something, but didn't get a chance when a familiar annoying voice caused her to turn around in surprise.

"Cagalli, you are back. I am so happy to see you safe," yelled a man with short purple hair as he ran towards the girl with a large smile on his face.

"Yuuna?" said Cagalli in surprise, before stiffening as the man hugged her. Athrun's eyes narrowed in anger, but he kept his mouth shut as it wasn't his place to say anything.

"Come Yuuna, this isn't the place for such actions," said an elderly man with short grey hair.

"Yuunata, it is good to see you and the others," smiled Cagalli, at the man who was Yuuna's father.

"We are glad to see you safe and sound," bowed Yuunata along with the other council members behind him.

"I am sorry I wasn't here during this crucial time. How is the damage to ORB?" asked Cagalli worried.

"There was a bit of coastal damage, but luckily, ORB itself didn't take any direct hits. I will tell you more about the rest in the meeting later," whispered Yuunata.

"Sir, I am Captain Talia Gladys of the Minerva," saluted Captain Gladys.

"Arthur Trine, Executive Officer of the Minerva," saluted Arthur.

"Commander Naruto Uzumaki, personal envoy of the Chairman of ZAFT Gilbert Durandal," said Naruto, but didn't salute any of them men like his fellow officers.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" gasped Yuunata with wide eyes, but turned in surprise when he felt Cagalli's hand on his shoulder. The rest of the representatives were looking at Naruto with either hate or fear as well because they knew very well who he was. ORB's information networks were just as good as they had been back in the war as they are now.

"Now is not the place, I will explain everything to you in the meeting as well," said Cagalli, as she glanced at Naruto with unconcealed anger.

"I understand," bowed Yuunata, but he had other thoughts running through his mind. It might be easier then ever to convince Cagalli to accept the alliance to the Earth Forces if he could play on the council's hatred of Naruto Uzumaki. Not only that, but he would be rewards handsomely by Lord Djibril if he had some of ORB's finest capture the man and force him to tell them where his Gundam was. Yes, perhaps, the Minerva coming to ORB wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Poor fool, he didn't even realize that by thinking these thoughts he would be condemning ORB to be destroyed by the man a second time. Some people just never learned to not mess with powers far greater then their own.

Elsewhere

"It seems Cagalli has returned safe and sound," said Andrew Waltfeld, as he stared down at the Minerva.

"Yes, but I wonder if that is a good thing. She is still so young and while she had been gone the Saiyran family as been making deals with the Atlantic Federation," frowned Murrue, former captain of the Archangel.

"Yeah, no doubt she will have her work cut out of her," agreed Andrew with a slight frown. He didn't get to say anything more, when he heard Murrue gasp, and turned to see a look of shock and disbelief on her face.

"It's him," spluttered Murrue.

"Huh?" replied Andrew, before following her line of sight to a tall blond man, standing next to the captain of the Minerva. His eyes narrowed as the man seemed familiar, but he couldn't place where he knew him.

"That's Captain Naruto Uzumaki, but what is he doing with ZAFT?" said Murrue in disbelief.

"Hmm, perhaps we have bigger problems then the Atlantic Federation," frowned Andrew, before taking a step back reflexively with Murrue as the said man turned to look up at them both through emotionless blue eyes.

'Impossible, does he recognize us and how did he know we are here?' thought Andrew before grabbing Murrue and dragging her away from the window. They needed to get out of here before that man was able to truly discover who they really were.

Break

"I am sorry," said Naruto, as he kneeled down and placed a bouquet of flowers down on the memorial sight for all those who died during the destruction of ORB in the war.

He may have been under orders to destroy ORB, but that doesn't mean he took any joy in it. Tell the truth, he was disappointed in the way ORB had acted during the first war and felt sorry for them even now. The nation is a beautiful place where Naturals and Coordinators seemed to get along peacefully, but because of their foolish leaders they suffered greatly.

Lord Izumi, adoptive father of Cagalli, was no doubt a very wise and passionate man. His ideals were the basis for ORB that had kept it out of the war until the very end, but in Naruto's opinion, he was a horrible leader. The man was selfish, and sacrificed a whole nation just to uphold some foolish ideals. Being a leader, wasn't about making sure you kept to your ideals, but making sure all those that followed you were protected from harm at all costs.

The man had made his nation a huge target by taking in a renegade warship, the Archangel, and housing two stolen Gundams from ZAFT, the Justice and Freedom. A true leader would have never done this because it made his nation a target of both sides and that is unacceptable. It was like housing several S-ranked nuke-nin and having two villages declare war on you because you refused to give them up. Whether they were good people or not, who suffered injustices at the hands of their village, which made them nuke-nins, you gave them up because what mattered most was the safety of your people and not several individuals.

Not only that, but he could have saved ORB by agreeing to a treaty with the Earth Forces. Sometimes one had to sacrifice their pride and beliefs if it meant saving the majority of people, but once again, Lord Izumi had let his ideals get in the way of simple logic. Naruto knew for a fact that had ORB joined the Earth Forces, any attempts to be invaded by ZAFT would have been easily held off as they didn't have the manpower to fight ORB and the Earth Forces, especially when the Earth Alliance had just come up with their new Strike Dagger units.

Of course, what angered Naruto the most was that the man had stayed behind along with the other council members to die with their destroyed country as if it would make up for sacrificing their entire nation. Such people just didn't deserve to be given the power to lead anyone as they forgot that the important part was protecting their people and not their damn pride.

'Now his daughter rules the nation, but she is unfit for such a role. I feel sorry for this nation,' thought Naruto, before standing up and staring up into the beautiful blue sky. His peaceful moment was interrupted when he heard a beautiful singing and turned around to see a beautiful girl with long flowing pink hair and a boy with short brown hair coming up to the memorial site from the beach. He knew who they were and wasn't in the least bit surprised to see either of them, Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne.

The young man noticed him first and froze as he looked at Naruto with a surprised look on his face. The young woman stopped singing when she noticed the young man besides her stopped walking and looked up to see what he was staring at. She looked at Naruto curiously before flashing him a beautiful, but was stopped from saying anything when Kira started to speak.

"It's you," said Kira as he composed himself.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, pilot of the Freedom, Kira Yamato," said Naruto as he stared into the young man's eyes.

"Who is he Kira?" asked Lacus with a hint of worry.

"He is Naruto Uzumaki, pilot of the Wing Zero," answered Kira, causing Lacus to look at Naruto in surprise. Kira knew this because he had spoke with Athrun earlier today and learned all about what had happened, including information on ZAFT's Commander.

"It is nice to meet you as well Lacus Clyne," nodded Naruto at the girl.

"You as well Mr. Uzumaki," smiled Lacus. He was so different the she had expected him to be as everyone made him out to be some horrible killer, but that isn't what she saw when she looked into his eyes. No, to some his eyes may be cold and uncaring, but she could see the great pain and anguish they held. This man was not some killer or evil person, but just someone who was suffering from a great deal of pain. Her heart cried out for him because she wished she could help him as he looked so lost.

"We will meet again," said Naruto before taking his leave of the place. There was no more reason to be here as he had paid his respects, which is what he came to do in the first place.

Kira and Lacus both watched him leave with different thoughts about the man they had just met.

"He is suffering," whispered Lacus with a caring look in her eyes. Kira didn't know what to say to that so just remained quiet, but soon reminded Lacus of why they had come. Soon both returned to their original goal of paying respects to the memorial site and were surprised to see a bouquet of flowers already in front of the tomb.

"Did he leave these?" asked Kira surprised.

"It seems, he is not the cold-hearted person we believed him to be," smiled Lacus as she placed their own set of flowers next to the ones already there.

PLANTs

"Sir, we have just received a message from the Earth Alliance and Atlantic Federation," saluted a soldier.

"Thank you, you may leave," said Durandal as he took the documents. The soldier just saluted one last time before taking his leave.

'Hmm, so it has finally begun. They are demanding we meet this list of demands or they will take hostile actions against us,' thought Durandal as he read over the documents. He would need to put his forces on high alert and there was no way he was going to cave to these demands and this would cause the Earth Alliance and Atlantic Federation to attack them.

"I think they will be quite surprised once we easily thwart any attack they attempt on us. I must thank you Lord Djibril because once I stop this attack, then I can release the true footage of what happened on Junius Seven. Then I will have the support of the people and my plan can be finally put into motion," smiled Durandal. With this thought, he placed the documents off to the side and hit the button on his intercom.

"Sir?" said a voice over the intercom.

"Hello, I would like you to bring Miss Lacus to me," said Durandal with a glint in his eyes.

"Yes sir," replied the voice before the link closed.

"Now Meer, you will finally get your dream of being loved by everyone while helping me rally the support of not only the Coordinators, but the Naturals as well," smiled Durandal as he leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.

ORB (Unknown Location Underground)

'Freedom, I had a feeling you were still around,' thought Naruto as he stood in front of the powerful mobile suit. It was just as imposing, yet beautiful as he remembered it. He could tell from meeting Kira earlier that the boy had grown and would be a much better fighter once the second war started.

"Yes, perhaps this time, you and your pilot will be able to grant my wish and kill me in battle. Until then, don't let anyone else destroy you," said Naruto before fading into the shadows as if they were one and the same.