The Paths We Walk

by Tsurugi-Sama

An ancient power that makes the Kyubi quake in fear begins to awaken within Naruto, and leads Naruto to fulfill ancient legends in a story thousands of years in the making! NaruXOC light/dark, berserk Naruto; NaruOC

11. War Will Put Us All 6 Feet Under

The Paths We Walk

War Will Put Us All Six Feet Under

"I imagine only a few can imagine how I felt when Cloud called me a SOLDIER. It was the first time someone had openly accepted me into an elite group, and recognized me as someone worthy of power. I'd almost lost hope when I learned of the power sleeping inside me. But Cloud believed in me, and never gave up on me. When I think back, I consider this moment in time to be the second biggest turn in my life to this point, ranking only behind when I conquered the great trials."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, only to snap shut upon meeting the harsh gaze of the sun. It was early, not yet before lunch. He stared at the light through his closed eyelids, waiting for his eyes to adjust. After a minute of waiting, Naruto sat up, but immediately sensed something was wrong.

Without a moment's hesitation, he reached over to where his wooden blade was placed, and spun around, noting how much lighter it seemed, and blocked the oncoming blow from a similar training blade.

Cloud smirked, lowering his training sword and burying the tip into the ground. Naruto stood up and did the same, suddenly feeling a very empty feeling in his stomach.

"How long have I been out?" Naruto asked.

"Well…lemme put it like this: you've got nine days until the Chunin exams begin." Cloud said matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?! Damnit! I bet I've been spending more time recovering these three months than training!" Naruto whined.

Cloud held out an arm, bringing it up to his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You're obviously at first class level in SOLDIER, same as when I finished the procedure."

"Yeah…but still, isn't it odd to gain so much power in such a short period of time?"

Cloud chuckled. "So, you remember everything from training?" Naruto nodded. "Good. Today, you'll be heading out to one of our new bases, located near the materia cave just to the southwest of Kalm. There, you'll receive your new equipment and be given a briefing of your position."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Kalm isn't too far from here, right? Just a few days to the north?"

Cloud nodded, and handed Naruto a map. "That's right. This map will help you if you run into any trouble."

"Yeah…I got that…but…"

"…But what?" Cloud's question was answered by a loud growl of protest from Naruto's shriveling stomach. Naruto reached back and scratched the back of his head.
Well…it looks like we should have one last meal before you set off." Naruto nodded in agreement, and followed Cloud over to the supply area.

The two partook in a feast long since overdue: for cloud, three steaks, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, some corn and some fine wine, all cooked and brewed by Tifa herself. It could easily serve four people. And for Naruto…

"RAMEN!!!" He shouted, breaking into a run to meet his first love. Cloud chuckled. He knew it would be worth it to go to Naruto's world to buy him his favorite treat.

The two sat in the grassy fields, eating faster than snow melts in a volcano. Within minutes, both had full bellies, and were just lying down on the grass, enjoying each other's company.

Naruto looked away from the Clouds to look at the man named after them. "So Cloud, when do we leave?"

Cloud didn't meet his gaze, but gave a sigh as he gave his answer. "I won't be coming with you. I've got a meeting with the rest of the higher-ups of the WRO." Cloud instinctively covered his ears.

"Wha?! So I'll be going by myself?" Naruto shouted, sitting up.

Cloud removed his fingers from his ears and began to listen to Naruto rant about how going alone would suck. "Sorry, but I've gotta go. I represent the new SOLDIER unit, and this meeting is for all the head of operations."

"SOLDIER…are there any more?"

"Hmm?" Cloud said, looking over at him.

"Are there any more SOLDIERS, other than just us?" Naruto asked again.

Cloud smirked, and nodded. "Yup, there's another one."

Naruto's face lit up. "Really?! When do I get to meet them?"

"Right now, if you want." Naruto said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "He's over there, in those trees."

"…How long has he been spying on us?" Naruto asked.

"About a half hour. I told him to be here later, but he's always getting things done fast."

Naruto stood up, and peered off into the nearby woods. There wasn't much there. Just a few trees leading higher up into the mountains. Naruto got up and strapped his wooden blade behind his back. Cloud watched as his former apprentice slowly made his way to the forest, ready to meet his new teammate. The walk was short, but Naruto kept a straight face, remembering how it wasn't wise to go into something unknown with a look that gleamed of idiocy. He walked through the border of the woods, and the high branches began to obscure the light. Suddenly, something flashed in Naruto's mind.

He backflipped over an incoming arrow, just in time to watch it slice through two trees and bury itself deeply in the third. He turned around and drew his sword, preparing to engage.

Three more arrows flew at his head. Naruto leaned to his left, then right, then kneeled to avoid the third, and from kneeling jumped into the trees twenty feet up. Two arrows flew at him at once. Naruto pulled out his sword and used it to block, the sharp steel digging into the surface of the wood. Naruto pulled them out and threw them in the direction of where they came. He heard a slight shuffle, but that was all he needed.

Naruto sprang after the sound, following it deeper into the woods. He kept hearing the occasional patter of feet landing on wood. Soon, they were well over a mile into the woods. The chase continued, until Naruto's senses warned him of something odd.

He looked up just in time to see a barrage of arrows descending on him. Naruto quickly grabbed a branch and swung underneath it. All fifty arrows impacted on the tree, but Naruto's senses again gave him warning as he instinctively bent his legs and jumped down, soon followed by over fifty arrows as they ripped through the branch.

Quickly, Naruto landed on the ground, a little shaky, not yet used to returning to normal gravity, and rolled to the side, but not before feeling a shock run through his upper arm as two arrows pierced his flesh.

Naruto quickly got to his feet, not showing pain from the puncture wounds, all his thoughts on the fight. He unconsciously removed the arrows, and threw them next to their brothers. He spun around and swung his sword up, knocking away another incoming arrow.

Up in the sky, Naruto could see the archer, a figure cloaked in black against the sun, descending over him, bringing out another arrow. Naruto brought his sword to the side, and slashed upwards as the figure fired, shattering the wooden arrow, and continued around in a circle, knocking the bow out of the cloaked assailant's hands as he met the ground.

Quickly, Naruto hand-sprang back a few meters to get some distance as his opponent drew a short sword in his left hand and shield in his right hand from beneath his cloak. The blade had a blue gleam to the steel, as if it was glowing. It was about three feet long from blade to handle, and had a shining purple guard in the shape of a hawk spreading its wings, with an azul gem for the eye. The handle to the pommel was the tail of the mighty beast. The shield was a deep blue with a steel rim, and a dark purple hawk in the center, once again with eh blue gem for the eye. The hawk was silent on the shield, eyeing the prey ahead of it.

Quickly, Naruto charged to meet him, as did the cloaked figure rushed to answer. The figure pushed his shielded right arm forward to block Naruto's downward strike, and pushed it to the side as he stabbed at Naruto. Naruto let go of his sword with his right arm to knock it away with his wrists, still wrapped in vambraces. He followed up by kicking him in the chest, sending him back a few feet. But then, he disappeared. Or rather, moved so quickly Naruto's eyes couldn't follow. But it didn't matter. All those times getting whacked by Cloud had prepared Naruto, keeping him in constant alert. He knew that when he tried something, he would sense it.

Such a thing happened moments later. Naruto backflipped as the cloaked man tried to stab him from behind. He landed behind him, and rammed him with his shoulder, causing his opponent to stumble. That was all Naruto needed. Quickly, he lunged forward and punched him into the ground, and raised his sword for the final blow. But not everything went as planned.

The other being sprung up from the ground, almost as if uninjured, and slashed the blade as it descended, cutting it in two. The lead weight flew out, and fell to the ground, cut in two from the cut. Naruto stared at his useless stub, and threw it to the ground, readying himself to use his martial arts.

"That's enough, you two!" Cloud shouted, landing between the two. Naruto quickly lowered his guard, and surprisingly, so did his opponent. Cloud quickly glanced at Naruto, then at the other figure. "Well, what do you think."

The figure shook his head. And then he spoke, in a young voice, one belonging to one only just into his early teens. "Not as useful as I'd hoped. He's improved, I'm sure, and I'm sure he'll be useful against the grunts, but he's not ready for the elite yet." Naruto steamed at this comment, sending him a dirty glare.

Cloud turned around and patted Naruto's head. "Well, I'm sure it would've been different if Naruto had the Buster Blade. He's shown incredible progress, enough for me to call him SOLDIER, first class."

But he just shook his head. "He's only been training in a controlled environment. Here he may test at that level, but the real world's completely different."

Cloud smirked. "He's seen real combat before we met him."

"But not like this!" He shouted. "Against an Elite, against even a low-level Chosen, he wouldn't make it. And I'm sure he hasn't taken life. When he is faced with it, he will run, or freeze up at the least. And then what? He will flee from the battlefield, scarred for life. Is that any fate to give to someone so young?"

"Hey! I'm right here, ya know!" Naruto grunted, giving him another glare.

The boy looked at Naruto, and chuckled. "You think you got what it takes to fight alongside us? Fine. I'll play along for now, or as long as Cloud requests it. But I bet you'll get killed before we get very far." He sighed at the mess he just resigned himself to. "Cloud has faith in you, but I won't give you mine so easily."

"…Just you wait." Naruto warned him.

Cloud sighed. He'd known it wouldn't go as well as he'd hoped, but still…this was a disaster. "Look, you two had better learn to get along. You'll be traveling to the base between the Midgar area and the Grassland area; the mountain base under construction. There, Naruto will be given the majority of his SOLDIER gear before returning to Konoha for the Chunin exams. Are we clear?" Cloud asked.

Naruto nodded. "I see…in that case, perhaps we should go individually."

"No. It's necessary that you two learn to work together. Don't forget, the three of us are a team."

The figure sighed. "Yeah…I know that…"

Cloud nodded, smiling. "Alright. Now then, why don't you two introduce yourself. Oh, and there's no need for that stealth cloak here." The boy nodded, and removed the final straps of his cloak. Underneath, he wore loose blue pants, and a large brown leather woodsman's studded shirt tied over with a belt, and a brown quiver half-full of arrows. His shirt had a picture of a black hawk on the back of it, the mighty bird in full flight, with wings reaching around the shirt to cover the chest of the shirt. He wore combat boots, the same as Cloud. At his sides were his sword sheath on his right, and a small knife about a foot long at his left. His sheath also had another smaller sheath attached further down, which contained nothing more than a small hunting knife. He had a gun over his supply pouches on the back of his belt, and a small golden locket around his neck, hanging just at the cleft of his collar. He had violet eyes that could penetrate anything, and dark blue hair, almost bordering black tied in a ponytail traveling halfway down his back. He was young, only about fourteen, and about three inches taller than Naruto.

"My Name is Arash. I'm a ranger, allied with the WRO. I'm a member of SOLDIER, just as you are, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded, understanding that an introduction was not necessary, though something still felt imcomplete. "Your surname?"

Arash shook his head, ponytail flying. "Don't have one." His tone told him that he wanted it to be left at that. "We should go. I want to get a good start before nightfall."

Naruto turned, ready to leave the forest, but Cloud held him back. "You go ahead, Arash. I need to have one last talk with Naruto before you leave." Arash nodded, respecting their privacy, and grabbed his bow and undamaged arrows before leaping into the trees.

Cloud looked Naruto in the eye. "I'm sorry about that. He doesn't exactly trust easily."

"Why not?" Naruto asked. Cloud just shrugged.

"It's complicated. Just leave it at that for now. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to get to know him as you travel. It's a four days walk to the base."

Naruto nodded, and turned to leave, but Cloud placed his hand on his shoulder. Naruto slowly turned around, wondering what else Cloud had to say. Cloud reached behind his back, and pulled out the Buster Blade. "You're ready." He said, handing him the enormous blade. It was shimmering with the small light that seeped its way through the trees, shining in all it's glory.

"Take this blade, and never forget the reason you wield it. And never forget those you will lose along the way." Cloud said, slowly extending the handle of the blade to Naruto. "Bring some light to these dark times."

Naruto slowly extended his hands, grasping the red handle, and feeling an odd connection as he touched it. Cloud released the blade, and Naruto felt himself compensate for the weight, suddenly happy he'd been training in extreme gravity. He lifted the blade up almost easily, raising it to the sky. He watched as the sunlight played happily along the steel, giving him a sense of ease and calm. Slowly, he lowered the blade and placed it in a strap behind his back.

"I won't forget. I promise."

Cloud smiled, and reached out to hug the boy. "Good luck, my friend. And until we meet again."

Naruto hugged him back, and smiled. Then, he turned around and began running off into the forest, waving his arm as he ran, signaling good-bye. Cloud waved back, even though he knew Naruto couldn't see it. But it felt odd, letting him go off on his own. Sighing, he turned around and began heading back to the top of the mountain, where a helicopter would be waiting to return him to headquarters.

Break

Vincent and Victor stared unhappily at the building plans, which were currently two days behind schedule. They had the upper section complete, but the larger underground portion was still being constructed, via moving dirt through the lifestream and planting buildings pieces in then space created. Still, they were encountering various problems with their gadgets, and it was causing delays.

"…At this rate, the building won't be complete until spring of next year. Vincent said, irritated with the construction planning.

Victor sighed. "Well, we should be happy that we haven't lost anyone from traveling through the lifestream. There may be a few minor bugs, but the people who invented the portals definitely did their job."

Vincent nodded. "Yes. I'd expect as much from people I'm placing my lives in."

"Well, at least the sleeping quarters are all finally ready. Now we won't have to see people sleeping in the hallway in the middle of the night."

"And ever since we've given up those rations for a cafeteria, everyone's been showing signs of improvement." Vincent thought out loud. "I must admit, our cafeteria food is quite delectable."

Victor nodded, giving a small sigh of content. "Yeah…this place isn't so bad…and being over a hog springs water source has some great advantages." Vincent smirked. He had to agree. "Even with a few delays, I think it will be well worth it in the end."

Their conversation came to an end as an announcement was made over the intercom: "Would Mr. Valentine, Prof. Weary and Tseng, head of Turks please report at the primary base entry location at once. We have guests wishing to speak with you." Said a lady with a pleasant voice.

"…Why can't they just call it the front door like the rest of us?" Vincent asked, bringing a chuckle out of Victor. The two turned around, and exited the dark room full of blueprints along the walls. They walked down the white sub-hallway to the main hallway to the main hallway, marked H-5 in bold red letters. They continued until they came to an elevator which was already carrying the head of the Turks, nodding at Tseng in greeting as they entered and pressed the up button. The steel door opened, and the three stepped in. Then, Victor pressed the button marked '1', and the elevator began its ascent from B-H, or basement H, to 1.

"Who do you think it is, Vincent, Tseng?" Victor asked.

Vincent shrugged. "No idea. It's a little late for a welcoming party. Most people tend to be avoiding this area anyways."

"Well no wonder, with us coming out of thin air. They've got every right to be cautious. Besides, it just makes our jobs easier." Tseng responded.

"Indeed."

The elevator came to a stop, the steel door slid to the side, and they both stepped out into a large room, with a reception desk at the front. The room was large and covered in white marble tile, with a red carpet leading to the maple wood reception desk. There was a large chandelier on the ceiling, about fifteen feet up, light from the bulbs inside illuminating the glass ornaments. The walls were peach with portraits of famous historical figures lining the wall, and lined with red chairs, from simple loveseats to couches that could seat five people, along with several one-person chairs around circular oak tables. This was the first floor, the reception level.

Vincent nodded to the receptionist who had called them, a young woman with brown hair tied in a bun with glasses, and she nodded, walking over to the elevator and getting in to take a break. After she left, the three turned to meet their guests: the Third Hokage, as well as Hyuga Haishi, Namiashi Raido, and a squad of ANBU. Vincent grew grim, and turned to Tseng, who nodded.

"If the Hyuga clan head tries any of his Byakugan spying, we'll have no choice but to end his life." Tseng warned.

"We did not come here with that intent." The Hokage assured them.

"We'll play back the security tapes to see if you speak the truth." Vincent warned them.

Hiashi sighed. "I do not know how you learned of the Hyuga clan and of it's jutsu, but I can assure you we are here for other reasons."

"Please expain." Victor said, offering the floor in an attempt to ward off any other hostilities.

The Hokage nodded to Hiashi. "In nine days time, we will be holding the Chunin selection exam finals in the Grand Konoha Stadium. As an act of friendship, we have reserved three front-seat rows for your party, if you should choose to attend."

"…The sudden courtesy is unexpected." Vincent stated.

Raido stepped forward. "Hey! You're our guests here! Return the host's respect when it is given too you." Raido demanded.

"We are under no such obligation. We haven't exactly been welcome here of late." Tseng replied. "And just for the record…shouting in your guest's face aren't exactly prefect etiquette either."

Raido stared, before calming himself, stepping back beside the Hokage in some light shame.

"Enough!" The Hokage interrupted. "We have merely come here to deliver an invitation. Think of it as nothing more than that." He said, handing them an envelope with the fire country wax seal closing the envelope. "If you should choose to attend, you may bring approximately fifty people." The Hokage went silent, waiting for their reply.

"…Perhaps, we shall take you up on your offer." Tseng said.

"But if we do attend, it will be with far fewer than fifty people. One row will be sufficient."

The Hokage shook his head. "You're still bordering intruders. Understand that. You shall be allowed to attend, but the ANBU shall be watching for anything suspicious."

"Why you-" Vincent began, before Victor slapped his hand over his mouth.

"We have no reason to commit any offences, therefore we have nothing to fear. That will be satisfactory." Victor said, trying to smile.

The Hokage nodded. "Very well. We'll see ourselves out." Victor removed his hand from Vincent's mout, and both groups bowed, and the Konoha shinobi left for the door. When the door slid shut, the three turned to each other.

"Well? Should we attend?" Victor broke the ice, speaking what was on everyone's mind.

Tseng turned away. "I was planning on attending to gather intelligence anyways. This just makes it easier."

"…I'll think about it." Vincent said, preparing to return to the blueprints room, shortly followed by Victor, who nodded in agreement.

Break

Naruto and Arash continued across the hills, leading to the hills. After just traveling for one day, things weren't going well.

"Look, just leave me alone, alright?!" Arash shouted over his shoulder as they climbed another hill.

"Hey! I'm not the one with the attitude problem!" Naruto shouted back.

"Look, will you just shut up?! We've still got at least four days before we reach the base, so keep it down until then. I'm sure you'll find some sort of idiot to talk gibberish with there." Arash said, losing his cool.

"…You really are a jerk, you know that?"

"Whatever." Arash said. He stopped on top of the hill, and noticed how little grass there was. He looked up, and noticed that the sun was setting. It would be clear tonight, so they didn't have to worry about rain, and if anything unexpected arrived, they would have the high ground. "We'll rest here tonight."

"Yeah, fine." Naruto muttered, not meeting his eyes. They both put down their weapons, and began searching for any wood from surrounding bushes that would work for a campfire. The regrouped, and Arash used some fire material to ignite the small campfire. By now, the sun was down, and crickets could be heard chirping happily in the distance. They both sat down on opposite ends, enjoying the warmth the fire offered.

"…Soooooooo…" Naruto began, trying to make conversation. "How did you join SOLDIER?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, but we're gonna be working together, so we may as well get to know each other."

Arash shook his head. "It's not necessary."

Naruto glared. "What's your problem? You think you're too good to tell a rookie like me anything?

"Perhaps."

"You're so conceited." Naruto said.

"Where do you get off calling me that?" Arash argued, beginning to raise his voice.

"'Cause you're a jerk! That's why!"

"Like any idiot like you could understand! Someone like you who's been living in a world of everlasting sunshine couldn't even begin to understand what I've been through!"

Naruto stood up. "Listen to me, you asshole! I don't know a thing about you, but don't even think about telling me that my life's been perfect! My whole past has been one bad memory!"

Arash stood up, towering over Naruto. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Silence. "…What are you talking about now?"

Arash turned around and gathered his gear. "It's nothing. Nothing that you could understand, anyways." Arash strapped his sword and knife to his side.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Hunting. I'm hungry. Just stay here and stay out of trouble." Arash commanded, Shringing his wooden longbow. It was only five feet long, but it was made of teak wood, and very powerful. "I'll be back in a couple hours."

"Hey, wait!" Naruto shouted as he began walking off. "Don't think we're done here!"

"Oh, I think we are."

Naruto growled. "Fine! Go then! Happy hunting!" Naruto shouted, dropping back down to the fire and throwing in some more kindling. Arash gave a heavy sigh and walked off, alert for any sound of movement.

Break

The fields were fairly deserted, mainly covered with insects and small mammals, but Arash knew there were other larger animals in the area. There were broken branches lying near small trees, and scat in random areas. After a half hour of tracking, he finally encountered a small heard of deer five hundred meters away, and loaded an arrow. Using the moonlight, and his knowledge of the deer's body, he calmly waited, until one of the deer bent down to take a bite to eat, and fired. His arrow flied straight and true, soaring straight through the area where the brain meets the spinal column, and watched as the beast fell. Other beasts, frightened, tried to prance away, but Arash had already loaded another arrow and fired, taking down another in the same manner. Arash jumped through the air and ran to examine his kills, before slitting their throats with his small hunting knife, letting the blood drain out of the bodies.

Arash quickly skinned the animals and began to cut up the meat, saving the good meat and leaving the rest for scavengers to take, when he sensed another presence. However, he didn't feel alarmed, and simply continued cutting.

"You're really harsh on the kid." The man said. His voice was deep, and he wore a brown tunic completely covering his body, and a brown hood with a blue veil covering his face, and a headband wrapped around the top of his forehead and hood, the ends flowing behind his head.

Arash didn't look up. He just continued his work. "He can't be trusted with this kind of responsibility. They're just asking for trouble."

The older man sighed. "Including Cloud?" Arash stiffened, but continued to work, clearing the calves and moving on to the thighs. "He trusts him."

Arash paused, trying to find the words he wanted to say. "I know that…but…"

"If someone you have complete faith in has complete faith in another, shouldn't you also have complete faith in that exact same person?" The man asked.

"…I know that, but it's just…I just…"

The man raised his head, understanding why. "Ahh…it's because he's had a childhood, isn't it?"

Arash's grip on the knife doubled, as he began to cut more vigorously. "That's not it."

"But it is. You envy him." He watched as Arash began stabbing the meat, tearing a small portion to shreds. "You envy him for the fact that his past is known, and he can be told at any time, but you, even after all these years, have nothing of your past." The man said knowingly.

Arash raised the knife once more, gritting is teeth, and stabbed right through the bone. Taking a deep breath, he raised his head, and crossed his legs. "…Why me?"

"Because there's no one else who can."

"I know that…but why do I have to suffer so much for it?" Arash asked, sadness clearly visible in his eyes.

"Arash…you're right. You do suffer." Arash said nothing, waiting for more. "However, you must understand that not all suffering is the same. You and Naruto have both suffered. You know of the Kyubi within him. He may only act like it, but his childhood has been full of bad memories. Both of you suffer, but neither of you can understand how the other suffers. And by pushing each other away, you only make each other suffer more."

Arash contemplated his words, still unsure how to act.

The man stood up, and reached into his pocket at his side, pulling out a knife. With lighting-fast movements, he cut up the remaining meat, and pulled out a sack to bag them in, handing them to Arash, along with the skins. "Think about what I said for now. Go back in an hour. He'll still be there, waiting for you." The man nodded at Arash, with Arash nodding back, and quickly, he disappeared into thin air.

Break

Baki entered the hotel he and his team were staying at, after just returning from the Sand Village after meeting with the Kazekage about the plans. And unfortunately for him, the first thing he saw upon entrance was none other than Sand's ultimate trump card, Gaara.

"Gaara…what is it? Make it quick!" Baki ordered.

"Postpone the invasion until after my second match."

Baki's eyes widened. "What?! B-but Gaara, the plans have already been made! We cannot make such a drastic change now."

Gaara's facial features did not change, but he gave Baki such a wave of killer intent that the Jonin almost wet his pants. "Uzumaki Naruto will defeat Hyuga Neji. When he does, I shall fight him in the second round, and then I shall go through with the plan. Those are my demands."

"Gaara, surely you-"

"You will make these adjustments, now. Otherwise, you shall not have my support." Gaara said, before walking past Baki out the door.

Baki growled, then slammed his hand against the table, smashing it. 'Fine! If that boy wants to fight both those kids, then we'll let him. It makes little difference in the end, I suppose.' He reasoned with himself. He sighed once more, and set back out for the Sand village, to inform the Kazekage once more of the changes.

Break

Naruto sat by the fire, poking the embers with a stick. It had been five hours since Arash left, and he'd been getting hungry. The fire had enough wood to last a couple hours, but that wasn't what made him upset.

"Damn him!" Naruto shouted. 'Why does this guy have to be such an asshole?! I foresee many problems ahead.

Naruto continued poking the embers when he heard footsteps. "Well, you finally back?" Naruto asked, adding some unusual venom to his voice.

"Oh!" Said a young, cheery male voice. "Sorry, I just stopped by here to see who was up here. Sorry to disturb you." The man said. He was wearing a brown tunic and a yellow backpack, with a yellow veil and a yellow headband that wrapped around his forehead and his hood.

Naruto turned around, and began apologizing. "No, no, sorry. I assumed you were someone else. Please, have a seat." Naruto insisted, patting the place next to him. The stranger sat down, and took out a knife from his backpack, along with some wood. Enjoying the warmth of the fire, he began carving. 'There's something familiar about him…I've heard this voice before…' He tried to recall who the voice belonged to, but to little success.

"So, what's a kid like you doing out here?" The man asked.

"I'm heading north. I've got a task ahead of me."

"Part of the war?" The man asked.

Naruto quickly turned to the man, but settled down. "…Is it that obvious?"

The man turned to look at him through his veil. "To think…that one so young has become involved."

"I made a promise. To a very important friend."

"Does Cloud Strife have anything to do with this?"

Naruto gasped, turning to the man. "Wh-what?"

"Don't act so surprised. I've heard Cloud has been making a large number of unusual requests as of late."

Naruto continued to glare as the man carved the wood into a longer shape, trimming the lower back and part of the front. "You're a little too well informed."

The man laughed. "It's not exactly a secret. Everyone knows about Cloud, and about Arash, too." Naruto's eyes widened. "In fact, I heard there's a third SOLDIER in the WRO, one who wasn't raised under Shinra. They've kept it under wraps, but if it's true, everyone will know his name within 24 hours of an official statement."

Naruto took the information in, folding his knees up and placing his chin on them, wrapping his arms around them, and grinned. He may be different, but he was still Naruto, and knowing he was going to be famous put him on the point of screaming with joy. "Well…that's interesting…" Silence followed, broken only by the sound of the oblivious fire, crackling merrily before them.

"So then, if you're involved in the war, I suppose you're heading for that base under construction. And judging by how you answered my presence, I'd say you were expecting someone else, meaning you're not alone, and from your tone of voice, I take it you're on bad relations with said person, no?" His figure was taking the shape of a large animal, a few inches long, with four legs and a tail.

Naruto flinched at the last part. He remembered how he took it out on this guy. "Yeah…and right now, we're not on very good terms."

"Why?" The man asked.

"Well…we don't get along. He just doesn't trust anyone." Naruto didn't know why he was telling this man everything, but he felt a good aura coming from this man. Cloud had taught him how to sense aura, and how to judge someone off of it, and this man had a very warm and calm one.

The man sighed. "I see…and you're angry at him for not trusting you?" The man asked. Naruto nodded, bringing a soft sight from the older man. "Listen kid, you may be kind, but it doesn't work that way.

"What are you talking about?"

"Faith, child. Faith is build overtime, not over a day." He broke his gaze from his carving, now clearly a wolf, with a few details missing. "Have you even tried to look at it from his perspective?"

Naruto shook his head. "No…I haven't." Suddenly, he pumped his fist. "But you know, I've had some bad times too! Even if he has some bad memories, that doesn't mean he can go around treating others like crap!"

The man shook his head. "Look, boy, you may think you understand, buy you don't." Naruto looked at him, not following. "Even if you two have remembered pain, it is not the same pain. It's like burning and freezing. They both give pain, but are completely different. Rejection is not the same as a cut from a knife. You need to try to understand one another, even if you cannot completely understand them."

"But…I tried to understand! He just wouldn't let others in!"

The man sighed, and looked at his finished work: a lone worf, standing tall and proud against the darkness. "Look at this. I've been working on it ever since we started talking. It's a wonderful piece of work. And since I spent my time on it, a part of my life goes into it." The man said calmly, before throwing the wooden wolf into the hungry fire.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He tried to reach into the fire to grab it, but the man's hand lashed out and grabbed his own. They both watched as the wolf turned black, and ignite, burning the work in just over a minute.

"Faith is just as that wolf is, Naruto. You can spend hours on it, perfecting it, shaping it in whatever way your mind and the wood can agree on. Yet, with just an accident, or at a whim, your work can be incinerated within the flames. If this happens enough, would you want to make another, spending hours, days, weeks, maybe even years on it, thinking it was just going to burn?" The man asked.

Naruto contemplated what he thought, slowly coming to a realization. Maybe Arash had been betrayed before, and could only trust a select few people. "Maybe…can one teach another that they bear a torch with only the meaning of bringing light to their world, not destruction?"

The man shrugged. "One can teach nothing. Teaching is impossible. One can only show them the way, so that they may discover the truth for themselves."

The man stood up, pulled out another block, and began carving. "Well, as our meeting comes to an end, I'm off on new journeys. Please enjoy yourself, and I pray you the best with your friend." The man said cheerily, walking away from the fire.

Naruto quickly turned around, and called out to the man "Wait!" The man stopped, and turned around. "Have we met before? I feel like I've met you before."

The man stayed silent for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. You never knew me before this day." The man once again turned around, but before he left, he gave one final message. "We will meet again, Mr. Uzumaki, and when your need is greatest, blow the ashes of the fallen wolf into the air, and look to the sky." He finished, vanishing in the darkness.

"Wait! How did you know my name?! Who are you?! Tell me!" Naruto shouted after the man, but got no response. Sighing, he sat back down, and used his sword to remove some lit logs from the fire before extinguishing the others with a bucket of water, gathering the ashes and placing them in a bag, ready to one day test the man's words. After gathering them, he gathered some dry wood and used the already-lit logs to bring forth a new flame.

Five minutes after he sat back down, he heard more footsteps. He turned around, half expecting the man to return, but only met Arash, carrying a large back dripping blood, and two deer skins over his shoulder.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." Came Naruto's reply. Arash set up some sticks over the fire to roast the meat, and cooked it all over the course of two hours, during which the only sound came from the fire. After all the meat was cooked and the leftovers placed in a bag, they ate their portion, and prepared to go to bed.

Naruto knew he didn't have any sleeping gear, and was preparing to rough it, despite the freezing cold temperatures of the night, when Arash tossed him one of the animal skins. "It may smell bad, but it'll keep you warm." Arash said, wrapping himself in his own deer skin.

"Thanks…" came his reply, as he settled down and prepared to sleep. He didn't know where Arash got this sudden change of attitude, but he had a guess that that man in the brown tunic had something to do with it. Regardless, he vowed to try harder to understand Arash before they arrived as he closed his eyes and sighed, welcomed some much needed sleep.

Then he sniffed, and sniffed again, and his face twisted into something that would resemble a fangirl after Sasuke told them he was gay.

Damn did this skin reek!

Break

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Michiko roared as she charged at her sensei. Ryuunosuke slashed his kunai sideways, knocking the blades aside, and rolled away from Michiko, before he heard Yoko behind him. "Suiton: Suikei no jutsu, Shouaku!" She shouted, as he felt the moist water whips along his arms and legs, holding him in position.

Hotaka jumped out from a nearby tree in the training circle, and ran through a series of handsigns, and thrust his hands out, each holding a seed. "Mokuton: Mokunaoyakke no jutsu!" The seeds grew into a long stick, and wrapped themselves around Ryuunosuke, until he was completely bound within the wood.

Michiko came in once more for the finish. "Katon: Karyuuendan no jutsu!" She held in her breath, and then threw herself forward, releasing a wave of fire from her mouth. The wooden cocoon was blasted by fire, destroying everything within.

The three watched as the fire blazed, and slowly died. Then, from the ashes, Ryuunosuke arose, taking a deep breath, and breathing in the fire. His breath was long, until he'd eaten all of the flames. He let out a large breath into the air, releasing the fire into the sky, illuminating the training ground.

When Ryuunosuke had blown out the rest of the flame, he turned to his tired students. "You've all improved. Good work." He walked over to his panting students, and pulled out some health bars from his pocket. "Eat up. We continue tomorrow."

Michiko looked at the bar, and almost puked. "Aw, come on! We've been eating these nonstop for weeks! Let's go out and get some real food!"

Yoko stared at the bar in disgust. "I must admit, If we keep eating health bars, I think I'm gonna turn into one."

"There's a nice Ramen bar just up the street. Why don't we go there?" Hotaka suggested.

"Hmm…" Ryuunosuke thought. They weren't supposed to leave either the training field of the Hotel in case of an emergency, but so far, nothing had happened, and they'd be leaving in a few days anyways.

"Fine. Ramen it is, then!" He announced. Michiko jumped up and down in victory, Yoko threw the bar in the dirt and squashed it with her foot, and Hotaka smirked.

Five minutes later, the owner Obarashi Ramen stand really began to understand the phrase 'Iron Stomach'

Break

It was the third night of their little stroll through the countryside, and so far, nothing had really changed. The two would travel together, but never talk. They only informed the other of what they were doing. On the plus side, they wouldn't argue anymore, but they were still at square one of any sort of relationship.

Just an hour ago, the two had gone to sleep without a word of exchange, but the boy with golden hair and black bangs kept awake, staring at the sky.

It was a clear night, with starts shining, and a crescent moon shining through the night. Naruto watched with excitement as every once in a while a shooting star would shine through the sky. Tonight, he just couldn't sleep. He turned over to look at his partner, once again debating the option that had presented itself so many times the past week: should he read his mind?

Cloud had taught him how to view a few of the thought patterns with his new SOLDIER sense that came with the power of the cells. He could peer into what the person was thinking about, but it didn't go deeper than that for now. He knew it was an invasion of privacy, and that he shouldn't use it unless it became necessary? He sighed, not being able to figure out whether or not it was the right thing to do.

Trying to calm himself, he began to sing softly a song that he'd known ever since he was a child.

It began softly, barely above a whisper.

"Hush now, young one, close your eyes,

The monsters are not here tonight.

Close your eyes, forget your fights,

And go to lands fun and light.

Laugh and smile, play and be merry,

As you take a ride along the dream ferry.

And when you're done, look towards the light

Where mama will come to hug you tight."

His voice rose, as he began the chorus. It wasn't loud enough to wake Arash, just loud enough to be heard clearly.

"Breathe now, Sleep now,

The bad men will not come.

Run now, Play now,

Mama will keep you safe 'till you're done.

Forget the pain, let go of sorrow,

If only until tomorrow,

Where you and I shall meet again,

Heading home, to our promised land."

Naruto finished the chorus, and was about to continue before he heard some shuffling next to him. He whipped up, throwing off the deer skin, but only saw Arash staring at him, his face illuminated by the moonlight.

"Who was that?" He asked. Naruto looked down, not sure if he should say.

"…Who?" He asked.

"The woman who you sang about?" Arash asked.

Naruto took a deep breath, deciding to tell him. "It was my mother, or at least I think she is."

"Your mother?" Arash asked.

Naruto nodded. "I've never really dreamed in my sleep. Every time I fall asleep, I hear that soft, young feminine voice singing me that lullaby. It's always the same one, too." He paused, choosing his words carefully, and continues. "I think I'm in a meadow when she sings, full of beautiful flowers, and I can see a patch of light in the blue sky.

"…And what about the woman?" He asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I can't remember her face; all I can see is the light above her head, with myself, still an infant, in her arms. And I she's holding me, cradling me. It's one of the happiest memories I've ever had." Naruto finished.

"When do you sing it?"

Naruto took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Every night, after everyone else has fallen asleep. But…it looks like you weren't shut down yet, were you?"

"…What happened to her?"

Naruto lowered his head, struggling with the answer. "…She died."

Arash lowered his gaze, not really knowing how to respond. "I'm sorry…how did she die?"

"That's the sad part, I don't know how she died. I just know it, because…if someone loved me that much, they wouldn't abandon me. If she left me, she must have died…" Naruto concluded. "And even if she was alive, then she would have looked for me. I've never had someone like that in my life after her. I think my dad's gone, too."

"…I'm sorry to hear that."

"What about you?" Naruto asked.

Arash looked up in surprise. "Wh-what?" He stuttered out.

"What was your life before SOLDIER?" Naruto asked.

"Well…I don't know."

"What do you mean."

Arash sighed. "Well, I've had selective amnesia ever since I was eight. I can't remember where I came from or what I'm doing here."

"Amnesia? Don't they have a technique to uncover your memories?"

Arash nodded sadly. "Yes, but none have worked. The only thing I have from my past is a large scar across my entire torso; a giant X. I've visited some mages, and they said it was a powerful curse beyond their power to remove. For three years after that, I wandered around, not having any clue where I was going. I was just a worthless brat to everyone. And because of the recent wars across the world, Orphans were everywhere. The orphanages even had to turn some children away, it was so bad."

"Oh my…that's horrible…"

"Yeah…and I thought I was gonna starve, until one day, the Turks discovered me and took me for training. I felt like I grew wings, and I flew out of that scum-hole and into the light. In just six months, I was ready for some training. Of course, that was before Shinra fell."

Naruto had begun staring at the moon, noticing how Arash felt awkward under his gaze. "So what did you do after Shinra fell?"

Arash debated telling him, but decided against it. "To make it short, I trained. And then, after Cloud defeated Sephiroth again, he became an ally with the WRO a month later, and recruited me a week later. I've been working for the WRO for four months now."

"…Well, you're certainly talkative this evening."

"Same to you." They shared a short laugh before quieting down.

"So…" Naruto began, before Arash interrupted.

"You don't have to say it." Arash said, giving him a small smile. "Maybe now, we can understand each other, Mr. Uzumaki, if only just a little."

Naruto returned his smile. "Yeah!"

Arash smiled and settled down. "Look, we'll be working together for a while yet, so why don't we try to make it an enjoyable one?"

"Yeah…that sounds good." Naruto agreed.

Arash smirked. "Just don't pull me down, rookie."

Naruto twitched. "Hey! Just you wait! Soon, I'll be so far ahead that you can't even see me!"

Arash chuckled. "We'll see, Uzumaki."

"Oh yeah!"

Break

"Michiko, Yoko, wake up!" Hotaka shouted, barging into the girl's room.

"Gah!" Michiko shouted, toppling out of her bed. Hotaka walked up to her, watching her foot twitch in the air.

"Uhh…" Yoko said, putting down her book, not really knowing what to think of the whole situation.

"Get up, you two! Ryuunosuke-sensei wants us outside now! Get your ninja gear!"

Michiko sat up, kicking off the bedsheets. "What? Really? What's up?"

"Shut up and hurry! No time to waste!" He shouted, before running out the door.

"What was that about?" Michiko asked.

"I don't know, but maybe we should go ahead and get dressed." Yoko suggested.

"Hey! I want an explanation after I was so rudely awakened!"

Yoko sighed. "Oh yes, and you're the epitome of manners!" She said sarcastically.

"Damn straight!" Michiko said smugly.

"…That was sarcasm, dobe."

Michiko growled. "GAH! I'll get you, just you wa-"

"HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED, YOU TWO! OR DO I HAVE TO DRESS YOU MYSELF!!" Ryuunosuke shouted from outside. Michiko and Yoko both grimaced, and quickly stripped off their night clothes and tugged on their ninja gear. When they reached their teammates, they looked like they just fought a landslide…and lost…

"About time you two got here!" Spoke a guest.

"Who are you?" Michiko asked.

"I'm Aoba, and my area that my team was guarding recently spotted sound shinobi. I was ordered here to inform you, and to assist in any way I can!"

Michiko's eyes shot open. "Wait! What are you talking about?"

Ryuunosuke turned to his confused squad. "Only the team commanders were informed of the mission. Several teams have been assigned to various locations over fire country, and are to report to the other teams if they spot any sound shinobi, and eliminate them."

"So there was a purpose…" Yoko commented.

"So what do we do now?" Hotaka asked.

"I'll scout out the area for any shinobi, then rejoin with you later on. Meanwhile, I'll give each of you four a map with a location. Head there to the hotel where another squad is staying, and inform them to sweep the forest."

"But what about this forest?" Yoko asked.

"I'll handle anything here. You go. We'll all meet back tomorrow at noon in two days time! There's no time to lose!"

"Bu-" Michiko began.

"GO!"

Hotaka, Michiko, Yoko and Aoba took off without a second pause. None of them had ever seen Ryuunosuke so uptight.

Seeing that his squad were all heading to their requested destination, Ryuunosuke headed into a nearby forest next to the town. He slowed down as he entered, alert for the smallest sign of movement. For a half hour, he would stay still, discerning sounds to small to be human, and possibilities for human presence.

Another crack. That's the third one. They're definitely around." He concluded, hearing a fourth.

Suddenly, four kunai carrying a net flew out of the trees, straight for Ryuunosuke. He jumped to the side, and charged at where the net flew from. While running, he flipped through some handseals, and held his hand to his mouth. "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" Ryuunosuke released the flame, but the fire was not orange or red, but an icy blue! The blue fire traveled through the trees, incinerating anything within them. He heard two bodies drop, and quickly spun around, hearing a third. He pulled out a kunai and blocked his opponent's knife, pushing it back, and slashed before his opponent could recover, cutting off his head.

He turned around, hearing clapping. "Well well, I never imagined they would place you on simple guard duty."

Ryuunosuke spoke calmly to the big man. "…Who are you?"

The man chuckled. "My name is not important, Ryuunosuke-san. Yes, I already read about you in the bingo book. The young man who left Kumogakure during the war for Konoha after fighting with the future Fourth Hokage. Konoha's Blue Dragon, Takahashi Ryuunosuke."

Ryuunosuke smirked. "Don't get so confident. You may think you know me, but the bingo book forgot to list a few very important facts."

"Oh, well, I'm sure. I assure you, I'm looking forward to seeing them myself."

Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes. "You won't even get past my first level."

"Heh…we'll see about that!" The man roared, drawing a katana and engaging the Icy-blue haired man.

"Bring it on!" The sound shinobi slashed down, but Ryuunosuke blocked it with his kunai, and pulled out a second, slashing at his enemy. But the enemy used shunshin no jutsu, appearing behind him. Ryuunosuke ducked the kunai swipe, but lost a few strands of loose hair. He twirled around, trying to stab him, but just met another kunai. His enemy jumped back, trying a new tactic.

He flew through some handseals and created random earth spikes. Ryuunosuke jumped into the air landing in a tree, preparing his own jutsu. But he was too slow. The enemy came up behind him and threw several shuriken, which he just barely weaved to avoid. But that didn't mean he avoided the fist that bollowed.

Ryuunsuke fell out of the tree, and landed at the base of another, slamming his head against the back. The enemy landed in front of him, and tried to land a finishing blow, but Ryuunosuke began chuckling. The enemy took it as nothing, and slammed his Katana down.

Last mistake of his life.

Ryuunosuke backhanded the blade aside and kicked the sound shinobi into the air, letting him land several feet away.

"You're better than I expected…" Ryuunosuke began, chuckling in between. "Well then, no more chances. You'll die here."

"…What are you talking about? You got one lucky kick in, so what?"

Ryuunosuke was now laughing, not chuckling, but in full blown laughter. "You foolish little man…there's a reason my most powerful skills aren't in the bingo book…" He stopped laughing, and smirked. "It's because no one, with the exception of the fourth, has ever survived past level five."

Ryuunosuke raised his hands over his face. "I'm not taking any more chances with you. I've got more important things in hand…So, I'll go straight to level seven!" Icy blue Chakra burst from his body, surrounding him and cocooning him. "Let me show you…" The Chakra now encompassed his entire torso. "…why they call me…" It surrounded his neck. "…the Blue Dragon…!!"

The Sound shinobi gasped at the sight, dropping his sword, and falling to his knees. "I see…so that's why…"

There was no escape from this. It was over.

Break

"So, Arash, have you ever been to this base?" Naruto asked. They were almost at the base, and were currently walking up a large hill, from which they should be able to see the base.

"Yeah, but it was a while ago. There wasn't much installed yet, other than the basics. I believe that by now, there should be some defensive mechanisms installed, but other than that, I'm not sure what to expect." He replied.

"Hmm…" Naruto lost himself in thought, not sure what to ask next. Things may have improved between the two, but it was still fairly touchy. "So how many battles have there been?" Naruto asked.

Arash shrugged. "Not many. More like a few squabbles. But we know we're in for a big strike. The question is when."

Naruto nodded, but he still had one more question to ask. "So, who are our enemies? What are they trying to do?"

Arash became tense, more tense than usual. "We don't know. They just began attacking us for no reason, and any captives they have won't talk about much, like they've had their words limited."

Naruto nodded as they approached the top of the hill. "Well, it doesn't matter, I suppose. They're attacking us, and we have no choice but to fight back, right?"

Arash shrugged. "You could say that, but if we just leave it at that, nothing will change. We have to try to find out why they're attacking, so that we can make peace."

"…You're completely different now than when I met you, you know that?" Naruto noted.

Arash blushed a little from embarrassment, but shrugged it off. "Anyway…" He said, as he approached the top of the hill. "Allow me to present to you the fourth branch of the World Regenisis O…oh my…" Arash trailed off, freezing at his spot on top of the hill. Naruto, watching him, ran up beside him, and quickly matched his expression at the sight before him.

The new base, still under construction, was under attack!

The base was as large as a small town about a mile across, with several building in various places, and a fortified wall surrounding it, which had been breached and entered in several locations. Many of the buildings were in flames, and the echoes of explosions reached them in their silence. At one point, a building burst into flames, being hit by a small rocket launcher. In the center of it all, a large building, the command center, had muzzle flashes everywhere, trying to hold off the enemy until help arrived.

Arash was the first to break from the initial shock, seconds after Naruto joined him. "Naruto…we have to go…" When Naruto didn't respond, he put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, snap out of it! This is what we trained for! Even if you're a rookie, you're a SOLDIER! People are counting on you!" When this still didn't get through to him, he calmed himself, and used the same motivation he'd given himself when he entered his first battle. "Cloud is counting on you, too. Do you want to let Cloud down?"

"…N-No, no of c-course not…" Came Naruto's stuttered reply.

Arash nodded at the frightened boy. "This is your first real battle with thousands of enemies, isn't it?" He asked. Naruto nodded dumbly. "Don't worry, rookie. I'll look after you." Arash finished, drawing his bow, stringing it, and loading an arrow. He reached behind him and gave Naruto his handgun. "You've had basic firearms training, right?" Arash asked. Naruto nodded dumbly. "All right, let's go!" Arash shouted, charging down to the battlefield.

Naruto stood frozen for a moment, debating whether or not to run away, but he quickly repeated what Arash had told him: he didn't want to fail Cloud. Releasing the safety on the gun, checking the ammo and switching it to single shot, pulled the hammer and released, he ran after Arash, and to war.

Break

Reeve stood up at the head of a long oak table at the group before him in the grand hall of the WRO main Headquarters. To his right sat Cid, Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Yuffie, Victor, Barret, Tseng and Rufus at the end. To his left were the Field Marshal and the Supreme commander of the infantry, The prime, vice, and rear admiral, and the financial advisor.

"Gentlemen, welcome! Let's get down to business. First off, we have a request from Field Marshal Williams to increase funding to infantry training. He states the purpose is to better equip our men in the fields with the knowledge they'll need to survive combat and emerge victorious. He requests Twenty billion gil to begin with. All in favor?" Rufus, Victor, Yuffie, and the entire left side raised their hands. "All against?" Cloud, Vincent, an Cid raised theirs. "And what problems do you see with this investment?" Reeve asked them.

Cloud spoke first. "We can't just go throwing around money every which way whenever something needs to be adapted. We need to prioritize these. Our financial backing and taxes collected will go dry if we keep spending them so recklessly." Cloud finished.

General Panglima rebutted "With all due respect, I seem to recall you asking for a few million just a few months ago to train your two recruits, money with which we could have easily trained and sustained over thirty troops with for a year. To add to that, you've been keeping to yourself more than usual, Mr. Strife. We haven't even received the full documents on either of your young prodigies. SOLDIER has been secluding itself from the rest of the WRO for too long. I do not see you with much room to talk."

"You know perfectly well that SOLDIERS are a necessity to fight the elites in our enemies armies. A fully trained elite could take out every last one of those trained soldiers, and save just as many. Perhaps you should take that into consideration before you begin nagging at the head."

Field Marshal Williams decided to join in. "Yet the quality of the majority of our soldiers is more important than a few elites. We need to remember that."

Yuffie, sensing the rising tension, tried to cool the embers that could start an inferno. "Hey, hey! We're all a team here, united against a common enemy! Let's remember that!"

"Yeah!" Tifa commented. "The army and SOLDIER are one. They can't win without the other!"

Barret nodded. "She's right! We got bigger fist ta fry! Let's keep that in mind before ya go off on each other!"

Vincent shook his head. "No, it's debate that keeps things from changing in the high court. If anything, we should be spreading it."

Admiral Jenkins nodded in agreement. "I agree with the head of the first branch. Without debate, we'd all just go along with whatever's said. And if we did that, then there'd be no point to this meeting."

"Yeah, so let's get going!" Cid said briskly when finding his chance.

Reeve nodded. "Well, either way, the request is approved by majority. You shall receive your funding, as you've requested by five days time. Now, onto the next request. This one goes to Ms. Kisaragi, head of stealth and reconnaissance. She requests five million gil and a team of chemists, pay not incuded in the initial request, to construct a smoke bomb that is capable of creating a smokescreen twenty five feet in radius with a temporary paralyzing effect to any who breath it in. All in favor?" Before the vote could take place, Nanaki, or Red XIII, as he was commonly known, burst through the door.

Reeve stood up, and welcomed him. "Well well, you're late. The meeting's already started."

Red XIII grunted. "I was late for a reason. The fourth branch under construction is currently under attack. The men are preparing to move out. We're just waiting for the order.

Shock spread throughout the room, yet everyone quickly kept their composure.

"…Very well, then. The meeting is temporarily adjourned. Everyone, get to your stations. We need to get there ASAP!" Reeve ordered as everyone got up and ran to their posts.

But just as Cid was about to leave, Cloud grabbed his shoulder. "I need a favor."

Cid turned around, seeming anxious. "All right pal, but make it quick."

"I need you to view the area with a camera and lock on to Naruto and Arash, then drop me onto their location. I'm sure they're there by now."

Cid looked skeptical. "You sure, buddy? How we even know if they're down there?"

"If they are, I have to keep them alive."

"Cloud, I understand how ya wanna keep yer comrades alive an all, but I'm sure those two can fend for themselves." Cloud still didn't look convinced. "Look, yer comin with me! If they're in danger, I'll drop ya with them. If not, I'll get you to the heart of the battle, sound good?"

Cloud, knowing that was the best he could hope for, nodded. "Thanks, Cid."

Cid laughed. "No prob, mi amigo! Now, let's get our boys suited up!"

Nodding, the two ran out of the room, preparing themselves, and their men, for the biggest battle of the war thus far.

Break

Arash rushed down the hill, drawing his bow, already loaded with an arrow. The bow itself had a draw weight of over 400 pounds, but for a 3-year veteran SOLDIER, he found the strength to manage the feat. He lined up his shot, and jumped. The moment he hit the point where he was floating without movement, he fired, sending the arrow through the armor and gut of one enemy unit and into the lower back of another, in both cases piercing vital organs. The two fell almost instantly; they were dead before they hit the ground. Arash fired three more, killing all five guards at a breach in the wall.

Naruto caught up to him just as they reached the fissure in the wall, and examined the troops. The dead men with white clothing and armor and grey chest and leg attachments for holding equipment and had insignia for WRO imprinted on several places on the armor. They wore no helmets, although many were seen wearing red hats with the WRO symbol on them. They were his comrades. The ones he was fighting side-by-side with for the sake of the planet. The others, the five that Arash had just killed, wore blue armor and clothing with strips of black along the sides, and wore helmets that covered their heads. They had black glass strips where the eyes were and a filter for air. These were his enemies, the ones who were attacking, and killing. Around them, scattered guns and blood littered the ground, proving that this was indeed a true battle.

Arash nodded to Naruto, who nodded back, and both entered the opening, both with weapons aimed, ready to shoot whatever moved.

Two shots came from above, but both had sensed the bullets ripping through the air, and backflipped out of the way. Naruto was looking up at where they were, and saw two muzzle flashes again, feeling a ripple past his ear. He raised his handgun and remembered back to his training.

"Naruto," Cloud began. "The handgun is a tool that was overlooked by Shinra, but if long-range combat is necessary, it's better than nothing. In order to use a standard SOLDIER handgun, release the safety, release the ammo cartridge and check the ammo, then re-insert it, pull the hammer back and release, and set the weapon using the switch on the side to either single-shot, semi-auto, or fully automatic. Then, point the gun, and aim it at the target, and just squeeze the trigger, like so." Cloud raised the gun and squeezed it, sending a loud bang across the area. "It's as simple as that. Other guns work in similar ways, but each is different. Remember that."

Naruto gently squeezed the trigger at his target, and shot. It was on single-shot, so only one of the twenty-five bullets fired. Unfortunately, he missed. He aimed again, and squeezed off two more shots, but neither met their target.

Suddenly, Naruto heard a twang and heard two arrows sing throught their flight, going right through the helmets of both snipers. Arash looked at his work and smirked, and nodded at Naruto to follow him. Naruto sighed, knowing he just wasted three bullets, but figured it wasn't a big deal. He was sure Arash had more cartridges. And even so, he still had his Buster Sword.

The two continued to run through the city of steel, noting the destruction done to many buildings that had been hit by missiles and bombs, and how many still had construction equipment around them.

At that moment, a squad of about ten enemy troops marched through an intersection. They were spotted, and the troops began to open fire upon them.

Naruto and Arash quickly took cover behind a tractor. They could hear the sound of the bullets hitting the steel goliath, and feel the rumbling of complaint as they laid back on it.

Naruto looked around, looking for a way to defeat them without placing themselves in danger.

"Okay, you'll be studying strategy over the next few weeks." Cloud said.

"What?! Why?! Can't I learn some new techniques?" Naruto asked.

"NO!" Cloud answered to the shadow clone. "Fancy moves won't get you out of situations where you're outnumbered every time. Sometimes, you'll have to use your mind and the environment to defeat your enemies." Cloud lectured.

Right now, Naruto was very thankful for that lesson as he saw a crane carrying a giant wrecking ball next to the enemies as he peered around the corner. It wasn't over them, but if they could get it to drop, it could destroy the building, and the debris would kill the enemies.

Naruto tapped Arash, and pointed to the structure. Arash smirked, pleased that the boy had figured it out on his own. Arash had already seen it, and was just waiting to see if he'd reply. Arash loaded his bow, peeked over the tractor, and fired, cutting the steel wire that held the ball up, sending it tumbling down and destroying the building, as well as all ten enemies who didn't have time to react as the debris came down upon them, crushing the life out of them. Arash immediately jumped out, followed by Naruto.

The two made it through the intersection without problem and continued to the source of all the gunfire: the Fourth branch headquarters. It towered over the rest of the three-story buildings as it blazed gunfire down onto the enemy troops.

Naruto and Arash kept running, until they heard a loud explosion above them.

'Oh shit! Motion sensor mines!' They both concluded. Naruto ducked into a ruined building to the right and Arash ducked into one at the left to avoid the falling steel, drywall and cement.

Naruto got up from inside the building, but when he looked up, he was looking straight into a gun barrel. There was only one enemy, but that didn't make things better.

Fortunately, as Naruto knew, things weren't that bad anyways.

The soldier pulled the trigger of the handgun, sending the bullet straight between Naruto's eyes. Naruto closed his eyes just before the bullet hit, remembering one of the most important lessons of them all.

"Naruto, have you ever gotten a feeling from others when you are close to them, like a feeling of warmth or something to make you shiver?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah! I got this weird feeling from this Haku guy once. Turned out, he was an enemy." Naruto recollected his past experience.

"Well, that's aura! And you have one too, that you can turn into a defensive measure more powerful than tempered steel!" Cloud said, expecting Naruto to jump with joy. Instead, Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy. "Listen up, people naturally emit their mana from their bodies, and there's nothing they can do to stop it. That's how people like your friend Hotaka can sense chakra. Now, even through it's mana, or chakra, or whatever, that you lose naturally, you can bend it even after it's left your body."

Cloud handed Naruto a knife. "Here. Try to cut me. Anywhere."

"What?!"

"Just do it." Cloud ordered. Naruto slowly stood up and carried the knife underhand, raising it above his head, and pausing for a second, before bringing it down. To his surprise, the knife didn't even harm his clothes! He tried again, but still, nothing!

Naruto backed away, and Cloud chuckled at his expression. "It's a true ultimate defense. You can train yourself to condense most of your aura into an invisible shield, less than a millimeter thick. Anyone can learn it, but it takes over a month of pure dedication to master it, so few know it. The strength depends on how much chakra your aura contains, and that depends on how much you have. And considering how much you have, yours should be strong enough to block bullets! I'd have died a long time ago without mine!"

Naruto sat there, shocked, before laughing, then jumping up and down in joy. Cloud smirked. "We begin training now, and we continue until you have it deployed naturally. With the amount of Mana your Aura contains, your Aura Armor will be incredible!"

The bullet hit, but ricocheted off of Naruto's Aura Armor, going right through the ceiling. The enemy soldier, shocked, tried again, but met the same result. Naruto didn't even flinch. He knew if too many bullets were shot at him at once, he'd be in trouble, or if it was a sniper, but a simple handgun wouldn't be a problem.

Naruto leaped up and tackled the boy, thankful that Cloud taught a shadow clone how to grapple. Naruto smashed the man into the ground, knocking off his helmet, and got in a mount. Naruto prepared to raise his handgun for the kill, but suddenly, he realized he wasn't looking into a helmet anymore.

He was looking at a human. A terrified human, with tears in his eyes.

Naruto froze, just as Arash had predicted. This was just a kid, no older than eighteen. He had short brown hair that fell below his ears, blue eyes and a handsome face. Naruto wanted to shoot, but his finger just wouldn't move.

The boy sat still, not knowing what this child was, or what he was going to do to him. He was terrified. He'd already soiled himself, and now he was shaking, breaking out in tears. And then, he lost to fear. He screamed and pulled out his knife from his belt and tried to stab Naruto in the neck. Naruto's instincts took over and he grabbed the boy's hand with both of his as it flew up with the combat knife, and he used the boy's own momentum to keep it going, and turning around, until it went full circle and Naruto forced the knife into the boy's neck.

At that moment, time froze. Naruto watched as the blood began seeping out, the boy's expression gone from terrified to shocked, as if he'd though his youth, or some dream would protect him. The boy gagged, twitching in every body limb, eyes bulging. And then, the gagging stopped, and the boy went limp, returning to the planet.

When the boy stopped moving, Naruto finally remembered how, as he raised his bloody hands. And then reality hit him: he'd killed. He'd ended the life of someone who had just as much a right to live as he did, and he did it without thinking about it for a second. He just did it. He began to wonder if he really wasn't a monster. Naruto gripped his hands, the blood of the boy dripping back onto the boy's body armor. Naruto sobbed, and sobbed again, before crying out to the heavens in terror.

"HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"

It was at that point that Arash had entered the building, having just killed the five other men in the structure to the left. His bow was strapped to his back and his sword and shield were both bloody. Naruto had gotten off lucky with just having to fight one, but still, he had to kill his enemy. You only have one chance to never kill, and now he could never live an innocent and pure life again.

Arash stepped up to the sobbing boy, pulling out a scarf. "It's not much, but you can dry your tears with it." Naruto didn't take it, letting the tears continue to fall on the corpse.

Arash sighed. He couldn't blame the boy. When he was eight, he'd killed another. Just a mugger, but he'd killed, and it was horrible. Fortunately for Naruto, he had someone to help him through it.

Arash put away the scarf and pulled out a cleaning rag and began cleaning his sword. It would take some time, but he knew it had to be done. "You know, I never liked killing. I still don't, you know."

"…Then why do you do it?" Naruto asked between sobs.

"Because…I know that what I'm fighting for is worth something…that it has to be done."

"And that's an excuse to kill others?!" Naruto roared, hate filling his eyes.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But what is important is that if you kill, you do it for a reason. In our case, we must kill to defend the planet, so that when others die, they return to the planet, and are one day born again. Therefore, in truth, we never truly die forever." He finished cleaning his sword and sheathed it, switching to his shield. "In war, two ideals are fought over, yet only one can win. Truly, it is madness, yet to defend something that you truly consider worth fighting for, killing for, and dying for, there's never been something so right." He cleaned up the falcon, and continued to the rest of the shield. "We fight to defend our homes, our beliefs, and our loved ones. Yet, as we do, we must erase the pain that we have from killing others. It is the only way to continue. To bury memories and pain to survive, is the only way to survive in war." He wiped the blood of the rest of his shield, yet his clothes were still stained red, and took out a canteen full of water. "You have made your first kill, and now, you must wash it away."

Naruto looked at the boy, his eyes staring at the sky, and contemplated Arash's words. Then, he nodded, and raised his left hand, and dragged it down the boys face, remembering every contour of his face as he closed the boy's eyes. Then he stood, and extended his hands, and let Arash pour the water over them, taking the blood with them. Arash emptied the canteen and threw it aside, and took Naruto's hands. "However, you must only forget the guilt of killing. Never forget the person you killed, but learn to let them go. It's the only way to continue along in life." Arash finished, removing his hands from Naruto's.

"And now, there are others who need our help, yet to help them, we must kill those who oppose us. As sad as it is, it's true." He turned around, picking up the gun and handing it to Naruto. "Are you ready to fight, to kill, and to die for everything you care about?" Arash asked, looking him straight in the eye.

Naruto stared at the gun, skeptical whether to accept it, before reaching out and grabbing the handle, and pulling back the hammer, he made his decision.

Arash nodded, and turned around, heading out the door. Naruto followed, no longer crying, resolved to do his part. He would stand, and he would fight, and he would kill, no matter how much it hurt. 'There are people who need me…people who believe in me…I can't let them down!'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Taking life for the first time had serious lasting effect on me. It taught me that at any moment, I could end up like the boy that I killed. I'll never forget his face, his hair, his eyes, or the blood I spilled, but I've learned to never feel sorry for my actions. I made them for a reason, and I'll stick with them until the end, just as I agreed to defend the planet from whatever dangers may face it!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The third eyes Ryuunosuke carefully, before commenting "Well, your report is accurate, and your squad is currently recuperating, correct?"

Ryuunosuke nodded. "Yes, Hokage-Sama. Hotaka is resting up for the Chunin exams, and Michiko and Yoko both agree that they need a break after running around for so long." Ryuunosuke said.

"And have they shown any improvement?" The Hokage asked.

"Indeed, but I believe that Hotaka needs a new teacher to teach him advanced wood jutsu as soon as possible, Hokage-Sama."

The Hokage sighed. "Well…there is one…"

"R-really? When can I meet him?"

The Hokage sighed. "Patience, Ryuunosuke. After the Chunin exams, perhaps, but not now. Your students needs to recover and be at maximum strength before the exams. The fact that we had spies in our village is most unnerving…"

Ryuunosuke nodded and bowed. "I understand. Farewell, Hokage-Sama."

"Farewell." The Hokage replied as Ryuunosuke left. It was good to know that spies had been taken care of, but the fact that there were spies in the first place troubled him deeply. 'Things are getting worse by the day. What are you up to, Orochimaru…?'

Break

Naruto and Arash had managed to find an incomplete sewer section that led close to the base. It wasn't in use, so there were no lights as of yet. It was pitch black, with the only light coming from their glowing eyes, the mark of the SOLDIER.

That was, of course, until they spotted lights ahead, carried by enemy units. Naruto whipped out his handgun and fired randomly in fully automatic before the enemy troops had a chance to respond, emptying his clip and killing five men. It still hurt, but he remembered Arash's speech, and he found it much easier to take when he couldn't see their faces. But still, the feeling of guilt lingered.

Arash fired four arrows at once killing eight men as they passed through the first target and hit another from behind. Naruto had just reloaded his gun and fired it on single shot, taking out the last three men, and once again the two ran through the sewer, but stopped when they reached the bloody mess.

Arash pulled out his sword, as did Naruto, and they stabbed every corpse, making sure they were dead, so they couldn't recover and report back to their superiors. It was harder this time, as in two cases they weren't completely dead and he heard the gasp, and groans, and watched all movement end. Yet he persisted, remembering what he was fighting for.

They ran through the rest of the sewer, hearing gunfire and the occasional bomb detonation above them, before finally finding a way out. It was a narrow tube in the wall that they could just squeeze through, but they managed to worm crawl up, and bashed their way through the toilet in the bathroom under construction. They made their way up, and bashed through the door, and suddenly, realized they'd picked the wrong toilet.

It wasn't the HQ, it was a building next to it, full of snipers. The snipers turned around when they heard the door open and fired everything they had at them.

Naruto and Arash began weaving in and out of sniper fire that over twenty snipers delivered. Deciding it was their only solution, Naruto crossed his fingers in the cross sign, and shouted "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Twenty Naruto's filled the room, and each drew their buster blade so fast that the steel sword was just a blur in the air. All twenty charged, some getting shot by surprised snipers, but in a matter of seconds, the walls were covered in blood.

Arash clapped his hands. "Nice move. I heard about that. You better show me that later." Naruto nodded, and pointed at the HQ. "So what now? Bust in and start taking numbers?

Arash nodded. "Yeah…the third and fourth floor look like there's some heavy firefighting going on in there, but nothing that our Aura Armor can't take. You jump to the third, and I'll head to the Fourth. We'll meet back down and retake the lobby together. Then, we'll have to barricade it until reinforcements arrive.

Naruto nodded, and stepped back to prepare himself for the jump. Yet another lesson filled his mind.

"Control is what you'll be learning, but not just any control. I'll be teaching you how to gain superhuman strength." Cloud told the clone.

Naruto's eyes lit up like stars at night. "Really?! How?! HOW?!"

"Hey! Hmph! Grt orpha mye!" Cloud ordered, pulling the boy off of himself. "You won't really have superhuman strength, but it'll seem like you do. First, concentrate your chakra into a small ball at the part of your body you want to use. Then pack it as densely with mana as you can! Then, keep focusing until you need to use it. Then release it. It's almost like a small explosion, but your Aura Armor will protect you once it's mastered. So for now, it won't be too strong, but once you've reformed, you can even cup your aura armor and direct the explosion!" He stopped to close the boy's mouth, noticing that he was about to dehydrate himself from over-drooling.

Naruto ran forward, focusing his chakra into a ball beneath his left foot, and jumped onto the windowsill, releasing the chakra, resulting in him being hurled forward at superspeed, with Arash just behind him. He sailed over 100 meters to HQ, crashing through the third level window, and immediately found himself in a firefight.

Naruto drew his Buster Sword and rolled as he landed, coming up to cut someone across the chest. He turned around and cleaved another in two, and jumped forward, swinging his blade along the way, killing seven more. Naruto landed in front of two others, and threw his sword up for a moment, grabbed the surprised men's wrists, who were holding guns, pointed them at each other, and forced them to pull the trigger by slamming his down on theirs, killing them both, he caught his spinning blade just as it came back down in an underhanded style and pushed it back, killing the one trying to sneak up on him, and letting him drop dead. He looked at the dead and stabbed each of them again, before turning to the survivors.

Four wore WRO uniforms and had assault rifles, and two were dressed in business suits, armed only with handguns. Naruto walked over to them, spinning his sword around in front of him, before placing it back in its button strap behind his back.

One of the WRO was the first to speak. "Y-you're that new SOLDIER that everyone's been hearing rumors about, aren't you." Naruto grinned and nodded happily. "What's your name?"

Naruto's grin grew wider. Finally, someone was asking for his name, not the other way around. Even among such a horrible battle, he couldn't help it. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, SOLDIER, first class."

A female member of the WRO stepped forth. "You're a lifesaver, Mr. Uzumaki. But, does that mean Cloud's here?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, but Arash is. I suspect Cloud will come as soon as he hears about it."

One of the men in a suit sighed. "And we thought you were the backup…"

"What?"

"The WRO HQ radioed us, telling us they were sending support."

Naruto smirked. "Then all we have to do is hold them off until they arrive, right?"

"Right, Naruto." Arash said as he entered the room with eight other survivors. "For now, we should try to retake the bottom and second level. It's our only hope of holding out. They'll keep coming up the stairs unless we do something."

One of the WRO members looked at the two. "We'll help in whatever way that we can."

Arash shook his head. "Negative. We'll continue on, and you go gather people from levels five through thirteen to go find material to reinforce the main door when we secure it." The other members nodded, not wanting to question a SOLDIER, and ran to gather assistance.

"The stairs?" Naruto asked, psychologically preparing himself to kill again.

"No. Too obvious. We'll take the express route." Arash said, before slamming his fist into the ground, causing it to collapse. They fell to the second floor, and Arash fired three volleys by the time that they hit. Naruto started out by slashing one man straight through, rolling to the right and stabbing another, and swinging in an arc, taking three down at once. After only seconds, the numbers were reduced to three, who all fell back down the stairs to warn the others.

Naruto nodded to Arash, who took out his sword, as Naruto prepared to strike the floor. Preparing, he remembered one of his favorite lessons.

"Naruto, what I'm about to teach you will become your greatest weapon in combat: the limit break. Don't interrupt me as I explain it. The Limit Break occurs when you break five chakra coils, one in each limb and torso, allowing mana to flow freely throughout your body before they quickly heal. You can use that mana to increase your strength, or to perform a single powerful attack. However, once you perform it, you'll need to wait for your body to recover enough to use it again, otherwise you'll destroy yourself. You can make your own limit breaks, but for now, I'll teach you a few basic ones once you've mastered the concepts.

Naruto gathered the energy he'd been storing and focused it in the blade of his sword, and slashed down. "Blade beam!"

His sword alone cut through the wood, sending the blue beam into the heavy ranks below. It burst upon contacting the first, spreading out and cutting a total of ten men to shreds! Naruto and Arash jumped down the crack into the horde of men, and began cutting, hacking, slashing, and killing everything that they could see. Finally, the last man fell to the might of SOLDIER, and the two quickly ran over to the door and closed it shut, noting that the lock had been busted open. They shouted for the survivors to bring the barricade materials, but it took a whole minute to bring them down, and then welding the scavenged steel to the doors took another five minutes, all while enemy soldiers threatened to burst through.

Finally, they breathed a sigh of relief as the welding was finished and poured water on it to cool it and make it stronger, trapping the carbon atoms in the metal. Naruto and Arash both sank down along the door, panting heavily, all the while receiving thanks and praise from the survivors.

Then, they heard it again. The explosions outside the door. Both stood up, ready to continue fighting, but along with them trying to tear down the door, they heard more gunfire.

"…There's more survivors out there." Arash concluded.

"We have to help them!" Naruto roared.

"…No, Naruto. I'll go help them. You stay here in case they break through."

"Bu-"

Arash gave him a stern look. "If they reach the upper levels, they may obtain valuable data. We cannot allow that to happen."

"But…You could die…"

"So could you, Naruto. Much must be risked in war." They heard a chopper outside, circling the building. Arash smirked. "Back in a minute." Arash grinned, before running for the rooftops.

Naruto lay silent as they continued to ram the steel door, along with an occasional rocket blast. The door wouldn't hold for more than five minutes. Things were looking really bad.

Yet, even as he thought this, Arash ran up the building, passing survivors and heading to the rooftop, feeling explosions vibrate through the building. He reached the roof just as a helicopter arose to meet him, staring down at him. Arash pulled out his sword and shield, smirking. "Hello, my pretty."

The helicopter fired a missile, but Arash leapt forward into the air, and jumped off the missile, letting it impact the top of the building, and flew toward the helicopter. The chopper tried to turn, but Arash sailed under the blades and smashed his way through the cockpit, stabbing the pilot and throwing him out, taking control. He turned the helicopter around, and piloted it straight into the ground in front of a building surrounded by troops, killing dozens. He leapt out of the helicopter the moment before it exploded, sailing through the air and onto the rooftop. He pulled out his bow and slammed his foot to the roof, creating a small hole. He then proceeded to pick off the dozen or so enemies below that threatened the survivors, before joining them himself, holding off any further threats to them. He had the other survivors barricade the doors with whatever they could, while he fired arrows through small crooks in the wall. But the barricade didn't hold long, And Arash drew his sword and shield, rushing into the melee.

Naruto, on the other hand, was just getting ready to fight. The door was about to be ripped off its reinforced hinges, and he'd have to face whatever came through that door.

And, in seconds, another explosion was the final straw, sending the steel double-door flying through the air and landing at his feet. Naruto raised his Buster Sword, ready to face the hordes. But, to his surprise, as the dust settled, the soldiers had not entered. Instead, a long man with a scythe entered, smirking at the sight.

"Well well…" He said in a cocky voice. "A new SOLDIER, huh? Interesting…" He held his hand to his chin, lost in thought, before snapping his fingers, pure joy appearing on his face. "Aha! I know! You're the kid we sent two of our men to kill in Konoha!" Naruto flinched. So these guys were behind that. "They said they succeeded, too. Ah well. Looks like I'll have to finish the job for them." He said, removing his scythe from his shoulder and planting the tip on the ground.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Who am I? I am a soldier of the Black Moon army, a member of the most elite unit in existence. I am Amar, a member of the first squad of the chosen."

"..Chosen."

"I have said enough to answer your first question, and that's all you get." Amar said, before rushing at Naruto. Naruto tried to counter, but Amar was fast, and managed to puncture Naruto's Aura Armor enough to cut him in the shoulder. Naruto stared at the wound for a moment, recognizing the threat, and once again readied himself for battle.

This time, Amar lept into the air, swinging down. Naruto rolled to the side, and swung his sword at Amar, who lept up and stuck himself to the blade as it swung, and used the opportunity to strike again. Naruto was forced to drop his sword and tackle him, punching him in the face, and off his sword, before he could grab it again. He rolled towards his opponent and lept into the air. "Limit Break: Braver!" Naruto shouted, slamming his sword into his scythe. The collision of energy resulted in a small explosion of Mana, sending both combatants back a few feet.

Naruto rose just in time to let go of his sword and catch the scythe blade with his hands. It but his palms, but he was able to push it into the ground and kick Amar in the chin. But Amar brought his scythe up with him, slashing across Naruto's chest, giving him a small flesh wound across his torso. Both flew back a few feet, landing on the ground at the same moment.

Naruto got to his feet, noticing how his opponent was as well. "…You fight too well for a rookie, and that swipe I delivered should've cut off your arm. You're stronger than I thought, boy…but now…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out some green materia. "It's over!"

Naruto realized what was about to happen and rushed forward, but it was too late. Amar had placed the materia into his scythe blade, and released his spell. "BOLT!" He roared, sending a bolt of lightning at Naruto. Naruto, who didn't have enough time to dodge, felt the lightning pass through his Aura Armor and travel through his body. He screamed in pain, before falling to his knees, and falling face-first into the ground.

Naruto found that he couldn't move, or even twitch. The lightning had temporarily shut down his nerve response. He couldn't even feel.

Amar laughed. "Tell me kid, how does it feel to feel to be completely helpless?"

Naruto groaned, then chuckled, then laughed.

"Tell me kid, what's so funny?" Amar asked his interest tweaked.

Naruto summoned the strength to tilt his head. "You are, idiot!" Suddenly Amar felt something cold run down his shoulders. He looked quickly, only to see that his arms had been severed. Naruto's clone poofed out of existence, and Naruto walked out from behind him and looked him in the eye. Not even giving him the change to speak, Naruto muttered "Game over, dobe." And decapitated the enemy. The headless corpse toppled to the ground beside it's other limbs, before Naruto turned around and watched the other Black Moon soldiers prepared to launch another wave.

It seemed like the WRO was waiting for this, and suddenly appeared over the mountains, sending a barrage of missiles all over the battlefield, killing hundreds in instants, and causing choppers to burst into flames all around the sky.

Naruto wore a small smile as he spun his sword around in front of him, spinning it back, and strapping it to his back. He decided to sit down, watching through the open door. It was a spectacular sight, and a good way to celebrate. As he watched the enemies who had killed so many fall through the sky. It was his first mission as a SOLDIER, and if he had to say, he'd just passed with flying colors!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a wonderful moment to be alive. That day, I realized just how much I'd grown. I had managed to defeat over fifty men that day, and one of them a chosen! I was impressed with myself, and it was then that I realized I wasn't the dead last anymore. I was a war hero, one who people looked to for hope and courage. It's a harder and less glamorous position than others would think, but it's well worth the sacrifices.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"YEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO!" Cid hollered through the festival grounds. Cleanup had taken place yesterday and now the whole team was celebrating their victory back at Headquarters.

Naruto was sitting in the corner, eyeing the bandage wrapped around his unpadded shoulder. It was a small injury compared to what others had, and he considered himself very lucky that his first was a relatively simple one: just meet the enemy and shoot. It showed him some serious flaws in his combat style that he'd have to iron out later. Arash had told them he'd already gone to bed, having received a few more wounds than he had from taking on a massive horde of infantry.

In the distance, he saw Cloud approaching. He smiled, and got up to go talk to his mentor, but was briskly interrupted. "Hey! So you're the new SOLDIER, huh? Cid asked as he crapped an arm around Naruto. Naruto nodded dumbly, not really knowing what else to say. "Well then, I'd like ta have a word with ya , if ya don't mind!" Cid said happily as he dragged Naruto through the crowd.

Cloud stood there, watching the sight as Cid charged through the group of people to get to the nearest bar. Cloud sighed. He was about to go after them, when a pair of hands wrapped around his eyes. "Guess who?" Whispered a playful voice.

"…Tifa, what are you doing?" Cloud asked. Tifa removed her hands and placed them behind her back.

"Come on, Cloud! There's a great stall over there with some great cakes! Let's go!"

"W-wait, Tifa! I've got other things to do!"

"But Cloud, we-"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm busy!"

Tifa growled. "That's it, mister. You and I are gonna have a looooooong talk!"

"Uhh…Tifa-GACK!" Cloud gasped as Tifa grabbed his ear and pulled him into an adjacent room.

She closed the door and looked at Cloud. "Well?"

"Well what?" Cloud asked, rubbing his abused ear.

"Explain yourself!"

"What?!"

"Why you've been ignoring the rest of us for so long!"

"Tifa, I've been busy!"

"Training a kid! You couldn't even take time off to come visit us? Denzel and Marlene miss you, Cloud!"

Cloud raised his hands in his defense. "Hey! What I've been doing has been important, too, okay?! I've wanted to see them, but…I couldn't."

Tifa growled at him. "No more lies, Cloud! You've had plenty of chances! But you just kept all your focus on Naruto! We've missed you, Cloud!"

Now Cloud was getting angry. "I've missed you all too, but I've got to do this, okay, Tifa? I have to!"

"ARGH! How can you be such a jerk?!" Tifa roared, punching Cloud in the face. Her punch sent him back into the wall, where his head accidentally hit the light switch.

"Hey! The lights went out! What hallened?" Tifa asked.

Cloud groaned. "How should I know? Geez, I think I just got a concussion."

"Well, get up and find the light switch." Tifa ordered, groping around for the switch. She tried to go to where Cloud was, but found he'd gotten up and was looking in the wrong place.

"Maybe it's over here."

"No, we were just there."

"Maybe to the left."

"No, no, it was higher than that!"

"How can you tell?"

"Your hand makes sound, Tifa."

"Oh well, whatever. It's gotta be around here."

"Maybe over here…"

"Ouch!"

"Tifa?"

"You stepped on my foot, you idiot!"

"Maybe over he-HUAAAAAAGH!"

"EEEEEAAAAAAAAH!"

"Oof!"

"Oof!"

Cloud was on his hands and knees, having tripped over what he guessed was a stool. However, he felt something odd in his right hand. He gave it a test squeeze, and then another. It felt almost like jelly.

"Hey Tifa, did we leave any squishy balls around here?"

"…"

"Tifa…"

"Cloud…" Her voice was venomous.

"Tifa, what is it?" Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and he immediately removed his hand from Tifa's breast. "I-I…I…"

"Cloud you idiot!" Tifa roared, punching Cloud again, and in all the confusion in her attempt to get up, she accidentally hit Cloud…down there…

"Haa…" Cloud squeaked, unable to make anything more audible as his hands went directly to his family jewels. Tifa gasped.

"Oh! Cloud, are you alright?" She asked, leaning over Cloud, who was still cradling his golden orbs.

"You…have no…idea…"

"I'm sorry, Cloud! Here, let me get you a pillow!" Tifa ran off, but not far! She tripped two steps later on the couch. "Got it!" She said triumphantly holding the pillow above the couch for Cloud to see, and sitting up to run it over to Cloud. She put the pillow between his legs and let him use her lap to rest his head. "Feel any better?" She asked.

"A little." He toughened up. Of course, the pain was still beyond words. "Sorry about that."

Tifa sighed. "No, it was my fault. I overreacted." Tifa smirked, seeing a chance to taunt Cloud. "Tell me something, Mr. Strife, did you enjoy it?"

Cloud's eyes shot open in the dark room. "What?"

"Did you enjoy touching me?"

Cloud blushed. "Well…maybe, yeah…"

Tifa laughed. "Perv!" She called him.

Well Cloud wasn't about to let that go unchallenged. "What about you? Did you enjoy it?"

"…" Tifa went silent for a minute.

"Well?" Cloud asked

"Well, yeah…a little…"

"Heh. Perv."

Tifa blushed. "Shaddup!"

"Hey, you're the one yelling. You shut up!"

"Make me."

Cloud grinned. "Be careful what you wish for, Tifa."

Tifa blinked, before she felt Cloud sit up. "Cloud, what're you- Hmph!" Tifa's eyes rose as she felt a soft set of lips on hers. Still, it was nice, and she soon settled into it. It was a little awkward, with their noses hitting each others every so often, but they definitely got a sensation out of it, and that was all that mattered.

Cloud pulled back, smirking. "Told ya."

Tifa touched her lips where Cloud had just kissed her, before grinning. "Now who's cocky? Why don't you shaddup?"

Cloud's smirk grew wider. "Make me!"

Tifa knew it was a trap, but she fell for it all the same. As she leaned in, Cloud smiled. 'Whoever said crawling in the dark was pointless really needs to get a dayjob.' Cloud smirked as he accepted the kiss.

Break

Cid led Naruto into a bar and ordered them both drinks. When the drinks arrived, Cid immediately began chugging his, but Naruto just stared at the bottle. "What's the matter, kid? Never had a beer before?"

"I've never even had alcohol in my life! I'm only twelve! I can't drink!"

"Aw, caman! It won't kill ya!"

Naruto sniffed it. "Eww! No way!

"Drink!"

"No!"

Cid chuckled. "Naruto, I've heard about what you've done. You've already beat an enemy Elite, and you've already learned to kill. But most importantly, you've learned that life is short, and that no matter what we do, we only have 24 hours a day to live. By making those choices in that small period of time, prioritizing them, you become an adult." Cid sighed. "And that, my young friend, is why we adults love beer!"

Cid took a long swig, emptying his bottle, and ordering another. "Trust me on this, Naruto. You're more of an adult than a lot of people I know who claim to be, even if you were forced to grow up all fast and shit. And after that battle, you earned yourself a drink!" Cid said, pushing the bottle into Naruto's hands.

Naruto accepted the bottle gingerly. He used the bottle opener nearby, and watched as something of a soft mist arose from the bottle. He slowly raised it to his lips, and took a small swig. His face immediately resembled who had just seen The third Hokage naked. He forced down the drink and turned to Cid. "How can adults drink this stuff?!"

Cid laughed. "Haha! No one ever likes it the first time, ya know?! You're lucky you didn't puke!"

Naruto laughed it off and took the bottle, forcing down more of the liquid. His face now looked like he'd just seen Gai-sensei naked. Cid was now roaring with laughter. "Whoa whoa, Naruto! I thought you hated the stuff! You some kinda masochist?!" Cid asked.

Naruto chuckled. "Ha ha, Cid. I just wanna see what kinda drunk I am!" Naruto said, turning his back on the Airship captain and heading for his temporary room.

Cid swirled his bottle. "I see…you just wanna fit in, don'cha kid?"

Break

"Tifa…I'm sorry."

"Hmm? Yeah…thanks Cloud."

"…Look, I promise I'll pay more attention to you guys. It's just…I've been so busy lately that-" He was cut off as Tifa kissed him again. They were in the corner of the dark room, their little make-out session concluded, cuddling for the moment.

Tifa ended the kiss and placed her hands on his, which were wrapped around her stomach. "Yeah…but we all still miss you. Denzel needs a good male rolemodel in his life. That's you, Cloud. You're like a father to him."

"And you're like his mother." Cloud added, smiling as he rested his head on her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek like a young teenager. After all, he had been catatonic during those years, so you could say he was making up for lost time.

"Hmm…yeah…" Tifa sighed.

"At this rate, we'll be a real family in no time." Cloud chuckled.

"Maybe…" She whispered.

Break

The sun was rising on the WRO Headquarters, and as it just began peeking over the hill, Arash sat on the very top of the building, legs hanging over the edge.

He turned around when he felt a familiar presence. "Hey Cloud. Have fun with Tifa?"

Cloud blushed. "How'd you know?"

"…I was temporarily staying in the room just beside the one you and Tifa had…did they already clean the bedsheets? Is it safe to go in again?" Arash teased.

"Hey, we didn't go that far, okay? Sheesh, horny teenagers…" Cloud muttered.

They were alerted to a third presence, which turned out to be a very messy Naruto with black rings around his eyes.

"…What happened to you?" Arash asked.

"…I'm a very bad drunk." Naruto concluded.

"Oh! So you were the one with the lampshade on your head!" Cloud stated.

Naruto just gave him a death glare. "Shut up, will you? I've got a killer headache!" He said as he grabbed his forehead.

Cloud smirked. "That's what you get for hanging around with Cid for too long." Cloud took a seat next to Arash, as did Naruto , shielding his eyes from the light. The shadows were slowly creeping down, when Cloud broke the silence. "…I've got it!"

"Got what?" Arash asked.

"Our new name, to replace SOLDIER!"

"Huh?" Naruto questioned. "So what is it?"

Cloud smiled. "From this day forth, SOLDIER in the WRO will no longer exist. Starting today, we shall be known as Kyusokai. We'll be the new champions of the WRO!

"Kyusokai…" Arash said, testing the name. "Perfect. I couldn't think of a more fitting title."

"Fine by me." Naruto muttered, still under his hangover. "I love it! Let's do it!"

Cloud nodded, resting a hand on his teammates shoulders. "Very well! Then get some rest, Kyusokai. In three days time, we travel to Konoha, and for the Chunin exams!"

Break

'Damn that idiot! Where is he?!' Sasuke questioned as he stood in front of the coliseum filled to the brim with people. Along with him were Shino, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Hotaka, and Gaara. Temari had announced that she was dropping out of the match before the tournament started, so she wasn't there either.

In the crowd, Hatake Kakashi, sitting next to Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino watched carefully. "Oi, Kakashi-sensei, where's Naruto?"

Kakashi tried to smile. "He'll be here any minute!" 'I hope…' Kakashi was beginning to wonder if letting him go was the best thing he could have done.

Meanwhile, the Hokage and Kazekage were debating on whether to start the tournament or not.

"With all due respect, perhaps we should allow the examiner to advance to the next match, Hokage-dono." The Kazekage suggested.

But the Hokage shook his head. "No, he'll arrive shortly. Please, give us five more minutes to wait, my friend."

The Kazekage returned his gaze to the field. "As you wish, Hokage-dono."

But the five minutes past, and he never came. The crowd was getting rowdy, demanding that they start the finals. Sighing, and fearing betrayal from the people he allowed into his village, the Hokage decided that enough was enough. He signaled for Hayate to come to him, and was about to inform him of Naruto's disqualification, when suddenly on the field, there was a blinding flash of green light.

The light formed into a ball about six feet in diameter before peeling apart, and disappearing. Inside was a boy, some centimeters taller than Naruto Uzumaki had been before he left, stood in the clearing in front of the crowd. He wore a black cloak that covered his whole body leaving nothing visible, with several white lines on the back formed a white wolf, its tail reaching just below the neckline of the hood, and the head near the bottom. It was crouching, waiting for the chance to strike.

Kakashi sighed in relief, as Sakura shouted words of encouragement to the boy. Sasuke smirked, noting how his entrance was almost as good as his own. Hayate smirked as well, and leapt back down to the field, walking up to the boy. "Your name?"

The figure looked up at the crowd, then at Hayate. "Uzumaki Naruto." His voice was much calmer and collected than before. The hooded young man turned to observe the other applicants, and nodded, turning back to Hayate. "Now then, let's begin!"

Next Time: The Finals

Notes

Wow! I just hammered out 18.5K words in just over three days! And damn, am I tired! I think I'll take a day off of thinking tomorrow. I really am beat.

Just for the record, if anyone questions Naruto's gain in power, remember Cloud: he had almost no training in SOLDIER, and was catatonic for five years, but the moment he could move on his own again, he was kicking ass! Just goes to show you what the SOLDIER procedure can do.

And now, I've got a new favorite character: YAHIKO!!! I believe in the philosophy for an eye for an eye when you cause pain like in the shinobi wars! Yet he also understands that that's why wars continue. I'm really glad that Kishimoto created a character like him!

No, Hayate hasn't died. Really, the only purpose of his death was to signal to konoha that the threat was real. However, Orochimaru appearing already covered that, so it would be a waste of a character.

SOLDIER is now called Kyusokai, with the members calling themselves the Sokai. More to be explained on that later.

Here are the translations, although I don't know if some of them are right, considering how I made them up.

"Suiton: Suikei no jutsu, Shouaku-Water Release: Water Whip technique, Restraining

Mokuton: Mokunaoyakke no jutsu-Wood Release: Wood straitjacket technique

Katon: Karyuuendan no jutsu-Fire Release: Dragon's Fire Technique

Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu-Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique

Shunshin no jutsu-Body Flicker Technique

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Please, kindly kill yourself if you don't know this one)-Shadow Clone Technique

Kyusokai-The Nine Cherished Hopes

And now to answer revies! (last time I do it for this fic. I'll do it once more for the others, but that's it. It takes up too much room.)

actionliker-Wow, you must have been one of the first to see it I if you woke up at 7:00, because I posted it like three minutes before that! And about Ero-kun dying…I have no idea. You'd better ask him yourselfm cuz I haven't heard anything.

Vegeta the 3rd-I'm glad you think I improved over my previous chapter. It was pretty boring, wasn't it? And I'm pretty sure I did a good job on this one, too. And yeah, Sakura isn't gonna have to wait for three years to be of some use. Really, it was just sad that Sakura didn't have any sort of skill in anything before shippuden (as Shikamaru mentioned in volume 14…somewhere…too tired to look up…) And I never actually saw ur PM until after you posted a review (I check my email as often as Satan brushes his teeth), and it is fun to do AU fics for Naruto, because the characters are likeable, but the development is mediocre. Until next time!

Dawnyu-Yup! The Chunin exam finals are here! Next time they begin, and Naruto's still got a few new secrets up his sleeves.

CodeKyuubi-Redna's a random OC I made for the moment. And just so you know, I haven't bean FFVII yet either, so we're in the same boat. I wanna beat it, but…ACK! COLLEGE IS HARDER THAN I THOUGHT! Promise me to ENJOY YOUR LIFE WHILE YOUR PARENTS PROVIDE FOR YOU!! LOOOVE THE MOOCHING UNTIL IT GOES AWAY!! That's the advice of a friend. And don't worry, I didn't get my first job until I was almost 17, and I didn't get m license until a month after I turned 17! And don't worry about not writing. Sometimes, you need a break. And if someone criticizes you about being late, you can HIT THEM IN THE FACE! ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE NOT AN AUTHOR! We authors are giving people free entertainment, so they have no right to complain if we decide to take a vacation. Write at your own pace. It's supposed to be fun, not work. :)

G 52 Goodman-Yes we do! Thanks for the advice! It really help the story out!

knuckz-Oh, like Naruto kicking Neji's ass so bad that everyone watching goes blind? Okay, that's not very funny, but it was on the spot. I'll have a few good reactions when he gets back.

tar's dreams-Thanks for the warm review, my friend. That was beautifully written! No internet slang, no Haxxors or whatever it's called, just writing in its pure form. Thanks for that. And yeah, he's got to be smart. If he graduated with kids his own age after failing two years in a row, then he had to have been accepted two years earlier than everyone else! Which means, they spotted potential in him! I'm surprised not many people have noticed this. Thanks for reviewing!

Ero-kun-Thanks for the encouragement. I'll get the next chapter up ASAP! But first, sleeeeeeeeeeeep…zzz

ShadowdragonGX-Oh, it's gonna be interesting. The battle will be fun, and Konoha will never be the same! I promise an enjoyable experience in the Chunin exams!

shankshar89-Yup! Got it in the chapter, somewhere near the end…I think…Anyway, that's what I believe limit breaks are!

Resurected Executioner-I'll probably start the romance shortly after the exams end, or a little while after that. But, until then, there's always Cloud and Tifa -

Hiroshima Kazama-Okay…in order now…nope, war with Black Moon for now, yeah, a quick touch-up to anyone out of the series, yup, nope, he's evil, YES! MUAHAHAHA!, unfortunately the voting already ended and that one got last, but the others have been updated, none of the above, bingo lol, next chapter, and HELL YEAH! I think I got them all. Thanks for reviewing!

Well, that's all. Leave a review if you liked it!

Later

Tsurugi-Sama