"When a person has something important they want to protect.. that's when they can become truly strong." He mused, the words falling out of his mouth before his mind could process them, a melancholic chill running over him but with it came a sense of purpose as well. "Well, Commander if that's how you truly feel…"

"Then I ask that you use me as you see fit, so long as you continue to follow your convictions I am yours to command!" He swore standing up to his full height and saluting her, accepting her as his commander, his new leader. "My power is yours and with it, we'll create the peace you desire!"

He would make her dream a reality or die trying, that was his promise!

- Present -

"Is that all you've got? How disappointing~"

Gleaming blue eyes practically shined with amusement as a yellow and black blur ripped thought more and more of the Siren's cannon fodder with ease, feeling no need to summon his riggings as he practically glided across the surface of the water weaving between the hulking metal forces of the opposition with surprising grace. In his hands, two razor-sharp black trench knives were clenched tightly between his fists which he used to carve deep gashes into their already warped and jagged hulls before speeding off leaving them to slowly drown in his wake as he blurred across the rippling surface towards his next target.

"Come on now, show me something fun!" He challenged and the opposing fleet as if feeling the need to respond to his taunting, let loose a salvo of hot lead in his direction the sky above them flashing as mounted turrets were bathed in the glow of their own muzzle flash. The waters around them burned and trembled at the combined assault but Naruto paid it no mind. He charged ahead undaunted, moving with unnatural swiftness into the oncoming bulletstorm with a savage smirk on his face.

"That's more like it! Give me everything you've got!" He roared and just before the rounds could turn him into swiss cheese they suddenly bounced off what appeared to be an almost translucent barrier that appeared before him, a small honeycomb-like set of hexagonal cracks materializing at the points of impact while he quite literally charged his way through their fire unharmed. Their final gambit proving for naught as he easily punched and cut his way through into the center of their formation, erasing what little defenses they had left.

What came next was a slaughter.

…

Aiko watched the carnage from afar with an unreadable look on her face, the smell of gunpowder and burning metal assaulted her senses even from this far out as a section of the sea burned like wildfire in front of her, the bone-rattling eruption of cannon fire in the distance grew to a roaring crescendo as the light fleet gave their all to stop the monster tearing through their ranks to no avail.

He really was a force to be reckoned with.

"He seems to be having a good time… wouldn't you agree, Master?" Belfast's soft voice tickled at her ears as the silver-haired maid fell into step with her Commander, the two of them watching in near silence as the torn and shattered remains of cruisers and destroyers sunk unceremoniously into the seas. "It appears my assistance shall not be needed."

They were standing on the deck of Bel's full form, it was uncommon for Kansen to utilize their actual ship forms given that they could maintain similar firepower in a much more compact size but should the need arise they were fully capable of doing so. On the rare occasions where she was forced onto the battlefield, she would often be escorted in this manner by one of her subordinates.

"I guess not though I shouldn't be surprised, we did pour our all into him." She mused idly tucking a stay hair back behind her ear as the wind from a particularly violent explosion whipped at her face nearly blowing her cap off as they watched a large ball cloud of smoke erupt from the warzone. "But still to see him in action… it's something else." She admitted not bothering to hide her growing respect for the newly born cruiser.

At her side Belfast hummed in agreement, steely grey eyes turning to watch the crippled remains of their enemies slowly fall apart. "It is strange to think one so playful could possess such staggering power without even using their riggings, I believe even her Majesty would be left in awe… though I do not encourage any meetings between them." She added quickly, forcing a small chuckle out of the commander who spared her a passing glance.

"Trying to keep him to yourself Bel? I never would have taken you for the possessive type." She teased lightly taking a quiet enjoyment in the minor twitch in Bel's brow at the mention of her own developing relationship with the male in question.

"Of course not." The woman denied such accusation swiftly though in her opinion she was detecting a hint of defensiveness in the normally unflappable maid's tone. "It's just that her Majesty may find one such as him to be… overwhelming so to speak." She finished trying not to elaborate any further lest she condemn herself.

"As you say." She hummed ignoring the sidelong glance the maid sent her way, it wasn't often that she got to tease Bel so she would take the opportunities presented when they arose. "Look alive, he's coming back." She noted.

True to her word, the blond had apparently grown tired of playing with his food so to speak and was now walking away from the trail of destruction en route towards the waiting pair. His lone form being easily spotted over the calming waters and It didn't take long for him to reach them, the dull thump of his boots hitting the deck reverberating in their ears shortly after confirming his arrival.

"Targets eliminated Commander, but they were way too easy!" Naruto half reported half whined as he shook off the remaining ash and soot that still clung to him after his flashy demonstration. "I didn't even get to let loose at all." He complained, making his way over once he was sufficiently cleaned up.

"I did say this would be a light combat drill, you set your expectations too high." She countered easily, stepping forward to inspect him for injuries though she doubted she'd find even a hair out of place. "Honestly, it's like my words go right through one ear and out the other with you." She sighed gently wiping off a bit of leftover soot that he had missed, she had a decent grasp on his personality at this point so his commentary didn't surprise her.

"Truly a brute of a man isn't he, Commander? A real beast at heart~" Bel added but there was a tone of amusement to her words that told them all she didn't truly mean anything by it. If anything Naruto seemed to revel in the comparison but never one to put off a performance he quickly adopted a faux pained expression.

"A beast? Bel-chan that hurts!" He huffed, puffing his cheeks like a child as he stepped towards the busty cruiser peering down at her through his petulant gaze given the difference in their heights. "Am I at least a handsome beast?" He questioned, his pout shifting into a cheesy grin as Bel giggled softly into her hand at his childishness.

Her Master had truly discovered a unique soul.

"Perhaps, but a handsome beast is still just a beast." She pointed out slyly turning her nose up at him like a royal to a commoner.

"But it is still handsome in the end~" He grinned taking the bemused cruiser by the hand and laying a gentle kiss upon her knuckles. "Perhaps you can instruct this beast on the finer points of becoming a true gentleman if a beast is not suitable to your tastes?" He muttered a husky inflection seeping into his words but the undertone of his usual mischief was clear to all as he barely managed to fight back a chuckle when Belfast pulled her hand back and looked away with an almost unnoticeable flush.

"There is no redeeming one such you!" She scoffed but the beginnings of a small smile twitched at the corners of her lips. "I must commend the Master's tolerance of your antics, she is a far stronger woman than I." She admonished half-heartedly swiping at his still outstretched hand.

Aiko rolled her eyes at the two, it was like watching an old rom-com. "Naruto if you would please stop putting the moves on my secretary for a moment we can return home." She said putting a stop to the drama playing out in front of her drawing a sheepish look from the blond and a bemused if somewhat slightly disappointed sigh from the silver-haired maid.

Honestly, what was she going to do with him?

She liked to give her newest members at least a week to acclimate themselves when possible and she had made no exceptions with him. The blond's presence had quickly made itself known as word of a male kansen spread like wildfire thought HQ. Of course, there were still many of his allies he had yet to meet but he had certainly made the rounds being introduced to quite a few of his future acquaintances and according to the reports she'd received he was already well-liked by most.

However, while she was pleased to see he was integrating well with the others… he did have a tendency to flirt with almost everyone, much to her growing exasperation. His natural charm and seemingly boundless desire to keep everyone on their toes somehow managed to draw even the more stubborn members of her fleet into his antics.

Even if some expressed their opinions of him in a more… volatile manner. The sounds of Nelson's shouting and Sheffield's gun firing in the distance were becoming more and more commonplace around the base.

The only group that appeared safe from his playful advances were the young destroyers much to her relief. With them he had taken up the role of an older brother figure, often being seen playing with them or helping them out as needed while he adjusted to the layout of their facilities. It had won him more than a few fans as the destroyers were considered to be good judges of character hinting there was more to the cruiser than he might show.

"Ah, my bad Commander I didn't mean to make you jealous~" He apologized quickly shifting his attention onto her swiftly taking her into his arms in a manner reminiscent of their first meeting and she cursed herself for falling once more into this trap. "You are the most important person to me after all~" He whispered lowly blowing a bit of warm air against her ear in a way that sent involuntary shivers down her spine.

That did not mean he was any less of a shameless flirt.

"What did we say about touching?!" She hissed temporarily losing her composure as a commanding officer as she struggled to wriggle herself free from his grasp her usually pale face alight with embarrassment that made her look far more like a blushing schoolgirl than the fierce leader she was.

"Only in private unless it's Wednesday." He quipped mirthfully clearly unbothered by her discomfort while in the background Belfast did very little to mask her own building amusement seeing the hardy woman that was her normally stalwart Master, turned into a blushing mess so easily. Perhaps she could see about borrowing Ark Royal's camera in the future to capture some more of these "tender" moments between them.

Perhaps even making a little money on the side with some help from Akashi.

"No touching!" She growled finally managing prying herself out of his arms with a grunt of effort, gloved hands immediately falling to her suit to wipe off any lingering remnants of his presence. "It's like someone cloned Wales but somehow made her an even bigger pervert." She grumbled fixing her cap and leveling him with a disapproving glare which was promptly ignored.

Seeing that he wasn't going to break under her stare she rolled her eyes and decided to focus on the real reason they were out here.

"Moving on, I think it is safe to say that you can handle yourself in a fight." She affirmed going over his combat performance in her head as she began piecing together the best way to utilize her new asset. "I'll still need to find a proper fleet composition to fit you in but for now I think it's fine to have you handle some of the harder commission on your own until then." She instructed.

"As you wish, Commander." He nodded not at all fussed about the idea of working solo in the meantime. It just meant he could go all out without having to worry about anyone getting caught up in his momentum which was fine with him though he couldn't help but wonder who he'd be paired within the coming weeks.

"Good, Bel would you kindly take us back to base, no doubt the paperwork is multiplying on my desk as we speak." She sighed knowing that with the two of them out there was no one left to handle all her duties so she would be playing catch up for the next few hours. Belfast nodded already charting the course back home while Naruto made himself comfortable leaning against the railings as they began the trip back, content to just enjoy the sea breeze as they left the wreckage behind.

He of course also took the time closely "inspect" Belfast's "hull plating" while he had the chance.

…

True to her word Naruto did find himself working solo for the next few weeks as Aiko cycled through her available roster to find the perfect place to put him. So far he'd mainly worked as a one-man search and destroy crew, keeping any encroaching forces away from their trade lines or branch bases while also hunting down rumored threats that were supposedly spotted in their territories from time to time on his own.

Sadly for him, most of these rumors had proven to be either false alarms or simply too far off for him to effectively follow up on which had left him feeling slightly annoyed at the lack of real action. Of course, Aiko had been quick to point out that he shouldn't be seeking out fights without any backup but given his status and power, he very much doubted that he would really need the help against a few run of the mill baddies.

Still, orders were orders and had she demanded he stop his excursions than he would stop without further question.

But she hadn't. Which brought him to his current mission of hunting down the supposed rumors of a powerful Kansen harassing merchant ships in this part of the South Atlantic. The details of which were sketchy but supposedly this solitary kansen was off on her own raiding merchant ships which he supposed wasn't unheard of, but oddly enough she wasn't sinking their crews as well. Instead, beacons would be left for them to find at the scene of the crime allowing them to pick up the survivors.

"A pirate with a heart maybe?" He mused all the while keeping a steady but relatively tame pace as he scanned for any sign of hostiles. With access to the mission logs and movement data of Azur Lane, he'd managed to make a few guesses at where this unknown raider would strike next based on a combination of the list of sightings and trade dates to narrow down some hotspots. He'd already done extensive searches of two other sections of ocean with no success but he didn't let that deter him, the seas were large and without concrete evidence, he was relying on a fair bit of chance.

Better to try and fail than to never try at all though in his opinion.

Ping!

He paused, the radar at his hip pinging suddenly having caught something moving at the fringes of his range, something moving far too quickly to be a run off the mill merchant boat. Waiting for another moment he checked the radar again and sure enough, within a few moments…

Ping!

Another blip, a single hit too meaning that it was unlikely to be an ally since barring himself all sortie parties were set up in at minimum pairs of two. While he certainly could be registering another exception like himself he couldn't help the slight surge in adrenaline he began to feel as he locked onto the signature.

"Looks like I might have a date with a pirate!"

Easily adjusting his course he swiftly picked up the pace making his way over towards the mark, no doubt whoever it was would similarly sense his approach but he welcomed it, he wasn't one for sneak attacks anyway he'd much rather meet his foe head-on.

He just hoped she would prove to be the same but if not he'd merely hunt her down.

…

"Thank you for your cooperation. Hopefully, your allies will arrive in time to rescue you."

A dull but gentle voice spoke, nearly lifeless teal eyes focused entirely on the now sinking remains of what was once a fine trading vessel… now it was nothing more than a melting scrap, trash slipping ever deeper beneath the waves while it's former crew were busy paddling away in their meager lifeboats as she set to work planting the beacon that would draw their attention to the wreckage.

Ping!

Her eyes fell to her hip and a subtle frown worked its way onto her face, something was approaching her and it was approaching far more quickly than she would like. Her scarf blew gently in the wind as she tilted her head ever so slightly in the direction her equipment was warning her about.

"Trouble…"

She could flee but judging by the speed of its approach she would not maintain a large lead for long… this was a dilemma. She could run and hope that whoever was speeding towards her had no interest in actually pursuing her perhaps instead simply trying to run her off which would make sense given that she wasn't detecting any signs of incoming reinforcements.

She could also try to stay and fight.

Gleaming bloody red claws flexed instinctually at her side, the water around her rippling ever so slightly as a metal shark-like fin slashed through the lapping waves behind her. She was a tool of war… She existed to fight, to break those that would paint themselves in the colors of opposition even if she did not truly care for conflict. She frowned slightly even as the bright sheen of her armaments surrounded her like a fortress of cruelty, the jagged edges of her riggings coiling tightly around her thin frame.

She was a war machine.

Ping!

Dull eyes turned themselves towards the horizon, teal orbs locking onto the sole figure fading into view, the silhouette of her approaching opponent becoming clearer with each passing moment and her window to make an escape closed rapidly.

A choice had to be made and it had to be made, now…

"Preparing to engage."

She kicked off from her prior position with a speed that belied her heavy designation, her crimson gauntlets may have weighed her down but even so she moved with extreme focus, like an apex predator not a single stride was wasted as she cut a path towards her target.

She was Graf Spee, the so-called "Pocket Battleship" of the Iron Blood faction…

She would not fail.

…

A tense silence began to brew as the two warships closed the distance between them each unsure of the outcome of their meeting but both understanding that a peaceful exchange was unlikely.

"You're an Iron Blood… I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised." He hummed to himself at the petit but still formidable form of his enemy cruised into position across from him her weapons already aimed to send him to the depths of the ocean at a moment's notice. "You wouldn't happen to be the mysterious assailant sinking all these poor merchant ships now would you?" He asked donning a disarming smile as he did so. Nothing wrong with being polite after all.

"Who are you?" She asked, ignoring his question in favor of her own, her glare softened by slivers of confusion that were all too obvious against the canvas of her blank expression. "You are one of us but…"

"Different?" He surmised. "It's the whole not being a girl thing, isn't it? Akashi is still working that one out but I'll get back to you when we have an answer." He chirped seemingly undaunted by the variety of guns currently locked onto his position drawing a frown from Spee.

"You are a member of Azur Lane." She stated stoically, their alliance with the Sakura Empire kept them up to date on all deserters from their faction and the name Akashi was featured prominently upon that list. "I do not relish combat if you leave now I will not attack you." She offered. An olive branch, a chance for peace or at the very least a chance for everyone to walk away unharmed. It was an action out of character for such a militaristic faction to seek nonviolence as a first solution, he would admit he was taken a bit off guard by it even if only for a moment.

"I appreciate the offer and for what it is worth I appreciate your kindness." He praised offering her a gentle smile, one with a touch of resignation that she no doubt caught judging by the way her clawed gauntlets twitched at her hip. "But I can't let you continue terrorizing these people." He finished reaching down and drawing his trench knives.

"I see." She sighed but nodded. "This is the nature of war and as such I will do what is required of me." She spared him a glance that told him all he needed to know. She would fight until one of them was no longer standing.

BOOOOOOOM!

Naruto rolled to the side just in time to avoid the duel high explosive shells sent his way, the pulsing red ammunition slamming into the water with extreme force before detonating sending a geyser of scalding hot liquid into the air that rained over them.

"Well, at least she's taking me seriously." He joked lightly before quickly kicking back into motion as more shells plowed their way towards him, a chain of similarly deafening explosions erupting across the now turbulent waves as he weaved his way through her fire quickly pushing forward closing the distance.

"He's fast…" Spee scowled behind her scarf and rushed forward to meet him.

Clang!

The two slammed into one another with enough force to create a small shockwave around them as the two struggled to push the other back before ending the deadlock and breaking into a flurry of melee attacks. Crimson gauntlets collided violently with silver steel covering both parties in showers of sparks as metal ground angrily against metal in a fury of blows.

"She's strong..." He noted wincing ever so slightly as he was pushed back by a particularly savage blow and ducking under an overhead slash aimed to take his head off before lashing out with a roundhouse kick that was blocked by her oversized claws, said weapons quickly shooting forward to grab his outstretched leg. Knowing that falling into those mitts of hers was a guaranteed death sentence he swiftly pivoted his body launching himself back before she could complete her motion his superior speed allowing him to easily slide out of her strike range.

Back and forth the pair danced a deadly tango atop the now churning waters. There was an elegance to the savagery displayed by both, an almost methodical undercurrent to the exchange of fire and blows as the duo worked to bring one another to ruin.

Spee let out a pained grunt as his knife caught her skin, a shallow wound really but noticeable nonetheless. She'd eyed her opponent with suspicion and a new air of wariness, he'd still yet to draw his true arms and that gave her pause in her assault. Was he holding back intentionally? Was this an effort to demoralize her? She wasn't meant to question such things but the heat of battle made blocking out such burdening thoughts difficult.

"Why do you not draw your weapons?" She questioned catching him off guard with the suddenness of her inquiry. "Not those knives, but your real weapons."

"You mean my riggings?" He leveled her with a curious glance before sighing and rubbing the back of his head. "It's nothing personal if that's what you're worried about..." He assured with a gentle smile one unfitting for a battlefield and which made his next words all the more damning in her mind…

"But this isn't really the right time for that." He finished shrugging his shoulders in a manner that seemed almost carefree.

…

She said nothing for a moment considering just what he might mean by such a thing, she was not so emotional as to jump to conclusions... unless the said conclusion was so blatantly apparent that to ignore it was to be willfully ignorant. He did not believe she was worth the effort, that whatever power he could bring to bear would prove far too much for her.

"I see." She nodded, her voice did not waver even as her tail swayed with increased fervor, stirring the waters between them. She may not have enjoyed conflict but she was an Iron Blood and if there was anything she could claim to share with her sisters.

It was their pride as warriors.

Naruto frowned as the air grew tense between them, whereas before there was a twinge of resignation between two soldiers merely fulfilling their duties, now there was a hint of something far more personal. His gaze turned to the still stirring waters and beneath the churning waters, the hairs on his neck standing at attention while he peered into the frothing waves…

His eyes widened as the water behind him erupted in a torrential downpour as four jagged metal shark-like machines ripped through the waves, vermillion jaws in the shade of dripping blood snapped open to consume everything in their path as they dogpiled onto him, forcefully dragging his now flailing body underneath the waves while dull teal eyes watched from the surface.

"Oh for fuck's sake, really?!" He cursed himself for not anticipating such a thing, she even looked like a damn shark for the love of God! Bubbles filled his vision as metal jaws clamped tightly onto whatever they could the twisted metal sinking easily through his clothing into the flesh below with extreme prejudice and he had to fight with every instinct he had not to scream in pain lest he open himself up to the gallons of water that would seek to occupy his lungs.

Fighting off the shock as best he could, he quickly used his free hand to drive his trench knife into the "skull" of the nearest predatory machine, easily driving the sharp metal of his weapon past its protective plating and violently dragging the blade down the length of its body. Pitch black oil seeped into the waters like freshly spilled blood as the mechanical beast shuddered at the deep gash imposed upon it but even so it kept its teeth fastened like a sprung bear trap, unwilling to allow its prey to escape, even at the cost of its life.

The others as if sensing the distress of their ally suddenly snapped into a feeding frenzy and he could feel the tightening of their jaws as they worked in tandem to try and literally rip him to pieces. He grit his teeth and unseen to anyone blue eyes flashed a deep red as they dragged him deeper beneath the waves, the light of hanging sun growing fainter as he was pulled towards the depths…

…

Spee watched the water with impassive eyes as she eyed the spot that the blond kansen had occupied before she'd set her rigging upon him the male having been dragged mercilessly underneath the waves. Her eyes narrowed as faint streams of oil began to rise to the surface staining the crystal clear waters a murky black as chunks of torn metal and cloth began to bubble up shortly after.

The cloth was clearly his but the metal shavings were easily recognizable to her…

BOOOOOOOM!

She flinched as the water in front of her bulged heavily before exploding outward, the force of the eruption actually pushing her back slightly but her attention was immediately drawn to a sight that left her both breathless and horrified.

The torn-up and ravaged carcasses of her riggings sailed through the air, their once sleek forms were now bent and ruptured as if they'd been crushed by something far larger than themselves. She couldn't stop herself from flinching as their motionless bodies crashed back into the sea, surrounding her in the carnage.

"That was a good shot you almost had me there…"

Her gaze snapped towards the voice of her still very much alive and now very much annoyed opponent, his jacket was torn and she could see teeth marks littering the exposed portions of his body that were no longer covered. Once jovial blue eyes were now as cold as the most frigid icebergs, an unfamiliar discomfort settled itself into her core as he rolled his neck and leveled her with a hard stare.

"I hurt your pride, didn't I?" He asked rhetorically not even bothering to wait for her response knowing that's exactly what had happened. "That wasn't my intention and for what it's worth I am sorry." He apologized. "I'll take this a bit more seriously."

She had no time to react before she found his fist burying itself into her cheek, his trench knives thankfully have slipped off at some point during his trip to the depths but she wasn't sure it made much of a difference given that she was sent rocketing across the water like a ragdoll, her limp form skipping like a well-tossed stone along the surface.

But he wasn't finished with her yet.

Her eyes rolled violently into her head as she felt successive blows slam into her over and over without pause, each felt like a high explosive round going off directly in her face and they packed a similar effect as she was bounced around like some kind of human-shaped beach ball before she was granted the mercy of crashing into the waiting waters below, her broken form descending into the still oil-stained depths.

Her body felt like it was on fire…

The waves parted as a bandaged hand swiftly broke through the surface and she was abruptly yanked her from her temporary reprieve and back into the open where she was just able to make out his silhouette behind half-lidded eyes. Her arms were heavy and try as she might she could not gather enough strength to even move them, such was the extent of the brief but unbelievable punishment she'd suffered.

She was at his mercy… perhaps she had been from the moment she decided to stand her ground instead of retreating.

"Deutschland… would you be disappointed in me? I'm sorry I could not live up to your expectations..." Even though the pain her thoughts still turned to her sister and a pang of regret rushed through her that dulled even the numbing sensation that had settled into her bones.

As darkness took her she missed the final words of her conqueror, catching sight of his moving lips but fading before the words could pierce the haze. She would be yet another casualty of a war that would serve no purpose but leaving those who would survive it in fractured pieces.

Would that be considered a kindness in the end? She wasn't sure… right now all she wanted was to sleep.

-Medic Bay, HQ-

"What did I specifically warn you about?!" Aiko hissed as she looked upon the now returned and injured form of the newest addition to their not so little family. "The one thing I told you not to do while you were out there!" She scolded tapping her foot angrily against the sterile tiled floor.

Naruto grinned sheepishly as Akashi patched him up, his upper torso was covered in bandages and he was sure his legs were in a similar state. No doubt he'd be feeling more than a bit tender for the next few days but right now he couldn't afford to rest. He had yet another battle to face, one far more dangerous than anything the seas could throw at him.

Namely surviving his lovely but currently very pissed off Commander.

"I know, I know but you never said I couldn't do it!" He tried to defend before immediately shrinking back as the twitch in Aiko's eye grew more violent signaling that was not the proper response. "W-What I meant was, it wouldn't do to leave an active threat in the area so I thought why not take care of the problem while I was in the area!"

"Alone!" She hissed chopping him atop the head causing him to roll around on the mat, comically large tears leaking from his eyes as she hovered over him with hands on her hips. "You went alone after I warned you not too and then you have the nerve to stroll in here like you did nothing wrong!"

"I'm sorry!" He whined holding his now sore lump. "It won't happen again!"

"Damn right it won't!" She huffed shaking her head. "Now explain to me why you thought it was not only a good idea to engage a hostile kansen alone but then BRING HER BACK TO OUR BASE OF OPERATIONS?!" She shouted chopping him once again earning another round of tears from the wailing blond.

Akashi watched the proceedings with a deadpan expression as the two went back and forth shouting at one another while she shifted her attention towards patching up the unconscious girl lying on the cot in front of her, their new prisoner of war apparently. The poor girl was completely out of it but truthfully was in fairly decent condition... other than a bit of internal bleeding and some light fractures, but she would make a complete recovery all the same.

When she would wake up though was hard to say.

"Well, I couldn't just kill her…" He sighed rubbing the back of his head as he tried to figure out a way to justify his unorthodox methods. "Despite how I look she was actually pretty reluctant to fight and it wasn't like she was going around killing innocents, I figured maybe…"

"Maybe we could sway her back to our side?" She finished rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance at not only how much paperwork this was going to give her but also the possible repercussions, there was no doubt the Iron Bloods would not take kindly to this. "You do understand what you've done. correct?"

"Nope~" He chirped pushing himself off the bed with a grin even as pain shot through his legs. "But hey, you said you wanted to bring the Crimson Axis back into the fold, right? What better way than showing them what they are missing?" He mused crossing his arms.

She felt her eye twitching again.

She was going to slap him. She was going to slap him in his big stupid whiskered face and then force him to guard the destroyers for the rest of his natural life.

"So are you just going to beat them all one by one and bring them back by force then? Is that your master plan?" She snarked obvious sarcasm dripping from her every word but she immediately regretted her sass when she saw the discomforting glint of mischief in his eyes. She had quickly come to learn that nothing good came out of that look.

"Naruto…"

"That's not such a bad plan!" He laughed springing back up and onto his feet masking a grunt of pain at his still healing wounds. "We'll just build them back up one piece at a time, kicking and screaming if we have to." He resolved completely ignoring the disbelieving stare sent his way as he made his way out of the med bay with a wild grin etched upon his face.

There would be a lot of paperwork and shouting in her future…

AN. Chapter Complete

It has been a while. I apologize for the delay I've recently found very little time or motivation to write much of anything but I haven't forgotten or abandoned any of my stories as of the moment so no worries there. Anywho let's just get into it and talk a bit about this chapter and some stuff that has led us here.

Number one being Naruto's relationships with other characters:

Now I did mention I wanted his introductions to other characters to be a bit more natural and part of that just means that we aren't going to see him literally meet everyone and do a little introduction. I know many like that style getting so see how each person individually reacts to his presence but I will reserve that for either little flashbacks or meetings between characters of greater importance.

This, of course, leads to characters like Belfast having already met him and an early relationship/friendship forming between them "off-screen" so to speak. Of course, I will flesh out those interactions more but for the sake of actually moving the story along, we are going to have characters that have met in the background.

Two, Naruto's flirty personality:

While I do plan to stick to Naruto's core personality traits (determined, selfless, mischievous, etc) he's not an exact copy either. He's not a womanizer or anything as I try to make it clear that a lot of his flirty nature is mostly to tease and just for the sake of provoking a reaction out of those around him. He's not going to be a harem protagonist with boobs on the brain 24/7 though so no worries there if that is a concern of yours.

Number three, his meeting & fight with Spee:

Now originally I wasn't going to include this until later but I did want to give him a semi-challenging fight as well as introduce a character from Iron Blood without jumping into a major conflict. Obviously his presence is going to change the order and nature of events and this will be just one of many times where that'll happen, I went with him capturing Spee because her event was my first real event and she was also the first event ship I wanted that I failed to get (got her on the re-run). This will somewhat act as my replacement for the gacha system though it's not going to be a super frequent occurrence.

As for the fight I want to be clear that Naruto only took as much damage as he did because he wasn't really going all out and even at the end where he takes her down he still doesn't reveal much. I am intentionally keeping his rigging hidden as I have plans for that and want to be sure those are all in order but there are hints to it.

Anyway, I don't wanna talk too much about my plans but I did want to answer some questions I figured people might have. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me or ask them in reviews and I will try to PM you. Questions about when updates will occur all have the same answer, they will happen when they happen I don't keep to a schedule or anything.

Take care and I hope you enjoyed it.