Identity

by Digman14

When your entire nation is subjugated there are choices one must make. Do you submit to your conquerors and work together for prosperity or do you fight to the death for the liberation of your people? When your entire Identity is reduced to a mere number the lines you're willing to cross can become blurred, and the loyalties you hold sometimes overlap.

Hello everyone and a fondest greetings to you all, my name is Dig and this is my story. Another joint venture between Fanwriter10101 and myself, same as with our other story hosted on his profile: The Untold Prophecy, which will hopefully be updated soon. Apologies to our fans for only uploading one chapter last year.

This was an idea I had about a year and a half ago for a political intrigue crossover since most people seemed to like those aspects of our story the most. Fanwriter and I slaved away for the past year or so trying to get this story out, but the pandemic was constantly throwing a wrench in all of our plans, but the story is finally here! I'm very terrible when it comes to Author's Notes so let's just end my paint and get this show on the road.

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The date was August 10, in the year 2010 of the Imperial Calendar. The powerful Holy Britannian Empire had just declared war upon Japan. The Far East island nation had held fast to its neutrality. Rights to Japan's underground resources became a hotly disputed issue, straining the already deep-rooted diplomatic tensions between the two sides.

After the immediate seizure of outlying Japanese territories, the Britannians deployed the Autonomous Armored Knight, known as the Knightmare Frame, hoping for a quick and decisive Victory on Japan's home islands. The Britannian forces were far greater than anticipated, and the Knightmare obliterated the Japanese line of defense with little effort.

But there were two famous exceptions...

The first became known as the Miracle at Itsukushima, where the Japanese Forces under Lieutenant Colonel Kyoshiro Todoh managed to deal Britannia a decisive defeat. And the second was the heroic actions of the Japanese 4th Army stationed in Fukushima. Under the command of Lieutenant General Minato Namikaze, the army managed to stall Britannia's overwhelming might in the region for an entire month using groundbreaking guerilla maneuvers and revolutionary mobile warfare tactics. General Namikaze is regarded to have not only prolonged the conflict by three weeks, but his also to have inflicted twice the number of casualties on the Britannian forces than they had anticipated losing in the entire invasion. His uniquely blonde hair as a result of his mixed ancestry as well as his lightning fast hit and run tactics throughout the prefecture earned him a moniker—dreaded by the Britannians and revered by the Japanese citizenry—as the "Yellow Flash of Fukushima".

However, despite his heroism and military genius, Britannia's military might prevailed over Japan and its greatest general was forced to surrender. As a result, the nation was stripped of its freedom, its right and even its name. Area 11: the defeated and once proud nation of Japan was rechristened with a mere number.

With the conquest of Japan, the world changed drastically. It had changed the moment Britannia sought to expand its domain, enveloping nation after nation into its vast empire. While it had dominated the Americas for the past century and a half, it had recently begun branching out into other areas of the world: Japan, Cambodia, multiple Pacific Archipelagos—even Africa and the Middle East. The highly diplomatic EU and the mostly agrarian Chinese Federation had no such expansionist ambitions, and had long fought against Britannian's imperialist expansion.

However, as history has shown time and time again, ambition is not restricted solely to the schemes of superpowers…

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Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 — Friday, July 7 2016 a.t.b — 2:21 p.m.

The Government Borough, more casually referred to as the Viceroy's Palace, was considered to be the most guarded place in all of Area 11. Located at the center of the Tokyo Settlement, it was a place where none but the most privileged individuals of Britannian society would be allowed. After all, it served as the seat of power for the Britannian Empire in the region and was the professional residence of the Viceroy of the Area, a Prince of the Empire, no less. Currently, a party was being held by the Third Prince, an occurrence that was almost considered routine by high society. Every member of high society that cast large enough of a shadow on the Prince's pristine boots was invited.

Although the invitation was typically extended only to the elite, a modest limousine traveled along the highways of the Tokyo Settlement. It didn't need to be overly extravagant or stretched out to obnoxious lengths, it was only containing three passengers. Normally, it's owner would be satisfied with a high quality SUV or luxury sedan, but he had been trained to be calculating, and there were more factors than his personal preference that determined his method of transport. The first were the two noble passengers. It wasn't strictly that the passengers demanded such a vehicle, but they would demand a certain standard of luxury. Second to be considered was that if they were offered something too luxurious it might be off-putting for someone of his low social standing to be courting them with exorbitant showmanship, there was a certain level of class reserved for society's elite, and Numbers could never be part of the elite. The last factor was its destination. The Viceroy's valets simply wouldn't accept methods of transport associated with commoners, especially not one owned by an Honorary Britannian, a title that was little more than economic camouflage to most of the aristocracy.

In the transport were a young Britannian couple in their early twenties, recently engaged if the platinum band adorned with diamonds on the woman's left hand gave any indication. The blond-haired man was dressed in a blue suit and the caramel-skinned brunette was only modestly concealed by her rather revealing red dress, exposing an amount of cleavage that bordered on scandalous. The third passenger riding with them was obscured by the dim lighting in the back of the limo, as he preferred. He was even younger than the two twenty-somethings, a boy in his mid teens going just by the build of his body. They were in the midst of a conversation that would be boring to the typical citizen, but when you were dealing with hundreds of millions in capital, the talks became significantly more important.

"Earl Davenport, I hope that I've explained everything thoroughly enough to your satisfaction. Sharing your company's resource rights with the New Leaf Foundation would be a mutually beneficial deal for millions of people." the teenager exchanged a handful of documents with the young man before pointing to several numbers at the bottom of the new pages. "Your tax burden would be undercut by the charitable donation you could credit the Imperial Revenue Service for, and the New Leaf Foundation will have cheap access to concrete and steel for our reconstruction projects. Not to mention you and your father also appear to be extraordinarily charitable and provide hope to the natives of Area 11, whilst not appearing to be overly sympathetic for the conditions of Elevens to the rest of Britannia." the boy resisted the urge to gag at the name his people had been given. Even if he was an Honorary Britannian and had been given a special award by the Viceroy himself as an exemplary citizen, it still made him sick to refer to his own kind as his lessers.

"I'll admit, I was worried when my father said I had to meet with an Elev- er, Honorary Britannian such as yourself, but you're rather articulate with your English and your manners almost make me forget you weren't born a nobleman, let alone a Britannian." the boy raised his hand to politely interrupt.

"I was actually born a noble, obviously just not within Britannia." he partially corrected with a small chuckle.

"Right, I forgot that House Uzumaki was an extremely powerful family in the former Japan." the Earl chuckled, a bit worried that he had offended his prospective new business partner.

"No worries, it's not as if titles like that matter anymore, your lordship." the Uzumaki heir waived off his minor faux pas.

"Charles, please. I would hope we're at least on a first name basis by now." the Earl insisted. "In any case, it's a deal that's simply too good not to accept. If I may ask, where exactly will the New Leaf be allocating these resources to?" Charles Davenport took the new piece of paper from his host and prepared to sign the bottom with the provided gold inlay pen to seal the deal.

"Oh, just some construction projects up North near the Sendai concessions. Nowhere that would affect the property values of the Tokyo Settlement." Mr. Uzumaki explained. Sendai, and the entire Southern Tohoku region, had been hit just as hard by the war as Tokyo.

"Oh, my father was looking to begin some construction projects up there. Hopefully we could make a deal for your support up there in the future. In any case, that's excellent. Tokyo has such lovely weather and I would hate to see too many changes to the surrounding area. Though I have to admit I'm happy to see that you've cleaned up so much of the surrounding rubble in the ghettos."

"Well, that's just more concrete for us. It takes a lot of resources to rebuild an entire nation. Any stone we can get our hands on at this rate is-" the boy—well known as a member of the formerly prestigious Uzumaki family—was about to continue when the privacy divider came down from the driver's canopy.

"Master Uzumaki, we are arriving shortly. You should make yourself presentable." the middle-aged Eleven spoke to his superior in not-so-perfect English. His reddish hair was streaked with lines of grey. He could speak English perfectly fine, but his accent was added as part of the calculated effort to woo his guests and keep them from getting upset.

"Thanks, Kurama. We'll be ready. And for the last time, Naruto is perfectly fine." the blond-haired teen again resisted the urge to swallow his disgust. It wasn't that he thought he deserved some fancy title or that he even liked being called by his last name. Kurama had served the Uzumaki main family since not longer after his mother was born. But their jobs required both of them to prostrate before all Britannian nobles, regardless of the disposition of these particular guests towards numbers.

The New Leaf conglomerate found that it's noble clientele were less than agreeable just meeting with Elevens, even if they'd all gone through the rigorous Honorary Britannian system and had been handpicked by the Viceroy and their CEO to serve as interracial diplomats. If a single uptight noble heard in passing that a number–no matter how well regarded they were–was being called Master or Sir or was being elevated even the slightest bit from being less than a worthless peon, it could pose problems for future deals with those awful individuals. Elevens who thought they should be treated the same as even commoners were simply intolerable to them.

"Now where were we, oh yes. Clearing out the last of the ghettos will also make completing the final expansion of the Tokyo Settlement easier and will definitely advance the cause of upgrading the Area to satellite status instead of remaining a Reformation area. Although I fear the continued actions of terrorists may still delay this." Naruto lamented as he fixed and tightened his necktie.

"Oh my, I had heard that the terrorist activity in the surrounding area was on an upswing. The military thinks the JLF has its main base nearby, no?" the soon to be Mrs. Davenport inquired.

"I haven't the slightest idea where the JLF are hiding." the blond lied. He didn't know exactly where the JLF headquarters was...but it was definitely not terribly far to the East of Tokyo, probably in or around the Narita Mountains. "But the New Leaf Foundation is cooperating one hundred percent with the Viceroy to track them and any other terrorists down." Revealing his intel to the Britannians might give the wrong impression that he or Konoha had connections to terrorists, and there were a multitude of reasons they wouldn't be able to reveal their sources.

"I see, well that's good to hear. Elizabeth and I were thinking of honeymooning down near Shirahama."

"Oh really? That place is lovely this time of year. If you're having the wedding soon, that is?" Naruto trailed off, inquiring into their personal life a tidbit.

"Master Naruto-" Kurama interrupted at the worst possible time.

"Nice try, you sly fox, but it's just Naruto." the Honorary Britannian quickly corrected with a bemused smirk that Charles and Elizabeth both returned. His charm was definitely undeniable.

"Right, Naruto. We're pulling up to the entrance now." Kurama announced. The Uzumaki family had treated him well before the war, serving them for nearly two generations when he was just a young boy. It pained him to lower their honorable daughter's son to such a base status. Naruto responded with a quick thank you before turning back to the betrothed Davenports.

"We're planning for next month, so yes, definitely. Oh, silly me. You should come of course!" Elizabeth played entirely into his hands. Charles' neck just about snapped as it craned over to look at his fiancée worriedly.

'Jackpot' Naruto thought with a small grin. He'd been waiting for this opening.

"While I'd love to, I'm not exactly sure an Honorary Britannian being invited to a noble son's wedding would be..." Naruto trailed off, and he saw the color return to Charles' face, but he was prepared to see it pale once again with his future wife's inevitable next words.

"Nonsense, if you're worried about it let me introduce you to my father first. He's about the most compassionate nobleman you'll ever meet. He loves the numbers. My mother is actually a Six, believe it or not." Elizabeth continued her blabbing and even Naruto piqued up at this. The original plan was to droll through the wedding, but if he could meet with Marquess Stonefield beforehand...

"Brazilian, huh? I thought I saw some of it in your complexion but I didn't want to presume." This was all a ruse, of course. Naruto knew full well that Elizabeth's mother, Maria Stonefield, née Ferreira, was a citizen of the former Federative Republic of Brazil. He was also aware that a young Marquess Jason Stonefield had become smitten with her and expedited her naturalization so they could be married. He also knew the the Stonefield Concern were masters of electrical engineering, and that their recent projects could benefit the impoverished people of Area 11 greatly.

"I would very much like to meet him." Naruto sealed the deal. In all likelihood, he wouldn't be attending the wedding, but he'd have to at least send a very nice gift with his regards as thanks for introducing him to yet another business associate with millions in capital and access to electrical substations that might allow the ghettos to lift their brown out ordinances.

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Government Borough, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 — 2:29 p.m

Naruto Uzumaki set foot on solid ground and stretched after a nearly half hour ride in the limousine. He was a sixteen year old boy with tanned skin that stood at 171 centimeters tall, which made him still rather short by Britannian standards. His sun-kissed blond hair and ocean blue eyes were quite the unusual feature that betrayed his ethnicity. His pinstripe grey three-piece was more suited for people on a business trip rather than a party, but his bright orange tie was enough flair to attract some attention.

Giving a polite bow goodbye to the future Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, Naruto excused himself and began walking up the long stairs to the security checkpoint. The two guards were armed with decorative pikes that would be fairly useless in an actual combat situation, but they looked less threatening than rifles, and there were plenty of other guards within earshot if need be, so the Viceroy insisted that they present themselves as a mostly harmless decoration for his arriving noble acquaintances.

So now came the question as to which manner of racist bullshit the guards would attempt in order to deny him entry to the borough this time. Because sure enough, as he approached, the guards crossed their pikes directly in front of him. If he wanted, he was short and fast-footed enough to duck through the gap, but instead, he stopped like any normal Honorary Britannian would, only he wasn't the least bit worried about being arrested.

"Halt. No Elevens are permitted entrance to government property." the guard on the right ordered sternly. They had apparently not been notified that Naruto was granted special diplomatic status... or more likely was the case that they simply ignored his Diplomatic status and saw all Elevens as the same.

"Are we seriously going to go through this whole song and dance again?" Naruto sighed. It was practically every time he was invited to the Viceroy's residence that he had to deal with this. He didn't hate it, as it provided tremendous stress relief, but it was beginning to lose it's entertainment factor.

"No Elevens are permitted on government property." the other guard repeated. "By Royal Decree of Viceroy Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of the Empire." No Elevens? Not even him? By order of who? Certainly not Clovis, but they still spoke as if he was stupid enough to think speaking authoritatively gave their words any more weight. Even if that were the law, he had a personal invitation. Naruto sighed and reached into his jacket pocket for the invitation that bore Clovis' gubernatorial seal. But the guards immediately readied their pikes, aimed to pierce his body at a moment's notice.

"Weapons are not allowed on the premises. Leave now or you will be arrested." the Right guard shouted loud enough that a handful of people socializing on the stairs overheard, drawing attention to the confrontation. At first, the teen was confused, he obviously never carried weapons on him, but these guards were hoping to intimidate him with the false accusation alone.

'Ooh, today's pair is creative.' Naruto thought with slight glee. After humiliating himself on a somewhat daily basis in his conversations with noblemen he always loved putting these chumps in their place. The more feisty the guards the more amusing the outcome.

"Gentlemen, please. Do I seriously need to report to Clovis about this nonsense?" Naruto threatened, willing to see just how foolish these two sought out to be. He'd lost count of the number of guards Clovis had fired or relocated on his behalf. The name of their Prince being spoken so casually by an Eleven incited a small ember of rage in the two guardsmen.

"You aren't going to be speaking to the his Highness anymore, Eleven scum!" the man on the left sneered, some of his sputum landing on Naruto's clothes. Naruto noticed this and pulled out his handkerchief, wiping it away. His sardonic smile had turned into a grim frown. These were his good clothes, and he still had to meet with the Prince who loathed any form of ugliness.

"You do know that I have both his personal and professional lines on speed dial, right? I could have him here in two minutes and your jobs in three." Naruto reached for his phone, ready to call Clovis and have him pink slip another set of racist guards, but again they readied their weapons, barking the same warning about weapons. But this time, the guard on the right seemed to suddenly have trouble keeping his bearings. The punch to his torso had been fierce and decisive, almost evading the eyes of onlookers, and he crumpled over in pain. The other guard attempted to rush their assailant with his pike, but Naruto stepped out of the way and gently placed his hand on the metal pole. The guard tried to pull his weapon back, but it would not budge out of the blond's grip. The whole spectacle had drawn the cautious eyes and concerned gasps of everyone outside.

'W-what the hell? What kind of strength is this?' the sole remaining guard thought, beginning to panic now that he had been effectively disarmed. It seems the rumors of the boy's remarkable strength hadn't been exaggerated. The force he was experiencing, it was like trying to rip a tusk off an elephant that was slowly getting more and more pissed off at you.

"Excuse me, but I think your spear is broken. It was supposed to stab me, right? Cause it missed, you might want to check the aerodynamics of this thing. And trust me, those fancy curves and pointless engravings look way tackier than you think." Naruto mocked as he tightened his grip, the alloy metal crumpling under the rising pressure. Eventually, the stress was too much and the metal snapped, the inctricated pointed snapping off and clanking to the ground, bouncing a short distance down the stairs before losing its momentum.

"Oh jeez, and it just breaks under the slightest amount of stress. No, this weapon is no good at all." the blond grinned at his expert-level showmanship. It actually did require a fair bit of effort to pull that off, and further still Naruto used a trick to exploit the design of the alloy metal, something he picked up working with shady Britannian businessmen who tried to cheat the Foundation by selling them faulty materials. When pressured the right way, this particular "military-grade" alloy would fold like paper under enough weight. Though even if it were well made, Naruto wouldn't have much more trouble getting the same result. Naruto pushed the broken pole forward, and swept the dumbfounded guard's legs with his own busted weapon.

The guards looked up at the Eleven, then at each other, before one quietly grumbled something to the other and both stood up. Raising their weapons, they ushered the Uzumaki heir through. He gave them a polite bow and began walking into the building, with his sharp ears he overheard the nobles gossiping below and the left guard asking the provisions officer for a new pike over the two-way radio mounted on his shoulder.

While parties were meant to be relaxing, the arrival of this particular guest had soured that mood of relaxation among the elites of Britannia. Naruto craned his head, taking in the baroque grandiosity of the Prince's ballroom. His eyes passed over a group of high ranking nobles, who were already gossiping about his arrival. Naruto had trained his ears well, and he tuned in to their disparaging session of chatter.

"What's he doing here? He's just a filthy Eleven…" A Britannian noblewoman muttered to her fellow members of high society, clearly not happy. Naruto turned his eyes away, but his well trained ears focused in on their conversation.

"Come on Cynthia, at least he's one of the good ones." her plus one complemented the blond. Naruto resisted the urge to smile. It was good to know not all Britannian nobles were stuck up racist assholes...at least not wholly.

"A good number? Surely you jest. Especially considering who his father is—ahem—was..." with the knowledge of her first name, Naruto quickly identified the woman's as belonging to Cynthia Maclure, the Countess of Atlanta, and she giggled in slight amusement at her mischievous antics. If only she knew just how much shit he could get her in with the Prince. Neo Konoha Zaidan, or the New Leaf Foundation to the English-speaking Britannians, held tremendous sway over the Viceroy for being a group consisting solely of and run solely by Honorary Britannians. Despite this fact, they seldom put pressure on the Viceroy. Never bothering with instances of pettiness or disrespect, and only getting involved when Company money or the livelihood of Elevens was at stake.

There had once been a particular snobbish Duke who used their construction services and then refused to pay, thinking he could get away with it because they were just Numbers. The Third Prince had corrected him on the matter, and all but ordered him to pay the company in full with added interest, a considerable twenty-five percent for each week of missed payment, as an apology for his misguided business methods. It had turned a quarter billion dollar construction project into a nearly billion dollar fiasco. Clovis had initially wanted to seize the building, but Neo Konoha had stepped in and said they simply wanted to be able to appropriately compensate their contracted Eleven workers. The Noblemen was also forced to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement so as to prevent him from blabbing to his friends and ruining Neo Konoha's business, though that didn't stop word from reaching certain ears and putting the fear of god, or rather the fear of the Third Prince's personal priority for Konoha, into them.

"Don't let the Prince hear you mention anything like that. He might reprimand you for badmouthing a 'respectable Honorary Britannian'." another noble, likely a Duke judging by the exorbitant price tag for his coat, silenced her conversation whilst simultaneously giving birth to sardonic chuckles amongst the group as they looked at the subject of their discussion. The part that stuck a nerve with them, however, was that he had arrived and begun chatting with the Prince so casually. Sure he had bowed and given the proper respects to the Emperor's third son, but a commoner - a worthless number such as him - shouldn't even be allowed the privilege. Once they were certain that neither Naruto nor the Prince were within earshot, their conversation continued.

"Not to mention who his father was. You know, that Namikaze Gener-"

Naruto bashed his kneel forcefully into the bar's countertop. The loud noise stopping the party in its tracks. Cynthia almost gasped, thinking that she had somehow been overheard by the Eleven. She didn't know how right she was and dismissed it as unlikely, given the distance to the bar. Naruto had iron skin from dealing with uptight nobles daily, but when you were surrounded by gluttonous rats eventually their teeth get through; especially on a sore subject like his father. Reaching into his pocket, Naruto pulled out his phone for business and began to go through the various long messages he had received.

'Ambassador program, SHINOBI begins active recruiting, terrorists actively plotting more violent operations…' Naruto went through the itinerary for their weekly meeting without really reading into them much. The last point caught his eye, however, and as a Team Leader in the Public Safety division he felt obligated to read into it. Naruto would have to tolerate the whispers at this party for another two hours at least in order to keep things cordial between him and Clovis. Unless he had some sort of excuse... like a company meeting to discuss anti-terrorist canvassing.

"There you are Naruto! What on Earth took you so long?" Clovis announced his presence as Naruto turned around and smiled, greeting the third Prince.

"Well, the new guards gave me some trouble…" Naruto trailed off as Clovis frowned.

"Of course, my mistake. I often forget that my guards are still rather stubborn. Rest assured that this will not happen again. I, Clovis, will be personally dealing with the situation." the Viceroy announced as Naruto chuckled slightly, a bit hopeful that the guards might stop the usual routine. He'd be hard pressed to find better methods of stress relief, though.

"Well, I would love to stay for this event, but I cannot stick around for long. I'll have to leave for our end of week meeting soon." Naruto stated, waving his phone in his hand as Clovis got the message.

"No no no! That's nonsense Naruto! You must stay for at least some of the party! You're always droning on and on about business and financial support, but you must relax and learn to live a good life. The meeting isn't until five, am I correct? Then you've got at least another whole hour left to enjoy yourself. Have a mimosa...or two or three. I'll make sure the staff doesn't give you a hard time my young friend." Clovis smiled with a finger tap on his nose he probably thought was sly. Naruto smiled slightly–half out of amusement but there was some part of it that was from genuine gratitude. He knew that Clovis was simply keeping up a nice face, but mimosas did have the distinct advantage of being orange, and also delicious.

"Well, if you insist. But I still can't stay for too long." Naruto replied as Clovis nodded in acceptance. Despite the drummed up press and pomp surrounding their relationship, Clovis and Naruto did consider each other friends. It was a friendship that invoked memories of Duke Kennedy's famous quote: 'Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.' Naruto and Clovis seemed to take this philosophy to heart. Not many commoners knew much about contemporary events in Japan before the conquest, and even fewer were privy to the information regarding Naruto's...less than ideal parentage.

Naruto felt the minutes tick by as he did his best to mingle with guests who mostly tolerated his presence. A few, like the soon to be wedded Davenports, actually engaged him in conversation. This gave him a few ins to future meetings with some of the more open-minded–and avaricious–noblemen.

"Why don't you come to a private gathering I will be hosting tomorrow?" Clovis questioned Naruto as those in earshot distance gasped slightly. Prince Clovis inviting a Number? To his private residence no less!

"I'd be honored to attend but…" Naruto trailed off, thinking through his options. He could attend, but was it wise for him to go it alone so soon? He usually went into meetings over-prepared and this was such short notice. Yet to pass the opportunity to talk to Clovis one-on-one is something that might get him demoted to lugging bags of concrete mix around for a month or two.

'Maybe I could finally discuss some reforms and laws we want him to pass without any of those bloodsucking bureaucrats hovering over him.' Naruto thought to himself before nodding.

"I'll be there, but what about my work?" Naruto questioned Clovis as he waved his hand casually.

"With all the good work you do, I think it's time you treated yourself to a day off. I'll have Hiruzen notified. I'm sure he won't say no if I inform him personally." Clovis offered and Naruto chuckled nervously, now he would have no excuse to not attend. Not that he would miss a chance to meet with the Viceroy of Jap–Area 11– in a private setting, away from the upturned noses of blue bloods.

Despite the facade, his attendance was definitely just another chance for Clovis to have another op ed written about him in the media. Naruto could see the headlines now: 'Viceroy Clovis meets with esteemed Honorary Britannian to lay foundations for public development'. Clovis was seldom able appropriate any government funds to public works projects that benefited the downtrodden Elevens living in the ghettos, though this was more the fault of his advisors than Clovis himself. It was thanks solely to the work of Honorary Britannians that the Chiba and Shizuoka ghettos had been completely revitalized. Restoring Shinjuku was also on the docket, but the bureaucrats had lobbied extensively to block their efforts. They wanted a clear distinction between the pristine settlements of Britannia and the crumbling cities of the former Japan. Naruto found it amusing that the only way the Britannians could exert their supposed superiority was to deny the numbers any chance of recovering their former lifestyles. Had they not done their best to cripple Konoha's efforts all of Tokyo's old wards would be bustling just like the Settlement.

Naruto's phone suddenly started to ring. Taking it out of his pocket he saw the number before he excused himself and took the call. It was brief, but the message was clear. Hanging up, he pocketed his phone away and approached Clovis once more.

"I'm sorry, but I must leave abruptly. The big boss himself just called and we've moved up our end of week meeting. They must want to discuss something important. I-uh, Thank you for your hospitality and rest assured I will definitely take you up on your offer. Tomorrow, right?" Naruto briefly stumbled, wondering if he had revealed too much. Clovis' curious look certainly gave that impression.

"Yes, just come to the Borough around, let's say...three o'clock. Is that after you've finished with work? Nevermind. Just come whenever you feel like. I promise there will be a plane ready to pick you up. I'm leaving in the morning, however, so you'll have to make the trip alone...but rest assured I will personally make sure no one on that plane gives you any trouble." Clovis was disappointed that his friend would have to leave so early, hoping to at least get another hour of publicity with him, but when Konoha's CEO Hiruzen Sarutobi calls you directly, unless you had an audience with the Prime Minister or the Emperor himself, you had damn well better drop whatever you're doing and make your way to the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was considered by many to be the most powerful Number in all of Area 11, perhaps even more powerful than Taizo Kirihara. While Kirihara was derided as a traitor to his people for selfishly collaborating with the Britannian regime, Hiruzen's reputation was a bit more mixed. He definitely had his detractors, but others saw him as a great messiah that would start a new chapter for the Numbers, even those outside of Area 11, at least by those who didn't want to kill him for not using his influence against the Britannian occupation.

Kirihara's Sakuradite mines were definitely more valued by the Britannian elites, while Hiruzen was a champion of his people before, during, and after the war, and his influence could not be ignored, not even by the haughtiest of nobles. He was Commander of the Third Army Group in the First Pacific War, managing to achieve major victories against the Sino-Britannian Coalition despite the eventual capitulation of Japan. He was also named Chief of Home Island Strategic Command during the Britannian invasion in the Second War, and was the one who gave General Namikaze the independence and authority to 'go nuts' on the Britannians, as he regularly put it. He had a military mind, but a kind heart, and the man was not afraid to get the better of his enemies through both malice and generosity.

"Well, our work never ends, does it?" Clovis quipped with a chuckle as Naruto did so before he started to head out. As he neared the main door, he heard Clovis' voice call out to him, echoing throughout the entire hall–intended for everyone to hear.

"Be safe, my friend!"

The chatter of the room died immediately. The hall went completely silent and the plutocrats stood stunned. A Britannian Prince had just called a number his personal friend. Openly. In front of dozens of nobles and influential socialites. Regardless of Clovis' true intentions, those four simple words were actually a service that could not be repaid. It spoke volumes to the Viceroy's trust in Naruto and the New Leaf Foundation, and painted an awful picture for those who opposed their work.

It also frustrated Naruto to no end that he'd been put in such a spotlight unable to return the same level of gratitude to the Prince.

Exiting the massive castle with his sneering face trying to masquerade as a smile, his driver Kurama arrived at the seat of power in Area 11 perfectly on time. Hiruzen must have called him directly, too. Opening the front door for himself, he sat directly next to Kurama in the driver's canopy rather than the passenger compartment. He liked having talks with him about the old Japan. He knew plenty about the culture and history, but he never got to experience young adult life out from under the Britannian's thumbs.

"Looks like the Professor came up with another ingenious scheme. You don't think it has anything to do with finally expanding the rail lines to include direct access to the ghettos, do you?" Kurama's Japanese was spoken in honorific keigo. Naruto returned the gesture with his Japanese.

"As great as it would be for Elevens to be able to travel freely from their homes in the ghettos to their workplaces in Tokyo, I have no confidence such a plan would ever be approved even by Clovis himself while we're still a developing area. Discrimination against numbers is a policy of Britannia. Maybe if we can achieve satellite status as quickly as New Zealand did we might be able to pass some of our own reforms, but for now Clovis...well, more specifically his cronies are in charge. But the fact stays the same." Naruto shot down the idea quickly as he looked around to the trains passing by above.

'Built on Japan's old system…' He thought with a slight frown. While much of the old Japanese subway system was abandoned and in disrepair, the railways of Tokyo Settlement had been rebuilt as part of a new subway system appropriated by their overlords. Most of the former rail lines leading to the now ghettos had been completely condemned. In fact, the Shinkansen lines were the only railways outside of Tokyo that Britannia had bothered to rebuild.

'Ironic that they change the name of the nation but keep all the old names of cities and streets.' There were a few exceptions, as with the usual renaming of highly gentrified urban areas, such as Prince Clovis Avenue or Empress Elizabeth Lane...or whatever the hall they had decided to rename them. Those damn Britannian royals were sure damn full of themselves he couldn't keep track of which manner of self-gratification they anointed themselves with.

---

New Leaf Foundation (Neo Konoha Zaidan) Corporate Headquarters, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 — 4:33 p.m

"I'll call you later, Kurama." Naruto bid farewell to his driver as he exited the vehicle and headed into Konoha's central office, which towered high over the surrounding buildings. Kurama nodded as he slowly drove away to the underground lot. Upon entering the building, Naruto took notice of how casual it looked, how peaceful it was compared to the ruins that stood here just over half a decade ago.

The atrium had two long rows of exquisite foliage that was well maintained and made the whole room feel less like a stuffy office lobby and more like an indoor sanctuary. Flowering vines traveled up the half dozen columns and the whole thing was irrigated by an artificial river that could be seen flowing freely underneath the glass portions of the floor. The entire area was illuminated by a large skylight 15 meters overhead. The skylight's tint was variable to allow the same amount of light in at all hours, and when there was no sun to brighten the room the crosswise beams between the triangular panes of glass held solar-powered lamps.

Past the atrium was the main reception area of the lobby with luxurious benches comforting impatient businessmen who had probably arrived too early for their meeting. Along the East wall were four young and beautiful Japanese women sitting behind a large semicircular desk, busy receiving clients both on the phone and in person. They wore formal suits in greys or muted blues with rather short skirts. As Naruto approached, one of the girls–Kokoro, he believed–smiled brightly at his arrival as she spoke on the phone. She was a cute and wide-eyed youth around three years older than him with her black hair in a professional-looking ponytail. Naruto quickly gestured to the doors on his left and the young receptionist eagerly pressed a button underneath her desk, unlocking the magnetic doors to the employee elevators. Naruto thanked her with a small bow but the girl couldn't raise her head to look him in the eye. The Uzumaki caught a glimpse of her shy smile and reddened face underneath her bangs. He always thought her crush on him was pretty amusing.

Sometimes he liked being semi-famous.

Walking up to the employee elevators and pressing the call button, he waited for about forty seconds before one of the four metal tubes made its way down to the lobby. A gaggle of low level staff filed out into the employees-only section of the lobby, preparing for their journey home for the weekend. Stepping into the emptied elevator, Naruto saw the buttons labeled with the multitude floors that each served purposes vital to the organization.

Employee elevators only went to the 28th floor and above, where their offices were. Middle Management were granted access up to the 42nd. Then there were Senior staff like him–a name he found ironic since he was one of the youngest employees–who had access to all floors. Swiping his ID wristband next to the scanner, the nine remaining lights lit up, giving him access to his destination. Pressing the button with the number 51, Naruto began ascending up the transparent tube at a pace that was calculated to be just shy of unsettling. During his trip towards the top floor where the Executives had their offices, the elevator had stopped a few times to pick up and drop off new occupants. Normally the Executive Offices on the 51st floor and the helipad on the floor above were off limits unless he was called up there, but the internal clock of his ID chip made Friday an exception. It was when the old man held his weekly meetings with the Department Heads and Senior Staff.

"Floor Thirty-seven: Department of Acquisitions." the synthetic female voice of the Elevator spoke as the Naruto waited for the last of the elevator's occupants to clear out. Acquisitions one of the departments he worked in, and as the title suggested, the job of its workers was to acquire raw materials and capital investments for the organization. Acquisitions was considered the most important department in all of Konoha, as it fueled all other operations. In particular Sales, and also both the Public Works and Private Contracting departments.

While departments such as Public Works and Public Relations were focused mostly on improving the lives of all Elevens and keeping them updated on the company and its events and progress, Sales was the main breadwinner for the company. Leasing the quality real estate that Private Contracting built provided large capital injections which in turn could be used to purchase more undeveloped land and resources to fund more construction projects.

Public Works projects were essentially the same as Private Contracting, but instead of being sold off to Britannian investors it was instead donated to the general public, more often than not Elevens in the ghettos. Most of the people in the department were unskilled Eleven laborers . It also was what gave the company its tax exempt status income from the Britannian bean counters, a rarity for companies owned and operated by Elevens. Sarutobi, an ingenious man nicknamed 'the Professor' for his eccentric but inventive ideas, had managed to convince the Britannian taxmen that all of their revenue went ultimately to charity projects through Public Works of Area 11, or ended up as a paycheck in the hands of its employees.

Of course, Public Relations also managed any fallout or event that might occur that would effect the company. They made sure that Konoha always had a clean face despite their sometimes dirty hands when making bids for military contracts. On top of constructing buildings, Konoha also constructed weapons for the Britannian Army and Navy. Indeed, they had managed to buy up the entirety of the former Japanese Navy from under the noses of their competitors and was in the process of updating it to 'Britannian standards'. They were also the primary producer of Sutherlands for the Area 11 security garrison.

Of course there were plenty of other departments. Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, IT, and Operations Management, all typical departments for any company the size of Neo Konoha, which employed nearly ten thousand Elevens that had all been vetted through the Honorary Britannian system.

But then there was the Department of Public Safety, the other department Naruto worked for. While on the surface it was a simple department to vet new employees and keep track of terrorist activities in the areas where Konoha was operating, underneath it had many operations that the public and even certain parts of the company were not familiar with. Namely the Special Projects team that Naruto himself was partly in charge of.

"Floor Fifty-one: Executive Offices" The blond was brought out of his thoughts when the elevator came to a halt and its doors slid open for him. Exiting the metal cube, he walked through the hallway, finding it rather empty. Everyone must already be in the Presentation room.

"I see that you made it back just in time." Naruto looked back to find his superior in that very department.

"Shikamaru? Guess this must be really big if you're being called in." Naruto questioned as Shikamaru shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm giving an updated briefing to report on this month's events. Some of which you need to keep an eye on." Shikamaru stated as he pulled up a file, handing it to Naruto, who in turn nodded in understanding.

"Well then we best head in before Princess Tsunade throws one of her famous ass-chewing sessions our way for being late to a meeting called by the big boss." Naruto joked as he opened the door for the two of them. Upon entering, they were greeted by a large room, with various chairs all centered around a large table.

"About time the two of you got here." Naruto and Shikamaru took a seat as their superior, Tsunade shot them glares. While Shikamaru was lead on the Special Projects team under Public Safety, Tsunade was handpicked to be the head of the whole Public Relations department.

"Sorry, it took me longer to return than expected on my part. Hope I didn't hold us up for too long" Naruto apologized while Shikamaru shrugged, not really carrying.

"Let's just get this meeting going." The head of the organization himself, CEO Hiruzen Sarutobi, commanded respect with his order for silence. Tsunade sighed as she pressed a button, dimming the lights of the room as the projector came to life. With that, Hiruzen coughed in his hand to get everyone's attention, which for anyone else would've been a difficult task given that there were several dozen others in the conference room.

"The subject of this meeting is mainly concerning two other organizations; the Blood of the Samurai and the Yamato Alliance groups. Along with that, there is another new initiative that Tsunade will be discussing after the main subject at hand. Vice Director Nara, you have the floor first." Hiruzen stated as Shikamaru nodded and opened his files as he pressed a few buttons on his laptop, connecting it with the projector and projecting some pictures.

"The Blood of the Samurai, with the exception of the Japan Liberation Front, are the largest resistance group to sprout up in Area 11 thus far. The leaders of the organization claim to be descended from the ruling Samurai dynasties of the Edo period, in particular the Shimazu and Mori clans, as well as a few members of the Aizu and Tosa. Their claimed lineage, though mostly unproven, has been a tremendous boost for recruitment and prestige. The estimation of their capability for projection of force is greater than half that of the Japanese Liberation Front. Although, as with most terrorist organizations that don't have foreign backing that the JLF has, it is mostly invested in older weapon systems that are outdated. They haven't openly used violence against us in particular yet, but there have been signs of them that indicate that they might attack some Britannian facilities that provide us with material goods." Shikamaru stated as a picture of a large mountain appeared, the hideout of the Blood of the Samurai.

"What do you recommend we do with them? Should the Special Projects team take an interest?" Iruka Umino–the department head of Public Safety–asked the young man he considered to be his number two, who only sighed as he went over his notes. He didn't like the news he was about to give.

"As of now? I suggest that we do nothing. They're far too large of an organization operating far too close to Tokyo. Even without us leaking our intelligence to the Britannian Military, they'll eventually attract enough attention to warrant the regulars getting involved, within a projected time frame of six to eight months. In all likelihood, they'll be completely wiped out within a year. Even if we did get directly involved, I don't think we have the right tools to deal with a group as large as them. For now, I suggest we let them be as they are more of a problem for colonial Britannians than us. I know that the higher ups would prefer we take action, but it's too risky for Public Safety to intervene. We're a blip on their radar and getting involved further might turn their attention towards us." He responded before opening the floor for questions. Naruto always liked this about his fellow team leader. Even though he was a man of action and Shikamaru was...significantly more passive, he could always paint a clear picture for the consequences of improper action. If the Blood of the Samurai were to direct their attention towards Konoha it could mean a bloodbath for innocent Elevens rather than Britannian soldiers. While their colonizers might prefer the deaths of a few hundred numbers, Konoha always had the best interests of Elevens in mind, not their Britannian overlord. Another picture appeared as Shikamaru continued his presentation, this time of Saitama Ghetto. Which could only mean one thing to Naruto.

"The Yamato Alliance, however, continues to be difficult. They are making our work in Saitama Ghetto hell as they continue to harass our construction teams–sometimes with open violence. They clearly don't want any 'handouts' from 'Britannian puppets', at least that's what one elderly couple claims to have overheard from them. Their actions are hampering our ability to restore the city and the people are running scared and keeping quiet...and I would recommend that Public Safety take immediate measures to destabilize them." Shikamaru stated as Hiruzen hummed before nodding.

"Very well, we'll dispatch a care team to work on sapping the public support from their group. Then it should be low risk enough that Public Safety's security teams can prevent the construction areas from being attacked. The Special Projects team will take it from there." Hiruzen authorized as Iruka acknowledged his orders as Shikamaru took his seat. It was Tsunade's turn, which meant that everyone was about to hear about this program that was professedly a game changer.

"I have drafted up a new program that I hope will better allow our employees and by extension our people, to integrate with Britannian society. It's a goodwill program in which we will be sending ambassadors to prestigious Britannian institutions to integrate and exchange ideas and such. This will, in future, open many doors for other Numbers to advance themselves without facing discrimination." Tsunade announced, turning a lot of heads. Hiruzen nodded as he allowed her to continue. "The institutions we'll be targeting are High Schools, Public Universities, and Technical Colleges."

"Why only academic facilities?" Shikamaru inquired, he'd been present at the meeting of the top brass when the plan was proposed, but he was clueless on the specifics other than who was participating.

"Well, for two reasons, Hiruzen and I believe that younger minds are easier to shape. A new generation of Britannians are learning and growing in these schools and if we can convince them that Elevens are a studious, industrious, and respectable people, perhaps it will open new doors for future generations. This initiative isn't so much to help our current programs as it will be to help programs one or two decades in the future. With a bit of luck, this program might help Area 11 might reach the same level of development as Areas 1 or 2." Naruto was taken slightly aback. Not even New Zealand, which had voluntarily joined Britannia as Area 9 about a decade ago, was on the level of Areas like Britannian Louisiana or the Alaska-Yukon region.

"That's quite the ambitious goal." Naruto chimed in with a wry smirk. It was a good idea, a great one in fact, but he was a little skeptical of her plan working that well. He shook off the fiery glare Tsunade shot him but his grin had melted from his face.

"And the second reason?" a young man, Neji, spoke up. Neji was formerly a member of the branch family in the famed Hyuga clan, it was regarded as one of the twelve great clans in the former Japan, but Britannia's invasion put an end to the clan's supreme prestige. Still, the Hyuga were better off than their Uchiha counterparts...

"Well, the second and more practical reason is that most of our employees selected for the program are in the sixteen to twenty year old age range. While Konoha has no objections about hiring teens, a lot of Britannians would disagree with a work study program for any 'Eleven brats'" Tsunade clarified.

"A bit risky leaving the future of Japan up to a bunch of kids, no?" an older man asked. Naruto didn't recognize him or his voice in the dark of the room. He felt a little insulted. Ever since Konoha took him in three years ago he'd been trained and received the same level of education all other workers had.

"So it is, which is why we're going to be selecting the twelve best candidates to serve in this Goodwill Ambassador program. All of our decisions have already been made, but individuals will be given the opportunity to opt out of the program should they choose." Tsunade announced to the room as the fluorescent smart lights began their slow process of turning back on, Hiruzen took center stage and spoke to his employees.

"Tsunade and I's selections for the initiative are all here in this room, so please continue your work in the cubicle area until all twelve names have been called. Unless there's anything important left to discuss...?" Naruto scanned the room for any hand raises, but no one offered any contributions. He could mention his scheduled meeting with Clovis, but that would draw excessive attention his way and he could just tell Hiruzen in private later. "Then that will be all for this meeting, dismissed!" Hiruzen commanded and the salarymen began dispersing into the common area. The floor was too large just to house the Executive officers and Department heads, so a common area and lounge had been established for employees to wait for the weekly meeting or do work before 5:30 hit without having to travel downstairs.

"Now the people who will be assigned to this endeavor are as follows: Neji Hyuga…" Tsunade went on with the names as Naruto simply typed away. He needed to file the paperwork for the Davenport contract then he would need to go down to acquisitions to talk with-

"Naruto Uzumaki" Tsunade's voice rang throughout the office. The usual clattering of fingers against keyboards and loud sips of inexpensive coffee came to a sudden halt before Tsunade broke the silence by listing off the next name. If anyone had dared to take a glance at Naruto Uzumaki, they would've sworn that he'd seen a ghost.

Naruto hated ghosts.

---

Director's Office, Department of Public Relations, New Leaf Foundation Corporate Headquarters—5:08 p.m

Naruto sighed as he entered his superior's office, not practically liking the situation he was being about to be put in.

"With all due respect Director Tsunade, don't you think it is rather a waste for me to be assigned to such an assignment?" Tsunade leaned back in her chair at this rather out of character moment. Naruto rarely questioned upper management.

"No, why do you say that? I think this is a good assignment, especially for you. Your nose is in your work too much." Tsunade replied. Naruto slightly frowned at that. Just because he wasn't one to get along with people didn't mean he couldn't operate.

"Well, I can only do so much with my current position. Adding this will divide my attention between two departments on top of me." Naruto responded, not trying to overstep his bounds. Tsunade was the Director of Public Relations and her work had steered this organization into a highly positive light among Britannian colonials. She was the grandchild of possibly the most prestigious noble clan in all Japan before the invasion, and even she had thrown in her lot with the Britannians. It reflected well on Area 11 and it was in great part thanks to her political machinations that they were so nearing satellite status.

"I've already talked to Shikamaru about that, as of now you're no longer needed on our Public Safety team. You'll be transferred out when the assignment begins." Naruto was stunned, almost like he'd be slapped in the face. He loved his work in Public Safety. He was Captain of the Special Projects β Team! Being taken away from something like that felt like a huge demotion.

"What about the β team? Who coul-"

"Sasuke's going to be taking over your role as β Team Leader." Tsunade cut off his appeal to reason with another slap in the face.

"What?! But I-"

"Could always be transferred to the Public Works division under Guy. He could always use some help and Nagoya isn't too far from here." Tsunade again cut him off. Her "offer" was more of a threat, which explained the uneasy feeling that caused Naruto to gulp slightly. Might Guy...good man–wonderful project manager–but the guy was borderline psychotic with his flames of youth nonsense!

"You said that everyone had the choice to opt out of the program." Naruto held back the urge to snarl.

"Oh? I did, didn't I? I didn't mean those of you from major families. Neji and Hinata are stuck doing this too. Even Sasuke, whenever he comes back from his assignment in the Osaka Settlement, will be placed into the program. The Uchiha name is simply too famous to pass up." Tsunade dismissed with a wry smile. As delighted as Naruto was that the ever-brooding Sasuke Uchiha would be going through the same hell he was, Naruto was still miffed that the Uchiha was getting to stay in the Public Safety Division and not him.

"So Sasuke gets a promotion and he gets to stay in Special Projects while on the same assignment as me, meanwhile I'm getting kicked out of the department I love and sent to go deal with a bunch of brats for the next year?" Naruto protest.

"You're one to talk about brats, considering how much of a petulant child you're being about this, Naruto. Sasuke is transferring out of Acquisitions instead of Public Safety." Tsunade had lost her patience with him. "And considering your age and almost total lack of education, you'll be placed into the Freshman class. This is a three-year assignment for you, and Hinata as well. Even Neji will be attending for two full semesters despite being eighteen." Tsunade said with a mean smirk spread wide across her face.

"Then should I mention that I'm also one of the top earners in Acquisitions? If I'm a full time student–who has already completed the company-mandated Junior Executive Education Program, by the way–when will I have time to meet with clients in the morning?" Naruto pointed out with a grimace plastered clearly on his face.

"Please, that silly JEEP program didn't teach you much of anything except some mid-level economics and mathematics, and need I remind you that you almost failed the math portion." Tsunade countered with a roll of her eyes. "It was mostly a formality to get you and all of the other minors jobs in the company. It's difficult finding enough Elevens to become Honorary Britannians to fill vacancies in middle management. As for work, you'll just have to schedule all your meetings for after school and we'll move the casework for less flexible clients to others." Naruto's foot began tapping incessantly.

"I am not going through with this. After everything that's happened with my father you know that I'm not a good candidate. I can barely socialize with my coworkers, you're asking me to be doing that essentially twenty-four seven. I have to speak with old man Sarutobi about this." It was more that Naruto intended to storm into his office and demand the be taken out.

"Naruto, if there were ever a chance for Clovis to loosen the restriction on regular Honorary Britannians attending Britannian schools and universities, your...acquaintanceship with him could be what we need to persuade the Viceroy to do so. I shouldn't need to tell you how colossal an advancement that would be in Area 11 advocating for satellite status." Tsunade was looking at a much bigger picture than Naruto, who was being willfully shortsighted when he was usually open-minded, all because the life he had grown comfortable with was being disturbed.

"Helping my fellow Japanese is one thing, and I'm happy to do it with where I am now, but being shipped off to school with a bunch of stuck up horny Britannian teens was not what I had in mind when I joined Konoha. I'm speaking with the old man about this." Naruto knew that the old man favored him, if he appealed to Hiruzen directly then he would overrule Tsunade's decision.

"You can keep arguing but this whole project was made with you in mind. By the way, Hiruzen named you in particular when I came to him with the suggestion. You were his first choice, my seventh." Tsunade's final move seemed to have put Naruto in checkmate, as he remained quiet for a whole ten seconds.

"Find someone else...or I'll have to reconsider my affiliation with Konoha" Naruto bellowed, having lost all sense of reason or civility if he was thinking of switching sides again.

"If you dare think of going back to them then I won't hesitate to ask Shikamaru to make space for your own personal file in his cabinet." Tsunade met the Uzumaki bull with her own horns, calling his empty with her very real one. This proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Naruto was all too familiar with what happened to the people who got their own personal file from Public Safety. He had dealt with many of them before.

"You wouldn't." Naruto tried calling her bluff in one last act of desperation, but the threat was real.

"I would and you know I would too. So what's it going to be? The cozy transfer to Public Relations I'm offering you, the transfer to Public Works that you seem to so desperately desire, or a transfer out of the building? Because if you're that unhappy with the work we're asking you to do, then we can just as easily terminate your employment for insubordination." Tsunade fumed. She loved Naruto like a nephew, she truly did, but he was always such trouble to deal with when he had to do something he didn't want to.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'll…consider my options" Naruto not so subtly accepted as he walked up to the desk and snatched the file with his name on it. It was better to just take this assignment and try to get out of it later before Tsunade gave him something worse than being shoved into Guy's department...or at least before he snapped and tried to throw Tsunade out the window 51 stories to her death on the concrete and asphalt below.

---

51st Floor Executive Offices, New Leaf Foundation Corporate Headquarters—5:14 p.m

"So what? We go in and try to present ourselves like we're no different than the haughty Britannians?" A young man questioned. He looked a bit too intense to be a salaryman, but was one nonetheless. Everyone sighed with audible strain, including Naruto.

Kiba sat down, clearly not comprehending the purpose of the program and extraordinarily thankful that he wasn't chosen for it.

"We should begin preparations for this program. I can understand why some of you might be uncomfortable with it, but this is our fate." Neji spoke up as his pale eyes narrowed at the file on the table. Clearly he wasn't happy about the situation. Naruto meanwhile chuckled.

"Well, I wouldn't call this fate, Neji." Naruto responded to Neji whose pale glare looked like it was trying to bore holes into his skull. Another person Neji didn't like, but he chose not to say anything. Sensing the obvious tension Kiba spoke up. Off to the side, Neji's cousin looked at him worryingly.

"I-I'm sure this program is only temporary. W-with everything we've been taught already we should be able to finish schoolwork within a year or two...a-and we're getting paid to do it, too. I-it might even be fun to meet more people our own age, even if they are Britannians." a young girl with dark hair and pale eyes began her speech in stutters, but she eventually found the confidence to speak her mind. Neji turned his piercing look at his cousin, which caused the wallflower to shrink back in on herself. This attitude of Neji's always pissed off Naruto. Hinata was the youngest management-level employee in the company, and she did fine work. Who was Neji to judge her for looking on the bright side?

"You shouldn't direct your anger at her for having a bit of optimism about the whole thing. If anything, go to a mirror and direct it at yourself." Naruto's taunts brought Neji's intensity onto himself, but the Hyuga noble only huffed in response. He hated the idea of being dressed up like some kind of show pony for a bunch of snobby Britannian teens, but Neji knew Naruto was right.

"How about we direct that anger at a few drinks?" Kiba proposed.

"And just how do you propose we do that? We aren't eighteen." Shikamaru said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Well, Monday was Neji's eighteenth birthday right? Well, today's my seventeenth! one thing the Britannians have over us is that minors can drink as long as they're supervised by someone over eighteen. So what are we waiting for? Let's go out and throw back a few! Ah- responsibly, of course. But we definitely gotta relax before you we get shipped off to go study the history of a bunch of old white douchebags!" Kiba stated as Neji held his glare on Naruto, who only kept smiling.

"Fine. I could do with some unwinding, but you're paying for the first round even if it is your birthday." Neji sighed as he stood up. When Tenten had turned eighteen a few months ago he found alcohol to be a remarkable social lubricant and helped him relieve the stress he had built up after a long week of being treated like shit by Britannians. Kiba looked to Naruto for a response, who stood up as well.

"I guess I can eat out for today, too." Kiba cheered silently as Naruto gathered his things to leave a bit early. There wasn't much left to do today at the office proper. Most of his work was already done and all he had to do was sign and file away a few forms to finalize the new aid program from the Davenport deal and construction wasn't starting until after the weekend anyways. Kiba and Neji had to wait for the printer to pick up the rest of their files today, so they had sat down to discuss things for a while.

"How do you think the others will react?" Kiba asked. There were others that were also chosen for this program, and some, like Neji, weren't all that happy. Many of the people had lost something during the war, even Kiba lost both his parents and was now living with his older sister Hana, who served as the youngest medic in the Japanese Army during the Second Pacific War at just 14. Hana was lucky to become a Doctor at such a young age to support the two of them, but Kiba decided to pick up some of the slack and joined Konoha. While some people could forgive and forget easily, others like Kiba, Sasuke, and Naruto himself could not easily bury the scar of seven years ago, but life moved on for them anyways.

"Don't know really..." Naruto looked through the project file at the candidates names to give a quick read. "Well, I know Sasuke sure as hell won't like it, but he doesn't like anything so he'll accept it. Ino will probably find this dreadful and Shino…I never have any idea what that guy's thinking." Naruto responded as Kiba stared at him wide-eyed. "Wait, why are they picking Shino..." Naruto was completely baffled by that choice.

"Whoa, when did you get to know people so well?" Kiba questioned him, but Naruto held up his hands, almost managing to convince people with his acting. He got a nudge in the shoulder from Kiba.

"Trust me, though. I really don't. I'm just observant like we're trained to be. For example, Shikamaru thinks everything is troublesome, but despite that he always gets the job done." Naruto gestured towards his pinecone-haired superior with a chuckle, as if presenting a historical exhibit. Shikamaru only sighed angrily in response.

"I would say something in my defense...but that would be troublesome." Shikamaru said with a bit of humility, causing Kiba to join in on the laughter. The Nara teen was fully aware of his reputation of doing things the easiest way possible to spare himself the headaches. But as Naruto said, it was actually a bit of a boon for him in the eyes of the higher ups, as he could be counted on to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible so long as he wasn't overloaded with work. It was this work ethic of utmost laziness that had him rise through the ranks to become the youngest member of upper management as Vice Director of Public Safety and Captain of the Special Projects α Team, and at such a young age as well. He was also the only one in their age group to have regular access to the executive floors.

"Well anybody could tell you that about Shika." Kiba gave the V-D a playful elbow.

"What do you think about things, Hinata?" Naruto turned to ask the shy girl, who squeaked once the attention of her object of affection was on her.

"W-Well I think this is a very good chance to improve relationships between the Japa- um, Elevens and Britannians." Hinata answered with a smile, to which Naruto returned. Hinata was a kind and gentle soul who only wanted the world to be a better place, for everyone.

"I agree, but I was talking about the stuff regarding Public Safety. I was curious to know what a diplomat like you thought of the situation with the Yamato Alliance." Hinata had risen in the ranks under Tsunade's Public Relations division and become somewhat of an official spokesperson and a cute face for the company whenever the press took interest in their projects.

"Oh, do you mean whether or not I think Special Projects should get involved? I'm not really familiar with the stuff you guys do." Hinata wasn't a fan of the violent incidents that Public Safety often got involved in.

"No one is. Special Projects doesn't speak a word of the shit they're up to. Almost makes you wonder..." an eavesdropping Ino said in a singsong voice as she briskly walked by.

"Wonder what?" Shikamaru's question tried to chase after the blonde, but it only got so far before being lost under the cacophony of office chatter.

"Almost makes you wonder what 'Special' even means for our Security division?" Kiba answered with a question of his own.

"Special means you don't talk about it." Naruto quipped with a feral smirk, earning a round of groans from his coworkers that were out of the loop who all turned back to their desks and began cleaning up. Most of them didn't have to work tomorrow, but Konoha always kept one team behind every Saturday. Oh right, Saturday.

"That actually reminds me, Shika, the boss probably already knows, but I won't be here for most of my shift tomorrow." Naruto notified his immediate superior.

"That's fine, I guess. Most of the work we have is just finalizing the report on the two terrorist groups and I should be able to handle that myself, but may I ask: why the last minute notice?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Naruto rarely took any time off in the first place, but when he did it was usually long in advance.

"Private meeting with the Viceroy at his residence in Kyushu." Naruto regenerated his smile as he took in the incredulous faces around him.

"No way..." Hinata's shock had overtaken the stutter that was typical of her.

"Are you freaking kidding me? I have to sit in the office writing pages on rebuilding the bridge in Minato City and this asshole gets to relax at a Prince's beach house? Un-fucking-fair man. So un-fucking-fair." Kiba griped with a small howl as he stomped into the employee lounge to find more drinking partners.

"If that's true, then just take the whole morning off. I'll be sure you get comped for the day. A meeting like that could change a lot in our favor. I'll deal with old man Hiruzen, but I'm sure he likes you well enough to approve the extra PTO." Shikamaru said with a muted chuckle.

"Thanks Shika, I'll be sure to splurge a little extra if I get you for Secret Santa this year." Naruto enjoyed the Western holiday of Christmas even before it was celebrated so seriously here by the Britannians. Without warning, Kiba burst back into the room.

"Ino and Tenten are coming with! Hurry up you guys, you're keeping the beautiful young ladies waiting!" Kiba hollered at a level just below shouting. Hinata started following Neji and Shikamaru, leaving Naruto to lag behind the three teens which Naruto didn't mind at all. It'd be more likely someone recognized Neji or Hinata first and bothered them instead of him. The two Hyuga successors, especially the beautiful heiress, had amassed quite a large social following being in the spotlight thanks to a series of press releases that bordered on propaganda.

The adolescent salarymen arrived at the elevators and the seven of them filed into their spacious compartments, which accommodated them all rather comfortably. With the silent closing of the doors, the group began their speedy descent towards the lobby. Elevator rides at the end of the day were almost always completely silent, as the glass tubes gave a spectacular view of both the settlement and the ghetto under the summer sunlight. It was both a wondrous sight and a great reminder of their mission as Neo Konoha workers.

The high pitched hydraulic whining of the glass elevator doors gliding open marked the conclusion of their decent. In the elevator lounge were dozens of Konoha employees crowding their way out of the building to head home for their families. The smarter employees tactically stayed late to avoid this rush–typically losing only a couple of minutes of time after it was all over–and save themselves the headache. Several of the employees were trying to make their way to the couches and coffee-stained countertops to do their last bits of business for the day. He saw a young woman from Accounting take out her cell phone and that's when memories of earlier in the week came flooding back.

"Oh, dammit!" Naruto barely managed to keep his voice to a low yell.

"What? Did you leave somethin' upstairs?" Shikamaru inquired.

"I forgot about a phone call I was supposed to make. I know you're not going anywhere anytime soon with this foot traffic, but would you mind waiting up?" Naruto politely begged with a clap of his hands and a bow before squeezing his way onto one of the couches and pulling out his personal cell. It only took him three minutes to finish his private call and before long the group had managed to worm their way out of the building.

The group of seven youths traversed the bustling streets of the city. Like most cities in the Empire's colonial settlements, most of the people were Britannian. The few Elevens that were present were simple street vendors trying to make a living selling food or overpriced whosits and tacky whatsits galore, or they were low wage employees like street cleaners, window washers, maybe there was a lucky one passing by to get to an unpaid internship that had no promise of employment and they were guaranteed to get treated like garbage being sent out to get twenty cups of coffee every other hour.

"Neji really hates Britannia…" Naruto thought to himself as he observed his co-worker transition between indignant glares and choleric sighs. He never blamed him though, the Hyuga were perhaps the most prestigious noble clan in all of Japan before the fall, being one of the Shikō Jūni Kazoku (Supreme Twelve Families) and Britannia had practically stolen everything from him and his family: their land, their wealthy security company, even a majority of their fortune, leaving them with a pittance compared to their vast wealth beforehand. Yet despite all that hate, he sought to better his fellow Elevens lives through Britannia, and Naruto had always respected him for it. Neji felt that continuing the fight against Britannia would be pointless, it would be fighting against fate itself. So in his mind it was better to live well resenting them rather than live miserably resisting them. The group found themselves in at a large bar, a rarity that allowed Elevens in, which always was filled with a majority of Elevens, many of whom were simply drinking away their problems.

'Despite all the work we do, there are still so many people that live in misery…' Naruto thought as he saw an Eleven, drunk and passed out. He was most likely homeless and had managed to get some money.

---

White's Tavern, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 — 6:11 p.m.

"First drinks are on me!" Kiba held up his promise to Neji as he forked over money for everyone's drinks. Under Britannian law, anyone above the age of 16 was allowed to drink under the supervision of an adult, which Neji had recently become, but Naruto only asked for a glass of water, as well as Hinata. He wasn't much of a drinker. A glass of wine at one of Clovis' fancy dinners every now and then, perhaps, but binge drinking for the sake of binge drinking seemed so...juvenile. Neji gathered Kiba's cash and took it to the bar to purchase alcohol for the group.

Their waitress was a cute Honorary Britannian in her twenties with her hair pinned up by chopsticks, likely the owner's attempt to appeal to Elevens while also enticing colonials with an exotic woman. On the way to their booth, Naruto scanned the bar. Aside from the Britannian manager subtly abusing the Eleven staff, Naruto's eyes caught a peculiar shade of hair. Pink. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the owner of the hair and he didn't take them off her until long after they sat down. A sign that Kiba mistook.

"Heh. Is someone curious? Hey, I'll admit I've never seen an Eleven with pink hair before. You into that whole scene girl fad?" Kiba spoke up as he smirked at Naruto, who quickly started to chuckle.

"Who? Me? Nah. I was just intrigued by her hair" Naruto tried waving him off, but Kiba didn't back down as he looked at the girl that had caught Naruto's eyes. She was way too pretty to just be a fancy haircut to him.

"Come on, she's hot! You have like, no life dude! You're always 'work this' and 'work that' and 'please Mr. Hiruzen can I spend more time with Princess Clovis?'! Live a little and go talk to her!" Kiba insisted with a halfhearted attempt to shove him out of the booth, Naruto shoved him wholeheartedly with his shoulder in kind.

"Are you saying I'm a workaholic?" Naruto questioned him and Kiba nodded.

"Shikamaru." Kiba set-up Naruto's superior, who sighed as he rested his head on his hand with a lopsided grin.

"So I'm not taking sides, but he's absolutely right. You're always troublesome when you're in-work mode. Which is basically every day." Shikamaru answered the Inuzuka's call for an alley oop with some semblance actual enthusiasm. Being betrayed by the laziest man in the world.

"Prove to me that you don't live for just a salary! Go ask her out on a date." Kiba demanded, which caused Hinata to glare at Kiba slightly.

"Y-You shouldn't f-f-force him…" Hinata stated as Kiba turned to her and smirked.

"Oh? Then how about he asks you out instead? Dunno if you'll be able to pull off dying your hair pink, though." Kiba questioned, already knowing the response. The poor girl overheated faster than a busted radiator and slumped down in the booth, hiding her burning-red face in her lavender blouse, causing Kiba to laugh. Naruto shook his head at Kiba's antics.

"Leave her alone Kiba, you know that she shuts down every time you put pressure on her." Naruto reprimanded Kiba, who looked at him as if he even heard what he said.

"Seriously? You're one one dense guy...How the hell are you one of Konoha's top earners?" Kiba muttered to himself. Was he blind to Hyuga's affection for him?

"Because I actually research my clients beforehand, unlike some of our middle of the road pitchmen." Naruto quipped back. Kiba quickly reclaimed his fallen jaw before cursing Naruto's superhuman hearing skills.

"But you're right, she is damn fine." Naruto chuckled as his eyes glanced up and down. Her silken red cocktail dress was almost the color of blood, pleated along the sides and down the middle, fiercely accentuating her feminine hips. It's length didn't leave too much to the imagination. Her black stockings and heels complimented it well, as did the black brassiere brazenly slipping out near her underarms and chest. Her pink hair was cut in a loose bob and was beginning to look like it needed a trim, but Naruto liked the slightly unkempt look it gave her.

"Alright Kiba, you win. She's just too damn hot for me to not go say anything." Naruto rose from his seat to Kiba's tremendous surprise. He didn't expect Uzumaki to go through with it. Naruto walked over to the girl nonchalantly, who was focused on her drink before he sat down on the stool next to her.

"Hi." the blond said tersely. "My name's Naruto." He was blunt and to the point, but he had the courtesy to smile, to which the girl turned to him and looked at him with a slightly confused expression before glancing over at the feral-looking teen grinning excitedly from their booth. She looked up at the blond and began smiling as well.

"Uhh...nice to meet you, Naruto. My name is Sakura." The girl introduced herself as well, brushing her unique hair out of her eyes. Naruto discreetly pointed back to Kiba.

"My friend dared me to ask you out on a date...but that would be moving too fast, don't you think?" Naruto explained as Sakura flicked her tongue across her teeth and giggled.

"Yes, that would be. How about this, I'll give you my number and you can give me a call sometime later?" Sakura proposed as Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I think that would work perfectly." He replied with an odd smile as she quickly wrote down her number on a spare napkin from her bag. Naruto thanked her as he returned back to his group before he put presented the napkin to Kiba's shell shocked face.

"What's this?" Kiba questioned as he reached to snatch it, but Naruto yanked it away before he even came close.

"Her number." Naruto replied as he sat down, watching as Kiba looked at him completely dumbfounded.

"What?! You got her number? Just like that?" Kiba questioned him.

"Just like that." Naruto replied as Kiba whistled.

"Shit, I guess you do know how to relax after all." Kiba said with a chuckle as Naruto pocketed the valuable intel. The rest of their time was spent drinking, laughing, and small talk between the group and before they knew it, night had already dawned.

---

Tokyo Settlement — 8:48 p.m.

"L-Lets do this a-again!" Kiba exclaimed jubilantly to the world, fully intoxicated and with no sense of what was going on. The hustle and bustle of the busy Britannian nightlife, was briefly halted by his outburst, but then they realized it was just another plastered Eleven youth, wasting way his limited income on liquid courage. They were too smug to notice that he was under the unsupervised drinking age, or were perhaps so uncompassionate that they didn't care.

"You guys wanna take him home? I would but I'm on the other side of time" Naruto questioned Neji, who nodded. The Hyuga was only slightly inebriated by the one shot of vodka that that Kiba insisted he take for his birthday celebration.

"My family lives close by. I'll take him." Ino responded as she slung one of Kiba's arm over her shoulder and began trying to right her feet as her intoxicated friend tried to drag himself away.

"You sure, you've had quite a bit yourself." Neji chirped with mild concern, exchanging a bit of an amused glance with Naruto. They didn't get along with workplace politics, but drunken chicanery was one of Neji's soft spots for humor.

"I'll be fine, it was only one fruity cocktail. Girl stuff, ya know?" Ino tried to pass off the powerful rum cocktail as little more than a sugary drink, but after the completely smashed Kiba, she was definitely the next most worse for wear due to it's high alcohol content.

"I-I can make my way back on my own!" Kiba stated as he threw Ino arm over before his legs seemingly surrendered and he slowly face planted into the ground.

"No, Kiba...you definitely can't...I'll barely be able to." Ino grunted with a hiccup as he picked him up again. Then felt his weight on her shoulders as he passed out completely, dragging the both of them to the ground.

"Alright, if you say so..." Naruto sneaked in between laughs. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then." Naruto said as Neji nodded before dragging Kiba away, but noticed that Hinata was looking to hail a taxi.

"Hinata, you're not going home with Neji?" Shikamaru asked her, the PR girl shook her usually meek head.

"N-No. I have to head b-back to the Office and finish up some work." She replied as a cab pulled up.

"Do you want some help?" Naruto offered as he opened the cab door for her. Hinata looked up and smiled as she folded her cream colored coat and stepped into the passenger car, the blond shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, no thanks. It's just a few files for the ambassador program." Hinata rolled down the window as she settled into her transportation, pulling down her skirt to it's full length. "It's getting late and I wanna get home before ten, otherwise I'd stick around and talk a bit but I've gotta go. Bye guys! See you later!" Hinata called out rather loudly considering he usual demeanor. "New Leaf building, quickly...i-if you don't mind!" Naruto was taken aback by Hinata's unusual expressiveness as the cab sped off into the distance. Was this all because of the one shot she had taken with them?

"Guess that's why they call it liquid courage...And you, Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned him, but he just shrugged his shoulder.

"Nah, I need to head home, my mom is being troublesome for calling in to HR with so many complaints about my late hours, and I'm still a minor so they have to comply with her wishes. I'd rather go back to the office and finish up my report on the Yamato Alliance, or at least lay myself out in a park or something and watch the clouds until it gets dark." Shikamaru responded, causing Naruto to chuckle.

"But...?" Naruto's grin insisted that he press on.

"But you know her, that woman can be more troublesome than Tsunade on a bad day when she wants." the management man sighed, beginning a rather long and awkward silence in which the two realized they had nothing left to talk about. Shikamaru give Naruto a silent wave goodbye, beginning his own journey home.

Once Shikamaru left his sight, Naruto turned around as he looked into the crowd before him. Once again he saw that pink haired girl, but this time she was looking back at him with an almost seductive smile? No, it was more of a cheeky one.

'Not like it matters.' Naruto thought as he saw her turn around and disappear into the sea of people. Shaking his head, he started to make his way to his own home, it wasn't too far off either.

---

Tokyo Settlement — 9:11 p.m.

Walking down the sidewalk for an amount of time he didn't think was significant enough to keep track of, Naruto came upon a large high-rise building, where his home was, or rather his large penthouse apartment. Passing security and entering his private elevator, Naruto made his way to the 38th floor, which held his downright enormous living area with what was technically a 'kitchenette' but put most kitchens to shame. This floor also had two sliding glass doors that sealed access to the outdoor terrace which had been custom built to resemble a traditional Japanese garden–it even had a Koi pond.

Thought his residence was listed as only two floors, since it was the top floor the spacious ceiling of the penthouse gave him access to pseudo third floor via a wooden catwalk over the kitchen, but it only had the master suite and the guest bedroom. The 37th floor also belonged to him, but was dedicated to recreation instead of leisure, containing his personal gym and other amenities. The whole place was bought and paid for by family money he inherited from the dismantled Uzumaki estate, which had somehow managed to survive the deaths of most of its members. It was a tremendous sum given that he was the sole survivor of the main family through his mother. He could never hope to afford it through just his salary. From his apartment, he had the view of most of the city–at least the Settlement parts of it–and even the Viceroy's Palace in the not so far off distance. It was high ground that he could use to observe many things going on in Tokyo.

If any of the nobles saw that he was living in luxury on par with theirs...Naruto was fairly certain they might blow an artery or two.

"I really don't like this ambassador thing...I've never been good with being an actual person, just whatever Konoha needed me to be to get the assets we needed. I wish Tsunade would just realize I'm better as a nameless suit." Naruto muttered to himself as he looked out the window at the city. He had tried his damnedest to wiggle his way out, but Tsunade was probably the only person in all of Konoha more stubborn than him. He didn't know how he would act living with so many people on a daily basis. His military-minded father had used their time together to train him as a guerilla rather than raise him as a son and this left Naruto concerned. Concerned that people might learn of his past, of people seeing through him. Though the rumor mill of the Britannian Nobles had worked out the truth of his parentage, most had yet to hear it through the grape vine. Clovis was probably the first to know that Naruto was his father's son, and that was likely one of the reason Clovis held him so close and treated him so well. During the invasion Minato had utterly bogged down the Britannian advance in Fukushima, and if Naruto inherited any of his father's natural talent it would make him a terrifying foe...or a valuable ally.

'What would dad have done…?' the teenager questioned himself as he looked at the lights of buildings begin to go dark with the simple flick of a switch, deep in thought of his father, a man who had raised him in the ashes of Japan after his mother had departed from this world thanks to their new imperial masters.

'He probably would have shot all of the students first and answered questions later.' The blond grinned stupidly and chuckled slightly at that. His father had fought so bitterly to defend their homeland, but surrendered at the drop of a hat despite cries for him to assume command over the brief military junta that followed Genbu Kururugi's suicide. Most believed that had the Flash of Fukushima been put in charge of the entire military, he could've turned the Circum Pacific War into a desperate guerilla struggle that would've eventually forced the hand of the EU or China to intervene on Japan's behalf...something that most military historians now concluded would have resulted in the absolute decimation of the Japanese mainland through total war tactics.

'Minato's perspective is irrelevant. I can't keep thinking about him like that. My father fought against Britannia and I'm fighting for Japan.' Naruto coldly mulled over his father and his war against Britannia. He didn't hate the man–far from it–he idolized him. His father had taught him to fight, to survive, even encouraged him to carry on the fight for Japan's freedom. Most Britannians regarded him as a great General that was just as worthy of their begrudging respect as he was his infamy. Most Elevens knew him as a legend, who stood as the last bulwark against Britannia in a brutal guerrilla war.

But he knew him differently, he knew what the man was really like. Before Britannia attacked, before his mother was killed in the bombings. His father had been a kind man, one who didn't like violence and only would use it as a last resort. Kushina's death had changed him. Perhaps Minato trained Naruto the way he did to protect his son, or maybe he was so consumed with rage and grief that he wanted to raise a soldier who would have revenge on Britannia for what they did to them. To his family. His nation. His people.

"Minato doesn't matter now. I don't matter now. The great clan days are over. The independence of Japan is over." Naruto said to himself as he overlooked the skyline. Time was a luxury, one he could not afford. As days went by resistance groups were mounting more and more terrorist attacks. He would have to act soon. He sighed as he headed to his bedroom. The next few days would be rough for him.

"I have to look forward, and this ambassador program..." Naruto was finally able to speak honestly with himself in the privacy of his sleeping quarters–a meaningless notion when your apartment was 1350 square meters of two and a half floors–and he realized the answer he was looking for was really in front of him the whole time.

"Before I was involved I thought it was a good idea...that shouldn't change just because of my personal hangups about being part of it. Hell, I'm basically an ambassador to some of the nobles already, how hard could a few snobby kids be?" Naruto finally made his decision. He had convinced himself that it was a sacrifice for the good of Japan. I mean, who needs good people skills to interact with a bunch of horny teenagers and pompous pricks who'll go crying to their rich daddy the second the big bad Eleven decides to stop putting up with their bullshit? Why shouldn't he have to go through the exact same coursework he had gone through under the care of his guardians? He should go through the same teenage rituals as everyone else such as finding a date to the annual spring promenade and getting a diploma that would be completely worthless.

Naruto's moment of drummed-up determination quickly deflated. Turning to his side he readjusted his favorite sherbet-colored silk pillow and let out a deep sigh as he drifted to sleep.

"Maybe I could convince Tsunade to pick someone else..."

---

Outside the Government Borough — Saturday, July 8 — 1:50 p.m.

The next day had come fast, too fast for his taste, but Naruto had a schedule to keep. Thankfully, Saturdays weren't nearly as busy as the rest of the work week. He had quickly gotten dressed after taking a shower to freshen up. After shaking a few hands and finalizing the paperwork for his unwelcome transfer from Public Safety to Public Relations, the blond was chauffeured to the Viceroy's palace by Kurama for the second time this week.

Upon arrival, he remarked at how quickly his security clearance was confirmed, and he was swiftly escorted to one of the Prince's many private jets that was already primed to take off, waiting solely for his arrival. Boarding it, he fond it was overflowing with articles of debauchery. Dozens of bottles of various pricey alcohols (many with exotic European names he could hardly pronounce) a plethora of recreational narcotics, and even a few pairs of unclaimed undergarments that looked plain and rather Victorian, seemingly long forgotten by their...formerly...ingénues owners.

Meeting privately with the Viceroy certainly could have some unintended merits.

'Best thing about traveling in Japan: all flights are under three hours.' Naruto let loose a sigh of relief as the plane departed Tokyo. He hated traveling long distance by rail, but thankfully the Britannians didn't do too much damage to the Shinkansen—outside of Fukushima, at least—and repairs had been completed on all of the tracks by last year. It kept travel relatively short, but Naruto loathed the long waits on traditional rail to places like Sendai or Niigata.

"Would you like anything to eat, sir?" Naruto nearly jumped when the flight attendant surprised him with a cart with a plethora of lunch options. Clovis at least took his parties very seriously and he accommodated his guests with the same priority as himself. Almost all of the items on display were Britannian foods with a handful of European delicacies. Naruto was disappointed, but of course there would be no ramen. He perused around the tray when his eyes locked an open-face sandwich and immediately reached for it to sate his appetite. The meat had looked like roasted chicken but Naruto realized it lacked the gamey taste and texture he balked–noting that the richer and fuller taste was something entirely new to him.

"That would be turkey, Mister Uzumaki." the attendant noticed Naruto's perplexion and offered an explanation to the Eleven unfamiliar with meats from outside the area.

"...Turkey?" Naruto hadn't heard of that kind of meat before. It definitely wasn't from Japan.

"Yes, it's a large bird native to the Americas, especially the Homeland. This is a sliced cold cut, but it can be prepared many different ways, including deep fried. That particular incarnation is one of Prince Clovis' favorites delicacies. It's not commonly served in Asia, and prohibitively expensive to import fresh so I expected you wouldn't have tasted it before now. Thankfully, the wealth of the royal family means practically nothing is prohibited, especially in the Areas." the mustached man explained the alien sandwich. His curiosity piqued, Naruto took in another mouthful. He could see why Clovis liked it so much.

"If I recall correctly, that licentious old codger Ben Franklin had even once suggested that it be the national bird for the planned successor state to the American rebellion...before he was persuaded to join the right side, of course." the attendant imparted his trivial knowledge on the blond-haired Eleven. Enjoying the unfamiliar taste, Naruto went in for yet another bite and leaned back into his seat.

He could get used to Princely treatment.

---

Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture — Saturday, July 8 — 4:56 p.m.

The jet gently touched down as it taxied into a hanger, from there Naruto was greeted by a driver and a stretch limousine that looked like it could hold a party of ten or more.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Naruto questioned the driver, who shook his head.

"You are a VIP guest, Mister Uzumaki. Prince Clovis demands only the most premium care for his honored attendees." The driver's reply came with a glint of resentment, but Naruto opted to ignore it and simply nodded. The driver made haste to their destination, wanting to be stuck in the same car as an Eleven for as little as possible. It didn't take long before Naruto was brought to the beach where a large villa was situated close by. The building was of an older Britannian design, from the days of Empress Victoria. The large roundabout-like deck made that abundantly clear.

"Just because it's a party doesn't mean security is lacking." Naruto thought as he spotted many Britannian guards patrolling the grounds, and there was even a small Britannian frigate stationed in the distant, likely equipped with Sonar to detect and deter any would be amphibious attackers.

Naruto was directed by one of Clovis' many butlers towards the back side of the estate, where Naruto took in the peaks of opulence that was Clovis' back yard. A helipad that was home to two state-of-the-art helicopters, an elegantly styled and stained boardwalk that led down to the private dock which moored–presumably just one of many–of the Prince's sizable luxury yachts, a private regulation-sized tennis court, a gazebo with a built in Hawaiian-style Tiki bar, two Olympic size pools, and a Jacuzzi that was damn well large enough that it might as well be considered a third. His eyes lingered on the Jacuzzi until the he caught the occupants attention.

"Welcome Naruto, come on in, the water feels amazing!" Naruto was greeted boisterously by Clovis, who was flanked by six beautiful women–two of them were in their twenties, around the Third Prince's age, but a most of them seemed like they had freshly turned eighteen and were barely older than him...or possibly not for the young petite blonde with blueish-green eyes. Their youth and beauty was an undeniable fact that Clovis seemed to take a great amount of pleasure in.

"Good afternoon, your grace." Naruto greeted professionally, but Clovis' right hand waved him off from behind the shoulder of the busty redhead. Who giggled playfully before nuzzling up to the bare chest of the Third Prince.

"This is a party, Naruto. I may be a Prince, but here we are all friends with the same interest! Human beings trying to enjoy themselves! Now get in here, immediately!" Clovis ordered, catching Naruto's interest. Clovis was transparent, very transparent. While Naruto could tell from their first meeting that Clovis obviously loved large parties that boosted his ego, he also had postulated that Clovis preferred smaller, much more intimate gatherings. He wanted his people to love him, but he wanted to enjoy people even more. This quirk caused him to seek approval from all of his subjects, Britannian and Eleven alike. It was Clovis' relationship to the people that Naruto and Konoha had exploited to convince the Viceroy to spend so much on public development projects that benefited everyone, not solely the Britannians. He wanted people to love him so that he may feel adequate instead of overshadowed by his politically brilliant older brother–the Prime Minister of Britannia–and martially superior elder sisters, Guinevere and Cornelia. His inferiority complex was a bit of a pathetic personality trait, but one that Clovis masked well to the public.. and one that Naruto had used all to well to his advantage.

"Well, if you insist." Naruto responded with a smile. Clovis cared more about his popularity than anything and trying to appear humble, even before an Eleven, was one of his favorite ways to boost his image. Naruto removed his shirt, shoes, and socks but at last hesitated to remove his shorts. A smirk from the Prince and giggling from the girls made him feel a rash of embarrassment before Clovis gestured for him to enter as he was.

Entering the hot tub and slowly sinking down to his waist just opposite Clovis and two of the curious ladies–a young pale girl with black hair and piercing green eyes and the blue-eyed redhead from underneath Clovis' arm–had become interested in his chiseled chest and remarkable biceps. It didn't appear that they minded his status as an Honorary Britannian, rather it seemed like they found him potentially more attractive as a result. Feeling their hands press lightly against his chest, Naruto floated down to the solid marble bench beneath him and took a seat. The two adolescents nestled into his arms, with the redhead practically sitting on his lap, the flow of the water jets grinding his thigh into her backside.

"I see you've met Sofi and Rachael, already." Clovis contained his practice posh peal of laughter as he gestured to the pale teen and fiery redhead respectively at Naruto's sides. With his right arm now free from Rachael, Clovis began pointing to the other faces. "Stating from your left...first we have Ellie and Ada" Clovis pointed to the two blondes that were clearly a pair of aquamarine-eyed sisters who bowed their heads towards him with a smile. The younger of the two, Ada, was definitely the youngest, with her age definitely on the questionable end of the spectrum. "Then there's their unusually attractive Aunt Emily" the third blue-eyed blonde–definitely the oldest of the bunch given her fully matured figure–gave him a sultry smile and wistful wave. "And then there's..." the Prince struggled to remember the name of the last girl, another brunette with piercing bright blue eyes.

"Jennifer, your highness. But my friends call me Jenna." She said sheepishly, discomfited that the Prince had forgotten her name.

"Then Jenna it is, my sweet." said Clovis, ever the charmer. This only flustered the young girl more, and she swam over towards Naruto in mock rebellion towards her host. Who reached out and dragged her back towards him by the leg. She shrieked briefly before giggling and settling in Rachael's former place under the Prince's right arm, she turned and leaned up to place a deep kiss on the lips of the young Prince, who was a bit surprised but nevertheless pleased by the development, returning her affections handily.

"Ladies, this is Naruto Uzumaki, we often meet for business talk as he's the New Leaf Foundations personal envoy to me." Clovis' experienced bragging place both of the young men in even higher esteem than before. Naruto didn't bother to correct that he was in no way a personal envoy to Clovis and just happened to meet with him more than anyone else. After all why ruin a potential good time with silly things like morality and truth? "But today, he's my honored personal guest, so be sure to enjoy his company in the same way you would enjoy mine." Clovis words brought on a brief silence from the two ladies, but silence turned to snickers as the women on their flanks leaned in a little more intimately with the two.

"Sit over here, Mister Uzumaki. The water jets feel amazing!" Sofi scooted over in her blue floral patterned bikini while Rachael dismounted from the makeshift chair that was Naruto's right leg.

"Okay, but please, just Naruto is fine." Naruto calmed the butterflies in his stomach as he took sat in front of the jetstream, feeling the water pressure massage his back, easing away the taxation that a corporate middle management job had placed upon it.

"Okay, Mister Naruto." Rachael giggled The two beauties leaned and whispered sweet nothings into his ears, about his pristine pectoral muscles and his unique skin and hair combinations that they found so...exotic.

"You do know that I'm younger than you, right? I'm only sixteen." Naruto tried explaining. In fact, aside from Hinata, he was the youngest employee at Konoha.

"Almost seventeen." Clovis chimed in, remembering that Naruto's next birthday was in exactly three months and two days.

"Oh, really? Only sixteen and you're already meeting with Britannian Royalty? Well, I'm totally fine with that. After all, if a Britannian Prince says it's okay...I mean who are we to argue." Sofi's voice almost transformed into an aria by the end of her singsong soprano soliloquy.

"Yeah, personally I prefer my men younger. No offense, your highness, but most men my own age seem so weary and whiny all the time." Rachael apologized to the Prince as she resumed her examination of the young blonde.

"None taken, when I was attending schooling back in the mainland I met a delightful brunette in her junior year who had quite the case of Freshman fever. I'd hardly be the man I am today if not for all the things she taught me." Clovis hid his mild irritation from her slight expertly, though Naruto caught sight of it. The Prince was truly a master of etiquette, his royal demeanor was never shaken in public. He had clearly studied social engineering just as much–if not more–than Naruto had.

"Well I guess I've got two illnesses, then. Freshman and Yellow Fever." Rachael admitted with a deviant smirk before placing her lips upon his neck. Naruto gasped at the unfamiliar sensation. Rachael was around the same age as Clovis, likely just out of university. Naruto would have to remember to stop by a Shinto shrine to thank the Gods for his fortunes in finding fecund females.

"Speaking of yellow, how'd an Eleven get blond hair and blue eyes." Sofi asked as she ran her hand through his golden locks. Naruto sighed, unsure if the girl was completely racially crass like most Britannians or if her words simply came out wrong as he recalled the story.

"Ah, my father was three-quarters Russian. My great-grandfather served in the Russo-Japanese War back sixty years ago and met my great-grandmother while occupying Karafuto– I mean, Kuye. And my grandfather also married a Russian woman in North Sakhalin that he brought back here when the Chinese warlords reunified into the Federation and and reclaimed it from both." Naruto said nervously as Sofi and Rachael struggled for dominance over his lap and chest.

"She was Russian proper and not one of the indigenous peoples?" Clovis seemed to express an actual interest in Naruto's heritage. Naruto nodded. He never met his great grandmother, but his Father spoke fondly of her. "So you're a Russo-Eleven half-breed, then?" Clovis asked from in-between swigs of his brandy, intrigued by this new information about his Honorary Britannian friend.

"I think the math makes me out to being something like a third Russian? My father and grandfather both spoke it fluently thanks to my great-grandmother, and I learned quite a bit before he passed." Naruto wasn't the best with mathematics but his genetics seemed simple enough.

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that." Rachael apologized, likely not realizing who his father was.

"What about your mother?" Clovis carried on as his arm massaged the underside of Ellie's ample bosom from just under the waters. Who moaned lightly and gave the Prince a tender kiss in response.

"She was a Japanese noblewoman from–obviously–the Uzumaki clan..." Naruto started.

"Wait, you're a Japanese noble?" Ada gasped. This also seemed to attract even more attention from the other girls as well.

"Yeah, although that doesn't mean much now. I'm pretty sure someone that was Irish or Scottish snuck into our family line ages ago while conducting trade at Port Dejima, because whoever he was he had the strongest damn genes for red hair you've ever seen. Basically everyone alive that can claim lineage to the Uzumaki clan has it...'cept for me, I guess." Naruto laughed. His comfort in talking about himself was actually a source for his deeper discomforts.

"Darn." groaned Rachael. "You'd look cute with red hair."

"I think you're a bit biased, Rach." Emily called out from afar with a laugh. "But she's right, you'd look way cuter as a redhead, Naruto."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about going red myself, actually." Ellie lit up at the thought.

"Are you saying there's something wrong with blond hair?" Clovis rose from his seat to make his mock threat more intimidating.

"No, not at all my Prince. I'm blonde myself, you know." Ellie shrunk herself as the Prince's face closed in. She could smell the alcohol accumulating in his breath. She raised her hands in mock defense, halfheartedly attempting to keep the Emperor's third son at a distance.

"Well I think you'd look cuter if you were out of that swimsuit, Ellie." Clovis said seductively as his finger plucked at the thin strap of polyester fabric between her prominent pectoral protrusions, letting out an elastic snap that was almost musical in nature to the Prince's ears. "Perhaps we should take this soiree inside?"

"I'm fine with that." Sofi said as she raised her head from Naruto's chest.

"Then let's not waste any time." Clovis said, jumping on the approval of just one other guest to passively enforce his will.

One after another the girls rose from the hot tub, giving Naruto full view of their bikini-clad bodies. Emily's age explained her somewhat broad figure, while Sofi and especially Ada were both rather petite, leaving Jenna, Rachael and Ellie somewhere in the middle. The girls wrapped towels around themselves and began to dry off alongside the Prince. Naruto sat silently in the tub watching, a little awestruck at their beauty. This Prince probably had girls like this in his bed every other day. Clovis really hit the jackpot being born a Britannian Royal.

---

Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture — Saturday, July 8 — 5:37 p.m.

Clovis had sent his attendants to retrieve Naruto some proper leisurewear to change into as his clothes were laundered. Naruto changed into a pair of black slacks and sandals and a white short-sleeve button-up with an orange T-shirt underneath. Given the climate, he opted to leave the overshirt unbuttoned. As Naruto walked out, he ran into Clovis and the group of girls all in their party outfits. Rachael was wearing a zebra-striped off-the-shoulder sweater while Sofi and Emily were both in tank tops and jean cutoffs. Ada also was wearing a tank-top, but with Capri pants instead of shorts. Ellie wore a shirt for some Britannian band with thigh high socks and athletic shorts while Jenna dressed the most conservatively with jeans and a grey deep-V neck. Clovis–always the royal–was wearing a purple Area 7–or Hawaiian style–shirt and designer khaki shorts.

"Now then, let's enjoy this party to our hearts content!" Clovis shouted as he swung open a glass door, which lead to a massive walk-in pantry filled with nothing but expensive wines and liquors. Naruto balked at the inordinate amount of alcohol, but was more confused when the two women from the tub sat him down on the couch started to crawl all over him

"Control…" Naruto thought to himself as he tried not to leer at them as they were both extremely beautiful and had the curves in all the right places.

'Hinata's are bigger.' He thought to himself as Rachael's modest chest casually swayed with her shuffling. Naruto was dense, but he was also observant. He knew the Hyuga was far more...developed...than anyone in their age group and her conservative clothing hid most of her assets, but he could tell that she would be turning heads when she occasionally wore that silken cream blouse that was a little tight in the chest area. Wait–what was he doing thinking about Hinata?

"I didn't realize that this would be that kind of party…" Naruto muttered as he turned to Clovis, before widening his eyes in bewilderment. The Viceroy was already pouring himself a third glass of wine.

"Come Naruto! There's plenty of wine for everyone!" Clovis proclaimed as he urged Naruto to drink, but Naruto shook his head.

"I'll pass, your highness. I'm still underage, remember?" Naruto maintained a straight face through his hypocrisy, but Clovis wasn't going to have any of it. He grabbed a bottle of Cabernet before walking up to the blond and extended it out to him.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto..." Clovis sighed with a twinge of disappointment. "As a Prince of Britannia and Viceroy of Area 11, I hereby declare the new age for alcohol consumption in Area 11 to be...seven–for the next twenty four hours! There, now drink up!" Naruto took the bottle with a wry chuckle, admitting defeat against the Prince's whimsical nature as he removed the cork and took a swig. It certainly had a better taste than the shot he took last night, though he had no other experiences to compare the wine to. Either way, Naruto the drink was good enough that he took another gulp of the fermented grape juice as he watched Clovis and his lady guests make space in the living room for some light dancing as Clovis activated the media player that was built-in throughout his entire house.

As talented of a socialite that Clovis was, Naruto couldn't help but feel he ultimately wasn't cut out for politics. It seemed like Clovis only chose to become an Area Governor out of some nagging feeling of inferiority from his childhood to...someone from his past. Perhaps it was the ever so cunning Prime Minister Schneizel? Or maybe even the Witch of Britannia that had few equals on the battlefield? Naruto gave a few considerations as he took another swig of his wine, though he was unable to thumb an exact candidate. Regardless of whom it was, Clovis had become far too eager to please others as a result of his "middle child" upbringing in the Royal Family. While that made him a lot easier for Konoha to persuade, it also firmly put him under the manipulative thumbs of the nobles and bureaucrats he was even more desperate to impress. Naruto had been attending his events for almost half a year now, not long after their introduction, and he had dug through Clovis' layers. Gulping down another mouthful of wine, Naruto repeated his assessment of Clovis to himself. The Third Prince was, at his core, an extremely self-centered person that did selfless things for selfish reason, all neatly concealed under his pompous demeanor and a Delphic insecurity he kept well hidden. He didn't particularly like or dislike anyone, though he certainly enjoyed the company of both intellectuals and party girls. He detested doing government business on his time, preferring to make his mandatory cabinet appearances the only time in which he could be reached by anyone other than the bureaucracy.

Naruto's thoughts suddenly ceased as he felt a dull throbbing sensation at the back of his mind...or was it the top of his head? Wait. Was he drunk already? Naruto looked down at the bottle of wine and noticed that he had already gone through more than half the container. Either Naruto was utterly careless in monitoring his alcohol consumption or the wine was of a higher quality than he thought. His age and lack of drinking experience made him quite the lightweight and he felt the Earth leap out from under his feet as he plopped down onto a couch upholstered with red velvet. He noticed Rachael had tried to slow his descent but only ended up falling down on top of him as he dragged her down wit him. Rachael was giggling loudly as she spilled her drink all over her zebra striped top. The white portion was stained redder than her hair as she laughed, sitting herself up and casting the wine-soaked top to the wind. She didn't change out of her bikini after stepping out of the tub so her breasts were concealed by the thin synthetic fabric as she moved from drunkenly straddling his lap to lazing about on the couch, kicking off her black high heels and silently demanding a foot rub from the Eleven she was also using as a foot rest. Naruto couldn't figure out what possessed him to obey her wordless command–as if it wasn't the half-emptied Fifth of tequila his Highness had imported directly from Area 3 that had suddenly appeared in his hand–but he began massaging her soles causing her to groan in relief as his strong fingers kneaded into her heel. He looked up at the clock and realized that two hours had somehow passed since his arrival. His immediate (drunken) conclusion was that alcohol was a mystical concoction that somehow had the ability to manipulate time.

Naruto was moving to the music in a daze as he was suddenly rushed to his feet, evidently having fallen down at some point during his drunken stupor. As to when–he didn't remember. He did remember that Sofi had abruptly pulled him into a deep kiss without permission about twenty minutes ago, or was it two minutes ago? Booze was a cunning wizard when it came to distorting time. Naruto also gave Clovis a big hug from behind...after he tripped over his two left feet dancing and fell onto the Viceroy's back to which the Head of Government cracked up a fit of laughter. The honorary Britannian gazed back at the clock...it was almost nine...or did the short hand mean it was almost eight? Naruto's sense of balance took command over his thoughts as he felt himself fall into an extremely warm and comfortable bed, with multiple feelings of wet suction planted all over his bare chest.

The blond's last thought was just where, exactly, his shirt had gone as the rest of the night transformed into a blur.

---

Clovis' Vacation house, Miyako Island — Sunday, July 9 — 10:29 a.m.

The awakening Naruto groaned as he held his head in pain. The tremendous dizzying sensation only cured by the throbbing of his migraine. As he tried to get up, he felt something soft holding onto his right arm.

"Huh?" Naruto thought as he looked lazily to the side to find a beautiful redhead in bed next to him...he blinked as he looked to the younger black-haired on his left and analyzed the situation. He was in an unfamiliar bed with both Sofi and Rachael, two Britannian women that were half-naked; he too was missing his shirt. With a disgruntled sigh, he freed his arm from the clutches of the two sleeping women as he retrieved his clothes. It would seem that last night and he had gotten a little too intoxicated and didn't even remember where things had gone.

"I need some water or something…" Naruto muttered as he exited the room quietly, clutching his head as the loud noise of the door slowly close rattled his brain. Upon exiting the room, he noticed that there had been quite the party last night with shoes, socks, and even shirts strewn about and unfinished drinks littered everywhere. He tried his best to recall the events, but the humongous hangover

"Might I recommend some coffee, Naruto?" He turned to his left and spotted Clovis, who was carrying two eloquent black mugs of coffee with gold-inlay designs. Naruto shook his head as he wandered over to the breakfast counter.

"Not really a fan." Naruto responded, he was naturally a little too wired and caffeine put it into overdrive. Clovis in chuckled at his naivety.

"It'll help get rid of that hangover...at least well enough that you can think clearly for today." He proclaimed as Naruto's stride came to a halt. He stubbornly refused to reach out either way taking the cup of coffee. The two moved to the massive living room as they sat down on the many couches.

"So, Naruto, tell me what's new at your work?" Clovis inquired as Naruto took a sip of the coffee. Bitter and strong, but wonderfully elucidating.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, a little taken aback by Clovis' chosen subject. He was just thinking to himself last night about how Clovis never wanted to work on his own time. Did alcohol have the power to transport him between alternate realities as well?

"Please don't take me for a fool, Naruto. I know you only agreed to come out here because you wanted to talk to me about work stuff without my advisors in my ear. I had a great time with you and the ladies last night. This is my repayment. So here's your chance. Talk, but please don't open with a request. I want to hear about the work you're actually doing, not the work you want to do." Clovis said, taking a big gulp of the imported Colombian blend.

"Well..there's this new ambassador program that is being launched. I got invited–well, more like roped–into it." Naruto answered truthfully. His hangover was too annoying to care much about his answer.

"Oh? Ambassador program? To where?" Clovis questioned once more, intrigued to learn what the Numbers got up to in their spare time.

"Not out of the country, it's more like a...I dunno. It's basically a few of Neo Konoha's younger members being sent to some academic facilities to improve Eleven and Britannian relations." Naruto answered once more as Clovis was now highly intrigued.

"So more like goodwill ambassadors, then. To bridge the gap between the Natural-born and the Naturalized, I take it? I see. The youth are the nation's future after all. So where are you assign?" Clovis piled on another question, but Naruto huffed in response as he swallowed another sip.

"Well, funny thing... I was so pissed I stormed out before Tsunade could give me my assignment." Naruto said with a scoff directed at himself.

"The PR director, right?" the Governor asked. Naruto nodded quickly as he continued.

"She's a stubborn one. More stubborn than you. Ah, my apologies, your highness... I forgot who I was talking to." Naruto raised his hand as he looked for an excuse, but he couldn't blame the alcohol from last night for his words today.

"We're friends here, Naruto, not sovereign and subject. But I don't need to be reminded that I can be a bit of an ass when I've got my mind set on something." Clovis brushed off Naruto's slight with a chuckle and a casual sip from his mug.

"Thanks. It's too early for me to pretend to be prim and proper." Naruto said with an even heartier chortle.

"I'm not a morning person either. I'm much more a night owl if you couldn't tell from last night. Anyways, you were saying?" the Prince insisted that he go on.

"Tsunade basically told me that a lot of the work I was doing was going to be handed over to others to let me focus on the program. But I like what I do in Public Safety, I feel like I'm protecting people from unnecessary violence...and I know I'm damn good at acquisitions..." Naruto grumbled.

"Don't anyone dare disagree with that." Clovis raised his mug in a toast as he gulped down the last of his java. He'd heard from Charles Davenport himself about the deal the two had just made. It was truly groundbreaking, and would probably provide them with enough raw materials to finish renovations on the Edogawa ghetto and finally connect the Tokyo Settlement to Chiba. And if a Davenport did end up marrying a Stonefield it would open enough avenues for the New Leaf Foundation to fully revitalize all of Yokohama with modern electrical systems. Rather than the Elevens being stuck 15 years in the past, they could potentially rival the settlement, and that would certainly stir quite a few pots.

"Exactly! And Tsunade thinks that now is a good time for me to step aside and let others intervene and fuck up all of my hard work? I need to be constantly meeting people, that's why I'm so good at my job. I'm not a bloodhound detective like Sasuke." Naruto continued to vent his frustrations, letting profanity fly.

"Ah, the depressing boy with the family issues?" Clovis remembered.

"Exactly him! They're letting him take my assignment in Special Projects and drop out of Sales to make room for the new program, but I get gutted, stuck in the graveyard shift of Acquisitions, and put into some Highschool School with a bunch of brats with rich parents."

"Do you know the name of the place?"

"No. But judging from the photos it was some big fancy boarding school." Naruto tried to remember the email from Tsunade. But all he could remember was that there it was a huge campus with dorms...ugh, thankfully he wouldn't be required to live in them. Clovis stopped to think for a moment. If it was the Academy he was thinking of, then all the chess pieces started to fall into place.

"Naruto, don't you think there is the distinct possibility that Tsunade and Hiruzen are sending you to a prestigious school with a lot of children with rich parents for a reason?" Clovis suggested.

Naruto froze almost completely.

"It's no secret that the old man values you. I doubt he would send one of his most prized earners into a place without reason. Perhaps your workload in Acquisitions is being reduced because of all the new people you'll be meeting through their children."

Naruto almost dropped his cup and hung his head in shame.

Of course he was being sent to a prestigious school for such a reason. There was probably someone that Hiruzen wanted him to meet and get to know so that they would have an in with a business magnate or maybe even a nobleman. He still thought they were being a bit excessive taking him out of Special Projects, but maybe that was a bargain Tsunade would be willing to give on.

"Judging by the look on your face you seem to agree with my assessment." Clovis grinned wide, barely containing the laughter he had building up.

"You got me. I'm such an idiot sometimes." Naruto scoffed in disappointment.

"You're not stupid, Naruto. You just tend to miss the highly obvious sometimes. Trust me, I'm the same way." Clovis started laughing politely and Naruto eventually joined in.

"Thank you, your highness. You really cleared the rocks in my head on this one." Naruto sighed. Sometimes, he was too stubborn.

"Speaking of, any progress on breaking ground in Narita?" Clovis asked about where his mind had taken him. He wondered if Naruto had heard anything about the rumors of the area.

"Pfft...absolutely not. We can't even convince the old man to send survey crews. He says it's too dangerous to invest further into the prefecture right now, and that if you aren't currently assigned to an active project there, you have no business being anywhere in Chiba. The JLF has garnered massive support among the population there. They're growing fast, despite everything. We can't even get to clearing the debris on the roads in Yachimata or Togane. It's a damn shame because they're housing districts for Chiba proper, and it would help so many people if they could just had safe travel on the roads." Naruto sighed in frustration after his little tirade. The JLF had made it impossible for Konoha to operate in Chiba or Ibaraki prefectures, and they'd even killed a lot of good people in their senseless, bloody quest for vengeance against the Britannians.

"So you think the JLF is in Narita?" Clovis asked.

"No, I think the JLF is in Katori, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had a base in Narita too. A hundred thousand people getting their lives pissed on because some grumpy old soldiers don't know the meaning of surrender."

"Pardon my intrusion, but do I detect something deeper in your hatred of the JLF?" Clovis asked. Naruto turned, ready to give him an earful, but he stopped himself from shouting at a Britannian Prince and let out a long sigh.

"Won't let anything ever get past you, huh?" Naruto clicked his tongue.

"Some of the Elevens have attributed me to a Kitsune, for better or worse..." Clovis had learned all about the reputation of foxes in Japanese folklore.

"Sometimes a mischievous trickster, other times they a loyal guardian and friend. Yeah, that sounds about right." Clovis chuckled at that before encouraging Naruto to continue with a gesture of his hand.

"When my Mom died just after the war...it...it just broke something in my dad. He was a diehard military man, and he fought tooth and nail to defend the country to be sure, but as soon as the Prime Minister committed suicide, he surrendered with the rest of the armed forces–even though everyone was hopeful that he would take command of the junta and lead us to victory. He broke a lot of promises that day because he thought his family was more important at the time. But then Mom got sick and passed pretty quickly...I think when that happened he felt that he had let down everyone and he couldn't get out of that mindset...he started drinking a lot more and when that didn't help..." Naruto fought through every urge of trepidation he had to speak of Minato.

"That's when he turned to terrorism..." Clovis interjected what he already knew.

"And he was damn good at it too! It took you guys over two years to catch him, and in that time he managed to undermine pretty much every major construction project in the settlement with TNT and a few well-aimed knives. Cost Britannia hundreds of millions and it sure pissed off the bureaucrats something fierce." Naruto laughed, not amused at the wanton destruction, but the absolute mockery he made of the haughty, uptight nobility.

"You can say that again." Clovis had no taste for the constant political squabbling of the peerage. It was the most dreadful part of being Viceroy.

"But what I never hear his fan club mention is how many lives were ruined as a result of his little crusade. Hundreds were killed, and that was a tragedy, but they never remember the hundreds of thousands that were cast deeper into destitution. Even if they were "slave" jobs, they were still wages that could've gone into the Numbered communities.

"...And that's why you resent the JLF? Because they're bad for the economy?" Clovis knew there was more to it than that.

"To hell with your economy! I don't give a damn about the economy, I care about the people!" Naruto raised his voice.

"Ah, I see...You want Japan to reach Satellite status." Clovis started to understand.

"It just feels like the JLF are delaying the inevitable good...and my father made the same mistake. I think about what could've been had he not gone down that path. Maybe...as unlikely as it sounds, I'm wondering if maybe he could've gotten some sort of role within your administration..."

"If the Flash of Fukushima had asked to cooperate with the colonial government, I'm sure that if not me, then my predecessor would have accepted without question." Clovis contributed.

"If you were to ask me to speak honestly, I would honestly tell you that Japan is better off under the Britannians. The technological innovations you guys have made with Sakuradite in just the last five years have been mind-blowing. Not just weapons, but wireless and cellular technology, electric automobiles, laparoscopic medicine, magnetic resonance imaging, high tech GPS satellites...Britannia is the leading superpower for technological innovation, no question. You're about 5 years ahead of the EU and 10...no probably 15 years ahead of China." That's Naruto wasn't just content with the Japanese living under Britannian rule, he was actively encouraging it. The gears started to turn in Clovis' head. Even with the Britannians only offering token support, Konoha had accomplished much. The Yokohama and Chiba special cities were almost completely revitalized to their prewar status, Kawasaki was well on the way, Sagamihara wasn't far behind, and that said nothing of their achievements in the Tokyo ghettos themselves. And if a deal with the Stonefield Concern could be made then they might even rival the Settlements in terms of Urban Development. That deal would put them on the fast track for Satellite status within the decade.

The pieces clicked, and Clovis let out a sigh of relief that he had been holding onto ever since he met Naruto.

"Thank you, Naruto." the blond looks curiously at the Third Prince.

"For what?"

"For letting me in." Clovis explained, causing Naruto to reel back in astonishment.

"Pardon?" the teenager said in confusion.

"I think I understand you a whole lot more now. I'm sorry for what happened to your mother. I have...had–a half brother, and I saw the tragedy of what losing a mother can do to someone that young...the whole thing unfolded in front of the entire Imperial Court in a rather disastrous manner. He was one of the smartest people I've ever known, probably as smart as my brother Schneizel. I mean this with no disrespect, but if a catastrophe like losing a parent can do that to someone as genius as him, then someone like your father stood no chance withstanding that emotional devastation. I'm honestly surprised you turned out as well as you did." Clovis remembered the young Lelouch's spectacular political death spiral in the aftermath of Empress Marianne's death. A mere child–not even 10 years old–stood up to the Britannian Emperor and tried to put him in his place, and here Naruto was trying to face down the entire Britannian Empire with the simple desire for his people to not be treated as disposables. Clovis couldn't say he empathized with Naruto's current predicament, but he definitely felt sympathy for him.

"Unfortunately, I'm all out of coffee, but nonetheless...to a brighter future?" Clovis offered his empty mug. Naruto laugh as he too held out his own ceramic cup.

"To a brighter future." He repeated as the two clanged their empty mugs together in a moment of solidarity.

To a brighter future indeed.

---

51st Floor, New Leaf Foundation Corporate, Tokyo Settlement — Sunday, July 9 — 3:49 p.m.

Naruto grumbled as he waited for Tsunade in her office. She had a small matter with Sasuke to discuss to before they could have their discussion regarding his future path. The rant Clovis had inspired when discussing the JLF stoked a hidden fire within him. Although he never got a chance to discuss the program with Clovis, Naruto knew how he was going to confront Tsunade. Even if he had to concede some, he wasn't willing to deal without all. Tsunade was stubborn, but when Naruto was determined enough, no one could stand in his way.

Naruto's only regret was that he had to bear discussing his father before Clovis. Neither he nor the Prince were exactly the biggest fans of General Namikaze.

"Sorry about the wait," Tsunade announced as she walked back into her office. "Sasuke was none too pleased about becoming a student ambassador, but he was happy enough to hear we were taking him out of Acquisitions."

"Now then that is finished, what have you decided?" Tsunade questioned as she entered her office and took a seat. She herself was firm in what she wanted Naruto to do, but the look in his eyes showed his steely determination.

"You offered me an ultimatum, but I have a counteroffer." Naruto responded as Tsunade gestured with her palm, telling him to go on. Naruto closed his eyes as he handed her a file.

"I'll be your ambassador; however, I will not be leaving the Special Project section." Naruto stated as Tsunade frowned at that.

"Between those two and you being in Public Safety and Captain of B team, along with other tasks…" Tsunade trailed off. Naruto was taking on too much work and she feared he would lose sight of his tasks.

"That is why I'll be leaving Public Safety and stepping down as Captain of B Team, but I'm not leaving Special Projects. I...my work there is too important." Naruto stated as Tsunade furled her brow at that. Special Projects wasn't a big time commitment, so there would be no issue with Naruto staying on as a night job. They were only deployed once every couple of weeks and without having to manage an entire team, Naruto would only need to check in with Shikamaru once a day at most to keep up to date.

"And what about Acquisitions? You might've freed up a few hours a week with that move, but they were your smallest workloads by far." Tsunade questioned. Given his connections to the nobility, Naruto had become a bit of a unique case within Neo Konoha.

"I'm leaving the general pool of Public Safety staff to shift around my schedule in Acquisitions, but the small-scale stuff can be handed off to other employees. I'll still want to be dealing with my major clients. I feel I'm...specially equipped to deal with Nobles and our more eccentric Corporate sponsors." Naruto responded, eliciting a smirk from Tsunade. He had it all planned out and while he did not like the concessions he was making; he would still be working in Special Project.

"I see…I'm sure you're aware just how difficult it will be to split your work three ways. Between Special Projects and the Ambassador position, your workload will be highly diversified and not everyone can handle that kind of commitment."

"You know my work ethic, I'm devoted almost entirely to my job...and you know it's either this or I resign. Either way, you win." Naruto cemented his ultimatum with a rather sharp glare.

"No one wants you to resign, Naruto..." Tsunade sighed. "Very well, you have a deal. I'll talk to Hiruzen about it. I'm sure it can be arranged if you're willing to put in the extra hours. Don't expect any overtime pay, though..." Tsunade started as she pulled out a thick manila folder.

"Aren't we salary, anyways?" the blond quipped. Tsunade withdrew the folder from his reach and gave the teen a condescending glare before finally handing it to Naruto. Naruto blinked and hummed as he shifted through the contents. Was this the school Clovis had told him about?

"The school you'll be attending was owned by a once prestigious family that backed Marianne the Flash and provided her with the Ganymede Knightmare during her rise to become the Knight of Six. Before she was married to the Britannian Emperor."

"Ashford Academy?" Naruto read out the name on the folder. He definitely recognized it. Robert Ashford was a Business professor at Columbia in New York that a few of the nobles spoke off quite fondly. Did he move out here and start his own boarding school?

"This school wouldn't happen to be run by Robert Ashfo-"

"No, it's his father, Ruben. Although I've heard Robert makes appearances on occasion to visit his daughter." Tsunade interrupted, but with her words Naruto began to see a bigger picture in going to this school. Getting into Robert Ashford's good graces could convince him to inspire a generation of MBA students going through a prestigious university to invest in Area 11. Naruto could feel the smile growing on his face.

"This...This was the reason the old man chose me, wasn't it." This was more than just an Ambassador program, this was an extremely high profile Acquisitions project.

"Ruben Ashford has also been a good friend of ours, Naruto. He might not be the Duke of New York anymore, but now that he's here in Area 11, it still makes him a valuable asset...and it doesn't change the fact that he's a good man. I'm certain he will take care of you as best as he can, so please do make the most of it." Tsunade said with a smug grin. Naruto bowed in the traditional Japanese manner before taking his leave of Tsunade's office. He wandered over to a cubicle to further analyze the folder but he just kept looking at the ceiling in disbelief.

"Damn old man is too clever for his own good." Naruto sighed as he realized he'd just received another reminder as to why, as General , the old man was given his famous moniker as 'The Professor' when it came to misleading his opponents.

---

Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement — Monday, July 10, 2016 a.t.b — 6:17 a.m.

A sleek limousine pulled up to a set of large steel gates between two red brick walls, behind which encompassed the campus that would occupy most of the next three years of his time with schooling. Learning mostly Britannian propaganda or stuff he probably already knew...with the exception of maybe a bit of mathematics and certain sciences. Grabbing his briefcase, Naruto thanked Kurama for the ride as he exited the vehicle. His caretaker drove away as Naruto walked towards the Academy in his grey pinstripe suit and signature orange tie. Even from outside, Naruto could see the full splendor academy from under the unique archways. He approached the gate only to find it locked.

"Damn, no one's here. Guess I'm too much of an early bird for even the worms." Naruto stifled a laughed at his own joke. He knew he was early but he didn't expect to be locked out of the entire campus. Reaching through the bars, Naruto examined the padlock and found it's construction to be of rather poor quality. He calmed his breathing as he gripped the lock in his hand before he clenched his fist with all his might. The metal easily crumpled under the powerful force and Naruto sighed as he removed the lock and granted himself entry, sliding the gates open a little earlier than normal.

Stepping onto the campus proper, Naruto took in his surroundings. The main academic building was rather large, perhaps as large as Konoha's corporate office if you were to somehow cut them into pieces and stack them on top of each other. There were a number of pathways that formed intricate array of some sort all linked to the main road leading to several sets of buildings. Rows of tree's bordered all the main pathways. Off to the left side were two large dirt fields and a forested area, most likely for athletic clubs. He also saw what looked like a pool hall, but it was mostly obscured by the main building. The large sports dome was hard to miss, even in the distance behind the dormitories, and could only fathom at what lay out of sight. The Ashford campus was gigantic, but it didn't help that Naruto was awake all by himself here. Making the Britannian academy seem like a ghost town with no one in sight. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and wandered about aimlessly for a good 5 minutes. While this might have been a good time for him to wake up for work, it was clearly much too early for school. He thought hard to calculate the time difference between here and Pendragon. It took him longer than it should have to realize that the Mainland was between mid afternoon and early evening. Naruto resolved not to change his schedule, instead making a mental note that early mornings would be the perfect time for any acquisitions work with business partners on the Mainland. Even meetings with the Areas would not be too much of an ask, though people in Area 5 or 6 might be upset about having to stay late after hours.

Naruto returned from his strange business daydream and took in the early morning air with a sigh. If his memory served him correctly, the Administrative offices were located in a building on the right-wing of the campus. But judging by the lack of light coming from the inside, they weren't awake either. He couldn't even retrieve his uniform. Oh, yes, that was another peachy little tidbit that Tsunade neglected to mention until the last minute, the school required students to wear uniforms. Naruto had been home schooled by his mother in the Uzumaki estate for most of his life...probably not the most ingenious of ideas in hindsight. His mother was smart but had selective hearing and an infamous temper, resulting in many lessons that turned into rather noisy arguments. When a widowed Minato was left to teach him, well Naruto remember that those lessons didn't exactly follow your typical curriculum for a schoolboy. After he was taken in by Hiruzen, well, Konoha's unofficial dress code had always been business attire, even in their Junior Executive programs. Wearing uniforms was a bit of a foreign concept to him, and while it served to normalize the Britannian students, it would likely only serve to single him out further as the one student of a different race from the rest. The uniform would be extremely uncomfortable, and not just socially too, he imagined that those thick, pointless belts were probably murder on the waist.

Speaking of uncomfortable, the dead silence of the moonlit campus was starting to get to him. Restless and antsy, Naruto found a bench to set his stuff down on. He figured the administrative staff probably wouldn't be working for at least another half hour, which was more than enough time for him to go on his morning 10K that he expected he was going to have to skip. He wouldn't need his suit for class anyways so getting a little sweaty to keep in shape was no issue. It'd also be a great way to memorize the campus exterior. Sliding off his coat and tie, Naruto began stretching by removing dress shoes and socks. He began readying his breathing as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and planned his route.

Removing his dress belt and setting all of his clothes into a neat pile on a nearby bench, Naruto got into a starting position. He watched the Clock Tower in the distance behind the Pool Hall, and as soon as it hit 6:30, he took off in a dash that looked more like a sprint to the average onlooker. Naruto took pride in his health and physique, and it also made him feel all the more triumphant when meeting with the bloated, self-satisfied wisenheimers that call themselves nobility. He ran past the Pool towards the Clock Tower building on his left before turning right towards the dorms. Passing by the quad, Naruto zoomed around the corner of the main building before he decided to extend his route. Running past his original starting point he headed towards the athletics fields before turning towards the Clock Tower, which was now on his right. He also extended his run to the far side of the dorms. While on his run, Naruto took note of the building designs and lay out of the campus in general.

'The buildings have large windows; the buildings seem capable of holding many. On top of that, its located in the central of the campus with open field around it and trees and a wall on the outer edges.' Naruto thought as he analyzed it. Should the need arise, with an almost 360-degree field of view from atop that Clock tower, defenders could easily hold the position and receive early warning information from spotters up there. Dormitories and Classrooms offered dozens of windows for soldiers to peak through, the athletics fields could even be turned into makeshift helipads, and the pool hall would make for an excellent area for logistics command and storage.

"Heh, not that that would never happen. I really gotta stop thinking like that." Naruto said to himself. Sometimes his mind just got caught up in the "lessons" that Minato used to teach him, but this was just a simple academy and he doubted that even Britannia would involve the children of so many wealthy individuals in such a situation. As Naruto rounded the dorms for the fourth time, his head perked up when he noticed the lights come on in several of the dorm rooms. Looked like the early birds were starting to rise.

"Tch, lazy bums." Naruto chided the students with a playful smirk, his selective memory completely disregarding his starting days with Konoha when he was waking up at no sooner than nine late to every meeting, seminar, and Junior Exec class. He looked up the Clock Tower again: 6:51. From past exercises, Naruto knew that while maintaining top speed he could finish a 10K run in about 25 minutes, although running in suit pants definitely wasn't getting him anywhere close to top speed. Naruto saw that the campus was still empty but it likely wouldn't be for long. Not wanting to be a half-dressed Number found on a campus with a broken gate by a couple of random Britannian teenagers, Naruto elected to cut his run a bit short with this last lap and approached the bench with his belongings. Redressing himself, Naruto tried to disguise the sweat stains with his jacket, accomplishing his efforts well enough for his coming meeting. Dressed to the nines and satisfied with his physical efforts, Naruto fixed his tie and steadied his breathing as he walked towards the Academy Offices to get his uniform.

And then he would probably sneak over to the pool hall for a quick shower.

---

Administration Offices, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement — Monday, July 10, 2016 a.t.b — 7:07 a.m.

The Admin Office was finally up and running with a few of the lights turned on. As Naruto walked through the small building, though, he found no one working. Much like the campus, the place was a ghost town. He took his time searching through the building for signs of life, inspecting the Hall of Fame that contained a handful students from the Academy and its sister schools in the Homeland that had gotten into national arts or athletic programs. He then came across the pictures commemorating the previous performances of the Academy's Theater club, with students dressed in all types of ridiculous get ups. He probably spent a good 15 minutes wandering through the building before he walked into the empty Administration offices.

"Can I help you, young man?" An elderly man questioned as he looked up from the newspaper on his desk. Naruto eyed him curiously. Who the hell still reads the Newspaper when everything can be downloaded to a phone or tablet?

"Oh, an Eleven! You must be the new student? The business brat Sarutobi was sending over?" The old man seemed to recognize Naruto.

"Uh...I wouldn't exactly call myself a student." Naruto replied somewhat sourly.

"Too good for this place, then, are you?" the man asked sternly. Naruto was taken aback by the sudden hostility.

"I never said tha-"

"I can see it on your face and hear it in your voice, young man. You don't think you should be here, do you? We could always reconsider your enrollment here, boy..." the old man snapped. Naruto took a deep breath and sighed, trying to resist his urge to shout and instead calmed himself. Older folks could be extremely difficult at times. Sometimes they were kind and generous fonts of advice, other times they were cantankerous and overbearing with their adherence to tradition.

"I'm sorry if I gave off that impression, sir. You're right, I don't think I should be here, but I didn't mean to imply this Academy was unworthy in any way. I'm actually rather impressed with the facilities here." Naruto apologized, trying to salvage the situation.

"I suppose it's not every day we get the son of a war hero and a noblewoman enrolling at this school, even if they try to hide it with a cheap pseudonym, Mister Namikaze." The old man replied, trying to hide a twinge of laughter. Had this geezer been messing with him the whole time?

"A word of advice, lad, if you're trying to hide from your heritage...maybe you should change your first name too." The old man advised, suddenly in a warmer mood. Naruto's demeanor, however, turned cold at the mention of his father's surname.

"I didn't change my name, I was not and never will be Naruto Namikaze. My dad insisted that his marriage to Kushina be kept as secret as possible. I was born into the Uzumaki family as the child of my mother with my mother's last name..." Naruto quickly distanced himself from his paternity. This was a common occurrence, most of the nobles he dealt with knew his father and of the rather scandalous tryst between Kushina and Minato. Minato had only been a Major–albeit a prodigious one–when the two young lovebirds began their little affair. But noblewomen of the Uzumaki's stature simply didn't marry junior military officers, especially not when she was arranged to marry to another man that was much higher up, but the young Kushina had no interest in marrying a crusty fifty-something year old General. Minato did his best to rise through the ranks at lightning speed simply to prove the Uzumaki clan heads that Kushina hadn't been misguided in choosing to marry him, and becoming a Lieutenant General at the age of 32 was something that was indeed unheard of, and while Minato had earned their respect for his accomplishments, he was never able to rid them of the sour taste for a noblewoman marrying a commoner for some outrageous notion like love.

"Yes, the Uzumaki clan was somewhat prestigious, at least until Britannia turned the former Japan to ash." the old man seemed to lament the outcome of the Pacific War. "You're very willing to divulge deeply personal information at the slightest amount of pressure. Are you sure you're as successful in business as Sarutobi claims you to be?" Naruto's stare was now accompanied by a small scowl. He'd walked right into the old man's trap and so willingly as well. He hated talking about his father, and normally he was able to redirect such conversations back to the business at hand. But this conversation was the business at hand. Ruben was prying at him for some reason.

"With all do respect, sir, why does it matter who my father was?" Naruto questioned him, as the man leaned back into his chair.

"His exploits during the war brought fear into the hearts of Britannian soldiers." The old man replied.

"I'm not my father." Naruto responded coldly and sternly.

"But you are his son." The old man countered.

"And that matters why? I'm nothing like him." Naruto questioned again, trying to resist spitting to emphasis his words.

"Britannia killed your father...There are more than some who would think you'd hold quite the grudge against us for that." The old man replied with a frown, clearly not liking that thought.

"Britannia killed lots of fathers and mothers during the war, and yet here their sons and daughters stand as subjects of the empire. Not to say say that's due to a lack of effort on the part of Japanese terrorists, but still...if they were all resisting Area 11 would be quite the hellhole to live in." Naruto stated as the old man nodded before sighing.

"Yes, although I dismay the fact that the war had to be waged in the first place. For what it's worth, your father was a good man." The old man replied as Naruto narrowed his eyes, cautious and curious.

"...You actually knew my father?" Naruto questioned, getting a nod in response. "Who are you, exactly?" Naruto had begun to put pieces together in his head, but before he ran on his assumptions he finally found the courage to just ask. The old man merely chuckled in response, walking over to the door of the Superintendent's Office and unlocking it with a key.

"Why I'm Ruben K. Ashford, my boy. The Academy your standing in is my own." the old man simply smiled as the door to his office swung open.

Naruto felt the color leave his face and could feel the uneasy feeling in his heart be replaced by what he suspected might be imminent cardiac arrest. He really needed to find out who he was talking to before he got so uppity. Naruto muttered curse words to himself for his brazen attitude. He should've realized sooner that a man in his late 60s wouldn't be working at a Boarding School unless he owned the place.

"Apologies for my behavior, Mr. Ashford." Naruto bowed as a Japanese would in such a humiliating situation, but Ruben only laughed and gestured for Naruto to enter. Walking into the office ahead of the the Superintendent, he saw an extravagance befitting of the Academy's owner and the former proprietor of one of the most powerful duchies within Britannia. Enormous cherry cabinets with cupboards above and below the central counter which put on display the numerous awards, medals, and plaques of accomplishments throughout Ruben's life in Academia and Knightmare Development, and to top it all off there was a mighty hand-carved wooden desk by the picture window that put the size of Hiruzen's to shame.

"I first met Minato when he was still a Lieutenant Colonel, on a diplomatic mission between Japan and Britannia, oh...before the First Pacific War I'd say." Ruben let his mind wander as he scurried around to sit in his desk. "I didn't think much of it at the time, but he loved talking about his son as much as my own son loved taking about my granddaughter...you two are about the same age if I'm not mistaken. It's a shame you weren't a member of Britannian nobility, lad, otherwise you might have made a good husband for her." The old man replied with a chortle as he adjusted his seat.

"Your parents were rather good friends to me, Naruto, there's no need to apologize. Kushina was always the same way, bold and boisterous." the elder waved off Naruto's anxiety.

"...How good of friends?" Naruto asked curiously. Three quick knocks at the door surprised him slightly.

"Being honest, we weren't the closest, but I do look back fondly on the time we spent together. Your father was the one that introduced me to Hiruzen, which I have no doubt why you were the one chosen to go here." Ruben divulged as he stood up and called out to whoever was at the door.

"I'm coming in." said a feminine voice from behind the door. Naruto turned his head as a girl about his age walked into the office. The first thing he noticed about her, he had to admit, was that she was quite the looker. Long, curvy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, long legs and and a figure that was...provocative. The girl must have made adjustments to her uniform. He didn't believe the female dress code could have the standards skirts that short...right?

"Ah, Milly, you're a bit early. This is the new student I wanted to introduce you to, Naruto Uzumaki." The old man introduced Naruto by his proper name to the girl, for which the Eleven gave a silent thanks. "Naruto, this is my granddaughter, Milly. She's a second year at this school." Naruto immediately stood up and gave a polite bow as Milly walked up to him her eyes a bit widened, clearly surprised to see an Eleven boy in the room.

"Oh, you're an Eleven? I had no idea we had started accepting non-Britannians, Grandfather." Milly said in slight surprise.

"He is a Britannian, Milly. He's gone through the Honorary process." Ruben corrected. "I swear, if there's one thing I detest about the Number system it's the continued discrimination against those that have gone through so much effort to integrate within our society." the Superintendent rambled as he walked over to a chifforobe in the corner and began rifling through the drawers. "And his enrollment is more of a favor to an old friend, it's a...trial exercise, though I wouldn't be opposed to other Elevens registering here either in the future...if Mister Uzumaki performs well." Ruben trailed off, mutter a few wordless exclamations while he searched through the clothing.

"Mea culpa, Mister Uzumaki." Milly curtsied in apology, lifting her dangerously short skirt even higher. The risque length of her skirt made her formal gesture seem a bit lascivious in nature, especially considering she had a smile on her face the whole time.

"It's just Naruto. I'm not anyone's boss...at least not here." Naruto said somewhat sternly, hoping to kill any sense of formality that might develop by the root. Ruben turned Naruto towards him and raised a white shirt to his chest, trying to estimate the length of his arms and torso.

"97 chest, 41 neck, 82 waist and sleeve..." Naruto began to recite the old man the lengths his tailor gave to him when he was being measured for his business attire. He spared no expense when he was trying to impress clients. "Actually could you bring everything up a bit? My suits have been starting to get a little tight recently and I don't want to have to get a new uniform in the middle of the term."

"Wow, you know all your sizes? Impressive. I'm 88-57-86... in case you were wondering." Milly offered with a sly wink. Naruto looked at her curiously for a minute, before he realized exactly what the information she was giving him was pertaining to and instinctively looked down to her bosom. Naruto could feel his cheeks getting a little flush with redness as he quickly looked away.

"Milly! Please try to keep your antics to a minimum with this one?" Ruben turned around with an audible snap to give the schoolgirl a quick reprimand.

'Antics, huh?' Naruto was curious just what kind of mischief she was capable of. She might be a potential prankster-in-crime—could be a useful ally if any troublesome students somehow found his ethnicity problematic. Or...she could be more hassle than she's worth.

"Young Naruto here is not just here as a new student, he's also on official business." Ruben informed as he tried to estimate a length for Naruto's pants. Naruto again just gave him his tailored lengths.

"Business...You mean like a company?" the Britannian teen asked, more surprised that he was employed than that he was Japanese.

"Yes, I work for the New Leaf Foundation, or Neo Konoha Zaidan." Naruto said, an ugly hint of primacy in his voice.

"I think I've heard of them...you guys do philanthropic work, right?" Milly asked, either ignoring or not recognizing Naruto's subtle jab.

"We're a nonprofit dedicated to repairing the collateral damage done in the war, improving the lives of Elevens and Honorary Britannians within the Area, and building a cooperative interrelationship between the native Elevens and Britannian colonials." Naruto recited the mission statement of Konoha practically word for word to the pretty Britannian girl. Milly was rather fascinated by it all. Then Naruto reached into his suit pocket, pulling out a business card to hand to the Ashford Heiress, who was now staring at him with a look that...while he wouldn't say she was disgusted, it definitely looked like she unsettled.

Naruto hung his head in shame for a moment. His introduction was a little too from the script, but the business card snafu was downright embarrassing. Milly looked at Naruto, his reddened face trying to hide from her the best it could without seeming rude. She could sense the weight of reputation upon his shoulders, a pressure she was all too familiar with coming from a high ranking noble family, especially one that had fallen from grace. Being an Eleven in a Britannian school would mean carrying responsibility for the reputation of the entire Japanese identity to a campus of over a thousand Britannian students on your back, plenty of whom were not the least bit tolerant of other ethnicity. Reaching out, Milly took hold of the alabaster-colored card with a smile and wordlessly stuffed it into her pocket.

"...Uh, Milly." Ruben broke up the awkward silence and handed Naruto his new black and gold uniform and turned to his granddaughter. "Right. Would you please give Mr. Uzumaki a tour of the campus and get him up to speed. When you're done, kindly direct him to his homeroom and the teacher of his situation. Please be timely so that he isn't late to introduce himself, and that means no dilly-dallying." The old man requested with sternness as he handed the paper with Naruto enrollment information to her. Milly nodded with a tense restraint in her neck.

"Ah, yes grandfather. Of course." Milly replied formally as she abruptly grabbed Naruto by the hand. "Come with me!" the Britannian girl said with a change in tone and began to pull. Naruto didn't want to hurt the poor girl so he didn't resist, allowing himself to be dragged away. Once they were out of the room, the Superintendent sighed. His teenage granddaughter had quite the troublesome streak and an extraordinary flair for the dramatic. He hoped that whatever situation Naruto ultimately ended up in it didn't become a spectacular event. Or at least not one as spectacular as the last School Festival...

He really didn't want to be interviewed by the press for yet another scandal.

---

Taito District, Tokyo Settlement — Monday, July 10, 2016 a.t.b — 7:26 a.m.

"They're going to be in Shibuya tomorrow?! Where did you hear this?!" Shikamaru Nara cursed into his phone as he rushed himself out of bed, struggling to escape the sheets as he unbuttoned his grey pajama shirt as he made his way to the bathroom. He began rushing to make himself semi-presentable for an early day at the office. Normally he wasn't up for another two hours, but this was huge news if it was true.

"The Shinozaki clan, a girl just out and told you? No, wait...hold on...I don't care how drunk she was last night. SHINOBI is seriously planning a meeting in Shibuya, tomorrow, in broad daylight? ...They're not morons, is this some kind of trap or are they just mocking us?" Shikamaru again tried to register what he was hearing...if this was true then maybe they could finally end things once and for all. Maybe he could finally convince Choji to come back?

"No, Sasuke, you were right calling me immediately. Even if this is all just smoke and mirrors, if there's still a one percent chance. I'll call Hiruzen and let him know, can you come into HQ today to brief the rest of the team immediately? We'd better prepare for a full sortie tomorrow." the Nara gargled his mouthwash quickly as he made a mental list of things in his morning routine he could skip, like showering, brushing his teeth, breakfast...hell getting dressed was beginning to seem pretty optional.

"Naruto? No, no, don't tell him. He's just started his Academy gig this morning. Yeah, the boss will want him focused on that for now, no distractions. We do this mission without him, and I'll apologize after." Shikamaru continued his conversation with the Uchiha on the phone, seemingly wanting to exclude him.

"I understand, and I wish I didn't agree, but we don't need every pair of boots on the ground if some of those boots are going to rush in unprepared. He'll be pissed but it's better that I ask for forgiveness than have a distracted team member." the Pinecone-haired teen insisted. "This is what Special Projects does, he knows that. I'll make sure he's on the next mission no matter how small. He'll understand...eventually, I hope. Alright, I'll see you at the office in about an hour, and be careful that Shinozaki girl might be a plant, and this all might just be a shell game to draw you out and get you isolated, make sure you're wearing a vest when you leave. You can't put it above these guys to put a bullet in you. It'd disrupt our operations in Osaka for weeks if you die." Shikamaru finished with a grim joke.

Shikamaru let out a series of deep sighs as he hung up his phone and slumped to the floor. His fourth sigh turned into a soft chuckle, a mixture of disbelief, relief, dread, and confusion all in one. How Sasuke's contact got his hands on this information was beyond him, but the fact of the matter was that all five of the leaders of the most dangerous terrorist organization in all of Area 11 were going to be in one place in less than 36 hours. Shikamaru could count on one hand the number of times this opportunity had arisen...never. No matter how unbelievable it seemed, no matter how much of a red herring he was expecting this to be, the protocol he was given Day 1 was in effect. Even if they could just get one of those five men it would be worth it. Even if cost all of Public Safety's annual budget, it would be worth it. Even if the entire Edogawa Redevelopment Ward was bombed into oblivion tomorrow because they missed a terrorist threat, it would be worth it. Special Projects had a new priority; he was the last living disciple of the Yellow Flash.

After all, Konoha couldn't possibly ignore a good chance to assassinate Kakashi Hatake.

---

Pool Hall, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement — Monday, July 10, 2016 a.t.b — 7:36 a.m.

Since he had his own apartment, Naruto understandably didn't have a dormitory to change into his uniform. So he elected to take a detour to the Pool Hall in order to kill two birds with one stone. The Academic newcomer let out a sigh as the steaming hot water of the showers cascaded down his athletic body, relaxing his muscles and rinsing off the sweat from his morning run. The water was rather scalding, but it was a discomfort he was content dealing with silently. As Naruto cleansed his body, Milly sat impatiently in the Men's locker room, waiting for Naruto to emerge from the shower area.

"You know...you're pretty cute for an Eleven. You wouldn't happen to be single would you?" Milly shamelessly flirted with him, causing Naruto to slip on the wet tile floor, having to reach out and grab onto one of the dividers to keep from falling.

"You need any help in there? That sounded like it might've hurt." Milly said with a smirk knowing just which buttons to push.

"Uh, no. I'm fine." Naruto grunted out as he let out a sigh. He had been made aware of Milly's…uniqueness…from her exchange with her grandfather. Still, it didn't make it any easier on his part.

"You sure you're fine? I've also heard the boys faucets can be pretty finicky with the temperature controls." Milly called out playfully through the porcelain-tiled shower room. As scalding as the water was, Naruto saw right through her ruse and smiled. She wasn't actually trying to peep on him–that would be too easy. She was getting all of her kicks from simply teasing him with the thought of being spied on. If he were a braver person he might try to turn the tables on her, but that could backfire spectacularly with someone like Milly and her aggressively shameless and dogmatic persistence could mean they might end up showering together.

Naruto briefly blushed at the thought.

But if he were a shyer person, her teasing might have worked, but after a couple years of work spying on Britannian nobles and Japanese terrorists alike for Konoha's Special Projects Team whilst simultaneously making high profile deals with members of high society meant that he had gained both steadfast caution and nerves of steel. After the party at Clovis' residence, he suddenly realized—and did NOT recently fabricate this story on the fly for the sake of convincing himself that her teasing wasn't affecting him—that his speciality was dealing with young women

"Yes, Miss Ashford, everything is fine here. Water is perfect, there's no need to come in." the blond responded as he finished his second shower of the day, turning off the water and grabbing a towel to dry off.

"By the way, you never answered. Are you single?" Milly repeated her question, and Naruto had to resist the urge to sigh. She was laser focused in on his romantic life and she wasn't going to let that go without an answer. He thought about brushing her off with a story about a girlfriend, but lying about his personal life was an expertise he had not developed, and keeping a fictional girlfriend conveniently hidden from an invasive personality like Milly for the foreseeable future was not a lie he could keep up.

"Well, uh...I am single if that's the answer your looking for, but I'm...interested in someone else, sorry." Naruto replied, adding a white lie in the end. He wasn't interested in anyone in that way if he was honest, but he hoped something a little more vague would make Milly back off for now.

"So you are single?" Naruto could feel the coyness in Milly's voice. He couldn't see her expression, but he damn well knew it was a huge smile.

"I'm interested..."

"I know." Milly said dismissively,

"In another girl." he continued, unsure if she was deliberately ignoring his words.

"And that's an issue becaaauuuse...?" the Ashford heiress held on to the last syllable for a few seconds as Naruto's neck surrendered to the weight of his head, dropping so quickly it was a miracle it didn't snap off and roll onto the ground. It would seem that he had sorely miscalculated Milly's perseverance. Her grandfather left out the fact that Milly was not only playful and impish, but also as vexatiously stubborn as an ass when it came to getting what she wanted.

"I suppose in simplier times, the taking of many spouse wouldn't have been an issue for Nobles, even fallen Nobles like us. But I think the stance on polygamy is a bit more ambiguous these days." Naruto had caught on to her by now and passed off his mild blush as a result of the heat in the air.

"So you're saying you're not open-minded to something like that? I thought we Britannians were the Conservative ones. The EU just legalized polyamorous relationships and yet here I am, blue-balled from being whisked away to Europe to become wife number two." Milly delivered a precision strike with her teasing. Naruto's first thought was that this girl should definitely be an actor. The sound of casual defeat in her voice was a flawless performance. It took a while to build up, but Naruto laughed, and loudly too. So much so that he found it difficult to button up his shirt. It wasn't forced and calculated as he had become accustomed to during his work in Aquisitions. Laughter was an experience that Naurto thought had lost its novelty some time ago. He was pleased to see that hadn't.

"I'm not sure anyone, Japanese or Britannian, would be even remotely agreeable to a Japanese couple and a Britannian girl being in a polygamous marriage with two disgraced noble families involved." Milly quickly joined him with a brieft giggle that was just as cute as it was mischievous.

"But really, what would be my chances of becoming your second wife?" Milly again shocked Naruto with her flagrant persistence, it was almost like she could see right through his lie and was tormenting him for it. It was bad form to lead a woman on, his teachers had instilled that into him even if her father was important, but socializing with the Ashford heiress was part of his assignment.

"So who is this girl you're interested in?" Milly suddenly piped up from right behind him, not waiting for his answer.

"Excuse me, but I'm getting dressed here!" Naruto chastized, sounding dramatically offended by her intrusion.

"...What? Y-you're dressed." Milly said with a furrowed brow, perplexed by his sudden umbrage.

"I have yet to put on my jacket, Miss Ashford." Naruto corrected with a smile as he slid his arms into the black sleeves and began to button up the front.

"Oh my..." Milly said in faux exasperation, fanning herself with her hand like she was on the verge of swooning at the sight of his fully concealed torso and legs. "The extents that us young floozies will resort to these days. That girl you have eyes for will have to watch her back...what did you say her name was again?" Milly returned his grin with a delighted smile of her own.

"She's a co-worker in Konoha. Her name is...Sakura." Naruto turned and bit his lower lip out of sight, silently cursing himself for such a bad lie. Hesitating any longer would've clued her in to the lie, but couldn't he have said someone that actually worked for Konoha? This would definitely come back to haunt him in the future. Or perhaps not? Milly was the fickle type, she might lose interest in him being new blood at Ashford...or latch onto him like a lost puppy in the rain.

"Really?" Milly pouted. "Is she cuter than me?" Naruto answered with a chuckle as he pulled on the uncomfortable collar of his jacket. He would have to keep an eye out on Milly, for more reasons than one.

Naruto sighed as he pulled out his phone and began texting an apology.

---

Ashford Academy – Freshman Class 1B — 7:58 a.m.

The walk through the Academic Hall was a lot longer than Naruto expected. The main building was three floors and more than spacious. It did have to hold six years of students from Junior High on up, however, which by his estimation, meant that at least 1200 students attended classes here every day. Naruto glanced up and watched the room placards change in reverse alphabetic order. Something told him that Milly had taken him on the scenic route though the building.

"Alright, Mister Uzumaki, this is your stop. Class 1B. Exactly 2 minutes early." Milly said, gesturing to the closed door. "Shame you aren't in the Sophomore group with me..."

"Since I don't have a formal education the boss thought it best I start out in a lower grade. I'm sure we'll manage to see each other plenty, and remember it's just Naruto." Naruto said with a smirk as he focused on his phone, which was suddenly blowing up with SMS alerts from the exchange of messages with a none too pleased recipient.

"Fingers crossed! Wait out here. I'll go in and speak to the teacher about the situation with grandfather so there's not any fuss and then you can introduce yourself okay?" Milly said as she opened the classroom door.

"Alright, I'll wait out here. I've got some business to take care of." the Ashford heiress walked in to inform the homeroom teacher that his class would be receiving an Eleven on orders from the Superintendent. Even though the teachers are Ashford had been selected by Ruben and he chose more open minded individuals, they would not all be accepting of Naruto's inclusion. Naruto went back to his phone to continue his text conversation, trying to calm the girl on the other end down.

'4 the 10000th time im sry. i fd up. dunno the # of times i have to say so, but plz talk it over with the ^ ups. girl is important. if we do this right it might be better than the old plan -n' Naruto profusely apologized in his message, but the other end was simply not hearing it, and she could text like some kind of hyperactive gremlin when she was pissed.

'You seriously expect me to play along with this? I bet you did this on purpose just to get back at me for last month in Sendai, didn't you? Want to brag to all your HS friends that about this? And for the millionth time, you have a full keyboard on your phone. Stop using shorthand!' she responded rather eloquently compared to Naruto's awful use of grammar and outdated text shorthand.

'not about sendai. hadd to think on my feet. plz jus talk to J we hav 2 make it wrk. cant exactly take it bcak. class starts soon ttyl -N' Naruto powered off his phone and put it away in his pocket as the door to the classroom opened and Milly waved him in. Naruto stood up as straight as possible and walked into the dreaded halls of academia with a practiced confidence as Milly whispered him a 'good luck' as she left for her own classes. Many students began whispering, exchanging curious glances to one another as soon as he entered the room. While he was an Eleven, his father's ancestry definitely put that into question at first glance. His first instinct when entering a room was to observe its occupants, and he couldn't help but notice a student sleeping in the back corner by the window with his friend seemingly trying to wake him up. Naruto simply tuned out the gossip as he walked in front of the class and turned to address them.

"Hello." Naruto said, speaking the clearest English he could. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Yes, to answer your questions I am an Eleven half-breed, my father was Russian. From today onward, I'll be joining this class for the sake of fostering new relationships between Elevens and Britannians. I hope that my introduction into the class isn't too much of a disturbance for you. If you have any questions, I'd be happy" Naruto finished up his overpracticed speech with a traditional bow. Naruto let his eyes roam around the classroom. There were a couple of stern glares from a heavy-set man and his scrawny looking neighbor, clearly none to pleased with sharing a class with an Eleven. He also spotted few confused faces and even a couple nervous stares, mostly from the girls in the class and those that were uncomfortable with meeting Elevens. There was a cute redhead girl with olive green eyes that Naruto couldn't tell which side of that spectrum she fell on.

But what really caught Naruto's attention was the sleeping teen in the back of the class had suddenly woken up, apparently his intrigued by his new classmate, and was now watching him intently with a pair of dark purple eyes.

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And that's Chapter 1 of Identity! Please Follow, Favorite, and Review if you enjoyed it and write a review even if you didn't! Feel free to ask any questions you have about the future of the story in your review. Feedback is everything to us!