The Anti Thieving Duo

by Power of Magic

Raised on an island and trained in the arts of thievery, 'Dark Fox' (Naruto) and 'Black Sheep' (Carmen) find out the truth of the school. They then leave, and decide to steal back what was stolen and return everything back to the people.

2. Chapter 2 - The Sticky Rice Caper

The Anti Thieving Duo

"Hello" - (Normal talking)

"What happened?" - (Thoughts)

"What do I do?" - (Flashback)

{"Hey, can you hear me?"} - (Communication)

"\Prepare for departure\" - Technology Talking

Chapter 2 - The Sticky Rice Caper

I just need to say this, to clear up any confusion: the hat that Naruto's wearing is a full red version of a Kage's hat from the Naruto anime. Those that thought it was from something else, I'm sorry about the confusion as I thought that everyone would know where I got the hat idea from. Naruto's background is the same as Carmen's at the start, because I have a plan for that. And those that don't like how I've done this, then don't read it or make your own fanfiction version of the anime.

And read the author's note at the end of the chapter.

WARNING: A lemon may appear in this chapter.

(Paris river, nighttime)

As Naruto and Carmen sat back, and relaxed on the boat, Player called them.

{"Heads up you two,"} he said. {"I took the liberte of notifying your ground crew of the change in plans."}

Carmen unzipped her bag, with Naruto saying "Copy that Player." Carmen grabbed a compact mirror, and said "We'll be heading for the rendezvous as soon as we've lost the looky-loos" where she opened it up, revealing the compact mirror was high tech.

She then zoomed in on the two agents on the boat behind them, and pressed one of the buttons taking a picture before she sent it to Player.

Player looked at the photo Carmen sent him, and said "I thought that you two had ditched Interpol back on the train," while scratching his head.

{"We did,"} Naruto said to him. {"These two stuffs are far too slick to be from Interpol."}

Carmen nodded, as she added "But not sleazy enough to be from VILE either" as they both turned around to look at them.

Carmen snapped the compact mirror gadget closed, before saying to the boat driver "Hey Zack, can you shake the tail?"

He turned around, and chuckled as he said "Haha, I can shake it all night long." This was Zack, Naruto and Carmen's friend and their wheelman/getaway driver for situations such as this.

"Not your booty, the tail" Naruto said with a smile at Zack's humour, while moving his eyes and head slightly to show they meant those following them.

Zack turned back around to face the front, and gripped the steering wheel saying "We were never here" before having the boat go faster.

The two agents following them did the same thing with their boat, as they chased after them. They weaved past other boats that were on the river, with Zack doing everything he could to lose the agents, but they stayed on their tail.

Carmen slightly looked behind them, and saw that the agents were closing in on them. "Zack, they're coming in hot" she said to him. Naruto gave a nod, as he added "Yeah, so I hope that you've got a plan to shake them off."

Zack looked back, as he said "Don't worry my blondie friend, I know what I'm doing." He then mockingly shouted to the agents, "Follow at a safe distance people, and no texting while boating" before he faced the front again.

As they drove along, both boats splashed three different people along the river's edge. They drove past other boats, with Zack expertly driving past them without hitting any. The two agents were still keeping up with them, and both Naruto and Carmen were looking behind them with unhappy looks on their faces.

"Player, about that rendezvous" Carmen said, as the agent's boat was driving alongside them. "I'll tell you one thing about these two, they're persistent," Naruto said, as he gave them a scowl.

Player was typing on his keyboard, saying "Don't worry Red, I'm three steps ahead of ya."

Up ahead, a barge was coming towards them, and it was turning so that it would block the way entirely. It blew its horn, with Zack giving a smile as he leaned forward.

As the two boats drove along side by side, Player counted down, {"Three."}

The gaps between the bage and the riverside, got smaller and smaller as it turned.

{Two."}

The male agent looked over at Zack, who gave him a sidelong look. "Hang on you two," Zack said as he slightly looked back at them, before he gritted his teeth as he rammed their boat into the agents' one, which sent them off course.

{"One."}

Zack then had the boat go even faster, and he pulled away from the agents boat and slipped through the gap, just before the barge closed it up, "Whoo!" Zack said as they slipped through.

The agents tried to follow them, but the barge had already closed up the gap, which caused their boat to scrape alongside the barge, causing sparks to fly and making both agents hold on tight, in case the boat flipped over. They slowed their boat down, and pulled away from the barge before turning it around and carefully drove up to the barge.

"You, out of the way" the female agent shouted up to the barge driver.

A bearded man, wearing a yellow beanie and a dark blue coat, looked down at them, and said to them in French "Uh, parlez-vous français?"

"Move it, now" the female agent demanded, as she swung her arm in front of her.

"Ah, what your saying is that you don't like where I've parked the barge," the man said in perfect English, while leaning out of the window slightly.

The two agents looked at each other, before they hopped to the front of their boat so that they could climb onto the barge.

{"Ivy,"} the man heard Carmen saying from an earpiece in his ear, {"Your chariot awaits."}

{"So get on it, so that we can leave these two behind already,"} Naruto's voice added.

"Talk about a close shave," the barge driver said as he tore off the beard, showing that it was a fake and tossed it out the window as he turned and left the barges bridge, just as the agents were climbing on board.

The man then barged through a set of double doors, taking the jacket and beanie off to reveal that he was actually a she. This was Ivy, the twin sibling of Zack and another friend of Naruto and Carmen's.

She ran towards the edge of the barge, and jumped off it with a yell to the boat, with the others standing at the front watching her as she landed on the boat, with a roll to soften her landing. She rolled along to the front, as she hit the back of the driver's seat slightly.

Zack sat back down in the driver's seat, while looking over his shoulder at his sister as he gave a small smile. Naruto and Carmen sat in the double passenger seat, as they too had a small smile on their faces while looking at Ivy.

Ivy gave a groan from hitting the chair, as she rubbed the back of her head. She then gave the two agents watching from the barge a two finger salute, while saying "Sayonara, mon amigos!"

Zack then put the boat into forward driving, so that they drove off at a leisurely pace as they turned right with the two agents watching them go, before they looked at each other.

0o0o0o0

(Sometime later, onboard their private plane)

As they were flying over the Eiffel Tower, Carmen was sitting down on the couch with her laptop on her knees as she typed on it, Naruto was sitting next to her reading a book about a teenage who was asked to become a spy (those that know what book I mean get a free cyber cookie), Ivy was sitting in one of the single chairs reading a car magazine and Zack was just entering the cabin area.

"Alright, sis, bring on the grub" he said, as he rubbed his hands together before spreading his arms out.

Ivy lowered the magazine from her face, as she replied "Whoa, were you not informed that Operation Picnique a la Parisian was canceled?" while cocking an eyebrow at him.

Zack had a look of shock on his face, as he said "What? Ivy" he then groaned out, before saying "You had one little job to do while I picked up Naruto and Carmen at the train station. One!" he exclaimed, while holding up a single finger, as Ivy went back to reading her car magazine.

Zack then turned around slightly, as he got a dreamy look on his face while saying "Rustle up big blocks of tangy cheese and those long, fresh baked hoagie rolls" as he almost drooled at saying the food he wanted.

"Yum, baguettes" Carmen said sarcastically, as she typed on her laptop. Naruto snorted, as he said "I prefer mine with butter and jam, or even nutella thanks" as he turned a page in his book.

Zack sat down in the other chair, saying "Not helping guys" as he put his head on his fist, while his elbow was on the chair armrest.

"Sorry little bro, but I had my orders" Ivy said, as she continued to read her magazine. "Boot the buns and cut the cheese to save your bacon," she added with a smile.

Zack gritted his teeth, as he gave a groan and clenched his fingers saying "Bacon? Definitely not helping sis," as he gave her a glare.

{"So, how long before you toss them off the plane?"} Player asked Carmen, as Naruto marked the page he was just about to read and put it down, so that he too could chat with Player.

Carmen shrugged her shoulders slightly, as she replied "Eh, in-flight entertainment" as she looked between the two.

Naruto gave a nod, as he said "It is quite funny at times to watch them argue. And if we get bored watching them, then we can always watch or read something. Or do something else to keep us busy" he added, as he wrapped his arm around Carmen's waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Carmen gave him a smile, as she said "Maybe later babe, as me and Player are busy talking about where we're going next."

"You know if it was any other couple, I'm sure the guy would be jealous of his girlfriend talking with another guy about something," Naruto said, as he leaned his head on Carmen's shoulder, while smiling to show he was only teasing.

Carmen just rolled her eyes at him, before she said "Behave, or you'll be sleeping in a separate bedroom for the foreseeable future."

Naruto looked up at Carmen as he pouted, before saying "I always behave around you, Carm."

She just gave him a look, showing she didn't believe him while saying "Riiiight."

Naruto took his head off her shoulder and looked at the laptop to avoid Carmen's look, who had a slight smirk on her face, as he said "So, we're going to Indonesia."

Player was typing on his computer, saying "Yup." He then pulled up an image of Indonesia on the world map, along with information about the place, before he started explaining about the place, "The Southeast Asian country that's situated between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Oh, and get this. It's made up of 17,000-plus islands. Who knew there were that many on the planet?" he said with a shrug.

{"Did you know that all of those islands contain the fourth largest population in the world after China, India and the United States?"} Carmen asked.

"Whoa, that's a lot of mouths to feed" Player said in surprise.

{"Yeah, no kidding,"} Naruto said in agreement.

{"No doubt the reason Indonesia produces 70 million tones of rice a year,"} Carmen was saying, before Naruto took over {"it's their staple food, Player."}

"It also says here that some of the islands are home to the Komodo dragon, which happens to be the world's largest lizard. And that they can grow up to about 10 feet long!" Player said.

{"I think we'll skip the petting zoo thanks,"} Naruto said.

{"Agreed,"} Carmen said. {"But I've always wanted to see the Wayang shadow puppetry in action. It's said to be over a thousand years old, but it's still performed at festivals there today."}

"The VILE hideout that you guys are looking for is located in Java, which is home to Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta" Player said, as he typed on his computer.

{"I hear that it's called 'the Big Durian,' which is named after their native fruit,"} Naruto said. {"Ya know, like how New York city's called 'the Big Apple' and everything"} he added in a joking manner.

"Well, the spiky fruit may taste sweet and delicious, but it smells like unwashed gym socks that have been stuffed with rotten onions" Player said.

{"Well, that stinks"} Carmen said unhappily.

Player gave a small laugh, as he said "I know, right? Smelly fruit!"

Naruto shook his head, saying "Not what she was talking about Player."

Carmen nodded, as she leaned her elbow on her leg while her head was on her fist, as she said "Yea, as the facial recognition scans drew blanks" while raising her eyebrows slightly.

{"Well, if your new fans aren't VILE or even Interpol, then who are they?"} Player asked curiously.

Both Naruto and Carmen looked at the photos of the agents that chased them, each with a frown as they didn't have any answers.

Naruto then said "We'll figure out what to do when we have a better idea or plan. Right now we need to get some rest, as it's about a 15 hour flight."

Carmen nodded, as she said "Contact us if you learn anything new about what VILE has planned in Java Player."

{"Okay, will do. Night guys"} he said to them, before he hung up.

Carmen closed the laptop, and both her and Naruto got up off the couch, with Naruto saying "We're off to bed guys, and I think you two should get some sleep too."

Zack and Ivy turned to them, and with Ivy saying "Yeah, sure thing" as Zack added "Night you two."

Naruto and Carmen then turned, and headed towards their room. As they did, Zack whispered to Ivy, "If they're going to do what I think they are, I'm glad that their bedroom is soundproofed now."

Ivy nodded in agreement, as she whispered back "Yeah, me too. As their moans and everything kept me up for hours the last time they did this." They both got up, and headed off to the bedrooms they slept in on the plane.

Naruto opened the door, and allowed Carmen to enter first before he followed after her, as he closed and locked the door behind him.

He then walked up to Carmen, turned her around and pulled her into a kiss which she was eager to return.

||LEMON STARTS|| (If you don't like it, feel free to skip to where it's safe to read again)

As they were making out, they helped each other remove their clothes until they were both naked. They walked over to the bed still kissing each other, and when they reached the bed they fell onto it, with Naruto on top of Carmen.

Naruto looked down at Carmen, and said "You look so beautiful babe."

Carmen gave him a blush along with a smile, as she replied "You always say that."

He just shrugged, saying "I know, but it's the truth." He then bent down and kissed her on the mouth, as she wrapped her arms around his neck while pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

He then broke away, and started kissing around her neck with Carmen running her hands through his hair as she moaned. He moved up to her left ear, and he whispered into it "Hope you're ready babe."

He then moved down to her breasts, and started kissing the left one while he played with the right one in his hand. "Oh baby~" Carmen moaned out, as she leaned her head back while pulling him a little closer.

Naruto continued to kiss her breast, before he took the nipple into his mouth. This caused Carmen to let out a loud moan, as she threw her head further back while saying "Oh yes. Naruto, that feels so good~" as Naruto sucked on it, and flicked his tongue on it while his hand continued to play with her other one.

After doing that to her left one for a few minutes, he then changed over to the right one and gave it the same amount of attention while his hand played with the left one. After doing the samething to the right as what he'd done to the left for the same amount of time, he then went down her stomach kissing and licking it as he went, which made Carmen give out small moans of approval as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He then stood up off the bed and started going down her left leg, massaging it as he kissed and licked it. When he reached her feet, he gave each of her toes a quick suck and tickled the undersides with his fingers before he did the same thing to her other leg, toes and foot with Carmen giving off some moans and a few giggles when he tickled her.

Naruto then kneeled on the floor, as he looked at Carmen's pussy with her legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He saw that it was a little wet, from what he'd done earlier.

"Looks like your quite wet babe," Naruto said. "I better get down there, and 'clean' it up," he said as he looked at her with a grin, before he moved his head forward and gave her a lick on the outside, before he stuck his tongue inside her and started licking away.

"OH YES~! THAT FEELS SSSSOOOO GOOD~!" Carmen moaned out loudly while arching her back, as she wrapped her legs around his head to keep him there, and ran her fingers through his hair as though to tell him to keep going.

Naruto licked and sucked the inside of her pussy, and he even quickly stuck his tongue in and out of her pussy, with Carmen grabbing his hair as she moaned erotically.

Naruto pulled his mouth away from her pussy, and put his index fingers in and started slowly pumping them in her while he took her clit in his mouth and lightly bit it as he flicked his tongue on it.

This caused Carmen to open her mouth, as she gave a long and erotic moan of pure pleasure. "Oh Naruto, you always make me feel ssssoooo good baby" she said to him, as she looked down at him with a loving smile, while he looked back at her over her stomach.

Naruto played with her clit for a few minutes, before he went back to her pussy as he also added his middle fingers to pumping inside her too, with this causing Carmen to moan some more along with squeezing her legs around his head tighter, pulling him in more.

"Please Naruto….don't stop. Please, continue to….give me this pleasure" Carmen moaned out breathlessly.

Naruto pumped his fingers and tongue into Carmen's pussy for a few quite a while, with Carmen mewling in pleasure as she kept her legs around his head and ran her fingers through his hair.

It was after a few minutes, that Carmen then started to move around frantically, as she gasped out "Naruto, I….I'm close. I'm….very close to….cumming" as she tried to warn him.

Naruto just continued with what he was doing, only this time he did it with even more vigour. This caused Carmen to pant and moan in pleasure, as she gripped his head tightly with her legs and her hands in his hair.

"Please Naruto, d….don't stop. It fe….feels so go….good" Carmen moaned out loudly. She tried to contain it as long as she could, before she then threw her head back as she yelled "I'M CUMMING!"

As the juices left her pussy, Naruto did what he could to swallow it all even though some of it escaped and ran down Carmen's thighs. It took her a few minutes, before she stopped cumming with Naruto licking up what was on her thighs and around her pussy.

He stood up, licking his lips as he said "You taste good as always babe."

Carmen gave him a sultry grin, as she too stood up and said "Your welcome baby~. Now, I think it's only fair that I return the favour to you."

She grabbed him by his shoulders, and turned him around before she pushed him onto the bed, where he fell on it on his back. She then leaned towards his ear, and huskily whispered into it "I think that it's your turn to feel good" before she gave it a teasing bite and lick.

She then gave him kisses around his cheeks and forehead, before she then gave him a loving kiss on the lips with Naruto wrapping his arms around her, as he deepened the kiss.

Carmen then pulled away, and kissed around his neck. She then proceeded down as she kissed and licked his chest, along with the occasional love bite. She also gave his nipples a loving kiss and lick, which made Naruto moan out as he ran his hands through her hair.

She continued to kiss, lick and sometimes give a few love bites down his stomach, until she reached his legs. She then did the same thing to his legs, feet and toes as what he'd done to her, with him giggling slightly at her tickling him.

She then kneeled down, until she was level with his slightly erect member. She looked up at him with a sexy smile, and said "Looks like I'll have to give Naruto Jr here some attention, so that I can get my 'reward' from him."

She then proceeded to take his member in her hands, and gave it a few light kisses and licks with Naruto groaning in approval as he ran his hand through her hair.

Once it was more erect, Carmen then gave it a lick from the base to the top, and a quick lick at the tip before she started again, with another lick from base to tip and a lick with the tip. She did this a few times, with Naruto groaning out "Oh babe~. That's ssssoooo good, please keep it up" as he lightly gripped her hair.

Carmen then decided to go for the main course, as she opened her mouth wide and took his member inside it. She lightly bobbed her head, with her tongue moving about on the head of it with Naruto gripping her head tightly as he gave a groan along with bucking his hips a little.

Carmen eventually took more of his member in her mouth, as she moved her head lower while she fondled his balls with Naruto bucking his hips more and groaning louder. Carmen was finally able to take all of his member in her mouth, as her nose was pressed against his base where she took in his scent. As she came up, she made a sucking noise all the way to the top, as she sucked the tip of his member with Naruto moaning out "Oh yeah~ that's ssssoooo good babe."

Carmen then bobbed her head up and down on Naruto's cock, while her hands fondled his balls with Naruto groaning out his approval, as he also stroked her head. This happened for a few moments, before Naruto began to buck his hips as he lightly thrusted his cock into Carmen's mouth, as he groaned out "Car….Carmen, I….I'm close. I'm go….gonna cum so….on, get rea….ready."

Carmen didn't stop or slow down, in fact she began bobbing her head even faster as she wanted to obtain her creamy reward. Naruto gripped the bed sheets, as he tried to hold it in for as long as possible before he leaned his head back, as he groaned out "I'm cumming babe!"

Carmen pulled back, until her mouth was only over the tip of his member as he came. She drank what she could, but some of it dribbled out of her mouth and onto herself or Naruto's cock.

Once Carmen had cleaned herself and his cock along with swallowing the cum in her mouth, she then got onto the bed and laid down on her back. She opened up her legs, and used her hands to open up her pussy some more and said in a sexy voice "Come on baby~, my pussy is waiting for your cock."

Naruto gave her a smile, and got on top of her as he lined up his cock with her pussy. He then pushed it inside her, with Carmen arching her back as she gave out an erotic moan while saying "Oh baby, your cock always fills me up so much~."

Naruto gave her a smile, as he started moving back and forth inside her as he said "And your pussy is always so tight, as though it doesn't want my cock to leave."

She gave him a sultry smile, as she said "Maybe because my pussy wants your cock to stay inside me" as she pulled him down, and kissed him on the lips with Naruto returning it, all while still moving inside Carmen.

As they made love to each other, Carmen wrapped her legs around Naruto to keep him from pulling too far out, while he moved his hands down to her ass which he gripped tightly, making Carmen moan into his mouth,

They made love for about half an hour, before they both started to move around frantically. Carmen moaned into Naruto's mouth, before she tilted her head back saying "Na….Naruto, I….I'm so….close. Please, do….don't stop."

Naruto grunted out in reply, "I'm clo….close too. Le….Lets do….it toget….together."

Carmen nodded, as they kept it up for another few minutes before they both shouted out each other's name, as they both climaxed together.

After they came down from their climax high, Naruto rolled over until he was lying next to Carmen. She then moved over, until her head was laid on his chest, as she listened to his heartbeat. Naruto wrapped his arm around her, as he pulled her close to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Good night," Carmen said sleepily, as she started to close her eyes, until she was fast asleep.

"Night Carmen," Naruto said to her, as he pulled the covers over them before he too went to sleep.

||LEMON OVER|| (Safe to read again)

0o0o0o0

(Meanwhile, back in Paris)

At the Interpol building, Chase and Julia were walking down a hallway, with Julia holding a tablet.

"Apologies for the delay, Inspector Devineaux," Julia said as they walked. "I came to Paris as quickly as I could."

"Perfect timing, Ms. Argent" Devineaux said to her. "Their victim regained consciousness only moments ago, and awaits us for questioning."

"Does it strike you as odd, that both Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki, would harm an innocent bystander?" she asked, with slightly raised eyebrows.

Chase shrugged his shoulders, as he replied "He is a witness, and he most likely saw their faces. What more motive would they need?" he then asked sarcastically with a frown.

Julia held the tablet she was holding out in front of her, as she frowned a bit while saying "Do you find it curious that he had no identification?" while touching the screen, which showed a picture of Grey. She scrolled up a few times, as she added "Not even a train ticket."

Chase gave a smile, as he said "The two outlaws clearly stole the poor man's wallet."

Julia gave him a frown, along with a cocked eyebrow, as she replied "That would certainly be a valid assumption."

Chase had a pleased look on his face, as he said "Of course it would, thank you" before it changed to a frown, as he reached in his inside coat pocket for a mint, which he flicked into his mouth from the packet, before placing it back.

Julia turned back to look at her tablet, as she said "But petty theft seems below the station for such acknowledged super thieves."

They soon arrived at a door to one of the interrogation rooms, with Chase straightening his suit, as he said with a smile "Perhaps you should stop interrogating me, and save the questioning for…." and he started pushing the door open, and once it was fully open they were both stunned speechless, as there was no sign of Grey anywhere.

"...Our witness?" Devineaux finished, with a look of shocked surprise.

His look of surprised shock quickly turned to anger, as he angrily demanded "Where did he disappear to?"

Julia walked over to the file in the door, and picked it up as she said "According to ledger, he was released."

"What?!" Chase said, with a look of surprise. "By whose authority?"

Outside the building, was a limo that was parked briefly before it drove off. Inside it, Grey gave a smug smirk, as he gave a sigh of relief while looking out the window, and said "Chauffeured limo service."

He then leaned back with a smile, and put his hands behind his head saying "It sure beats trawling through the sewer tunnels for a jailbreak, eh, mates?" he said to The Cleaners.

He then gave a small shrug, as he asked "So, what's my next assignment? To secure the finest eclairs in Paris for Coach Brunt?" before a soundproof window went up, which made him lean over and knock on it, with a frown.

Boris pressed a button on the cars dashboard, which allowed them to communicate with the Faculty.

{"Extraction complete,"} Boris told them.

"Thank you, cleaners, for mopping up this little spill," Maelstrom told them, as he had his fingers pressed together, before he then disconnected the call. He and the others then looked over towards Dr Bellum, who had her chair turned around and was looking at multiple different computer screens, and said "We have Crackle in our custody, Dr Bellum. Shall we initiate standard debriefing protocol?" he asked her, as she touched each of her computer screens.

When Dr Bellum ignored him, Maelstrom frowned in disapproval as he said "Doctor, please. You spread yourself far too thin, just pick a screen" with annoyance clearly heard in his voice.

"Professor Maelstrom, I happen to be laser focused on a matter of grave urgency right now" Dr Bellum told him, as she touched one of her computer screens.

Which happened to be showing a pie looking desert. She gave a hum, and said "That's not it," and swiped it to the left showing some missiles. "Nope," she said and swiped that one away, with the next one showing a missile blowing up. "Not that one either," and that one was swiped off too, with the next picture showing a cat. "Cute," Bellum said fondly, before she moved the computer out of the way, as she tried to find the right screen.

"Oh dear, where was that?" she said in annoyance, as she went from one computer screen to the next, before she eventually found the right one, which had a picture of Naruto and Carmen getting on their private plane.

"Ah, here we go" Dr Bellum said, as she then had the picture go from her computer screen, onto the big screen behind her. "Our intelligence indicates that the students, formally known as 'Black Sheep' and 'Dark Fox' have departed from Paris, and are now heading for Java. Where I maintain certain assets," Dr Bellum said, as she turned her chair around and the computer screens folded away, while on the big screen it showed an image of a map with a plane going from Paris to Java.

She then looked at the others, as she added "Troubling news, considering the damage that they both inflicted upon our French hideaway last night."

Professor Maelstrom leaned forward and steepled his fingers, as he said "The Red Rogue and her blonde partner do seem to be on a tear lately. Fortunately, one of our finest operatives is currently stationed in the region."

0o0o0o0

(With the others)

After a good night's sleep, along with having some breakfast, the group of four had landed at the airport where they hired a Jeep to drive towards their destination, which was quite some time ago. Naruto was sitting next to Zack, who was driving, and the girls were sitting in the back. Naruto and Carmen had their bags on their laps, which had their hats, coats and gear in them.

As Zack drove them through the jungle, he said, "I haven't seen a single drive through! I'm gonna faint from hunger here!"

Naruto and Carmen were looking at the trees and everything they drove past, as Naruto lightly chuckled under his breath, as he knew that Zack was just being dramatic.

Ivy scoffed, as she leaned forward slightly and said "Just think of something other than takeout." She then looked thoughtful for a moment, as she said "Like, stakeout" with a smile.

Zack looked a bit worried, as he said "It reminds me too much of meat."

Ivy gave a frown, as she said "As in, casing a joint? You know, like that night when we first met Naruto and Carmen.m," as she looked at them with a smile, which they returned.

Zack gained a look of remembrance, as he smiled while saying "Right! They were casing the same joint."

Both Naruto and Carmen chuckled slightly, as Zack added "Who'd have ever guessed that a South Boston donut shop would be a front for a supersecret crime empire?"

He then gagged slightly, as he said "Donuts baked by VILE sure do taste vile. Blech!" as a look of disgust appeared on his face.

"Ha! There," Ivy said triumphantly, with a smile on her face. "You can thank me now for ruining your appetite," she said as she pinched his ear, before Zack brushed her off.

"Right there guys," Naruto said, as he pointed straight ahead at the building they were driving to. Carmen nodded her head, saying "Yeah. Looks like Player's intel was spot on. It's a Dr. Saira Bellum R&D lab."

It only took them about half an hour, before they reached the building. Once they pulled up at the building, they all looked up at it with Naruto and Carmen glaring at it, while Zack and Ivy looked at it with surprise.

"Something tells me that 'R' doesn't stand for 'rubies' here," Ivy said.

"And the 'D' don't stand for 'dollars' either. Or 'donuts' too," Zack said, with a cocked eyebrow.

Naruto and Carmen climbed out of the Jeep, and put their coats and hats on while leaving the bags in the Jeep.

Upon seeing them do that, Zack lightly laughed as he said "Whoa, guys. You're wearing coats? In this heat?" as he climbed out of the Jeep.

Ivy hopped over the side, with a small bag on her back, and said "It's, like, 110 degrees right now."

They both shrugged their shoulders, and turned around with Carmen saying "A lady needs her tools," showing her gadgets before closing it up.

"Let's not forget about the gentleman needing his tools," Naruto said, showing his own gadgets, before closing his coat too.

They both tipped their hats, and walked through the thick foliage to the building with the others following them, with Zack looking all cautious like.

It took them a few minutes, before they arrived at the building and looked up at it.

"Plan A: bring out Red Drone," Naruto said.

Ivy pulled the bag off her back, and once she opened it she took out a red drone, that was shaped like a ball. She lightly tossed it into the air, as it went over some bushes before coming back up, with what looked like thrusters from the base keeping it up.

Ivy had a remote control, as she made the Red Drone fly slightly forward, and turned it around as its camera was activated and aimed at them, with the image coming up on the controller.

"Red Drone has a visual," Ivy said, before making the drone fly up to the top of the building.

She then had the drone enter the building through a ventilation system. "And in she goes" Ivy said, while making Red Drone avoid the slow turning fan.

"Wait hold on. Red Drones a she?" Zack said, with a puzzled look.

Ivy gave him a flat look, before she returned to controlling the drone as she said "Red Drone is awesome. Of course she's a she" while shrugging her shoulders.

Naruto just shook his head, before saying "Just go along with it Zack."

Ivy then had Red Drone cut through a ventilation cover with its laser, and floated into a hallway that had lasers firing across it, from one side to the other.

"State of the art," Zack said in amazement. He then got a thoughtful look on his face, as he asked "Hey, how can anyone walk around in there with laser beams pointing all over the place?"

Carmen and Naruto got up from crouching down, while looking at the building as Carmen said "Nobody's home."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, as he said " Which means; we either beat them here, or they've been and gone with what they collected from here."

Ivy flew Red Drone past all the lasers, with some of them being close calls, before arriving at the end of the hallway. She then had a USB looking arm appear from the drone, before sticking the end into a slot which made a few beeps.

"Your turn now Player," Naruto said with a grin.

In his room, Player typed on his computer as he hacked into the building's systems. "Security cameras are disabled," he said before he then said "And the back doors open fellas."

The group stood outside a door, which then slid open allowing them entry into the building with Red Drone floating on the other side. They all walked in, with Ivy grabbing the drone as it floated over to her, where she turned it off and put it back in the bag.

After they approached another door which slid open for them, they all saw that they were in what looked like a lab of some kind.

"No guards and no lab techs," Naruto said, as they looked around the lab to see if they could find anything useful.

Carmen walked over to a mug of coffee, and touched it. "It's still warm, which means they just left" she said, as she looked around to see if she could find anything else to help identify who was there.

She then walked over to a computer, and pulled out her lipstick USB before plugging it in, making a red light come on at the bottom.

She then started typing on the computer, as she said "Hey Player, you up for a fishing expedition?"

{"Casting off now Red,"} Player replied.

Zack walked over to a plate of rice, and picked it up saying "Who doesn't finish lunch?" He then smiled, as he slightly sang "Well, more rice bowls for me."

Before he tried to eat the rice, Carmen ran over and grabbed the rice from him.

"Zack, these aren't rice bowls," Carmen said to him, as she looked at the rice she was holding with a frown, while Zack looked slightly worried. "These are Petri dishes that are filled with rice, and they're covered in some sort of…." as she then took a sniff while frowning, before saying "fungus" with a surprised look.

"Dude, like mushrooms?" Ivy asked jokingly.

{"More like spores,"} Player said from the drone controller. "Superspores, to be exact" he said while typing on his computer. "These spores are genetically engineered to feed on rice. I was able to pull the data from a folder that was labeled 'Operation Sticky Rice' from the computer."

"What do you mean they 'feed on rice' exactly?" Naruto asked him, as they all had frowns on their faces.

{"Just how it sounds Blonde,"} Player told him. {"These superspores take to grain like a termite does with wood. According to Bellum's research, these organisms could wipe out entire crops in a matter of hours."}

"A bioweapon," Carmen said. She then got a thoughtful look on her face, saying "And if VILE cleared out because they knew we were coming, they no doubt took their entire stockpile of the spores with them."

Naruto nodded in agreement, as he said "We've got to stop them and quickly." He then touched his earpiece, as he said "Player, can you pinpoint any likely targets?" while Carmen went to the computer, and grabbed her lipstick USB.

{"You're surrounded by likely targets,"} Player replied. "Indonesia produces 70 million tons of rice a year, remember?" he added, while typing on his computer.

The four of them then headed out the way they came in, with Ivy saying "So, VILE wipes out some rice fields."

Zack gave a smile, as he said "Order some pizza, and the problems solved. Right?" he then asked, while shrugging his shoulders.

Naruto shook his head, saying "Rice is Indonesia's staple food." Carmen nodded her head, as she added "If the crops were destroyed, its entire population would go hungry."

Zack held his stomach, saying "Way hungrier than what I am now" with his head down.

"So, what can we do about it?" Ivy asked. "We're not the grain police, we're thieves," as she slammed her hand against the drone controller.

"Well, we could see to it that Bellum never gets a chance to use her superspores," Carmen said, with Naruto adding "By stealing them" as both had grins on their faces.

"I like it," Ivy said in approval. "But how the heck do we find teeny, tiny spores in a great, big rainforest?" she then asked.

"Hey guys, check it out!" Zack shouted to them, as he stood away from them, looking at something on the ground.

They went over to see what it was, and saw tire tracks on the ground. "These look like truck tracks," Zack said.

Carmen and Naruto knelt down to look at them, before looking at the direction they were going, with Carmen saying "And we know that they just left."

They then stood back up, with Naruto saying "Come on, back to the Jeep. If we hurry we might be able to catch up with them."

The others nodded in agreement, as they all ran back to where the Jeep was parked. As soon as they'd all hoped in, Zack started up the Jeep and followed after the truck's tracks.

As they followed the tracks, Ivy had a thought as she said "One thing still doesn't click; what's in it for VILE? Why would they go through all this trouble to engineer some crazy food shortage crisis?"

Carmen gave it some thought, before frowning as she said "To force a hungry population to buy VILE brand instant imitation rice." Naruto gave a nod, along with his own frown saying "And most likely at inflated prices too."

(Flashback starts)

A young Naruto and Carmen were sitting at a table, as they were fed some rice made by VILE.

"They tried to feed it to us back on the island, but 'vile' doesn't even begin to describe how bad it was," Carmen said.

Both young Naruto and Carmen took a spoonful of rice, and ate it with a smile. But once they tasted it, they instantly got looks of disgust on their faces and spat the rice out, before they burst into tears.

(Flashback ends)

"If Dr Bellum thinks that we're gonna stand by while she risks all of these people from starving so that VILE can make a quick buck…." Carmen said as both her and Naruto lightly chuckled, before Naruto finished saying "...she has quite a surprise coming."

"Guys!" Zack said, getting their attention, as they saw the truck was on the road below them.

The two of them grabbed their glider bags, and put them on their backs before hopping on the hood of the Jeep.

They both hummed with a grin on their faces, as Carmen said "We'll be taking the shortcut" before she jumped. Naruto turned to the other two, and said "Do what you can to catch up with us" before he too jumped off the Jeep's hood.

After free falling for a bit, they pulled a cord to deploy their gliders and flew to the truck. Once they were over it, they clipped the gliders and landed on the truck's trailer in a crouch.

In the truck's driving cabin, a VILE grunt was driving who looked up at hearing the noise, while Tigress was next to him who said "Something tells me that, was no Komodo dragon."

She looked at the grunt and said "Keep driving, while I check it out." The grunt nodded, while Tigress climbed out the window and carefully used her claws to go along the side of the trailer, before she jumped onto the trailer's roof.

Naruto and Carmen were running towards the back, just as Tigress landed in front of them while giving a hissing noise.

Tigress gave the two of them a cocky smirk, as she stood in a position ready to attack or defend, while they did the same.

"Tigress, how nice to see you" Carmen said sarcastically. Naruto gave a nod, as he added "You look like you're doing well."

Tigress gave Naruto a sexy smile and wink, saying "Thanks handsome. And I must say, you're looking even more cute."

Carmen gave a scowl, seeing Tigress flirting with her boyfriend before she said "We haven't seen you since…."

"Morocco," Tigress said, as she gave a scowl while adding "The pit. You broke my glasses."

"You didn't protect the face," Carmen said smugly.

"But you might want to protect yours before I rearrange it!" Tigress said as she made her glove claws come out. She then looked at Naruto, as she said "And maybe the 'Fox' can be with the 'Tigress', a fellow predator. Instead of with the 'Sheep', a prey that predators eat."

Naruto just shook his head, saying "Sorry, but this 'Fox' likes having his 'Sheep' around."

Tigress gave a frown, before she dashed towards them with a yell. Naruto grabbed one of his batons, and held it in a reverse grip as Tigress jumped and swiped at Carmen who dodged by moving backwards. Naruto tried to hit Tigress with his baton, but she ducked underneath it, and swept her feet trying to trip him up, but Naruto flipped over her so that he landed behind her.

Tigress stood back up, as Carmen moved to punch her. Tigress blocked her punch, and moved to hit her with her claws and a few kicks, with Carmen moving around her attacks.

Tigress went for a flying side kick, which Carmen dodged by ducking, and allowed Naruto to throw a spinning back kick at Tigress stomach, which sent her flying to the front of the trailer with a grunt of pain.

Tigress landed with a crouch while sliding back a bit, before she got back up and attacked the two of them again.

While this was happening, Zack drove the Jeep down a flat enough slope, before following after the truck.

"Both Naruto and Carmen are occupied with that VILE operative," Ivy said, as she stood up on the back seat. She then climbed to the feat seat, then onto the Jeeps hood saying "I'll take the rear."

Zack then pressed his foot down, as he made the Jeep go faster. The two of them saw Carmen and Naruto fighting against Tigress, with each of them getting in a few good shots as well as getting some in return.

Once the Jeep was close enough to the back of the trailer, Ivy jumped onto it as she hanged onto the padlock on the double doors. She looked down uneasily, as it was quite risky doing this, before she focused on unlocking the padlock with her lock picking tools.

Back on top of the trailer, Tigress tried an upwards swipe to Carmen who dodged to the side, before Tigress gave her a kick as she turned back to face her, which sent Carmen to the side of the trailer and making her almost lose her balance and go over the edge.

"Carmen!" Naruto said in worry, before he went to attack Tigress with both his batons, so that Carmen could regain her balance and rejoin the fight.

When Carmen got back to the fight, the three of them circled each other cautiously.

"What's in the truck, Tigress?" Carmen asked her.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she replied, with a smug look on her face.

"Yes, we would. That's why she asked you," Naruto said with a frown, as he held his batons before him with one in a reverse grip.

Tigress looked like she was thinking it over."Tell ya what, you and me go on a date and I might just tell you" she said with a smirk in Naruto's direction.

"Like hell I'll let him go on a date with ya!" Carmen shouted in anger, as she ran towards Tigress throwing a punch when she was close enough.

Tigress dodged, while giving a fake sigh as she said "Oh, that's too bad. As I was going to put some aphrodisiac in his food and drink, while we were on our date so that I could show him how it feels to make love with a real woman" while giving Carmen a cocky smirk.

"RAH! LIKE HELL I'LL EVER LET YOU DO THAT!" Carmen yelled in rage, as she tried to hit Tigress who kept dodging with that annoying smirk still on her face.

Naruto just sighed while shaking his head at this, before he ran over to help fight Tigress and calm Carmen down. "Carm, calm down. She's just trying to get you angry, so that you won't be able to think or fight clearly," Naruto said as used his batons to push Tigress back away from Carmen.

Carmen took a few breaths, as she was able to finally calm down. She gave Naruto a grateful nod, saying "Thanks for that. It's just that what she'd said, really got under my skin," she added while giving Tigress a hard glare.

Naruto gave her a look of understanding, as he said "I know. Now, let's fight her together like we always do against VILE." Carmen gave a nod of agreement, as the two of them rushed towards Tigress who met them halfway, as she ran towards them herself.

While this was going on, Ivy was still picking the padlock with Zack driving behind them. Tigress tried swiping her claws at them, which they dodged around or under along with Naruto using his batons to try and hit her in return, with Tigress dodging his attacks.

And while Tigress was swiping at them, she sliced one of the Durian off its branch along with it also being cut in half. It flew through the air, and only one half of it splattered against the windshield of the Jeep which made Zack swerve a little, before he got it back under control.

He poked his head out, as he gave a little laugh at seeing the Durian and said "Oh! Yeah, baby!" as he grabbed it from the windshield before sitting back down.

"Fruity goodness," he said with a grin before taking a sniff. He gave a small gag at the smell, and had an unsure look on his face before he shoved his face into it, and ate some of the fruit. After a bit of chewing, he gained a look of appreciation as he hummed in delight.

Back with Ivy, she was just finished picking the lock into the trailer, which was unlocked. But before she could take the padlock off and open up the trailer, the truck drove over a large enough rock that caused the truck to bounce over it. This caused the trailer's doors to open suddenly, taking Ivy by surprise, as she gave a shout while hanging on for dear life.

As soon as Zack was finished eating the fruit, he tossed the skin away and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He then used the wipers to get rid of the fruit's juice that got left there, and saw the trouble his sister was in.

"Sis!" Zack shouted in worry.

"Oh, boy. Whoa, whoa!" Ivy said in fright, as she looked down at the drop. "Zack! Whoa!"

Carmen and Naruto looked over, as soon as they heard Ivy's screams. They gave a nod to each other, as they dodged an attack from Tigress and gave her a double punch to push her back.

Carmen headed off to keep Tigress busy, while Naruto went to help Ivy.

"Help me! Over here!" Ivy yelled out.

"Hang on Ivy! I'm gonna shoot you a line," Naruto shouted down to her, as he leaned over the side of the trailer.

He made his grappling gun appear, and took aim with it. Before he could fire it though, Tigress grabbed his coat and pulled him back, with him giving a yell of surprise before she made him stand up. He looked over his shoulder at her with a scowl on his face, and saw Carmen getting up at the front of the trailer while holding her head.

Tigress held his hands together behind his back, as she leaned in slightly and whispered into his ear "Why don't you ditch her, and come be with a real woman cutie?" as she leaned forward more, most likely to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Naruto slammed his head back, hitting her on the nose as she gave a cry of pain while reeling back and letting go of his arms, with one of her hands going to her face. Naruto then leapt in the air, and gave her a sidekick to send her back.

"No thanks, I'm good," Naruto told her with a smirk. Tigress gave him a glare, as she pulled her hand away revealing her nose was bleeding. Carmen leapt over Tigress' down body, and stood next to Naruto with them both ready in case Tigress attacked again.

Tigress stood back up, and hissed out angrily "You broke my nose" before she lunged at them with her claws extended, resuming the fight between them. As they dodged her attacks, Carmen commented "I think it's an improvement myself" with a smirk on her face. Tigress gave a yell of anger, and continued to swipe her claws at them.

As this was going on, Zack drove down a road that was below the one the truck was on. He sped up, until the Jeep was below the end of the trailer.

"Ivy!" Zack shouted up at her, as she looked down at him before she briefly closed her eyes, and then jumped down. She landed on the Jeeps hood with a grunt, with Zack looking on in surprise, and as she stood up she wobbled and fell back into the passenger seat with a yell, with Zack having a look of relief.

She then gave a slight sniff, before she gave a gag as she held her nose. "Oh! Whoa! What crawled in here and died?" she asked him, as Zack gave her a sheepish look.

They drove back up, so that they were behind the truck's trailer again.

Carmen and Naruto were still avoiding Tigress wild swings, and were landing some hits of their own. Carmen landed a pretty strong punch, which sent Tigress back a bit. Naruto and Carmen looked over the back of the trailer, and saw Ivy waving at them from the Jeep.

After smiling gratefully that she was okay, they both looked inside the trailer, and saw it was packed full of fireworks.

"Skyrockets!" Naruto said in surprise.

"Whatever they need this many for, it can't be good" Carmen said with a frown.

Before Naruto could reply, they both looked back as they heard Tigress give a shout as she leapt at them and kicked Naruto in the chest, which made him step back with a groan from the hit, along with accidentally causing him to fire his grappling gun at the Jeeps front wheel.

"Naruto!" Carmen shouted in worry.

This caused the Jeep to swerve out of control, and pull Naruto off the trailer with a yell while his hat fell off. He disconnected the wire from the grappling gun, and landed on the Jeep's hood on his back, where he then did a flip to land on the bar before he did another one to land on the ground, where he landed in a crouch as he slid back abit with a smug smirk just as his hat landed in front of him, and Zack skidded the Jeep to a stop.

Once seeing that Naruto was okay, Carmen gave a sigh of relief before she turned to see Tigress advancing towards her, with a cocky look on her face while flexing her clawed hands.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, girlie" Tigress said. "And this 'predator' ain't about to let her 'prey' leave."

Carmen looked behind Tigress, and saw a tree that was coming out of the cliff they were driving along next to, and that it was about the right height for her to jump and grab onto. She then gave Tigress a smirk, as she said "Sorry kittycat, but this 'prey' doesn't have time to play about with her 'predator' at the moment."

Tigress gave her a glare, before she ran towards her. Carmen then took that time to jump, and grab onto one of the tree's branches just as the truck drove under it. She then swung herself up onto the branch, kicking Tigress in the chin as she did which sent Tigress falling back in pain.

Carmen sat crouched on the branch, as she watched the truck drive off. She saw Tigress get up, and look at her while rubbing her jaw before she turned around and went back into the truck's cabin. Carmen then hopped down from the tree, and headed over towards the others.

When she got there, she saw that Zack and Ivy were changing the tire on the Jeep, while Naruto was catching Player up to speed with what they found out.

{"If Dr. Bellum's bioweapon requires a launch mechanism, that would explain the fireworks you guys saw in the back of the truck,"} Player told them.

Both Naruto and Carmen were pacing back and forth, with them passing each other as they did.

"Bellum's superspores must be packed into the pods of the skyrockets," Carmen said.

Naruto gave a nod of agreement, as he then looked thoughtful as he asked "Player, where would someone go to see fireworks around here?"

Player typed on his computer, as he hummed in thought and said "Well, it ain't New Year's Eve. And the Indonesians don't celebrate the 4th of July." As he continued typing, what looked like a poster came up on his computer screen, which caused him to lean forward for a closer look as he said "But there is a Shadow Puppet Festival tonight, and it's not too far from where you guys are now, as it's just outside of Jakarta."

Both Carmen and Naruto looked towards the city in the distance, as Carmen said "And let me guess, it's bordering a swath of interconnected rice paddies?"

{"You're suave and you're psychic,"} Player said. "So, why is VILE sneaking around? Why not just have Tigress find the nearest rice crop and scatter the spores?" he then asked curiously, with a raised eyebrow and a causal raise of his hand.

Naruto shook his head at that, as he said "That's not VILE's style. As they never operate without a smokescreen, and they never show their true face."

Behind them, Zack and Ivy were just finishing up with putting the new tire on the Jeep.

"Hey guys, the new tire is on" Zack yelled out to them.

"Yea, so we're ready to go when you are," Ivy said, as the two of them got back in the Jeep.

The two ran over, and hopped in with Naruto saying "Good, cause we need to head to Jakarta fast."

Carmen nodded, as she said "So step on it Zack."

"You got it," Zack told them as he started up the Jeep, and headed towards Jakarta.

0o0o0o0

(Back at Paris Interpol)

Both Chase and Julia were looking through some paperwork, to see who released Grey from prison.

"No face, name or fingerprints," Julia said with a frown while looking through a file. "It's as if our witness didn't even exist," she added before putting a file away, and moved onto the next one.

Chase was going from one piece of paper, to the next with a raised eyebrow. Upon hearing what Julia said, he scrunched up the papers in his hands, and growled out "Are you trying to rub it in, Ms. Argent? Because you are doing a most sensational job of doing it if you are."

Julia just gave him a raised eyebrow, as he turned back to his pile of papers, and looked through them as he said "We know that he does indeed exist because some faceless, nameless paper pusher here at Interpol, Paris, approved his release."

"Then perhaps you were right, Inspector. The man was most likely innocent," Julia said, as she gave him a sidelong look with Chase doing the same thing.

He turned around, and said "Of course I was right," as he popped a mint into his mouth. He then got a downtrodden look on his face, saying "Which means that the only link I have to Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki is long gone."

"It all seems very strange," Julia said thoughtfully as she lifted her head up. "As if many details are lurking just out of our reach, somewhere in the shadows," she finished, giving Devineaux an unsure look.

0o0o0o0

(In Jakarta)

Once the four of them reached the city, they all hopped out of the Jeep and walked through the crowds, while looking around. As they did, they heard some music playing and saw a shadow puppet show on display on a big stage, and a few people dancing about and those watching were smiling and laughing, with a few kids clapping their hands in enjoyment.

{"The fireworks finale would most likely be launching from behind the main stage,"} Player said.

"Me and Naruto will check it out," Carmen said.

Naruto gave a nod of agreement, before saying "In the meantime, Zack and Ivy, keep a lookout for any oversized kitty cats."

"We're your eyes in the sky, fellas" Zack said, as he and Ivy were walking around on stilts, with Zack doing it like a pro while Ivy was wobbling about as she walked.

"Until someone spikes a face plant," Ivy said in worry, while still trying to walk straight as she tried to get her balance.

Meanwhile, behind the shadow puppet stage, Tigress was just finished putting the fireworks into a fireworks holder.

She then pressed a button on her watch communicator, and said "Dr. Bellum, the bioweapons are locked, loaded, and ready for launch."

On the screen was Dr. Bellum, as she said {"Tigress, you know the rules. Nothing must seem out of the ordinary. The fireworks must launch as scheduled, as soon as the puppet show is over, and not a moment sooner."}

"You do realise that means risking another surprise visit from Fedora the Explorer and The Whiskered One, or whatever they're calling themselves these days," Tigress said with a slight frown. She then gave a sigh, as she thought "Pity that he's with her and not with me."

"You can call me Carmen," a voice said behind her, with another saying "And I'm Naruto."

Tigress stood up straight, and turned around to see two shadowy figures in a tree. They both then jumped from it, with Tigress watching in surprise as Carmen came down and gave her a kick to the chest with both feet sending her back, while Naruto landed next to Carmen.

"Name calling, just another reason that I unfriended you," Carmen said with a smirk.

Naruto shook his head, saying "And while I liked having you as a friend on Vile Island, I'm glad that we left since you were definitely like your namesake at times, as cats can be quite possessive."

Tigress got up off the ground, and panted for a bit before saying into her watch communicator "They're both here. Permission to break protocol and launch the spores?"

0o0o0o0

(Vile Isle)

Tigress was on the big monitor, as she waited for her orders.

{"Dr. Bellum, are you there?"} she asked, before she was hit in the face by surprise, making the screen go static for a while, before it turned off.

Bellum was giggling at something she was watching, before she briefly turned around and said "I'm sorry, what was that?"

She shrugged her shoulders, and gave a smile as she continued to watch a video….of a cat playing the piano.

0o0o0o0

(Back in Jakarta)

Tigress fell back from the hit she took, and briefly looked at the fireworks before she extended her claws and rushed to attack the two of them. Naruto went to attack her first, and he was able to land a few blows to her, before she grabbed his arm and tossed him at a tree, where he hit the trunk which left him dazed for a bit. Tigress then went for Carmen, and as they fought each other, they moved towards where the shadow puppet show was, while moving past the musicians as they did, who raised their eyebrows at seeing them fight.

Tigress leapt at her with a yell, and tackled her to the ground where they all landed with a grunt along with Camren's hat falling off, before Tigress tried to hit her with her claws out. All the musicians stopped playing, while those operating the shadow puppets gave a gasp of fright and ran off the stage, causing the puppets to fall down, making those watching go "Aw" in protest with some having looks of sadness on their faces.

Carmen kicked Tigress off of her, making them both roll to the side. They then both stood back up, and were ready if the other one decided to attack without warning.

Zack and Ivy came on either side of the stage, while still walking on the stilts.

"Guys? You al -" Ivy was saying, before Tigress grabbed one of the stilts and yanked it out from under her. She gave it a few twirls, before she slammed one end on the ground, showing she was ready to fight.

This caused Ivy to wobble for a bit, as she tried to regain her balance before she fell and landed on the ground with a grunt.

Zack climbed down from his stilts, and said "All yours Carm," as he handed one to her which she took from him.

"Green bad, red good," she told him.

"Naturally," he said, running over to his sister as he helped her up, before they both went to the fireworks. Carmen gave her stilt a few twirls of her own, and held it diagonally behind her back showing she too was ready to fight.

After staring each other down for a few seconds, Carmen then gave a small smirk before giving Tigress the 'bring it on' gesture.

Tigress gave a growl, before she ran forward with a yell with Carmen doing the same, as they swung their stilts at each other and tried to overpower each other.

Meanwhile, Naruto had finally shook off the daze he was left in and saw Zack and Ivy going for the fireworks. He then looked and saw Tigress and Carmen fighting on the stage, with the musicians watching them with raised eyebrows.

Naruto took out his batons, and put them together to make a staff before running over to help Carmen. "Keep playing the music fellas," Naruto told the musicians as he ran past them. "After all, we don't want to upset the audience."

The musicians just gave each other sidelong looks as they shrugged, and continued playing the music. On the other side of the stage, the shadows of Carmen and Tigress could be seen fighting, which caused everyone watching to smile and go "Ooh!" in joy.

Naruto soon arrived, and he jumped up towards Tigress and gave her a flying kick to her chest, after she'd used one end of her pole to push Carmen back, which sent her back a bit.

She glared up at Naruto, before she lunged at him. Naruto used his bo staff against Tigress, and when he could he'd try to hit her with a punch or a kick, with some connecting and others missing.

After Carmen got her bearings, she helped Naruto fight against Tigress, with the two of them fighting her on opposite sides. They were able to land a few blows to her, along with Tigress doing the same. When they both rushed to finish her off, Tigress used her pole to spin around and kick them both away to the opposite sides of the stage.

The audience that were watching gave a cheer, along with clapping for a good show.

Tigress then walked over to Carmen, and raised the pole to finish her off. But Naruto, after getting back up, used his pole to launch himself at her and kicked her in the back, causing her to stumble forward while Carmen gave her a kick to the chest. This pushed her back and caused her to hit the light on the roof, making it fall towards Carmen who rolled out of the way in time. This also caused the stage to go dark, making the audience go "Aw!" in disappointment.

"Puppet show's over," Tigress said as she dropped the pole, and ran off to the fireworks with the musicians watching her go.

Once she reached them, she pulled out a match and then lit it. She then soon dropped it on the rope leading to the fireworks, which caught flame after a few seconds and started heading for the fireworks.

"Word of advice? Don't eat the tainted rice," Tigress said with a smug smirk, while looking at Naruto and Carmen, with Carmen climbing back to her feet and putting her hat back on. Tigress then turned, and ran off into the trees.

As the flame travelled down the rope towards the fireworks, it looked like the VILE fireworks were going to go off….until Zack and Ivy, after making sure that the coast was clear, picked it up and moved it out of the way so that the red fireworks behind it would be set off.

"The show must go on," Carmen said with a smile and a hand on her hip, as the fireworks launched. Naruto stood next to her, as he nodded in agreement with his arms crossed over his chest as they watched the fireworks show.

Sometime later, the festival was still going and most of the people had returned home. There were still a few people out on the streets, watching a few of the dancers still dancing in the streets, and fireworks were still going off.

Naruto and Carmen were standing together watching this, both with smiles on their faces.

"The bad pods are all under lock and key, just like you asked guys," Zack told them, with a smile on his and Ivy's face.

"Let's get them far away from here," Ivy said, as she punched her fist into her hand.

"After we all grab a bite," Carmen said with a small smile. "Who wants a bowl of rice? My treat," she then asked as she walked off.

Naruto gave a slight nod of his head, saying "I could go for a bowl" as he walked after her.

Zack and Ivy both gave a laugh, and followed after them.

"Nice job, sis!" Zack said.

"Yeah! All right," Ivy replied.

0o0o0o0

(On Vile Isle)

Professor Maelstrom, Dr. Bellum and Crackle were walking down one of the hallways.

"I did my best, but both Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki are very jumpy 'Roos!" Crackle told the two Faculty members, with a raised eyebrow and his hand behind his head.

"Thanks to them, I'm stuck with warehouses filled with imitation instant rice and not a single person to sell it to!" Dr. Bellum said unhappily.

"So then, Tigress failed in her mission, too, eh?" Crackle asked them cautiously, as Dr. Bellum opened a door into a room with the two Faculty members entering it.

"Have a seat," Maelstrom said to Crackle, gesturing to the seat in the room, while Bellum went over to a machine and pressed some buttons and flipped some switches.

Crackle walked over to the chair, and raised an eyebrow at it before looking at Maelstrom.

"Please," Maelstrom said looking at Crackle over his shoulder.

Crackle gave the chair a weary look, before he sat in it.

"You went to school here, Mr Crackle" Maelstrom said, while still having his back to him. He closed his eyes briefly before opening them, as he said "To fail is forgivable. But to allow yourself to be captured? Tsk tsk tsk. Your misstep could have put the entire academy at risk," as he gave Crackle a sidelong look.

"Well, it….it won't happen again, I can assure ya" Crackle said with an uneasy look and smile.

Clamps suddenly came out of the chair, and clamped onto his hands and feet.

Crackle gained a look of fright, as he grunted while trying to escape from the clamps.

"Oh, we can assure you that it won't," Maelstrom told him, as he turned his head to look at Crackle with a glare.

Dr. Bellum walked up to Crackle, with a slight look of fear in his eyes. "Relax, this won't hurt a bit," she told him as she held up what looked like a visor to go over his eyes.

Crackle still struggled, as he said "No! Please!"

"Just a light tingling sensation, then happy days" Dr. Bellum said, as she placed the device over Crackle's eyes.

0o0o0o0

(Back In Indonesia, the next day)

Some people were cleaning up after the festival, when those two unknown agents that Carmen and Naruto met in Paris arrived.

The woman pulled out a phone, and pressed a button on it which was immediately answered on the other end. "We lost both Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki," she told the person on the other end. "Yes, again" she said before hanging up.

She then looked at her partner, as she said "The Chief wants us to initiate Plan B" as she narrowed her eyes slightly.

0o0o0o0

Those that guessed the book Naruto was reading was the Alex Rider book, you've got a free cyber cookie. And I hope that you enjoyed the lemon scene (for those that read it), as it was my first time doing one. And if any of you have any suggestions for future lemon scenes, either PM me or write them in the review. And hope that everyone has had a good Easter.

For those that are surely complaining about the lemon scene, let me clear up a few things: sometime after they'd left VILE Isle, they learned that they had feelings for each other, and since it was a first for them both they took it slow and only had sex when they both felt the other was ready. They did have dates, along with everything else that first time couples have and do, either during their missions to stop V.I.L.E or before/after them.

Hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, and that you're all doing what you can to avoid getting this COVID by following the rules. Hopefully now that the vaccines are all done, we can rest a bit easier now.