[Started on April 6, 2021]

[23:36 hours, Philippines]


=== (Author's Note) ===

Yes, I had a writer's burnout due to school and only now is it coming back, right before school starts again.


=== (Fun facts!) ===

"Yeager" is properly spelled as "Jaeger" or "Jäger"… and no, I do not recall if I did or did not give this fact before.


=== (IMPORTANT) ===

For those of you read my old works before, you know I enjoy making my own jutsu while also using some jutsu from the Anime/Manga. The same will happen here if ever I feel like it.


=== (Game of Gods) ===

"Naruto, come here a moment."

"Father?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Always, father."

"Good. Now, keep this with you at all times, and when you get older, learn how to make this, okay?"

"What's this? A necklace? It's girly!"

"Not all necklaces are for girls, you know? Even I have one."

"I… I guess so…"

"Is there something else?"

"Yeah… why… what is this?"

"It will help keep you safe when I'm gone."

"Why? Where will you be going?"

"No place special, little one. Just promise me, okay?"

"Fiiiiine."

"Good boy. Now, go play with Satsuki and Sasuke. They're on their way here. Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi have something they need to talk about so you three go and play in the safe areas, okay?"

"But… our new friend Levi isn't anywhere there…"

"Hmm… okay, well, if you really want to go to him, just stick together, okay? You remember all the lessons I taught you?"

"Uhm… never hesitate?"

"What else?"

"Uhm… look underneath the underneath, those who abandon their friends are trash, and… Oh! Kakashi-Nii told me that because you told me his favourite one, he'd give me something else: I have to always be ready for the worst!"

"HAHAHAHA! Okay, okay, I'll have to thank Kakashi for that one. Now, just prepare some snacks while waiting for them. Okay?"

"Okay~!"


=== Last time: Battle of Trost (II) ===

Mikasa, being who she is, simply gives him a blank stare that promises death. Which of course has the usual side effect when it comes to this story's blonde protagonist.

"Ha! Cute," Naruto jests while turning back around to face the open streets sprinkled with titans. "Wanna grab dinner after today?"

And THAT question causes Mikasa to blink owlishly. "What?" comes her valid response.

"Wanna grab dinner after today?"

"You… you make it sound like we'll win!" she shouts, almost as if outraged by the prospect. Leave it to Naruto to break any stone-faced individual. "You even sound like you know we'll both live!"

Naruto simply shrugs and smiles. "Well, I trained you. Of course, you'll live, but more importantly, if you want to see Eren again, you have to live."

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

"Huh," Naruto rubs his chin as two titans come into view. "Speak of the devil."

For the umpteenth time this day, Mikasa asks a question that she knows is far from the last time. "What?"


=== Chapter Seven: Battle of Trost (III) ===

Naruto Uzumaki hums as he looks at the elven-looking titan before turning to look at the regular 15-metre class titan.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"OOOOWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH"

Silently, the blonde watches as the world around him slows to a crawl, and the sound of the world vanishes from his senses.

The elven-like Titan brings its arms up in a combat stance. The other regular titan moves to charge, but with one big swing, the elven-titan smacks the titan's head off its body and into a bell tower before glancing at its regenerating hand… almost as if in wonder. And as the regular titan starts to reform its head, the elven-titan spots it and then responds by repeatedly stomping on the titan's nape.

A berserker.

And it is here that the blonde's senses return in full.

"Oi!" Naruto calls out.

No response.

"OI!"

The berserk titan turns away, ignoring the man and woman on the roof, and moves to take out the other titans within range.

The man won't have any of it.

The young woman, Mikasa Ackerman, snaps her head upon hearing her mentor shout: "EREN! YOU, DUMBASS! GRISHA! YOU, DUMBER DUMBASS!"

SHINK!

One. Split. Second.

BOOOOOOOM!

"What the—" Mikasa finds herself having to shield her eyes as a giant dust cloud explodes from where her mentor once stood. "Teleportation?! No!"

VOOOOOM!

"He's just really fast!" Mikasa realizes as Naruto appears with the dust cloud blown away. In his arms is a boy that Mikasa knows all too well. "Eren?"

Eren Yeager, the childhood friend of Mikasa Ackerman, her current, but most definitely one-sided love interest, and of course, the main protagonist of his story.

This is NOT his story.

The boy, limbless in the arms of the mentor, horrifies Mikasa to her core. The young woman turns back into a girl, her eyes wide, hollow… lost.

"Ackerman."

The commanding tone snaps her out of her trance temporarily as she glances at her mentor, Naruto Uzumaki, who walks over to her with a look in his eyes she just… can't quite yet place.

"Ackerman."

"S-Sir!" Finally, she snaps back to reality. "What… what hap—"

"I don't like that hopeless and horrid look in your eyes," Naruto makes her wince while cutting her off. "Look at his limbs."

Steam.

"W-what—"

Sizzling.

"It-It's…" carefully, Naruto lays the boy onto the roof as the limbs begin to regenerate. As Mikasa rushes over to check on her childhood friend and crush, she cannot help but stare in wonder as the limbs are slowly… "Regrowing?"

"Regeneration, regrowth, call it whatever you want," Naruto states as he glances off into the distance. "We'll wait for him to regrow everything. After that, we move. Understood?"

"But… how?"

For a moment, the blonde remains silent. Finally, he answers without even turning to look at her. "Survive for long enough in the day, and you'll understand."

=== (Game of Gods) ===

A pre-teen girl at the age of eleven (11) rushes through the underground village with two boxes on her back. The weight drags her down, but her small legs push her forwards as she rushes through the roofs of the underground houses. She cannot falter, she cannot give in. The boxes are too important for her to fail or rest.

"Naruto-sama, hold on," her thoughts echo in her head as she pushes on.

=== (Game of Gods) ===

Sometime later, the spearhead flight of survivors burst through the windows of the supply building with Jean Kirstein being the first among them. He is followed closely by Annie, Armin, Connie, Bertold, Marco, and Reiner. The rest arrive soon after.

Now, while Jean contemplates on the choices he made to arrive safely, a certain Annie Leonhart has her thoughts elsewhere. Specifically, on why her blonde superior brought Mikasa away.

"Annie, are you alright?" The question from Sasha snaps her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, why?" she replies in her usual monotone voice.

"W-well, you know, I-I mean, Sensei left so…"

Annie, ignoring Jean's fit of rage at the supply garrison survivors, sighs and then… replies, "Sasha, you've seen the things he can do. I doubt there's a regular Titan that can kill him." All this being said in her usual tone of voice, of course.

And then…

CRASH!

"Oh no…"

Someone said it. Someone said it, and the resting head of a Titan drools at its discovery as panic ensues.

"THEY'RE HERE!"

"RUUUUUUN!"

"OI! OI! OI! WE CAN'T ALL FIT IF WE ALL RUSH!"

"MOVE! YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

"WHERE THE HELL IS MIKASA?!"

"FUCK IF I KNOW! SHE WENT WITH THAT CRAZY GUY AND THEY AREN'T BACK YET!"

All the while, the top recruits present stand frozen.

Jean realizes that there are simply too many humans present and another head joins its fellow titan, their eyes ogling the meat, their potential saviours to return them to what they were, and their mouths watering at the prospect of freedom.

Freedom that shall never come.

Because suddenly, everything slows.

The titanic heads are pushed to the side by a sole extended leg covered in some sort of green aura, and the sight causes Jean's face to contort in confusion as his mouth moves to form a single word that is only uttered right after a mad shout—

"DYYYYYYNAMIC ENTRYYYYYYYY!"

"—WHAT?!"

BOOM! CRASH!

"RAIKIRI!"

The chirping of a thousand birds and flash of blue lightning zips past the broken windows the survivors used to enter causing two heavy thuds in the distance.

"Mokuton: Mokuryu!"

A giant dragon made of wood wraps itself around three small titans and two fifteen-metre class titans.

And then, a familiar and very calm voice reaches the ears of the recruits.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Chidorigatana."

Five near-simultaneous flashes of lightning flash onto the trapped Titans before their heads drop from their shoulders, their bodies steaming into nothingness.

The calm voice's owner sighs bringing the attention of all present to her. "I leave you for a day, and you're already causing trouble?"

"Satsuki-sensei?" Sasha's eyes sparkle in relief, and rightly so. After all, they were just saved.

Three men appear and stand in attention before the female Uchiha. The men wear something none of the recruits recognize: an outfit with gray vests over black shirts accompanied by matching gray forearm guards, dark cargo pants wrapped in bandages and what the recruits can only describe as open-toed combat sandals. The men's faces are all covered by white animal masks; two tigers with different designs, and a dog.

All the while Satsuki is cloaked in black.

"Who… are they?"

Satsuki takes a glance at the questioner. "The elite of the elite."

A new voice draws their attention. "And here I thought I'd have to wait for a while longer. The others are still on their way, I take it?"

"Naruto-sensei!" Sasha beams like a puppy who just saw her owner arrive.

Indeed, Naruto Uzumaki arrives with Mikasa Ackerman while an unconscious Eren Yeager is slung over his shoulder. No one but Mikasa realizing that his once chopped-off limbs are completely regenerated. "Annie, Sasha," the man greets. "Both of you did well to survive," he smiles.

"Mah, mah, Naruto, is this how you greet your teacher after so long? Ignoring him in favour of your students?" the dog mask man asks nonchalantly.

Naruto beams at him. "My apologies, sensei." He bows in respect.

Sasha, being who she is, whispers loudly towards the nearest fellow special trainee in the form of Annie, "Sensei had a sensei?"

"Naruto," Satsuki cuts everyone off, "we need to fall back to the wall."

"That's the problem, we don't even have enough gas!" Jean shouts causing the two superiors and three strangers to look at him. "I-I mean—"

"No," Naruto nods. "You're right." He then looks to the three masked men and asks, "would you mind taking care of the insignificant ones hiding downstairs?"

"NOT AT ALL, YOUNG ONE! THE FIRES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHT IN YOU!"

"Gai," the dog mask one speaks. "Not the time."

"Gaaaah! Kakashi, my eternal hip rival! How can you do this to me?! I stayed silent for the entire trip!"

Naruto sighs as the two grown men bicker playfully like teenage boys before looking to the last silent man. "Any Akimichi with us, Taichou?"

"No. Choji and Choza are still in the forest. They're extending it and making good progress with your methods."

"I see. While that's fine and dandy, we could still use one of them right now." Naruto mumbles.

"What's wrong? We have you and Satsuki, don't we?"

Naruto snorts… before it turns into a smirk. "Annie, Sasha, Mikasa."

"H-hai!"

"Lead these men to the supply room. Satsuki and I will take things from here."

"But what about Eren?"

"He stays."

"But—"

Naruto glances back at Mikasa silencing the girl. "Do you trust me so little?"

"Do you trust me so little?" His words ring out in her head. The memory of him slicing Eren free from inside a Titan's body is still fresh in her mind. Yet, the memory of him watching Eren recover made her realize that this man... either always has a plan, or can always think on his feet. Steeling her nerves, the Ackerman locks eyes with her superior. "Understood."

"Good, and remember, what happened earlier stays between us, got it?" Naruto asks with a smile.

"Hai."

"Annie?"

"H-hai?"

"Watch over Mikasa for me."

"H-hai."

"Good. Run along, now."

"Uh-uhm… so, uh… right this way, uhm… strangers?" Sasha manages to stutter out. The three men nod allowing her to sigh in relief as they head down.

Everyone, save two powerhouses and one unconscious berserker, leaves.

"Those were a lot of 'hai,' no?" Satsuki asks with a smirk.

Naruto snorts in agreed amusement. "Let's take care of these bastards."

"Least number of kills treats the other to dinner and no use of flashy jutsu?"

"Oh, you're buying, Swee Pea!" VOOM!

"Hey! No cheating! We didn't say start yet! Naruto!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Now, THIS! THIS IS FREEDOM!"


=== (Next Time) ===

Chapter Eight: Recuperation, Reinforcements, Plans


=== (IMPORTANT Reminders) ===

Please be respectful even when giving criticism. Don't tell authors what they can or they cannot do. Suggestions and requests are always welcome, although whether we do it is still up to us. Orders? Orders (i.e., demands) will be ignored.

Otherwise! Please review as I always reply. Yes, even that one review that tried to order me on what I should have done and all that.


[Finished on August 8, 2021]

[23:28 hours, Philippines]


[Proofread on August 9, 2021]

[15:45 hours, Philippines]