Chapter 3


Disclaimer:

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Shingeki no Kyojin © Hajime Isayama


This chapter is Proof-read by FeatherRose242, :D


Chapter 3.1: Erwin's Misadventure

Location: Old Castle in Wall Rose Territory

Timeline: Two days after the meeting with The Council

In the peaceful atmosphere in his office, Erwin can't help but think about the previous events that currently taking over his mind. No one can fault him though, because said events present possibilities to change the world.

Honestly, the first time Erwin saw the foreigners, he was nervous and really wanted to squirm away from their dark gazes, one with the blankest eyes he ever met and one with such piercing eyes they sucked his soul out. They were no ordinary humans. And he was right, too damn right in that aspect. But, as the Colonel of the Thirteenth Battalion, with the life of his subordinates on the line (both with the possible threat from the foreigners and the titans), he'll have to handle the matter in the most effective manner: by asking the question out of the blue. If they were surprised by the question, they did not show it. The only indication that they got the question was the nano-millimeter widening of the one called Sasuke's eyes. He knows that he ought to feel more suspicious of them after that, but somewhere in the back of his mind he want to trust them, because they're fellow soldiers, he can see that much from them, and just like the Reconnaissance Legion, ones that will not hesitate to do anything for a purpose.

He doesn't know just how right he was then, but after the meeting with the Council, he really sees them in the different light. They are ruthless, merciless, but effective; his fractured jaw and cracked ribs could vouch for him. The two ninja, no, shinobi (as they insist to be called) beat half occupants in the conference room with effortless grace; their movements were too quick for their eyes; not even a bullet could graze a single hair on them. And that was just to prove a point—that threat won't work on them, because they're the ones with power, and their purpose of alliance here is actually a generous offer to them— While, the other half of the room's occupants could only gape in disbelieve and fear, even Darius Zacklay, the Supreme Commander of the country's military force, needed to stuttered out his request to be shown the strength of Shinobi Army.

They're amazingly strong, and they have more of people like them back home. With them on their side, he's sure they can finally gain victory against the titans. And they could-

Knock. Knock

His musing is interrupted by a knocking sound on his door. Looking up from his unread paperwork he tells the intruder to come in, "Come in."

They're now using the old castle in the Wall Rose territory to accommodate their guests until their army came to find them. The castle used to be the Recon Corp Headquarters back in the past. The old castle's doors, from the lack of use and oiling, always make a creaking sound that annoyed most occupants, just like now, and following the creaking sound is Sasuke Uchiha, holding one of their guns, and by the looks of it the raven haired man doesn't know that he should not point the gun at him, or at anybody in that matter.

Instinctively, Erwin raises his arms in a 'calm down' gesture, "How can I help you, Sasuke-san?" he hopes his voice did not sound that nervous.

"Tell me how this thing works. We have something similar to this but they launch kunai not bullets," Sasuke explains, lowering the gun from Erwin peripheral vision, voice void of emotion, but the hint of curiosity is clear in his eyes.

"Sure." And he does. He tells him how the gun works, shows him the mechanical and technical aspects, and even dismantles the weapon to show him how the inside works. The younger man seems satisfied with his explanation at the end; his eyes regard him with approval.

"That was interesting, Erwin-san." A new voice chimes in from the direction of the window in the room, making Erwin jump slightly. Sure enough, Erwin finds Sai perched comfortably on the window sill, his fake smile present.

"Thank you?" That sounds like a question, even to his own ears, because he honestly doesn't know how to respond.

The artist just smiles at him, "Then, would you please tell us how the 3D Maneuver Gear works?"

He raised an eyebrow at Sasuke and got a nod in return. "Sure, but unfortunately I can't demonstrate. You could ask Hange for that," he says finally, his jaw's already hurting from that much talking. He would have suggested asking Levi instead if the short man is not out of commission with a sprained ankle, courtesy of well placed aimed sweep by Sai.

"Your ribs not healed yet?" Sasuke raises a perfectly sculptured eyebrow at him.

He blinks. It was just two days ago, there's no way he can be healed in two days' time, "Um, no. We still heal normally, Sasuke-san."

"Use this," Sai says, and nonchalantly threw him a small container which he caught from the air easily.

Staring down at the object in his hand, he asks, "What is this?"

"It's a salve, of course," Sai begins to explain, but is interrupted by the sound of gun shots from the other side of the room by the window.

"It's for your ribs; you can share it with your subordinates if you want, because we have more of those," Sai finishes.

"And I caught us dinner," Sasuke announces, oddly cheery. As he looks out from the window, he can see the V-formation of a dozen ducks take a nosedive to the grounds; apparently Sasuke shot a whole pack of them.

And when he orders his men to fetch those birds, (they come back with happy grins on their faces at the chance to eat a lot of meat), he freezes. Because, he notices that apparently all the birds are cleanly shot dead in the left eye.

As he watches his subordinates prep the birds for dinner he can't help but realize that these shinobi were really, really scarily strong. He can't begin to imagine what they will do when they learn how to use 3DMG tomorrow.


Chapter 3.2: Emergency

Location: Formerly Tea Country, Leaf Corp HQ

At the day of their departure, which was three days after Sai's report received, the sky is clear with not a single cloud loitering about. Perfect weather for flying with their newest airship which they (read: Naruto) named StingRai, to Orochimaru's charging; as evil (according to most people) as he is, he takes pride in what he's doing and he's not shy to show them around. Not that he needed to, the blonde commander's doing a good job at advertising his accomplishment, and he'll have to give it to the brat for being so bright and attention catching even at this height.

However, that his masterpiece was named with such silly pun really grating his nerves, he really can't let that go unpunished. But, he'll plan his revenge on the blond later, as of now; he has an airship to check.

They are currently at the final stage checking off the airship, as they'll fly it for a long distance for the first time, and he is to be present in their journey as the airship's technical support, not that this thing needed it; he's the one who built it after all. But, his former pupil's best friend which happen to be the Commander himself insists on getting him abroad; how considerate of him to drag the poor old scientist out to fly after months stuck in their underground facility.

They're now hovering in hundred feet height; the blonde's clones are everywhere, covering every nook and cranny for anything out of place. And all the while, barreling him with so many questions which he tries his best to answer, but despite his best effort, he is sure half of them were pouting for being ignored. It's the brat's own fault for insisting that 100 clones was the most effective number at gathering information, which completely untrue as he only has one source for information. Maybe he should get Udon here to help with the question-answer session with the blond commander.

They finish an hour later, and as they lower the ship for landing, he can see something or maybe someone approaching their position by flying at breakneck pace. Judging from the speed and the flying shinobi it looks like an emergency from Iwa; as the Stone Corp is the only division that possesses shinobi with weight-lightening technique which allow them to defy gravity and fly.

It turns out that he was right. The person in question is a messenger from Iwa looking for Naruto. The young man told the Leaf Commander that on their way here they saw a cluster of Evolved Giants Class 3, and that their group decided not to let the opportunity pass and went to hunt them down. In other word the messenger is the only representative from Iwa in their Expedition to the foreign land. The man introduces himself as Ishi Ryota, Kurotsuchi's half-brother. He's a boy in his late teens, maybe around 18-19 years old. He has blonde hair like the Leaf Commander, just not as bright, and has a pair of cat-like eyes much like his half sibling, albeit with different color. And he's loud; the boy declares himself as Naruto's biggest fan and with his bubbly voice begins to praise the commander to no end. Orochimaru just chuckles at the scene. It is not an emergency after all.


Chapter 3.3: Level Up

Location: Old Castle in Wall Rose Territory

Dinner time is filled with lively conversation between members of Recon Corp and their guests, who begins to be more open to them after the satisfying meal, courtesy of Sasuke Uchiha, or Uchiha Sasuke from the foreigner's custom. The man is really something to be able to shot at least a dozen of flying ducks. His speed at refilling the gun must be top-notch, and he said it was his first time using the firearm. Mike tsk'ed at the thought and the implication that the Uchiha guy can do anything by just watching.

The thing was the shinobi smelled funny, as in he can smell blood on them, but it's not theirs. They mostly smelled like forest but there's this particular tinge that send shivers down his spine, it must be their enemy's blood. Never in his life had he smelled such a peculiar scent. The most obvious thing about them is that they smelled dangerous, even ignoring the blood tinge and their smell only intensified at the Council Meeting. Their whole aura was suffocating, even though they barely said a word while beating up their opponents. They make up for it though, by giving them the weird salves, which was delivered by Erwin. This salve does wonders on his bruised side. It's not even hurting anymore.

Mike watches as Sasuke stands up from his seat beside Hange, who refuses to leave him alone despite the fact that there is no information exchange between them. A slightly drunk Gelgar bumps Sasuke, who just ignores the drunken man and made his way upstairs. Gelgar stays in his spot looking down at the floor as if the ground is the most interesting thing in the world, the man then crouch down to retrieve a pile of papers.

Hange is on the scene before he could blink. Apparently, Mike is not the only one who kept track of the shinobi. He walks calmly to the two people huddling over the papers. Well, the papers turn out to be a collection of titan pictures, and do those titans really have hot body?! What the hell?!

They all stare at the pictures with scandalized expression. How can they not? The titans they saw during their expeditions had disproportionate bodies and were downright ugly. Not something you want to see a second time. It is also one of the reasons why the Recon Corp can kill titans in the shortest amount of time compared to the other military corporations: they're sick of looking at those ugly faces and bodies. But these titans—one of them had nice racks!—have perfectly toned bodies as if they know how to work out. Those six packs don't come easy even for humans.

Hange's eyes are practically sparkling now, and she forcefully tears her gaze away from those fascinating titans' pictures and laid it on the remaining shinobi in the room, "Sai-san, would you please tell me what these are?"

Sai, who has been preoccupied with some random member, turns toward the three people. His eyes land on the pictures clutched in their hands. "Ah, I might as well tell you all about this," Sai said, while beckoning them to come closer and take a seat around him. The sober members receive the same gesture and make their way to the now-crowded table.

"These are evolved giants or in your term, titans, that have reached the third level of their evolution. We shinobi simply regard them as Class 3," Sai begins his explanation, which get several confused stares.

"Does that mean there are other classes?" Erwin asks, not pleased.

"Of course there are. Our titans are classified in several classes. There are the normal and the abnormal classes, much like the titans in this area. And then there's the Evolved Titan (ET), which have another classification. So far there are three classes of ET, Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3."

"How do you distinguish them?"

"I've told you that titans absorb energy from anything they eat. It turns out they can level up with the amount of chakra they consume. The chakra that is equivalent to ten Jounin-level shinobi they consume is able to make them evolve to Class 1. Their body becomes more proportional and they have more control of their limbs.

"They evolved into Class 2 when they consume another amount of chakra that's equivalent to 50 Jounin-level shinobi. At this stage, they have the movement of a trained civilian in hand to hand combat. The evolved titan that appeared at our first meeting was a Class 2."

There were several gasps around the circle. But Sai just ignores them in favor continuing his lecture. "The Titans would reach Class 3 when they absorb an amount of chakra equivalent to one Kage-level shinobi. This class is the most dangerous, as they have the combat level of a genin and they have more intelligence than any other class. They can also speak since their anatomies are just like a giant version of a fit man and woman."

"You mean they can communicate with us?" Hange asks for confirmation, eyes glowing, Sai wonders if the room was dark enough whether he could see two glowing orbs there. But then he remembers another important note about this class.

"Yes. On a side note, they're not solitary creatures. This Class likes to collect titans, preferably the same class as them, and build a pack."

They seem more alarmed with this piece of information.

"Why does Sasuke-san have their pictures? How did you take them in the first place? Here, we need to be still for hours to get one picture and cameras only exist in the inner wall," Hange asked.

"It seems we have more advanced technology than you. Sasuke has this because he's part of The Hunter Squad, the one dispatched to eliminate the high-class titans."

"Sasuke-san's so cool~!" the girls gush among themselves. With the exception of Hange of course, she is busy drolling at the titans' pictures in her shaking-with-excitement-hands.

"Are you also part of this Hunter Squad? Seeing as you were able to eliminate the Class 2 with ease," Erwin inquires.

"No, I am not. But I'm part of the Recon Corps back in the Leaf. Our task is to gather information about the Evolved titans. Then, the Hunters will act based on the provided information."

"How many Class 3 titans are there?" Levi asks warily.

"Based on our latest survey, there are 68 of them. And they're divided into 17 packs."

"I don't think I can sleep after this," one random member says to the person beside him.

"Yeah, me either," was the reply.

"I think I want to puke."

After the titan classification lecture, they all enter a state of anxiety and slight panic. All the while, Sai tried to calm them down by giving them one of his off smiles, which not really helping. Not with the absolute threat waiting behind the walls.


Chapter 3.4: Youth Never Die

Three days ago, Maito Gai's heart was elated at the news brought by a fellow youthful shinobi. He was selected as the personal guard of the Leaf Commander, the ever youthful Naruto-kun. He felt so honored he cried in his pupil's manly embrace. He was even more elated when he knew that he would be one of the lucky shinobi to be the first to ride StingRai to a foreign land.

"Behold! My Eternal Rival, even at the tender age of 37, My Spring of Youth has yet to fade away! Naruto-kun personally requested my youthful companionship on his journey to a foreign land!"

"Well, he asked me too when I went to visit him a week ago," Kakashi replied with his usual eye-smile.

"As expected of My Eternal Rival! Naruto-kun would want another youthful companion in this journey, and your Spring Time of Youth must be shining so brightly, Kakashi! This what youth is all about!"

...

...

"Did you say something?"

"Ghahh! You're so hip, Kakashi!"

Naruto can only watch as his former mentor and his self-proclaimed Eternal Rival go at it again. Right now, they just need to wait for the arrival of the Mist Commander and her escorts. Then, they can begin their journey to Onion Land. Temari still spluttered at the name he uses to address the foreign country, but what can she do? It's not that they expected to identify themselves when they were sure they were the last of humanity on earth. And now, since Rai's appearance, the other country doesn't have a name to identify themselves, it was as if they really believe they were the last human civilization and that humanity would die in the end. Ha, they should always expect the unexpected.

"Remember My Eternal Rival, youth never dies!"

Yes, Humanity will not die as long as there's someone like Gai-sensei who believes in youth.

And indeed, as long as youth never dies, humanity will prevail.

-End of Chapter 3-


ReviewReview