Rear Admiral John Hannibal's eyes were triumphant as he gazed upon the rich meadows and unpolluted blue sky. Oil reservoirs, mineral deposits, and agricultural opportunities, this world was a treasure trove. The resources buried across these vast lands would boost America's economy and bring jobs to its people. Most importantly, the success of this mission would give him all the credits he need to become the new Commander of the JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command).
"Sir!" A sergeant from the intelligence unit stood rigid and saluted his commanding officer. "Commander Uzumaki and Lieutenant Ross have returned."
Snivelling to the young sergeant, Hannibal grinned. "Lead the way, son."
Hannibal was anxious to greet his prized soldier. There was a saying in the Navy. When in doubt, call in Commander Uzumaki. He's the one who could make an impossible task seems like child's play. Only the strongest amongst the strongest were qualified to bear the insignia of the Navy SEALS, but only a selected few transcending the elites were chosen to join DEVGRU. Naruto was the epitome of a perfect DEVGRU commander that every soldier aspired to be, a war machine hardened by adversity and ruthless in combat.
When Hannibal sauntered into the command post, he was delighted to see Naruto leaning into a chair with his legs resting crudely on the table. He harrumphed aloud, catching everybody's attention. "Why don't you gentlemen go out and take a break for a minute while I speak with Commander Uzumaki?"
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers dropped what they were doing and hastily strolled out of the command post.
Hannibal took a beeline towards Naruto, who was awfully insouciant about his presence. "Commander."
Naruto's brow rose. "What brings you here, sir?"
"The higher-ups sent me to command and conquer." Hannibal opened his hands. "Here I am."
"Conquer?" Naruto stood up from his seat and placed his hands on his hip. "Are we not here to liberate?"
"Liberate? From what? Terrorists? Insurgents?" Hannibal chuckled. "This is the dream, Uzumaki. Right now, this world is more secluded than North Korea. And guess what? America is the only country that has access to it. Russia, China, Germany, England, Japan, and even Australia want a piece of this. That's why the higher-ups are rushing to get things done! We need to plant our flag on these lands just like what we did to our moon."
"Yeah, I supposed so." Naruto took a glance out of the window, his eyes narrowed. The U.S. Government had already deployed bulldozers, excavators, and a cornucopia of heavy-duty vehicles to commence construction. "You should know this. There is an autocrat ruling over these lands. We're practically in enemy's territory."
"Oh?" Hannibal arched a brow, but wasn't fazed by the news. "Tell me more."
"They called themselves the Empire. They're very similar to the Romans back in the days. They have an emperor, a senate, and many allies to back them up. Unfortunately for them, they fight with spears and swords."
"Then it's settled." Hannibal guffawed heartily. He dug out a zippo lighter and lit up the half cigar jammed in the side of his mouth. "They can't possibly beat us."
Naruto stroked his bearded chin. "I'm hoping to be diplomatic about this."
"Sure. Sure." Hannibal grinned. "We can try diplomacy. If they don't agree to our terms, we'll destroy them. Sounds good?"
Some may perceive Hannibal as the stereotypical American machismo who relish in mayhem, but he was more than just that. Naruto knew Hannibal was a warmonger who indulged in the pretence of upper-echelon military life and was hungry for power. Kill those bastards before they kill you, that's what Hannibal firmly believed in.
"Sounds excessive. Are you sure the suits in the White House are in to this?"
Hannibal scoffed. "They're bureaucrats. The only care about results. It's always result this, result that. They don't give a rat's ass how it's done. It's our job to make sure we deliver. We're running on tight schedule here, Uzumaki. All the federal money are suddenly coming in. The high-ups plan to set up a facility in this place to test new weapons. We're talking about smart bullets, unmanned aircrafts, stealth tanks, rail guns."
Naruto arched a brow. "Rail guns?"
"Yeah. Rail guns are the future, son." Hannibal stared at Naruto dryly. "Hell, we can even use one to defend our base."
Naruto didn't quite like how Hannibal was so gung-ho about it. "The natives here uses sticks and stones to fight. You're bringing in a weapon that can fire a projectile that travels at Mach 7 with a range over 100 miles. You just went past the threshold of high school bullying. That's just straight up massacre."
"More of the reason why we need it." Hannibal grinned. "Our enemy will learn to fear us."
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "I assume you want me to do recon?"
"I want you to lead our recon, son." Hannibal raised his volume. "You'll be assigned as Commander of the Special Region's Reconnaissance Team. Get yourself a team and move out in two hours. I want boots all over this place by the time our HQ is up."
"Right."
As if on cue, a faint voice was heard over the SINCGARs radio transmission. "Command, this is Raven 1. Do you copy?"
Naruto picked up the handset. "This is Command. What's the status report?"
"The goose is resting in the nest."
Hannibal raised a brow, confused.
"Good job. Come back home now."
"Roger that."
Hannibal took a puff from his cigar, his interest piqued. "Goose?"
"Prince Zorzal. I believe he is responsible for attacking New York City."
"What?" The Rear Admiral surveyed his environment, ensuring nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. "This is classified intel!"
"Yes. I plan to capture him."
Hannibal chuckled; he got to give it to the DEVGRU Commander. He had some serious balls. "You want to capture a royal member of our enemy? You do know that constitute a war, right?"
Naruto shook his head. "If it is confirmed that Prince Zorzal was the one responsible for attacking New York City, then it is highly likely he is also responsible for the kidnapping of American civilians. And from what I heard, those that he has captured are either raped or killed. The war crimes he has committed are more than enough for the U.S. Government to declare war on the Empire. I just need time to confirm my suspicions."
"So you're going to use the recon mission as a façade to hunt down this goose of yours?"
Naruto smirked. "Kill two birds with one stone."
"I expect no less from you." Hannibal's face went solemn. "This conversation stays between us. We can't have some assholes yapping confidential stuff to the public."
Naruto nodded. "I need to ask a favour from you."
The Rear Admiral raised a brow and slotted a hand into his pants pocket. "What is it?"
"I need you to protect Tyuule and her people for me while I'm away."
"Tyuule?" A mischievous grin found its way to Hannibal's wrinkled face. "Oh? You finally landed yourself a girl, huh?"
Naruto deadpanned. "She is the Queen of the Warrior Bunny. An indigenous tribe of warriors. Their villages were pillaged by the Empire, so they have nowhere to go. We need to help them."
"Help them? Like a humanitarian aid?" Hannibal scowled. "Why should we waste our resources to help them?"
"Tyuule is the only one who can understand our language." Naruto reasoned, his face stoic and expressionless. "We would need someone to help us understand the culture of this world. She can help remove the language barrier by working as an interpreter for us and let us understand the Empire better. Besides, she loathed the Empire. We can be sure that their information is credible."
Hannibal took in a deep breath, contemplating the pros and cons.
"I believe there is long-term benefit to this arrangement." Naruto plopped down on a stool, his arms crossed. "If we help them, they will spread words about our magnanimity. Not to mention, we may gain their unquestioned loyalty. The Warrior Bunny are trained to be proud fighters, very much like the Apache. Their queen was willing to sacrifice herself for the safety of her people. Very honourable, if you ask me."
"Are you suggesting we train these Warrior Bunny too?"
Naruto shrugged. "We trained the Iraqi and the Syrian. I don't see why we can't train a few Warrior Bunny to fight for us. It's a win-win. Besides, it doesn't hurt to establish good rapport with the locals, no?"
"I see." Hannibal grinned. "Very well. You have my word."
-Naked Siege-
The blanket of clouds sheltered the land from the afternoon sun. Tyuule was overjoyed when her people were safe from the Empire's clutches. When she saw the Iron Elephants and Iron Pegasus came from the gate, she shivered in fear. She had witnessed how these weapons pulverised Prince Zorzal's forces and it frightened her.
Tyuule's heart almost skipped a beat when she saw Naruto approaching her from afar. She was beyond ecstatic when the enigmatic blond had returned from the Empire's onslaught unscathed. Her lips parted, as if the mere sight of him had rendered her incapable of doing anything else. She was struggling to calm her breathing, but it wouldn't end well, not when she was surrounded by people looking.
Naruto stood before Tyuule, his hands on his hip and his gaze strong, a lopsided smile filled with mischief curved at his lips. "How is your stay, Tyuule?"
She took off towards him, starling him. It was by his honed instincts that he could gracefully catch her by her waist. She looped her slender arms around his neck and burrowed her face against his chest, soaking in his scent of citrus and tobacco.
"I thought I have lost you."
Naruto chuckled, patting the back of her head affectionately. "Silly girl. I don't die so easily."
It didn't matter that people was staring at them. Naruto paid them no mind, even when he was a venerated and well-respected figure amongst his peers. She heard rumours about Naruto and the things he did. Frankly, it sounded more like tall tales than reality, but one of his men had assured her that the stories she heard were watered down. How could someone so dangerous be so warm at the same time?
Tyuule pushed the blond and started inspecting every corner of his body for injuries. "You didn't get hurt?"
"Nope." Naruto smiled.
A warm blush stole over her skin. "But how?"
"If I get hurt so easily, I wouldn't be what I am." Naruto diverted his gaze towards the tribe of Warrior Bunny learning from the Marines on building a geodesic DRASH tent. "Seems like your people are accommodating well."
"Yes." She smiled jovially. "Your people have been very courteous and generous to us. We are forever in your debt."
Naruto grinned. "No sweat. I have spoken with my boss. He's willing to supply your people with food and shelter for the time being. In exchange, we need you to help us do some translating work."
Tyuule nodded. "I will do anything."
"Anything?" Naruto's eyes were playful and suggestive, causing her to avert her gaze and hiding her flushed cheeks.
"Yes." It was barely a whisper, but Naruto heard it loud and clear.
"If my boss or any of my men are mistreating you or your people, you let me know."
Tyuule smiled softly. "Thank you."
Naruto was taken aback when a curvaceous brunette with twitching bunny ears came to him, seized his hands, and planted kisses on his knuckles. She peered up, her eyes sparkling with adoration and she muttered something that was incoherent to him. Naruto raised a questioning brow and turned to Tyuule, who giggled cheerfully. "She wants to thank you for saving us. She is Delilah, my personal attendant and guardswoman."
"I didn't do much, really." Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "If it wasn't for you," He shot Tyuule a wink. "And your determination to save your people, we might not be able to pull it off."
Tyuule gasped, whispered something into Delilah's ears, and they started giggling amongst themselves, occasionally sneaking gazes at the puzzled blond.
It was then a private interjected their conversation and gave Naruto a salute. "Sir!"
"At ease, soldier. What is it?"
"Rear Admiral Hannibal called for you, sir! He said it's urgent."
Naruto furrowed his brows.
-Naked Siege-
The command post was bustling with people, something that irked Naruto when he stormed in. Tyuule tagged along and was dumbstruck by the peculiar machinery lined across the area. There were bright screens displaying maps of the region, videos from aerial surveillance, and data about geography and climatology, but what caught Tyuule's attention was the image of Bellnahgo.
"Prince Zorzal is hiding in there." Tyuule pointed out, which piqued Naruto's interest. It also didn't go unnoticed by Hannibal, who overheard her from the corner of the tent.
"Who's she?" The imposing Rear Admiral marched towards Tyuule, inciting tension in her face. She could deduce what the burly man was. He was much older than Naruto, but had a thick, almost square head and a look of toughness and importance that were reserved for hardened generals. As a dignified Queen of the Warrior Bunny, she, too, was a general. She refused to be intimidated.
Tyuule lifted her chin and brought her shoulders back.
"This is Queen Tyuule. She is the Matriarch of the Warrior Bunny," said Naruto. "Queen Tyuule, this is Rear Admiral Hannibal. My boss."
"Ah." Hannibal's eyes lit up and offered his hand. "I heard great things about you, Queen Tyuule."
She stared at his large hand before her, unsure what to do with it.
Naruto sensed the awkwardness almost immediately and took a step forward. "What is going on, sir?"
Hannibal whirled around. "Our intel caught wind that the Empire has already rallied sixty thousand troops for battle. More are gathering in the city. I fear they are planning something."
"Battle?" Naruto placed a hand on his hip and connected the dots. "They brought sixty thousand troops or possibly more to fight us?"
Tyuule gasped in fright. "It all make sense now."
Naruto and Hannibal turned to her.
"Bellnahgo is one of the Empire's prime cities. The people who live there are miners. They produce and distribute the Empire's gold and silver. Thus, it is heavily fortified by the Empire's elite, that's why Prince Zorzal chooses to hide there." Tyuule was sweating. "If Prince Zorzal merges his force with the city's existing army, they will be unstoppable."
"Nothing is unstoppable." Naruto interjected frostily. "We will capture the city and make it ours."
Tyuule snapped at Naruto, frustration and desperation were burning in her eyes. "Don't you get it, Naruto? You can't beat them! Prince Zorzal personally commands over forty thousand men! That's over a hundred thousand Imperial soldiers stationed in Bellnahgo."
"That's why we will need you to help us win this battle." Naruto smiled.
Tyuule was visibly shaken, unable to register Naruto's gallantry and absurd confidence. There were less than a thousand soldiers stationed in their base. The Empire's Imperial Army had outnumbered them by a hundred to one. Tyuule clenched her teeth and balled her fists. No matter how much she hated to admit it, the Warrior Bunny would had been obliterated by the Empire if Prince Zorzal wasn't a moron. The pompous noble couldn't formulate a decent strategy even if his life depends on it.
"W-We need to leave now, Naruto!" She stared pleadingly at Naruto.
He smiled, then reached over after a moment, and stroked her hair out of her eye. His voice soft and pleasant to the ear, a side of him that even Hannibal had never seen before. "Can you trust me on this, Tyuule?"
"I…" She felt unbearably hot and cold at the same time. Her mouth was dried, her fingers quavering in fear. When she glanced up and peered into his ocean blue eyes, it was as if he had miraculously taken all her fear away. She nodded wordlessly and studied her feet. "Okay."
"I hate to interrupt, but I believe you have something in mind?" Hannibal cocked a brow and blew out smoke from his cigar.
"The art of war is simple, sir." Naruto steeled his gaze. "We find out where our enemy is. Get at him as soon as we can. Strike him so hard he can't even bounce back from reality and we move on from there."
"Can you be more specific?"
Naruto crossed his arms and studied the monitors nonchalantly. "World War One. 1916. The Battle of the Somme. The British Army led by Sir Douglas Haig suffered over fifty thousand casualties on the first day against the Germans. It was so because Haig thought it was wise to get his men to charge against the Germans, who were hiding in their trenches and armed with machine guns."
Tapping the shoulder of an intelligence unit specialist, Naruto ordered. "Sergeant, show me the possible routes the Empire would take if they were to marshal all their infantrymen to our doorstep?"
"Yes sir." The sergeant typed on his keyboard to initiate the analysis.
Naruto's eyes flicked up to the monitors hung on the wall, scrutinising the data. It was as he had anticipated. Prince Zorzal wouldn't dare use the forest route, not after his escorts were brutally eradicated. He would have to take the long-cut, a definitive route that was basically an open field. "We will form a defensive line here and wait for them. Get men to start making trenches with sandbags. I want M2 mounted and trenches made over that line in two hours."
"Roger that, sir." The specialists relayed the order over the intercom.
"What makes you think they will come?" Hannibal folded his arms.
"Oh, he will come. The guy is angry. He wants blood, especially after the humiliation he suffered in our hands." Naruto grinned. "Right now, he's most likely wondering who the fuck are we. How did we wipe their forces out so easily? Was the Warrior Bunny involved? In fact, he should be sending his scouts to check on us by now."
As if on cue, one of the intelligence unit specialists bellowed. "Sir! We have five unidentified bogeys spotted flying northwest on our no-fly zone."
Bingo!
"Get me eyes on target." Naruto smirked knowingly.
"Yes sir." The sergeant pulled out images of what seemed to be Roman soldiers riding on the back of a dragon. Naruto pointed a finger at the screen and looked over his shoulders at Hannibal. "Those are the scouts."
"Blow them up!" Hannibal barked.
"No, sir." Naruto interjected. "Let them report back about what they saw."
The Rear Admiral growled. "You want them to report information about us to their superior?"
"Why not?" Naruto chuckled. "It's not like they understood what they were seeing. Besides, I'm counting on them to go back in one piece."
"Oh?" Hannibal dropped his cigar on the ashtray and leaned against a table. "Pray tell, what are you planning?"
"They would most likely report how many people they saw. This will entice the prince to come to us, which is precisely what we need." Naruto's eyes narrowed at the dragons. "We will pretend to be inferior and encourage their arrogance. Although we are fewer in numbers, we are superior in every way when it comes to weapons. They will no doubt bring in all their men to destroy us. It is the prince's way of asserting his non-existence dominance over us. We will leverage on his arrogance and destroy him."
Hannibal grinned. Those skilled in war would bring the enemy to the battlefield and not brought there by him. Naruto knew his enemy well and decided to use their lack of soldiers as bait to lure the prince. That way, on paper, the U.S. Navy did not actively engage the enemy. Furthermore, securing Bellnahgo would severely jeopardise the Empire's economy. This war was already won long before it started.
"Very well." The Rear Admiral called out. "Do not engage the target."
"Roger that."
Hannibal narrowed his eyes. "Get clearance for high-ups to send in reinforcement. We may need to bring in the cavalry if we want to get this done quick."
"Yes sir." The intelligence specialists nodded and tended to their task.
"Commander, are you sure about this?"
"I will be on the field to lead the battle." Naruto smirked. "Oh, ya. When they come, and they will come, I will need eyes in the air."
"Oh?"
"I need to know if the prince is present on the battlefield. If he is, we need to secure a safe passage for his imminent escape. Then we will prepare for an ambush to capture him." Naruto stroked his chin and mused for a moment. "If he is not on the battlefield, then I may need an immediate pick up to send me and my team into Bellnahgo."
"I will arrange for it." Hannibal patted Naruto's shoulder, a proud grin on his face. "Good luck."
Author Note: Hey guys. Hope you like this chapter. I've been receiving a few hate comments recently, but no worries. I am okay with it. It makes me realise that my story isn't perfect, but then, no story really is. Anyway, I landed myself a new job, so things will be getting tough. I know some of my readers are pressing me to update my old stories. I hope you understand that writing fanfiction is a hobby, not a job. I'm doing it because I love writing.
That being said, I can also understand the frustration readers might get from not knowing what's next and I apologise for it. I sincerely do. I value my readers' opinions very much and I know that I might have disappointed some of you out there. Regardless, despite being disappointed, you still stick around with me and I truly appreciate that.
Some of you actually asked me why I suddenly disappeared from fanfiction for so long. I believe I owe you guys an explanation. Truth is, I was working and studying. I'm paying my own bills, my own tuition fees, and taking care of my grandparents. Writing fanfiction helps me escape reality for a moment, but I was too tired to even do it.
Any who, I apologise that you have to read through all that (if you did).
Pairing wise:
1.) NarutoXTyuule (Quite a popular one)
2.) NarutoXPina
3.) NarutoXYao
4.) NarutoXRory
5.) NarutoXGiselle
6.) NarutoxHarem
Let me know how you feel.
Review :D
