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Chapter 4

Hope


(Colony of Kholo, Orion System- Three Years Later)

Captain Nono stood on an elevated platform alongside Sergeant Danzo Shimura to observe the results of the three years long advanced training they had put their young cadets of the Spartan program through.

From young children who didn't know how to defend themselves, Danzo had brutally traumatized them with day long drills to increase their physical strength through various forms of exercises and PT runs, implementation of a strict and healthy diet, training of hand to hand combat and swordsmanship, team exercises to make them learn operating in squads or platoons or as a company, survival exercises across the dangerous lands of the colony of Kholo, weapons training, infiltration and sabotage, medical training, and most importantly the usage of chakra in warfare.

While Danzo trained their bodies, the other instructors had also been tasked with upskilling their minds through various classes on History, War Strategy, extensive briefings about the Otsutsuki and its slaves species- their strengths and weaknesses alike, and so much more.

Not everyone of the children had been able to keep up and the 20 unmarked graves outside their base were a testament to that brutal reality.

Another ten had tried to desert out of fear or self preservation and met a final end at the hands of their own instructors.

270 cadets remained from the original 300 they had started the program with, some of the instructors had came to her since she was the head of this program. They wanted to go a little easy on the children considering they were still undergoing training and only suggested to increase the true horror that was yet to come once they were a little older and experienced.

Nono had flatly refused for the enemy would give these children no quarter or spare humanity the luxury of time. More than two dozen human colonies, including the hard fought world of Freedom had already fallen to a renewed invasion by the Otsutsuki Empire in the past three years.

Humanity needed its Spartans at the earliest to turn the tide and they could not afford to be provided fighters who didn't have the strength to face the Otsutsuki themselves.

The harsh decisions of hers had irked some of the other instructions, but none could deny the results in front of them on the screens right now.

They had divided the cadets into three companies of 90 each- Alpha, Bravo and Delta to run the latest exercise.

Their mission was a simple orderly retreat from a hot zone that was overrun by enemy forces ten times their own numbers. They had half an hour to reach their evacuation site which was nearly twenty kilometers away passing through forests and hills.

Alpha Company had completed the exercise within the deadline while suffering less than 10 percent casualties in their ranks.

Bravo Company had done only a little better and reached the evac site before the deadline with 5 percent casualties.

Considering the sheer number of enemies they faced, many would consider the results acceptable, but Nono knew this wouldn't be enough and was keenly waiting for the last company to execute the exercise.


Naruto, or Ruto-141 as his instructors called him assembled in the school circle made up of various strongest members of Delta Company. Their aim was to come up with a strategy to accomplish their mission with minimum casualties, an uphill ask considering the sheer enemies they faced and the limited time window till extraction.

"I say we leave five percent of our forces as rearguard to buy time for the rest of us to escape and fulfill the mission" suggested Neji Hyuga,

"That won't be acceptable to me, Neji. And do you want to volunteer yourself for such sacrificial action?" asked Sasuke Uchiha with a contemptuous glare, making the Hyuga warrior grit his teeth.

"We could all stick together, strength in numbers is much more tactical than fighting alone or scattered" suggested Sabuko no Gaara calmly,

"What do you think, 141? What's your opinion?" asked Samui seriously, the calculating eyes of the icy blonde looking expectantly on the other Spartan beside her.

Several pair of eyes turned towards Ruto-141 expectantly making him roll his eyes at Samui who didn't give any outward reaction.

"I agree with Gaara, Delta should stick together. But not in mere retreat" said Naruto honestly,

"Not in mere retreat? What other option there is apart from that? You lost your marbles, shithead!" scolded Tayuya harshly,

Two of the older members in their group sighed when Naruto ignored Tayuya's outburst and grinned as he stepped forward.

"What do you have in mind, Naruto? Let's hear it" said Pakura encouragingly,

"Just tell me one thing, will we fail our mission completely with your plan?" asked Darui seriously, the dark skinned boy was looking for an honest answer and was not disappointed when he got one.

"Hopefully not, most of us are focused on the mission's success which is of supreme importance, I agree. But it would be a failure if we lose to many of our numbers in retreat. The enemy expects us to flee, I have a different idea" said Naruto confidently, as he gestured them all to come closer.


Sergeant Danzo Shimura couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow as he watched Ruto-141 explain his plan to his comrades. It was certainly different from what the other two companies had implemented.

"He's a cheeky one alright" said Danzo amusedly,

"It could work or backfire spectacularly. He's going all in" remarked Nono curiously,


By the time, Naruto explained his plan there was a myriad of expression on the faces of comrades. Most were intrigued while a few looked at him as if he was mad.

"It could work if we are fast enough" said Pakura a little confidently, looking as intrigued as Darui who also nodded.

"It certainly beats running with our pants on fire. Retreat without putting up a good fight does not sit well with me" nodded Sasuke confidently,

"I still say it's a bad plan" said Tayuya insistently, earning a nod from Neji.

"I agree. If the enemy realizes our strategy, few or none of us at all would make it" warned the cold hearted Hyuga,

He was surprised when Naruto gave him an equally challenging glare and clenched his fist.

"No one gets left behind irrespective of their condition. Either all of us make it or none, we are Delta company and we don't leave our men behind as sacrificial pawns! Not even you" said Naruto fiercely,

Neji glared at him bitterly at the open challenge and took a step forward himself, but not once did those unwavering blue eyes flinched or looked away.

"The decoy team of your plan has a high chance of getting slaughtered. Would you be willing to take up that job?" asked Neji with a knowing smirk,

"I will. Will you help me?" asked Naruto without hesitation,

Shock coursed through nearly everyone, Neji most of all as he stared at the young blonde in front of him in disbelief.

"I shall support Ruto-141's plan, if this succeeds we can exfiltrate with minimum casualties" agreed Samui calmly, much to everyone's surprise.

"As will I" said Sasuke with a smirk, earning a thankful nod from his unconventional blonde friend.

"Spartans stick together, I'm in" agreed Gaara with a smile.

Tayuya sighed, "You shitheads can't fool the enemy without me! If I die, I'll haunt your scrawny ass- Ruto!" she warned, making Naruto offer a grateful nod in return.

"We are the strongest among the company. We can do this, it will give the others a chance to do their part and hopefully survive" encouraged Pakura,

Everyone turned to Neji who had watched the unity forming among his comrades over their plan of action, he looked at Naruto once again to see him still offering him his hand and asking for his help.

There was strength behind his conviction but also an earnest respect as a fellow company comrade.

"I suppose you have a name for our suicide squad?" asked Neji with a resigned sigh as he shook Naruto's hand, making many of the others smile.

Naruto was pleased and gratefully shook Neji's hand.

"Since we are taking on the greatest risk for the sake of our mission and comrades, how about...Noble?" suggested Gaara curiously,

"I like it" agreed Pakura with a firm nod,

"You always wanted to be a Knight in shining armor, boy scout" teased Tayuya with a smirk making Gaara frown, but the fiery readhead nodded her consent regardless.

The rest also agreed or simply shrugged sealing the decision.


"Noble Team, huh? Children always surprise us" wondered Nono outloud with a smile of her own,

"141's plan is unconventional to say the least. He is ignoring the stated missing objective" pointed Danzo with a frown,

"He wants to bring them all home. If he succeeds, he might just do the impossible" replied Nono seriously, earning a heavy frown from the instructor.

"That won't be possible everytime, Captain Nono. If they truly become Spartans, they shall go into hell and some if not all will never come back in many missions. Do you truly think Ruto-141 can make them all survive?" questioned Danzo in disbelief,

Nono watched the young cadet on her screen and the way he effortlessly made the others stand firm against the odds. There was something unique about him and she could now understand why Admiral Orochimaru wanted him to be the first Spartan.

"He will try regardless, Sergeant Danzo"


The mission began in earnest with the entire Delta company running at top speed in three different sections.

Only instead of retreating from the enemy, they were heading straight towards them.

While most of Delta Company had been stationed in the central formation that would meet the main enemy force, the rest were divided into flanking manevoures on the western and eastern fronts.

One of the Spartan flanks was on the eastern front made up entirely of shadow clones platoons sent by the Spartans in the center as decoys, while the the one on the western front comprised of eight of the strongest and actual Spartans of Delta company alone.

Naruto led the charge on the western front with members of the newly christened Noble Team following his lead. Armed with TTR rifles and chakra swords, they had the standard chakra armor offering them some protection alongside a host of smaller weapons.

He could hear the thundering of his heart and wondered if the plan would truly outplay the way he had imagined.

He didn't get more time to dwell upon that fact as the shadow clones on the eastern front relayed over the comms that they had engaged the enemy forces approaching from the east.

"Samui, overwatch!" he ordered swiftly, earning a nod from the sniper of their team as she hopped on top of the tallest trees with a grace that he could never accomplish.

"Darui- lead one of the fireteams. Pakura, Neji, Tayuya- go with him and hammer the enemies from the left flank"

"I'll lead the second fireteam. Sasuke and Gaara with me" finished Naruto decisively,

He received a scores of acknowledgement as his fellow trainees split of into their respective teams. By the time they reached their objective, he got an update from Samui right on time.

"I'm seeing 200 plus forces on foot in this sector. No enemy air support in vicinity, mostly Rachnids, Grunts and wait I'm seeing a few Nur on ground and Ghosts in their ranks" said Samui seriously,

Naruto grimaced.

Their extensive training so far had already covered the slave species in service of the Otsutsuki- the Rachnids and Grunts among them made up the bulk of their forces.

Rachnids were destructive Bugs who were about the size of large horses and scuttled around on four spindly legs. They attacked with two spiked razor limbs and their razor-edged mandibles could bite a person in half if they got close enough. They were relatively weak against standard-issue weaponry, but they made up for the deficit with their ridiculous large numbers. These Bugs had also proven capabilities to be able to climb up walls and dig underground.

Grunts were bipedal creatures usually five feet tall at most and had flat three toed feet with another toe in the back. Their eyes and hearing were not that great, but they had a keen sense of smell. The unique characteristic that set them apart from their fellow slaves was the fact they relied on methane as their source of breathing and carried gas masks and containers upon their selves at all times. They were not much bright and acted cowardly at times if their leaders were taken out, but were also known to have dangerous zeal and often suicidal tendencies to kill their enemies alongside themselves. They had numbers and a dangerous breeding rate to compensate for their abhorrent losses.

The Otsutsuki planetary invasions were built upon the endless waves of these two species leading suicidal charges to batter away human defenses.

The Nur on the other hand were a threat class of their own.

Bipedal creatures standing nearly eight feet tall at the minimum with a build that put the fear of god in the face of many human soldiers when they appeared on the battlefield. They had two arms and legs which were twice the size of a normal human with the strength to crush even the strongest of Earth's warriors. The Nur were the officers and planners whose four eyes allowed them to seize the battlefield's minute details, were expert marksmen and deadly at close quarters. They were also fiercely devoted to their Otsutsuki masters and didn't hesitate to lay down their lives in that service.

Ghosts on the otherhand were walking tanks of the Otsutsuki; carrying themselves on four large legs- they looked to be a mix of a large hairy monkey. The sheer amount of heavy weapons and shields alongside thick armor was enough for them to sustain fire from an entire platoon at a time. Their energy weapons could rip clean through bodies, armor and ground vehicles with devastating effect.

"Looks like we've almost got a full house of crazies in there, except the Otsutsuki" whistled Sasuke with a smirk, as Gaara and Naruto took up positions behind trees like him.

"What's the play, Ruto?" asked Gaara seriously, and watched as Naruto connected over their squad channel quickly.

"Darui hit them with your team from the left first. Once you engage and draw their attention, we will open the other flank" instructed Naruto,

"Copy" acknowledged Darui on the squad comms,

"The moment their attention is drawn to the other flank, Gaara will immobilize the Nur for Samui to dispose with prejudice followed by an artillery barrage. Sasuke and I will charge towards the Ghosts to neutralize them" directed Naruto, earning eager grins from two of his closest friends.

Noble Team waited for its moment of strike as they seized the vast grassy field devoid of much cover in front of them one last time.

Over the years, Captain Nono had also started infusing their bodies with a cocktail of drugs that enhanced their senses and powers significantly alongside their bodies. It was why the Spartan cadets had the physique of being in their late teens when most of them were barely reaching twelve years of lifespan.

Those enhancements proved their worth as Naruto saw the moment Darui's team started the attack with ease even from a far away distance.

A feeling Nono had once described to him as "Spartan time" kicked in for him as he watched in slow motion as Darui and his team delivered a series of chakra grenades that blew scores of Rachnids and Grunts holoforms to pieces instantly.

Before the enemy could get over the shock, a devastating hail of gunfire followed cutting down even more of the enemy's disposable soldiers.

The Nur and Ghosts infantry turned towards the new threat to engage even as the enraged Rachnids and Grunt platoons charged towards Team Darui's direction.

Gaara didn't waste his moment as he made powerful hands of reinforced sand rise from the ground beneath most of the Nur's feet to trap them completely. Alarmed, the Otsutsuki's officers were then instantly hit by deadly sniper fire that speared clean through their heads and necks making their holoforms vanish courtesy of Konan.

"Spartan Time, Noble-1" said Sasuke mockingly, making Naruto smirk a little.

They both rushed into battle with full speed towards their biggest targets.

Each cadet among the Spartan program had atleast one unique skillset, a testament to the fact was the way in which Tayuya used her deadly genjutsu to disorient the enemy's vision of her squad's position or make them crash into each other.

Darui and Pakura used Lightning and Fire Style ninjutsu attacks respectively to lay waste to such trapped or disoriented forces mercilessly.

The few lucky ones who still managed to break through got their personal version of smackdown as one of the best close quarter fighters of the Spartan program engaged them with vengeance.

Scores of Rachnids and Grunts were torn to shreds or simply tossed away like ragdolls when Neji used his Kekkai Genkai to unleash a hurricane of chakra devastation all around them to protect his team.

Naruto on the otherhand was the fastest among the entire program for none could match his expertise at the Body flicker technique or the large chakra reserves within his body that enabled him to outfight most Spartans and their enemies.

In less than twenty seconds he had already covered most of a two kilometer long run supported by relentless and precise shots from Sasuke's deadly gunfire that mowed down all the enemies in the way of his squad leader- the Uchiha's famed Sharingan giving him an even better version of Spartan time than Naruto's own.

Even as Sasuke provided cover for him and followed after him at a rapid pace, Gaara and Samui's tag team had already neutralized most of the Nur officers and were dealing with the last survivors.

It left Naruto a clear and straight path to the Ghosts.

The four legged walking tanks were now laying down precise and heavy fire upon Darui's team who had scattered to make themselves as small a target as possible, while Neji struggled to hold off the bulk of the advancing Rachnids and Grunt forces from slaughtering them.

Gaara laid down a Sand Artillery Barrage upon the Ghosts, but it didn't have much impact except for stopping their fire on Darui's team momentarily.

A window was all Naruto had needed.

He was already upon the first Ghost with his wind chakra laced sword slicing its head clean off effortlessly.

Before the beast could utter its death scream and its holoform vanished, he had already thrown his deadly sword to pierce the neck of another Ghost before transporting himself to a projected point in the air right above his next target.

Grabbing his sword in mid air, he severed the next Ghost beneath him in half, before launching a solid kick on the nearest one's face making it whip straight to the ground as a chakra sword pierce it through the eye.

"Nur's at your six!" called out Sasuke urgently,

Naruto whirled to his rear to see twin eight foot tall giants charging straight towards him, one of them was hit by a scorching fireball straight to its face as Sasuke's shadow sped past him to handle the downed threat. It still left the remaining pissed of Nur heading straight towards Naruto.

With a grim determination, Naruto wiped the blood of his sword quickly and jumped towards his opponent.

His chakra sword clashed with the Nur officer's own energy sword viciously making sparks of energy fly out, side stepping a kick from the giant monster that would have broken most humans, Naruto delivered a solid roundhouse kick to its side which barely made it flinch.

But that had been a diversion which it realized too late as a second Naruto emerged from the ground beneath its feet to slice it in half from the bottom.

"Reinforcements incoming from the enemy center's direction, brace yourselves!" warned Samui,

Naruto looked at the deceased form of his opponent who disappeared and saw the rest of his team was eliminating the remaining enemy forces on the western flank.

He also registered nearly an equal number of new contacts approaching as reinforcements, he checked with the shadow clone platoon on the eastern front and found a similar scenario happening there as well.

The enemy had tried to use their numerical superiority to encircle human forces, now with their flanks hard pressed to survive they were facing the very same threat themselves and trying to prevent it by dispatching reinforcements from the center to its flanks.

It was time to deal the decisive blow.

His voice was as calm as ever while giving the fateful order.

"Flanks, hold your ground. Delta Company, break through the enemy's center"


Sergeant Danzo Shimura couldn't hide his surprise nor could Captain Nono when they watched the decisive order given by Ruto-141 play out on the vid screens.

The 82 Spartans of Delta in the center who were earlier playing defense till now launched a blitzkrieg assault upon the enemy's weakened center which had dispatched a large amount of its strength to hold its crumbling eastern and western flanks to prevent encirclement.

The human fighters knew it was now or never and put everything they had into the attack.

What followed was a massacre of the Otsutsuki forces the likes of which a veteran like Danzo himself had seen only a few times in his long service of more than two decades.

Grunts and Rachnids fell in drove like a tidal wave as the majority of Delta Company fell upon them with vengeance. Nur and Ghosts were picked on by deadly sniper fire and heavy weapons or ninjutsu attacks. Some of the braver Spartans even brutally murdered the Otsutsuki elite officers in hand to hand combat.

The enemy had not expected for their own strategy to be thrown right back into their face and paid the ultimate price for it as its center collapsed in less than five minutes with only minor Spartan casualties, none of which were lethal.

While the enemy center was torn to pieces, the human flanks on the eastern and western directions held on for dear life against the new reinforcements.

The Spartan forces that destroyed the enemy center routed most of their able forces to the eastern flank where their shadow clones were now taking casualties. Danzo saw the enemies on that front would soon be pincered from all sides with the approaching wave of human reinforcements to aid the shadow clone forces.

That left a smaller relief force approaching as reinforcements for Noble Team on the western flank.

"They have some resolve, Sergeant" remarked Nono in astonishment,

Danzo looked at the western flank and saw Noble Team was not just holding their front, but slowly advancing forward despite being outnumbered heavily. Leading the charge were Ruto-141 and Sasuke-297's tag team dealing a rain of death upon any enemy unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Watching the mastermind behind this attack appearing all across the battlefield in quick flashes made Danzo remember a fallen hero.

The same lightning fast attacks, quick thinking on the battlefield and most of all an unbreakable resolve to win for his squad, for his company and for humanity reflected in young Naruto's will as he fought valiantly with the full support of Noble Team aiding him in every step.

Lieutenant Colonel Minato, your will still lives on in your son.

Watching Naruto fight made Danzo remember the young Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Shock Troopers who had displayed similar thinking and bravery earning humanity its first and sole victory against the undefeatable Otsutsuki Empire.

He saw even the ever controlled Captain Nono was not left unfazed by witnessing how eerily similar Naruto's fighting style was to his deceased father. His will to save everyone of his fellow comrades of Delta Company was the same as that of his mother's whose sacrifice saved the 5th Fleet of Admiral Tobirama from annihilation in the Battle of Freedom.

The child of humanity's greatest heroes of this War achieved the impossible against all odds like his parents when the last enemy forces were destroyed on the western front once Spartan reinforcements arrived from the center.

Another minute later, the last enemy across the eastern front was also killed.

An eery silence prevailed on the battlefield, the same as in the control room as the two stunned officers of ONI watched the destruction and results.

All enemy forces had been killed and while Delta Company had wounded, they had not suffered a single one of their own as KIA.

The shock and joy was equally present among the young Spartans which was quickly overtaken by a firm and controlled order from Naruto Namikaze.

"Good work, Delta. Now let's race back to exfil, we've got fifteen minutes left to catch our ride back home. Nobody gets left behind"

There was an air of unity and togetherness among Delta Company as they all straightened up for their next objective which had been their original mission, the able ones helped their wounded comrades as together they all made a dash for the exfil point.

Nono watched Naruto live up to his own order when he helped Neji-199 who had been wounded in the fight. Inspite of the earlier opposition the Hyuga had shown towards his plan alongwith mild hostility, Naruto didn't leave him behind and helped him instead. An act which surprised and humbled the other boy.

As one, Delta Company reached the exfil point with a minute left for their extraction window.

Naruto and the rest of Noble Team maintained a secure perimeter while the rest of the company boarded the shuttles, the wounded among them being escorted first. With seconds left to spare, Noble Team embarked on their own craft with Naruto being the last to step in after his entire company had made it.

As the shuttles took off to carry them all back to base, Nono watched Naruto finally turn towards the comrades in his shuttle.

No words were exchanged but in the silent but respectful stances, Captain Nono saw the cadet once known as Ruto-141 become Noble-1 not just for his squad but for the entire Delta Company of Spartans.

They had a leader who had given them victory and most importantly brought them all back home alive.

It would only make Noble-1 and his Spartans go through next that much more painful.

"They are all ready for augmentations, Captain" reminded Danzo, his sign off on their suitability for the most difficult and painful part of the program made Nono clench her fist.

"I know" whispered Nono with a deep sigh,

"It's a necessary sacrifice, Captain. They are good, but Supreme Commander Madara wants to see the Spartans in action for Operation Prometheus within a year at most. They won't survive that without the augmentations and extraordinary power we shall bestow upon few of them" added Danzo seriously, making Nono clench her fists bitterly.

"He's wrong, it's a suicide mission and the children aren't ready for that scale yet!" she protested vehemently,

"It's what they were bred for all these years"

The sharp and cold reply from the veteran instructor was enough to remind her again of the true purpose behind the Spartan program.

To win humanity its survival against the Otsutsuki at all costs, even if it meant the slaughter of each child in the Spartan program.

Her gaze full of worry and hope landed upon Naruto's form standing in the shuttle surrounded by his comrades. In that moment, Nono desperately wished for another miracle for the boy to pull off like he had in this mission.

But hope was something humanity was losing fast with each colony of theirs that was slaughtered in each subsequent battle.

The Spartans were their last resort, their final desperate gamble to prevent extinction of their kind.

Even if the price for that future was the life of every Spartan child in front of her eyes.

"We can only keep moving forward and bear our sins for history to judge, Sergeant Danzo. We will begin augmentations as ordered. Prepare the Biju"


Author's Note: End of Chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

Finalizing on the characters was quite a mind breaking exercise for me as Naruto has so many good characters to choose from. Many I have already used in my other stories, so I decided to have a blend of few familiar faces mixed with lesser known but interesting characters of the fandom which gives a good opportunity to add a new flair of ideas.

One of my readers suggested recreation of Blue Team from Halo, it was a good idea but that team is too sacred and I feel it should belong to Halo as the characters of the squad in this team are different from that.

Noble Team however seemed right to me and has the right number of characters I want to depict, so I went with that. Only time will tell if their story will take which form as compared to their halo team name counterparts.

I've not delved too much into basic training that Noble Team took for last three years, you'll get some snippets of it in next few chapters and how our characters got to know each other. I will certainly cover the next part of their training in more detail as the cliffhanger states.

I'll be taking a step-by-step approach in Introducing the Otsusuki and their army like I did for this chapter. This does not give a full account of their strength or full faction details yet, it's just enough to show the Spartans are being trained for the big fight and it won't be easy like their training missions which will look like a piece of cake in comparison to the real deal they will face in the field.

Last point some of you may be curious about can be: Pairings.

I'm not sure if the style will fit well into this kind of story, but I'm not saying no to it; if I see it fits well as the story develops. Let me know your thoughts if you have any on that.

Would love to hear from as many of you on the overall chapter as well, so Review please?

Until Next Time,

Blackwolf501