Yo..

It's been a while since the last update, I was busy with my other stories (I published 2 crossovers of Naruto and Mass Effect& Naruto and Attack on Titan), also I had to carefully think about the next arc of this story. That's the only reason.

Okay, some of you said I went overboard with Mikoto's goodbye, but Naruto crushed her feelings too. Mikoto had for the first time asked something from Naruto and he basically said a "Fuck you" and went his own way, but she does not hate him.

Anger and grief combined with tension of war can make people say cruel things. It has a plot element connected to it.

I read some of the requests from readers to update this story more than "Sharingan Devil", but this story is more difficult to write and I want to provide you with the best quality work, so please be patient.

Now enjoy this NEW ARC!

Chapter 13

Boot Camp: New Faces

In a small field in the forest, stood 300 people in different rows. Now all these people had one thing in common, all of them were kids and were wearing the same uniform on their bodies.

They were none other than 8th trainee corps of "Blacklight" forces of Konoha. This was the most dangerous Anbu force in the world.

The cadets were wearing black pants on their legs, and combat boots on their feet. A dark brown brown jacket was on their chest, along with a small dark blue shirt beneath it. All these cadets were wearing the Konoha headbands around their foreheads.

There was pin drop silence, as not even a single cadet spoke and were firmly standing at attention. All these boys and girls were young, and today their life was going to change forever.

The firm sound of footsteps was heard clearly in the field, as a man slowly walked between the cadets, with his dark black eyes observing each and every one of them with a critical gaze.

"They are far too young..." thought the man calculatively,

Han a.k.a "Commander Fox" had fought in two great ninja wars, and was one of the most decorative shinobi in the history of Konoha. He knew how bloody a war was, how much people suffered in a war- and right now looking at the young faces of these kids made him hate war more and more.

These young kids were the best soldiers of their country, and they were throwing them straight in a world war where most of them will be slaughtered.

But it had to be done, they were shinobi and this was the reality of their world.

His eyes spotted a brown haired boy, and he found his target as he saw the boy had a very nervous expression on his face, even if the young boy tried to hide it, Han's veteran eyes could see straight through the boy's heart.

Han stepped up in front of the boy, and the young cadet immediately saluted the officer.

"Who are you?" asked Han stoically, he had to begin the process which had been followed in black light since beginning.

"Armin Arlert, from Konoha, Sir" said Armin devotedly, but still he was very nervous and the huge sword strapped on Han's back, combined with the dark fox mask on his face was enough to scare any 8 year old boy.

"Why are you here?" asked Han sternly, and his voice had an a firm commanding tone to it.

"To fight for Konoha, and kill all the enemies," said Armin quickly, he really cursed his luck as he heard Han giving him a disappointed snort before he grabbed Armin by the collar, and lifted him off the ground so that he could look the boy straight in the eye.

"The only one who is going to die is you, Arlert" said Han distastefully, and threw Armin straight on the ground.

Han's sharp ears picked up the sound of fists clenching, and a small smirk formed on his face as he spotted two people who had looked at him angrily for a moment.

"So, they are your friends..." thought an amused Han,

Han saw now the cadets were a little wary of him, and this was what he wanted from them. This introduction process was compulsory for each and every cadet of black light. Here the young soldiers resolve would be tested, their beliefs and their ideals would be demolished by the end of their training, provided they survived, which more than 100 of them won't.

"That crafty son of a bitch, Minato. He told the council lies, if they would see what these kids would go through, they would have his head," thought Han firmly

He fully supported Minato, this was a world where the strong survived and weak perished. This was the law of nature.

He stepped in front of a of a young girl, she had dark black hair with light shades of light blue on the ends. She had a very mischievous look on her face, and Han knew she was one of those who were dangerous.

"Who are you?" asked Han loudly, and his loud voice made some other girls flinch, he sure was scary.

"Yo, Old Man...I'm Anko Mitarashi, here to kick some ass!" said the girl named Anko cheerfully, but she soon had to dodge as Han tried to punch her straight in the face.

"Good reflexes," thought an impressed Han, sure he was just joking around but still the girl was fast.

Before Anko could blink, Han disappeared from front of her, and she felt a cold metal pointed at her neck, sending shivers down her spine,

"Call me Old...and I'll kill you," said Han murderously, he leaked a little KI to prove his point and all of Anko's cheerfulness vanished.

"Yes, Sir" said Anko in a flash, "Creepy" was the only word Anko would associate her instructor with.

Before the shock of what happened to Anko could vanish, a loud yawn was heard in the clearing, which even surprised Han a lot. His eyes followed the sound, and he found the culprit quickly.

He walked quickly towards his target leaving a relieved Anko behind, he now stood in front of a young blonde girl. Han had to admit she was very beautiful among her entire batch, and could become a great spy working behind enemy lines.

"Oi teme...what was that?" asked Han angrily, and bonked the girl a little harshly on the head.

The blond girl rubbed her head slowly, but instead of being scared of him she had a lazy look on her face.

"Come on...its still 3 am in the morning, sir. I am feeling sleepy," said the girl honestly, and yawned straight in front of Han's face.

In his entire career, Han had not seen such kids. One was a nervous wreck, other was an idiot, and now a lazy ass. What crime had he done, that he had to train such idiots to be blacklight soldiers.

He decided to test this girl, right now.

"Who are you gaki?" asked Han sternly, and all the lazy attitude vanished from the girl's face.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, from Tenshin village...here to save my country, Commander" said Rangkiu faithfully, and Han was satisfied that the girl had some resolve atleast.

"You wouldn't be able to save shit!" said Han with a snort, and ruffled the girl's silky blonde hair roughly.

"You have no right to say that!" said an angry voice,

Han looked behind Rangiku and saw a young boy with silky blonde hair, he was a wearing a face mask, but those cold black eyes. He could recognize those eyes anywhere.

Han stepped in front of the boy and looked at him murderously, kids like these were the first ones to get killed.

"An Uchiha perhaps?" asked Han mockingly, and flicked the boy's forehead.

"Now that the war has begun, no names matter, Commander" said the boy coldly, and Han was quite surprised with the empty look in the boy's eyes.

"Just who are you, boy?" asked Han curiously, something bad must have happened to this kid, so much coldness at such a young age?

"I'm no one...the only thing I want is to protect my brother, and I will kill anyone who tries to harm him," said the boy murderously, and this time Han got a satisfied smile behind his mask.

"I see...but still what's your name? This is an order" said Han sternly

"Naruto Namikaze..."

Everyone's eyes widened on hearing that name, they couldn't believe that the elder son of the Hokage, and heir of Namikaze clan was here, even Han was surprised by the boy's resolve, he had received a report of how attached Naruto was to Itachi, and his reason to fight.

Han heard some murmuring, and immediately raised his KI, so everyone just shut their mouths.

"Like he said, Names don't matter. I asked some of you, why you are here? And only his answer was a little satisfactory. I'm Commander Fox, and it is a disgrace that I have to train worthless pieces of trash like you," said Han disappointingly, and many of the cadets had angry looks on their faces.

"As I thought, they are very raw, they have to pass the test," thought Han firmly,

"You think you are blacklight? You are nothing but shit, nothing but cattle. We don't need pussies, we need soldiers. From today, you are no one...you don't want to be anyone. Whatever you were in the past: rich, poor, clan heir, or any other shit, none of that matters. From now on, you are expendable soldiers, ready to be sacrificed anytime for our nation," said Han harshly, and many of the kids were a little scared after hearing that,

"But we thought we are in blacklight now?" asked a young purple haired girl,

"Gaki, the day you kill every emotion in your heart, then you become a blacklight. When you are ready to kill your friends, your family, your love, and yourself- then you become a blacklight. The day you erase your existence, then you become a blacklight. Can you do that?" asked Han sharply, and the girl took a step back in fear,

No one answered, could they do such a thing? Talking about dying for your country was one thing, but to actually do it without hesitation required a resolve that these cadets didn't have right now.

"You are right, Commander. We are worthless pieces of trash, I broke the heart of the person I loved the most, I'm sure many of us have done the same thing to get here, so throw whatever obstacle you want. We will become blacklight, and nothing can stop us," said Naruto fiercely, and Han noticed the confidence returning in many of the cadets.

"Always the loud mouth, but still..." thought Mikasa warmly, and a small smile came on her face.

The same smile was mirrored by a certain blonde girl, who looking at Naruto quite intently. Damn that mask, she wanted to see how he looked? Rangiku was always curious, and this boy had supported her- maybe indirectly, but he had stood up for her.

"Namikaze Naruto...you seem to be quite interesting," thought Rangiku with a mischievous smile on her face,

"Show off, I'll show him whose the boss here," thought Genma furiously, he really wanted to show how special he was, and he was not going to let Naruto get in his way.

"Namikaze, I bet you won't have the same confidence by tomorrow," said Han confidently and now stood in the center of the crowd.

"Enough talking, since you all are such cocky little shits, I have a reward for you...GIVE ME A 2 MILE RUN RIGHT NOW!"

Tired was the right word which could describe the current condition of the cadets of blacklight, never in their entire lives had they faced such a gruesome day.

Han had ripped all of them apart, starting from running, then exercising, then again running, entire day he had made them work without any food and water. Many of them had already fallen unconsciousness, due to fatigue and dehydration.

As expected Han had told them this was just "warm up" for the hell that was arriving, none of them knew what it meant though.

Mikasa was tending the wounds on Armin's right leg, he had tripped over a rock and had twisted his leg, he was not given any medication instead he was ordered to keep on running.

"How's the wound now, does it hurt?" asked a concerned Mikasa, and she was a little relieved on seeing Armin giving her a small smile.

"Its better than before, thank you. Don't worry I'll be fine by tomorrow," promised Armin lightly, and Mikasa gave a hesitant nod,

Silence followed as none of them spoke a word, instead were busy seeing the other cadets talking or trying to eat some food that was provided to them. Many of them were asleep on their tables, while some were eating like they had been starved for days.

Mikasa couldn't understand why they were being given such a delicious dinner, everyone was happy and were eating to their heart's content, but she had a real bad feeling about all this.

From what she had seen so far, there were slim to none soldiers in the base, except for Han and his few subordinates, even the base was a very small for training 300 cadets.

Armin had told her that he had also not seen any training equipment in the base, and this was making her a little nervous.

But right now her eyes were observing Naruto intently, or rather the person he was talking to.

Armin noticed where Mikasa was looking and a small smirk came on his face as he noticed a little anger as well as jealousy in her eyes.

"My, my I never knew you could impress even people like her, Naruto..." thought an amused Armin,

Meanwhile Naruto was busy talking with Rangiku who had just dragged him away from others as she wanted to talk with him. He could see many boys were looking at him jealously, while the same looks were being given to Rangiku by the girls.

He was quite surprised when she just kissed him on the cheek, in his entire life he had never expected such a thing, and for once he was thankful he had his mask on, or else his everyone would have seen how embarrassed he was,

"You...um...didn't need to do that," said Naruto nervously, he had to admit Rangiku was good looking but his mind was always focused on a certain raven haired beauty who was right now looking at both of them a little murderously?

Rangiku wrapped her arm around his neck, and laughed loudly.

"You stood up for me against the commander, and I'm grateful to you for that..." said Rangiku happily,

"It was not just for you...he thrashed Armin too, and insulted all of us...so I couldn't control my anger," said Naruto honestly, and he received a small smile from the blonde beauty beside him.

"That's what I like about you..." said Rangiku mysteriously, and Naruto's eyes widened on hearing that,

"WHAT?" asked a confused Naruto, and Rangiku just ruffled his silky hair on hearing him say that..

"You are just like me...you say what is in your heart, and I like your honesty," clarified Rangiku cheerfully, and the relieved sigh that escaped from Naruto's mouth made her giggle a little,

Both of them were interrupted from their conversation when they were joined by a few other cadets, and Naruto instantly recognized two of them.

One was the girl Anko whom the instructor had scolded, while the other was a purple haired girl who had asked one question.

Another couple of boys were also standing beside the girls, one of them had spiky black hair and a bandage running across his nose, while the boy standing next to him had light brown hair that were covered by a light bandanna on his head.

There was another boy who was chewing a senbon in his mouth, and had a bandanna on his head.

"Nice speech there, smart ass..." said the "Senbon" boy in a taunting manner,

"Well I said what was on my mind...nothing else," said Naruto cautiously, somehow he knew the boy was not here to be his friend..

"Yeah, thanks to your loud mouth...we had to do exercise for an extra hour, how can you justify that?" asked the boy a little angrily,

"What's your name?" asked Naruto sharply, and the others noticed the situation was getting a little heated?

"Genma Shiranui"

"Like I said, Genma I am here to protect my brother...and if the instructor punishes the whole group then its his problem, not mine. You are in an Anbu force, there is no room for complaints," said Naruto harshly, and Genma grabbed him by the collar,

"Listen to me clearly Namikaze, this is not your house, nor are you the Hokage's kid here...so shut your loud mouth, or else.." said Genma threateningly, and to make his point clear he squeezed Naruto's collar more forcefully,

"Guys, calm down there is no need for a fight," said Anko sternly, and was backed by the purple haired girl,

"Oi, Genma, there is no need for such a fight...it was the commander's decision to punish us, it is not his damn fault,'' said the spiky haired boy, who had a bandage around his nose,

"Shut it, Kotetsu..." said Genma harshly, and another boy called Izumo was just about to stop both of the boys when another person stepped in.

Before any further fighting could escalate both Naruto and Genma were grabbed rough by their collars and thrashed straight on the floor, someone was sitting on top of Naruto and Genma had a firm foot planted on his chest.

Naruto looked up and saw it was none other than Mikasa!

"Mikasa..." said a shocked Naruto, but she looked at him quite sternly,

"You shouldn't engage in useless fights," said Mikasa flatly, and this seemed to increase Naruto's anger.

"You have no right to tell me that..." said Naruto furiously, and for a moment he noticed some shock in her blue eyes.

"Fine," said Mikasa curtly, and got up from his chest and walked straight out of the door, while everyone else was quite stunned on seeing a girl taking down 2 boys so effortlessly.

"So fast...Damn, she is impressive," thought Genma happily, he had to admit the girl was beautiful too. Maybe he could steer her away from the Namikaze.

Armin offered his hand to Naruto and made him stand up, he then looked at the other cadets calmly,

"We all are comrades here, if anyone has been offended then I apologize on Naruto and Mikasa's behalf," said Armin calmly, and Genma averted his eyes as everyone was now looking at him disappointingly for starting a fight.

"It's alright, no harm done, I'm Kotetsu and this is my friend Izumo" said Kotetsu and offered his hand which Naruto and Armin shook whole heartedly,

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yugao Uzuki"

"Genma Shiranui"

"Aoba Yamashiro..."

"Shizune Kato"

"Yamato Nohara"

"Hana Inuzuka"

"Anko Mitarashi"

Naruto and Armin greeted each of the cadets happily, more and more cadets came forward and in a few minutes everyone was now introducing themselves, even if their start was rough all of them knew, they were going to fight along side each other and it was best if they were on best terms.

Almost all of them had basic shinobi training, and had some special skills, as a result they were chosen, but if they could not understand each other then how could they defeat the enemy?

(30 Minutes Later)

Naruto, Armin and Rangiku were sitting in a small corner, the rest of the conversation had been very friendly, and even Genma and Naruto had stopped their fights, but they were a little wary of each other.

Rangiku seemed to be joking with Armin, until both of them noticed Naruto sitting silently.

"Mikasa.." said Armin knowingly, and Naruto seemed to be quite surprised on seeing his friend had easily read his thoughts,

"I was rude to her...I shouldn't have said such things to her, I was so angry-" said Naruto disappointingly,

"Naruto, you need to understand...Mikasa may seem a little cold but she cares deeply about you, if you and Genma had fought then both of you would have ended up in detention, and she didn't want that," explained Armin briefly,

"Is she your good friend?" asked Rangiku curiously, from their chats she had a little idea that these three were close to each other.

"She is my first friend...but sometimes I cannot understand her," said Naruto sadly, a little part of his heart was still broken.

Even after all these days, he still couldn't forgive himself for breaking his mother's heart. Those tears, he could never forget them, nor could he forget that he was the source of those tears.

His mother had loved him all his life, and even if what he was doing was right, he still blamed himself for breaking her heart. The only thing that was keeping him going was the desire to protect Itachi and the village.

He had become quite close friends with Mikasa and Armin, both of them had been so good to him without expecting anything in return, and he had screwed up yet again.

"You don't know about her past, but I'm sure one day you will be able to understand her" said Armin mysteriously,

"What do you mean?" asked a curious Rangiku,

"It is something that you should ask Mikasa herself, or rather she would tell you herself," said Armin calmly,

"Could I become one of your friend? You two are good people, and Mikasa is also a decent girl-" said Rangiku hurriedly, but was cut off when Naruto put a hand on her shoulder.

"You are more than welcome in our group...just no kisses in public," said Naruto jokingly,

Armin chuckled when he saw Rangiku hugging Naruto firmly, and the embarrassed look in his friend's eye was making him laugh more and more.

"No promises," said Rangiku mischievously,

All three friends laughed on hearing that, maybe they all could help each other in this war.

Mikasa was sitting quietly in a corner of the base, it was already night time, and most of the cadets had gone to their barracks, only a few minutes were left for the curfew, and no one was allowed to step out of their rooms after that.

Her mind was constantly thinking about the incident that happened during dinner, had she done the right thing?

She wouldn't lie, seeing Naruto with Rangiku made her a little angry, she just didn't know why?

She knew they were just friends, but he should have spent more time with her and Armin, hell they didn't even know Rangiku until today, and he had been so rude to her when she stopped him from fighting against Genma.

Mikasa didn't know what was going on with Naruto, before they left Konoha he was so friendly, kind and gentle but now...he was just a shell of what he was before.

It was as if something had changed him badly, he was still a good person but he was a little aloof and a little cold than before.

She was interrupted from her thoughts, when someone sat down beside her, she was surprised that someone was able to spot her in so much darkness.

It was none other than Naruto himself,

"How...did you find me?" asked Mikasa curiously, but she was quite surprised when Naruto came forward and wiped away the tears from her cheeks, she didn't even know she was crying till now.

"I am sensor...I can find you no matter where you are," said Naruto slowly, and Mikasa looked away from him.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" asked Mikasa coldly, and she heard Naruto leaving a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry for what happened back there..." said Naruto sincerely, he really didn't want to hurt her but the fact was he had made her cry.

"You don't have to...besides who I am to you to say anything to you," said Mikasa nonchalantly, but was quite surprised when Naruto grabbed her hand gently,

"You are my friend, and it was my fault...I was angry at Genma, and if you had not intervened then I would have fought against him, which would probably lead to detention, I just couldn't control my tongue..." said Naruto honestly, and Mikasa looked at him seriously and his eyes showed her he meant what he said.

"I see...then it's alright," said Mikasa with a small smile on her face,

Both of them sat there silently observing the moon in the sky, they didn't know what fate had in store for them but they were determined to face it together,

"You mean a lot to me...and you are as precious to me as my family," said Naruto warmly, and Mikasa's eyes widened on hearing that. Did he really mean that?

"Naruto..."

"I know I am an idiot, and sometimes I speak before I think...it's just-" said Naruto sadly, but was stopped when Mikasa squeezed his hand gently,

"It's alright, you don't need to clarify everything to me. You are my friend, and I'll stay by your side always," said Mikasa firmly, and she wasn't sure but she felt him smile behind his mask.

"Besides you are a moron...and you'd screw up without me," said Mikasa jokingly, and Naruto got a challenging look in his eyes.

"And you'd be alone without me...Emo," said Naruto teasingly, and he saw Mikasa's face had become a little red,

"Moron!"

"EMO"

"MORON"

"EMO"

Both the kids laughed loudly, they knew both of them needed each other. For Naruto, Mikasa was a friend, a guide, and a person who kept him in line when he did something stupid. Armin was usually very supportive of every decision he made, and they needed a level headed person like Mikasa.

For Mikasa, Naruto was a close friend, she would not admit it to him, but for her he was as much important as Armin. She knew she was not perfect, and maybe she was a little harsh, but she just wanted to protect her two friends.

"No matter what happens...I won't let anything happen to you,"

Author's Notes: So, the first chapter of this arc is done. I know its been 2 months since the last update, but like I said I was busy.

Ages: Naruto (8), Mikasa (8), Armin (8), Rangiku (8), and almost all of the other characters are around the same age.

This chapter was meant to introduce new characters, I tried my best to portray everyone and before anyone of you saw I bashed Genma, I didn't bash him. There is always someone who may not agree with your ideals, and I felt Genma was the right person, he is like a rival to Naruto.

Regarding Naruto's change in character, as most of you know he is still feeling guilty of breaking Mikoto's heart, and that is affecting him.

Other characters will receive screen time, but the main focus would be on Naruto, Mikasa, Armin and Rangiku.

We also saw a little development between Naruto/Mikasa, and Naruto/Rangiku,

Next chapter would be TRAINING, and I will try to update faster.

Review/Favs/Follows are welcome as always.