Hey everyone! Thunderito here and welcome to chapter fourteen of Naruto: The Shadow Blade! This chapter features the end of Naruto's first project . On with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online. They belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 14: Success

Imperial Palace

Seven months had passed since Naruto had killed Sugou and the New Aincrad Castle appeared on ALO. During these months Naruto was busy with work, while Asuna was busy with school, but they still saw each other. The same could be said with the other guys, as they all formed together a Guild, called the Swords of Time, in memory of the time spend together in Sword Art Online. They were known as the strongest guild in Alfheim in terms of strength, as even if they weren't a lot of members, they each worked so well together, that they were unbeatable as a Team. Naruto also Soloed floor rooms, reaching Floor 70 of Aincrad alone and almost reaching as a Spriggan the strength of his true character.

Asuna was standing on a playground, near the road to the Imperial Palace, wearing a pink dress, a pink sweater and a white jacket above. She also wore grey stockings, brown shoes, a rosario around her neck and held a red bag. She was responding to her mom through a text message, before looking up. "It's been almost a year." she said to herself. She then saw a leaf and attempted to catch it "I wonder what's the difference between the Virtual and the Real World." she said. "That's simple. The amount of information." a voice said, as she gasped in surprise. In front of her stood Naruto, wearing black jeans, black combat boots, a grey muscle shirt and a black leather jacket above. She pouted "You scared me."she said. Naruto tilted his head "I came right on time. It's you who was daydreaming." he said, as she giggled. "Well, hello Naruto-kun." she said, as he grinned "Hello Asuna-chan." he replied. He then looked her up and down, as she blushed "What is it?" she asked. "Well, this outfit really suits you. It also brings back a lot of memories." he said, smiling. "Oh. But I do not have a rapier." she said. He scratched his head "I could always buy you one." he said, as she laughed. She then looked at him intently "Well, look who's talking about looking like their past self." she said, grinning. "Ey. Black is a nice colour." he said. "It sure is!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arm around his "So, we wear our past colours. What are the odds of that?" she asked. "One in five." he said, as they both laughed, walking away.

As they made their way into the Imperial Palace, Naruto spoke "Don't you think the Imperial Palace is interesting?" he asked. "Interesting? How so?" she asked. "Well, it stretches to two kilometers from north to south and one and a half kilometer from east to west. It is a no fly zone, while no railways or subway stations pass under it. It also has it's own private network, which can't be accessed by anywhere else. So not only physically, but information wise it's isolated." he said, pointing at a round camera. "I see." she said.

They continued walking to the spot where the remains of the Edo Castle's inner citadel laid. They took photos and walked around, until evening came and they sat on a wooden bench. "I still can't believe my boyfriend is the most famous nineteen year old of Japan." she said. He laughed "Oh come on." he said. "It's true. Speaking of which, after you finish your four year career in the military, what will you do?" she asked. "Well, I talked with my parents regarding the matter. After the military, I shall take over two companies that have to do with Virtual Reality. I shall start by creating a man-machine interface to replace FullDive technology. I even convinced Kirito to join me after he finishes his college studies, around the same time I finish. One day, we shall have Yui-chan with us, but for now, the data is too massive." he said. She tilted her head "You mentioned that before. What does it mean?" she asked. "Well, when you touch someone in ALO, does it feel the same when you touch them in real life?" he asked. "No it doesn't. I can't feel their warmth.. I see!" She exclaimed. "That's right. Senses like touch, smell, sound are different and hold large amounts of data. That's why it is impossible right now. But in the future, after the technology to hold large amounts of sensory data is complete. We would be able to meet with Yui-chan, while at the same time, we would be unable to understand the difference of an avatar and the real deal without knowing them." he said, as she nodded. She placed her head on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arm around her "Be sure to do it." she said, closing her eyes. "It's a promise." he said.

They looked at the sunset for a little, until Asuna spoke "I think I understand why you brought me here. If the world is composed of an axis called time and a plane called space, Tokyo is the center of the real world. And the First Aincrad which leaves on in our memories, is the center of the Virtual World. That's why the sunset is so familiar." she said, as Naruto nodded. "Indeed. That is why." he said, as they shared a kiss "Come on. It's getting cold. Let me take you home." he said, as she nodded. "Hey Naruto-kun. I love you." she said, as he smirked "I love you too." he said.

Naruto's House

Naruto opened the door in his house, sighing in content. Today they managed to fully implement the results of their work. Soon, they would be able to run tests to see if it was truly possible for a man to attack security networks through the NerveGear. He returned home, taking off his military uniform, before having a shower. As he came out of the bathroom, he heard his phone make a text noise. Picking it up, he saw a message from Kirito, asking if he could come by his house for coffee. 'Sure.' replied Naruto, before putting the phone down and grabbing something to wear. He put on a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt with a blue whirlpool on it and white shoes. He did some work on his laptop, when he heard a knock on the door. He smirked, seeing Kirito at his door "Hey pal. How are you? Come in." he said, as Kirito nodded. They sat down, as Naruto gave him a cup of coffee "So. What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Naruto asked.

"Well. I would like your opinion on an issue, as you're the only one who could answer it." he said. "Seijirou came to me and asked my opinion regarding a matter. Recently, in GGO, a game with guns and the only one where you can transfer your game money to actual money, a player called Death Gun appeared in a bar and shot with his gun a monitor with another player. That other player died soon of heart failure." he said, as Naruto's eyes widened. "Also, a similar incident happened a week ago. Same problem, same player. Seijirou asked me if anyone can kill someone using a bullet from a game." he said. Naruto frowned "An Amusphere can't fry a person's brain, the microwaves are too weak. And there is no part connected to a heart. They probably died of an injection, if it is a murder." he said, as his analytical mind went through scenarios. "What do you mean?" asked Kirito "You think they suicided?".

Naruto shook his head "The Death Gun part is too much of a coincidence. If this truly is an organized murder, then there are two plausible options. One, which I don't believe, is that the Amusphere has a hidden mechanism which allows it to inject something into the bloodstream and every time this Death Gun's shoots someone, he wills the activation of the device." he said. "The other, more possible option, is that Death Gun isn't working alone. He chooses his targets and when the in game Death Gun shoots, a second guy, located in the victim's home, injects him with venom. And since many players drug themselves before games, none would be the wiser if the poison somehow vanished. But there are too many variabilities to know, like how they coordinate and more. No matter, my answer is that while a bullet from the game can't kill a man, it is still possible this Death Gun is at fault." he said.

Kirito nodded "I thought so too and what you said is very interesting. I should contact Seijirou. I need to get to GGO right away. Can you help me?" he asked. Naruto shook his head "I am afraid I cannot come to GGO. A new game could take a lot of time. And my current project is at it's final phase. But if you need any help from the real world or from outside the game, I can help." he said, as Kirito nodded "That's more than enough for me, if you are busy. I know I can count on you." he said, as Naruto nodded. "You can. And a word of advice, if you truly go into GGO, I suggest logging in from a safe place, possibly a hospital room to be monitored and protected." he said, as Kirito nodded."I will. I also have one more reason I am here." he said.

"I wanted to ask if you have any connections to the Grand Kendo Championship." he asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow "Suguha wants to participate?" he asked. Kirito nodded "Indeed. But they deny her application without feedback." he answered. Naruto nodded "I will see what I can do. At best, I can have her enter. At worst, I will find the reason to the deny and if possible, try to change it to success." he said. Kirito nodded, rising, as Naruto did the same. "Thank you. I must now be off. I have to study." he said, as they both laughed.

Naruto sighed, cracking his neck. He looked at the time, nodding to himself "I must complete this in five days. I must begin in one hour. But first let's see what I will need. No sleep for me tonight. I will need to send a message I won't go to work tomorrow and I will work from home. I will also need a lot of coffee and ten chicken sandwiches. Alright, time to go to the supermarket." he said to himself, grabbing a blue jean jacket, putting it on and going outside. He returned in five minutes, making his way to the basement. He smirked, looking at it. Nothing had changed, except for the fact he placed LED lights and that his collection was halfway done. Instead of the original three, now 7 parts were complete. Two lines were covered in handguns. There was the Five-Seven, a Colt Single Action Army, a Glock 18, a P250, a Tec-9, a Desert Eagle, a Walther P99 and a CZ-75. There were two lines covered in sub-machine guns. He owned an MP9, a Skorpion, one MP5K, one MAC-10, one P90, one MP7, one PP-Bizon and one UMP-45. Two more lines held assault rifles. He had an AK-47, one M4, one Galil, one Famas, a Steyr AUG, one FN SCAR, one G3 and an AR-15. Then, one line held four bags. Each bag could fit five grenades of a type. He had a High-Explosive Grenade, a Flashbang grenade, an Incendiary Grenade, a Smoke Grenade and a Shrapnel Grenade. The rest needed a lot more money to finish collecting, but he was saving for that purpose. Finally, he had upgraded his tools and added in a corner a tiny fridge, a coffee machine and a water machine.

Naruto placed the sandwiches on the fridge and made some coffee, before sitting down. As his pc opened, he picked up the papers from work and started reading each, before signing them and placing them back. "Alright. Let's see now… what's this?" he wondered. He opened up a mail from his father, but instead of coming from his personal mail, it came from his company mail, so it was for work. He shrugged "I will open it once I am done. The first part will take around four hours or so, maybe five." he said to himself. "Well, let's get to work." he cracked his fingers.

Naruto was chewing on a sandwich, moaning as his work for today was over. "Damn. That took more time than expected." he said, as it was almost 1 AM. He sighed and was about to go to the next part, when he remembered his father's email. Opening it, he was surprised at what it said.

' To Naruto of the Triangle Organization, Captain of the Research Bureau, Chief of Project Fly.

The government of Japan, after recent events has deemed fit that your project is vital to be finished soon. Funding has been provided to run tests before the week's end and without you showing the results. The first, hopefully last, test will take place tomorrow at 10 AM. If ten successful tries happen simultaneously, the device will be considered a success. But this mail also regards another plan. You are to read Kayaba Akihiko's work and try to fully understand his intricate NerveGear, which he used to create a High-Powered Scan of his brain and die. Since this special NerveGear laid the foundations for the prototype hospital machine codename "MB", we wish to see if it has any uses that can help with the accomplishment of controlling any machine with the NerveGear. We wish at the beginning you could work on it personally, for three days only until your group can relax. Whatever you need for your research, tell us. You have our full cooperation and support. Thank you for your time.' and at the end were the official stamps of Triangle and the Japanese Army.

Naruto frowned for a moment 'I am to use Kayaba's research and experimental NerveGear to find possible connections to our goal?' he thought. He saw that the email had also a file with it. Saving it to his computer, he was surprised as it turned out to be Kayaba's entire research. As the Antivirus checked every program before downloading it, Naruto sighed, throwing the empty packet on the trash can and grabbing another sandwich "This will take a while. I will start tomorrow, after the end of the tests." he said to himself. He finished his sandwich, placed the last four in the fridge and went to bed.

Triangle Research Base

Naruto, in his Army Uniform with a white lab coat above, was checking some panels, with a number of people sitting in front of him and checking commands, machines and displays. They were his research team, well most of it, as four had gone to help the man who volunteered for the experiment. Naruto turned to Ringo, his first lieutenant and second-in-command "Everything alright?" he asked, as Ringo nodded. "Everything is ready Sir. We only need for the volunteer to finish." he said, as Naruto nodded. "Alright. I will go there. Keep an eye here." he said, hearing a "Yes Sir." before exiting the room. Going down some stairs, he turned, looking at a large circular platform with a medical table made of iron. On the table stood a man in his thirties, with black hair and eyes. He only wore a pair of black shorts, as a group of four scientists were placing electrodes around him.

Naruto came to him "Hey. How are you feeling pal?" he asked. The man smiled "I am well. Just anxious." he said. The man was an expert in the field of mechatronics, programming, computer science and computer engineering, holding many degrees at the age of thirty. "Alright. Do you remember what you must do and what each device does?" he asked. The man nodded "Once I am inside the Virtual World through the Amusphere, I will be surrounded in an electronic suit, while I will be holding a pistol and a speargun. The speargun's purpose is to destroy the system's main security, while the pistol will be used to take down firewalls or weak security devices, to find the weakest link in the network. I will have special HUD glasses which will show me all the possible strengths and weaknesses. There will be ten tries, each with increasing level of security defense. The next level will come automatically" he said, as Naruto nodded. "Good. If any situation arises, any situation, press the button on the right of the HUD, on your chest, or on your belt. Any of those will send us a signal through the Amusphere. If something has gone wrong, we will shut it down and you will return. Good luck." he said, as the scientists finished and placed the Amusphere. As Naruto went back to the control room, he sent a glance to a black window, where two members of the Army, his father and two members of the Japanese Government stood inside, observing the experiment. The room had a Live Camera with the control room, as they saw and listened to whatever occurred there. Naruto clapped his hands "Begin.".

Virtual World

The man, whose name was Gin Torimaru, appeared inside an empty black space, with blue sparks flying every once in awhile. He looked down, seeing a pure blue suit with red lines on it, with a button on his chest and belt. The belt had a pistol and a speargun hanging from his hips. Sighing, he opened the HUD glasses, as he saw the security network in front of him. 'Let's see. A level 1 security network. Simple enough. The weak spot is at the center. I shoot the pistol and then use the speargun.' he thought. He took out his pistol and aimed at the center, as a beam of electrons shot the center, as it glowed red. He then took out the speargun and fired, as a blue spear hit the center, before the entire network collapsed. 'That was easy. Nine more to go.' he thought.

30 minutes Later

Gin panted, as he saw the Level 9 collapse. 'So far so good, but that was hard. Only Level 10 to go.' he thought, as he saw a new network arise. However, he was shocked at it. It didn't have any base form, nor was it standard. It looked like a moving random web. He used his HUD, finding no ways to bypass the system, as it looked like every weak point turned into a strong point. He stood down, thinking for over twenty minutes on what to do. He used all of his knowledge in computers, trying to find a solution. Suddenly, he thought of something 'What if I use logic? Every part turns from a weak point to a strong point. All I must do is aim my pistol at a point and when it turns weak, I immediately fire.' and did so. He aimed at a specific point, moving his pistol as the point moved, only to see the next one becoming a weak point. He fired the one to his right, as the chain broke. He saw five more weak points appeared, as he shot three, with more appearing. He saw a massive chain reaction of weak points spawning, until he saw a hint of red. Following it, he started shooting weak points at the surrounding area, before a large red circle appeared. He took out the speargun and shot it, as he saw a massive EMP being released, which made him quickly step back. He sighed "Whew. Glad I avoided the last security measure." he said to himself. Suddenly, he found himself feeling sleepy, before collapsing.

Opening his eyes, he saw Naruto smirking at him, as he heard claps and cheers everywhere. "Congratulations. You did it. Thanks to you, this project has been a complete success." he said, as the man nodded "Thank you. I am glad to help." he said, as Naruto nodded. "Get some rest. You deserve it." he said, as Gin was congratulated by more scientists. Naruto made his way in the room with the officials. He opened it and stepped inside, giving a military salute. The Army representatives did the same, while the Government officials clapped. Minato shook his hand "Congratulations. Your project was an entire success. Payment, along with a bonus has been sent on yours and every member of your team's account. Now, the Army will take care of the rest. Captain Namikaze, your next project has been sent to you. I trust you will begin as soon as possible." he said. Naruto nodded "Understood. I shall take my leave." he said. As soon as he left, he opened up a piece of paper his father gave him. 'Congratulations son. I am very proud of you and so is your mother. How about dinner at our house on friday? I am sure your mother would love to meet Asuna.' it read. Naruto laughed and planned to send him a reply. He completed the necessary paperwork and returned to his home, not before sending a list of all he needed for the next project.

Naruto's home

Naruto yawned, drinking some coffee on his living room. He was dressed in a pair of red pants and a black shirt, as he waited for the things he required to come, so he could begin the project. He already had sent a positive replied to his father, after getting a positive reply from Asuna. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Placing the coffee down, he opened the door, as he saw two soldiers, one holding a large box and the other a catalog. They saluted him, as Naruto saluted back. "Sign here Captain." the one with the catalog said, giving him a pen. Naruto added his signature, before grabbing the box "Thank you." he said, as they nodded and left. Naruto closed the door, before making his way down to the basement. He placed the box on the tool bench, as he grabbed a knife and opened the box. From inside, he took out a black helmet . "So, this is what you used, Kayaba Akihiko?" he said to himself, looking at the NerveGear.

Done! Hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter! From now, GGO begins and when he is done, GGO ends. Three days will have passed on the next Chapter. And I know a lot of the guns I used for Naruto's collection are from CS:GO, but it's much easier for me to think of guns from there, than use CoD or BF. But now I am in the mood of Naruto using guns. Hmmm. Meh, maybe I will do a Naruto/Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei in the far future. Who knows. Sure as hell I don't I got over 5 stories which I want to write. Anyways, any questions you may have feel free to send them. Until next time, Thunderito out!