"Ace? Should we camp here now? Or should we go further?"

Ace pondered for a second. "Let's set up camp here now. We'll try and get to the Land of Fire by dawn tomorrow if possible." He turned to Scout. "Scout, can you go find some wood?"

Scout gave a thumbs up. "Sure thing. I'll go scout for them." He emphasized the word that became his codename of the Elite Ops.

Pith muttered under her breath. "Goddammit, Scout."

Ace rolled his eyes, but resisted the urge to smile, yet he couldn't. "Fuck's sake. Just go." He waved his knife at him, and Sarkaz departed. "You walked into that one, Ace."

"I did." He sighed. Peak humor right here. Truly a masterclass of jokes. "I swear he made that all the time with W."

Pith tossed him the bag of food, and the Pythia took out the two rabbits they had caught. With the knife he began to skin the meat.

Scout returned a few seconds later with branches in his arms, dumping them in the middle of their campsite. With a lighter, the bundle was set aflame, as Ace tossed a cigarette in for fun. Skewering rabbit meat on a stick, they set it over the flame as it began to crackle, slowly cooking the meat.

"Ace?"

"Hm? What's up, Scout?"

"How exactly are we going to get back to Terra?" He looked up at him. "I don't exactly think we can survive out here any longer. Our radio's dead." The Elite Ops knew that once their radios had died that they were in a precarious situation where they had not a clue how to return back or even contact for assistance, as the radios allowed them to split up while hunting, and now with no technology to assist them, they could seldom split. It was only due to their experience hunting that they were able to survive so far, but Ace didn't want to try and enter any village, after their experience from the Hidden Sound Village. From what he had seen as they scouted civilians who entered and exited, they had to have an official transcript to enter, as with many nations like Kazdel and Ursus. Even the small city of Lungmen required those who entered to have transcripts. It seemed that despite many differences, the commonality of this world with Terra is that many who did attempt to enter territories of lands were required official paperwork.

If they also attempted to enter without such, that also meant interacting with the military of this world: Shinobi, and Ace didn't think an encounter with them would result in anything good for them.

"We'll get back." Pith stated. Somehow.

"That's the problem. When? And how?" Scout questioned. He didn't have any doubts about the Elite Ops he was in, but all of them knew that they could not stay here forever.

There was also the possibility that if Doctor Kal'stit sent another team after them, what if they ended up in the same situation?

Ace considered their predicament with the very question itself. He then considered their next plan the day after.

They were going to depart for the Land of Fire, and then to the Hidden Leaf Village. Though Ace did not want to consider such an option, they would have no choice but to attempt to find their way in the village.

Sneaking in was their final option, and one he didn't want to consider but it was for the benefit of their group that there was no other option available.

"Let's head for the Land of Fire first. We'll think about what to do after we arrive there at dawn."

"Are you thinking of entering the Hidden Leaf Village?" Pith wasn't fooled. She knew what he was thinking. But he didn't need to answer, for all three of them already knew.

They were silent, until, "Well, let's hope it doesn't get to that point." Scout commented. None of them wanted to fight, but they would if they had to.

"It won't." Ace ended the lingering doubts of the Hidden Leaf resolutely, and that was that. They hoped the Hokage, from what they learned about the village's leader, would be understanding of their situation, and let them stay temporarily, until they were able to find a way back.

If not, then Ace had hoped that there would be as little conflict as possible.

They were uniquely dressed as Kimimaro watches them above. Chatting of something, he strained to hear what they were speaking of. The boy stared intently at them as they discussed yet even despite his exhaustion, Kimimaro could still hear them.

In the hands of one of the figures dressed in dark held a pair of rabbits in his hands.

He began to expertly skin the carcass of the meat, and Kimimaro's gaze narrowed on the meat, his stomach demanding.

No. Not yet. He barely halted himself from jumping out, his hand clutching his knife, and the other to peek out from the bushes.

He turned his gaze away from the tempting meat once more. He knew he couldn't stab all of them. If he killed one of them, he knew that they would retaliate back in blood. Kimimaro cursed silently, praying that all of them except the man who was skinning the meat would leave. One of the men returned back. No luck.

They set the flame on the branches, and Kimimaro listened intently once more. Land of Fire. Hidden Leaf Village?

A burst of pain in his stomach. Kimimaro clutched his knife tightly, his eyes narrowed. A warning of protest in his head screamed to consider how horribly outmatched he was, how he could be killed, but Kimimaro did not care.

Starvation drove to desperation and all beings committed an action that was desperate in nature when there was no other option presented. The flames licked at the meat, and Kimimaro could no longer hold back, the voice in his head he forcefully shoved aside in the same futile manner of self preservation. His heart pumping wildly, Kimimaro stood up, supporting his frame as he calculated his aim to pierce through the head of the man who was cooking the meat.

"Get back!"

Pith registered a blur of movement as Ace held out a portion of the cooked meat to her. With no warning, without thinking, her staff flashed quickly into her hands, and she detonated the air with her Arts.

A cry of pain erupted and filled the dark skies. The Elite Ops immediately scrambled back as Scout drew his knife, but the entire contingent of Elite Ops were in collective shock as their eyes widened at what Pith had hit with her Arts.

"Pith-"

"What the fuck-! A kid?!"

A stark pale, bony child was crying as the Caster class Operator fell violently to the floor in close proximity of the blast. His body scrambled in tremors of pain as he scrambled.

Stunned by the sudden appearance, the three Elite Operators stared at the child who interrupted their camp for the night. The boy's eyes flashed open amidst his pain, and as his eyes, a sea of green that was so desperate and madly driven in nature, fell to the weapon in his grasp, a small bony tool that was sharp. He scooped up the weapon amidst the dirt road, and with no hesitation on his face, lunged at them.

The Elite Ops were still stunned, processing the very second that of a child that had attempted to attack them, that once they noticed he had begun to move, Ace barked out orders as Scout lunged forward. "Wait! Do not kill! Do not kill!"

"I know that!" The second he was within range, the brat lunged with his own slashing at him.

Scout had been in multiple conflicts and missions and assignments for Babel. While he wasn't the feared Walking Catastrophe that was rumored to be the demonic loner, Skadi, or Flamebringer whose very presence gave all those nearby a wide berth, he had studied multiple fighting styles from his spars with various other Ops. It gave him far more experience that many Operators could not hope to claim.

The brat before him clearly had some level of, or at the very least, hints of a fighting style, but he looked into his eyes, and they were mad and desperate. He clearly wasn't thinking straight to even fight properly, and it showed in his mad and wild swings and Scout didn't bother even try blocking as he simply sidestepped, cautious of his allies a fair distance away from him and the brat that he made sure to step back quickly as possible to create space for his allies.

Sidestepping another swing that he completely overextended himself, Scout grabbed the boy by the face and slammed him hard to the ground, pinning him down. The boy attempted a futile slash at him, but the Elite Op was faster, catching and squeezing the boy's wrist until he cried out, dropping his weapon and Scout kicked it a fair distance away, now leaving him weaponless.

The boy madly squirmed through his gaze, screaming and kicking. For fuck's sake-! Scout raised a fist and then slammed it down on the brat's head, silencing his cries. Turning back to his compatriots, he spoke. "There. He's out cold."

Silence reigned on the group as they stared at the child who had attempted to kill them.

"Who the fuck was that kid anyway?" Scout simply got off the child, and dusted his hands off, as if he didn't go through a brief exchange with the child at any point.

Pith traded a glance with the Pythia. "He tried to kill you, Ace."

Ace nodded, his heartbeat immediately calm. "Scout. Search him for any other weapons."

Scout tossed the small weapon at Ace, and he deftly caught it. "Here. Take a look at it. That's what he was swinging at me with before." Grabbing his blade once more, he stood guard. Possibly foolish, but after the botched attempt by the white haired brat, he wouldn't count anything else coming their way out.

Ace stared at the bone fragment of a weapon. His eyes narrowed at the tool. Running his finger through it, it drew blood. It was just as sharp, if not even more so, than his combat knife. Yet despite its very simple appearance, it was incredibly sharp. His eyes glanced up at his attempted killer, a child. His hands were far too large to make use of it, as his hands eclipsed the size of the handle.

"Nothing else, Ace." Scout dragged the kid behind them with the procedure finished.

He nodded, turning his gaze back to the child that attempted murder, the desperation in his eyes. Scout was in the process of tying him up, but also commented on what they were thinking. "That runt attacked us… What the fuck?"

"Ace?"

Ace recalled the desperation in the child's eyes. His green eyes simply held a desire to shed blood, yet it was not of a truly malicious nature. He had already known the difference between a hostile individual that acted by true malicious nature or simply one out of self preservation and acts of desperation.

The child before him and his companions was of the latter. Desperation in his eyes and actions as he swung wildly. While he saw the brief exchange with Scout, it was clear that the boy swung with an intent to kill as quickly as possible, with only little thought to any form.

He did not know what to make of the child before him. He felt that he could not let the boy roam free. The emaciated body of the boy was proof that the boy had gone days without any form of sustenance. There was no proof that the boy before him and his companions could attack them again, if he was set free, and though Ace did not want to harm the child, for he was already wounded, his and his group's safety, even if the child before them did indeed attempt to take his life, came first.

"Tie him up." His first priority was to make sure that the child before them could not pose a threat to their wellbeing again, before interrogating and questioning him. "Scout?"

"Yeah. I'll keep watch over him. I'll let you know if he wakes up." Scout sheathed the knife in his hands as he glanced over at the child, before nodding and dragging the boy over to set up one of their tents.

Pain lingered in his head, forcing his eyes to open. The throb became something sharp as he winced, resisting the urge to cry. Kimimaro's eyes opened, looking up at nothing but a dull red… red?

Kimimaro gasped and cried out, recalling his memories from earlier. There were a bunch of dark figures, dressed in black. They carried weapons and they had food-!

"Well, it seems like you're awake, brat."

Kimimaro whipped his head quickly to see one of the dark dressed figures. Next to him was one of the dark dressed figures, he recognized as the one who gathered the firewood.

"Sup."

Kimimaro's eyes widened as he attempted to scramble away but there was a piercing pain in his shoulder where the explosion had burned him, and found himself tied up.

Realizing his predicament, he screamed, "Let me go!"

The shout tore through the small tent and out into the night.

"Yeah. Too bad, kid. But no."

"Let me go!" Kimimaro continued to scream, panic setting in for his own life.

"Sorry kiddo."

But Kimimaro did not listen. He continued to scream and scream, and Scout rolled his eyes at the impetuous brat. "Calm down and stop screaming, you brat."

"Let me go!" Desperation drove him once more, but he had no energy.

Good grief. He hoped Ace hurried the fuck up. He wasn't good with children. Then again, he wouldn't be good with especially one that tried to kill him and his friends.

"Awake?"

Kimimaro fought in his restraints, but his energy was low, and at the sight of the man, he froze, his sea green eyes in fear at the sight of the imposing figure before him.

The man turned to the other man keeping him company. "Scout, you can go."

Scout nodded, and with a departing gaze back to him; Kimimaro could barely avoid his gaze, left the tent, leaving now just him and the man.

Sitting down in front of him, Ace looked up at the boy, and Kimimaro could only return the stare back at him.

"You know, you surprised me there when you nearly got me. If Pith hadn't been quick enough…" Ace chuckled morbidly and shook his head.

Kimimaro didn't respond.

Reaching from his sack, the man pulls out the cooked rabbit from before, and Kimimaro forces his eyes to his feet, not wanting to look at the meat. "Here."

His eyes look back up and scoots away.

"Hey. Come on now. You're hungry, aren't you?"

Kimimaro stares at the large cut of meat and then up at the man.

"Ah! I forgot." Ace stands up, and Kimimaro flinches in anticipation, but his panic is immediately replaced by confusion as the restraints are released, and Ace holds the meat back up to him. "Sorry about that. Here."

This had to be a trap. His mind wavered in thoughts of confusion and hostility, staring at the meat he once tried to claim, now as if it was poison. Why?

"Hm?"

Kimimaro realized that he spoke out loud, but continued. "Why?" He didn't know if it was his own actions catching up to him or the very presence of the man that felt like he was someone condemning him for his sins. But the words came out in a jumble. "Why?"

I tried to kill you and your friends…

The desperation that he saw in the boy was similar to many Infected children, where they stole or even joined the Mafioso or other organized crime groups to simply feed themselves and survive. He had seen it many times before, and now he had seen it in the child before him.

Ace simply tilted his head. "Where are your parents? They must be worried about you."

The boy returned the gaze, and there was coldness in them, and Ace already knew the answer even before he answered.

"Dead." He snaps. "They can't be worried about me since they're gone." He glances up to see… pity? Sympathy? He didn't want either. But an emotion flashes across quickly before he could discern it. Maybe he was that tired?

There was silence, then, "Here. You're hungry, aren't you?" He still held the cooked meat up to him. "Eat up."

The sole Kaguya survivor looked back up in the same confusion, still not understanding. It had to be a trick. It had to be…

But his hunger won out, conflicting with his doubts of the man before him, conflicting with any thoughts of hostility and to remain by himself. He took the proffered meat and ate, continuing to do so as another figure entered. "Pith."

She nodded, glancing at the child, and stared, waiting patiently as Kimimaro scarfed up the meat. As he finished his meal, his belly full in days, it hit him.

For the first time since Kimimaro left the village, he had no one. There was no one to help him. No companion. He was alone, and he even believed himself to be alone, for no one would assist him. He was an orphan, for his parents long since passed as far as he could recall.

As all the rampant emotions of loneliness hit the Kaguya boy, the boy felt tears in his eyes, as all his deeds and actions up to now, for what he would have done to the strangely dressed people, had helped him.

Kimimaro refused to cry, even then, he knelt his head low, speaking softly. "Thank you..."

"It's no problem… Er…" Ace blinked. "I just realized I didn't ask for your name. My bad. What was it? I'm Ace, and this here is Pith. Cranky guy outside is Scout, but you probably already know that."

In one universe, Kimimaro would have dedicated himself to the cause and commitment of Orochimaru; the man who sought immortality, and he would become a vessel for the man. In that same world, he would meet an orange haired beast known as Jugo, and he would tame the beast until the sickness he had gained finally overtook him.

In this world, an assignment ordered would lead the Elite Ops of Ace, Scout, and Pith elsewhere to the Five Great Nations, and to the same boy, who would never meet the man.

Kimimaro sought to dedicate his own life, for in one universe, Orochimaru, as the man granted him a chance. Upon the very meeting with Ace and those other Elites, he would dedicate himself to the cause of Babel.

And upon giving his name, Kimimaro would forever be indebted to that very organization itself. "Kimimaro. Kimimaro Kaguya."

So yeah. Babel/Rhodes Island Elite Ops Kimimaro.

Also, Ace thinking of infiltrating into the Hidden Leaf was to hopefully remind viewers that Rhodes Island isn't entirely good. People forget that because it's a 2D waifu anime tower defense instead of being a military operation that hires mercenaries and has assassins to pick off anyone they deem a threat and literal mass murderers and serial killers like Flamebringer and Lappland. Rhodes Island is a neutral gray force, which is supported in the story multiple times and if people look past Amiya as a character, because she just as much participates in questionable missions and operations from a few Ops trust files and side stories just for the benefit of Rhodes Island. Kal'stit is effectively a less extreme version of Danzo except she's just as willing to do anything just to preserve Rhodes Island integrity. I'm not targeting the Hidden Leaf because "hurr durr bashing" (which people should seriously grow out of), it's simply as implied in the chapter that Ace and the others have traveled across the Nations to the point that they have no choice but to utilize infiltration, as with any actual military operation that does shady operations and acts.

Case in point of Arknights: There are no good guys in the world. Rhodes Island is the closest you'll get to even being a token remote to "good", and even then, they will commit actions that are questionable if people weren't blinded by the amount of female Ops in this game. It's the exact reason why Talulah even called Amiya a hypocrite for killing the Infected in the Main Story, because she's no different from everyone else. I'm mentioning this because morality shouldn't be applied at all to either universe, which I hope readers keep in mind when this is stated to be a Dark Naruto story.

This story is also a number of NarutoxArknights concepts rolled into small chapters that aren't going to be as long form as this or Penguin's NEST or is unable to be made to large scale separate stories, but will be essential to the plot of this story. Zabuza and Haku with Patriot and Frostnova or I do have concepts of but as stated, won't be long form, or any of my other NarutoxArknights crossovers or any Arknights stories for that matter.

With this, Kimimaro is founded by the Elite Ops lead by Ace and picked up by them to join Babel/Rhodes Island, since he is never discovered by Orochimaru.

This arc is also alternatively titled as: Bone kid never meets immortal Snake man and becomes a vessel to him and instead becomes the son of Elite Ops husbando daddy gigachad.