Hey there! Been a while, huh? I know. You're all wondering where I have been. Well, work really. Most of the time is either at work or the gym and what little I have is spent writing lol. I'm still working on the next chapter of Shattering Lies, so be on the lookout for that!

Now for some questions to be answered. The pairing is Naruto X C.C. as you are all aware. However, I may have come around to the idea of another girl in the mix. Right now, I'm looking at Kaguya, who in my opinion was sorely underutilized as a character and is often just brushed aside in FanFiction. The second one is Euphie, which I do like is overly utilized. I'm leaning a bit more toward Kaguya because she's a bit more…grounded? While Euphie does understand the suffering and the realities of the world, I feel like she did very little before we knew her to change anything.

Kaguya meanwhile was mostly left frustrated at the Heads of Kyoto who were often indecisive and lacked the will to do what was needed to make a change, playing politics, and balancing between cooperating with the Occupation Government and funding the resistance. I think she would make for a good pairing with Naruto. But my options are open. Anyways, enjoy.

Moving through the shadows was easy for Naruto. It was the most basic thing he was taught. After all, a shinobi's greatest ally was the shadow. The ability to hide, to blend in, was the true measure of a shinobi and he was very good at hiding within the shadows.

"We have to act now! Zero has thrown the Britannian leadership and military into chaos!" Shouted a resistance fighter to his comrades as they huddled within their mountain hideout, unaware of the shinobi lurking in the shadows.

"Calm down. Reports of Cornelia having arrived with reinforcements from the Homeland. She even brought her guard." Their apparent leader countered as his fellow compatriots grunted in disappointment. Nodding to him, Naruto slipped out of the shadows.

"You are correct that Cornelia has arrived." He spoke, his voice as stoic and steely as it echoed within the hollow mountain. The resistance fighters quickly turned around as they brandished their weapons, aiming at the interloper.

"Who the hell are you?! How did you get in here!?" One of them shouted as Naruto calmly stood. These…guns…posed no threats to him. He could throw a kunai faster than they could even think about pulling the trigger.

"I'm here to serve you a warning." Naruto started as he watched them all tense at that. His tone was ominous on account of his voice.

"What was that?!" The agitated men questioned while Naruto threw a file towards them. Their self-appointed leader gingerly walked over and picked up the file.

"Cornelia already knows of your location. She knows everything about the Blood of the Samauri Faction. And she is currently amassing her forces to siege this mountain fortress of yours." He revealed as they all gasped at the revelation.

"Lies!" One of them shouted but their leader did not share the same opinion.

"No, he's right…These are official battle plans, troop movements, staging areas, the whole deal." He stated as he read the reports while Naruto nodded to himself.

"Saigō, I suggest you and your group abandon this fortress," Naruto spoke, as the now-named Saigō narrowed his eyes. How did this unknown figure know his name? He was sure that their usage of codenames had effectively kept their identity hidden.

"The hell we will! We'll show those damn Britannians that the Blood of the Samurai don't back down from a fight!" The men roared in defiance. They'll meet Cornelia and her forces head-on! To retreat was cowardness. Saigō, however, did not think the same.

"Don't be foolish. Your outdated weapons don't stand a chance against Cornelia's battle-tested Knightmare forces. Not to mention she is on a war path. You will all die in vain." The masked figure spoke the words that Saigō was thinking. As much as he hated to admit it, the masked figure was right.

"He's right, we need to start relocating at once. Start loading up all critical equipment and burn all the documents. And rig the base." Saigō spoke up, his voice conveying the severity of the situation while his comrades looked at him in shock.

"But –" One of his men began before Saigō turned to shoot him a glare.

"That's an order." He laid down the law and just like that they all nodded and began to carry out their orders. They wouldn't question Saigō, after all, he had led them this far. As the base came to life with the resistance fighters began to run about, shouted orders and what-not. Saigō nodded before he turned to the masked figure that had saved his faction.

"I thank you for this information, but why help us? And for that matter who are you?" Saigō questioned, the blank mask slightly unnerving him.

"Why? It'd be foolish to lose all the manpower and resources you have managed to acquire. Rather than die fighting a losing battle, live to fight another day when the time is right." Naruto spoke rather ominously as he took a step back and blended into the shadows.

"Hey wait!" Saigō shouted but as he ran up to where the figure was he found nothing.

"W-What the…" Saigō muttered out. Did that happen? Or was it simply a figment of his imagination? Shaking his head, he turned to the task at hand; a long retreat north of Japan to retreat further into the mountains.

With Naruto:

"That went well at the very least they'll live to fight another day." Kurama stated as Naruto nodded at that. He had fully expected to force them to retreat with a show of force.

"It is good that their leader at least realized the futility of their situation. Cornelia's forces would have annihilated them with no survivors." He explained blankly as Kurama hummed at that.

"I still don't understand why you saved them. They'll only live to serve Lelouch, after all, he is the one planning on rebelling." Kurama questioned him as Naruto shook his head.

"I cannot trust Britannia, but I can trust Lelouch to some degree. At the very least, Lelouch knows that he can't control me. In that sense, I have some control over the situation." Naruto tried to explain. While he no longer wanted to live in the shadows, he also didn't want to be hunted down like a dog.

"And in the end, if Lelouch does win, it'll only benefit you. But what if he loses?" Kurama questioned him with a rather taunting smirk, but Naruto didn't care or understand it.

"It doesn't matter. I'll just bend Britannia to my will if I have to. I'm Shinobi, an assassin. As modern as the technology of this world is, it cannot stop me. If I have to, I'll kill the Emperor myself and plunge Britannia into a civil war." He responded rather casually, but Kurama was not surprised. The boy was cold, very cold. He viewed the world as objectives to be completed on a mission.

"That's rather cruel, don't you think?" Kurama questioned him, trying to see his response. Naruto stopped as he slowly looked up at the sky.

"The world…is a cruel place…Kurama. If the world was so perfect, then Hinata wouldn't have died. I wouldn't have become a weapon. Wars with not exist. The world…the world would have been a gentler place where people like Hinata wouldn't have to suffer…" Naruto answered as Kurama raised an eyebrow at that.

"In that how you see the world? As a cruel place with no good in it?" Kurama pressed the question while his host mauled over that question.

"No, it's not a cruel place, not completely. After all people like Hinata were born into it, lived in it…and died in it…" As cruel as the world was, it had its light, its beauty. Shaking his head, he vanished quickly from his current location.

"And if Lelouch wins…maybe the world will become a better place." Were his words. Eventually, someone would have to rise and destroy the current world order to create a new one, a better one.

Later that night:

"Dammit…you fool." Lelouch gritted his teeth as he slammed his hand onto his desk. His old friend, Suzaku, had just joined the academy and after reuniting with him and his sister once again, the fool went back to his military unit.

"After all they have done…you still serve them?" Lelouch questioned the stupidity of his friend. The Britannians had invaded his people's homeland, killed them, oppressed them, reduced them to mere numbers, killed his father, and now used him and threw him to the wolves like a disposable weapon. And yet, he continued to serve that worthless dominion that was his father's empire.

"It appears that your friend is still part of the military." Sunflower chimed in as he stepped out of the shadows Lelouch threw him a glare, but Naruto was undeterred. He had faced greater threats than a glare from an academy student.

"You knew," Lelouch stated as if it were a fact.

"I did," Naruto responded as Lelouch frowned at that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lelouch questioned him as Naruto raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

"How would that information serve you?" Naruto questioned him. Though his questions had implications that Lelouch dared not entertain them. He knew exactly what Sunflower was capable of. If he wanted Suzaku dead, Sunflower could have it down within the hour.

"Doesn't that idiot realize that they are only using him?" Lelouch questioned as Naruto hummed before he reached for his mask and took it off. He had slowly begun to become comfortable with having his mask off with C.C. and Lelouch. They did not see him as the monster he was claimed to be.

"And they are…friends…" He thought absent-mindedly but kept his emotions in check. For Lelouch's part, he was still fascinated by the blond's scared face. His face was so stoic and cold that it made his father look warm and sunny.

"Because he is an idealist," Naruto stated simply, his facial features relaxing ever so slightly as his memory harkened back to his first friend.

"How can he be such an idealist when faced with such facts? Surly he isn't dumb enough to believe that Britannia truly cares?" Lelouch questioned as Naruto shook his head.

"You misunderstand. He knows full well what Britannia is, what it is doing. But he believes that he can change the system. His only disbelief is that Britannia is not that far gone. He still holds hope that Britannia is a system that can be changed, despite the evidence suggesting otherwise." Naruto explained as Lelouch scoffed.

"A fool's belief." Was his response as Naruto didn't agree or disagree, but it did make him remember…

"I…I had a friend once…" Naruto began as Lelouch's interest was immediately peaked by that. Sunflower was a very secretive person. To hear him talk about a friend…

"She was… gentle…soft-spoken, and a kind soul who never sought to harm anyone. All she wanted…all she ever wanted…was to live in peace, live in a world that was kinder, gentler…" Naruto remembered almost rather fondly. Hinata didn't hate him. She showed him kindness. She was his only light in their world. Even at their lowest she still smiled at him. Believed in him.

"Did she…die?" Lelouch questioned. The idea of death wasn't foreign to him. He saw his mother get gunned down, he walked through the fields of murdered Japanese.

"Yes…" His voice was low, almost broken as the word came out, while Lelouch closed his eyes at that. He opened them up again and opened his mouth to ask his question, but Naruto beat him to the punch.

"She died by my hands…" Naruto answered the unasked question as Lelouch eyes widened at that. Looking at Sunflower he realized that the boy looked so…broken. He could practically see the regret on the boy's normally stoic face.

"Which is why…I'm…sorry for suggesting to kill your friend…" Naruto finally apologized for what he had said weeks ago as Lelouch looked at him in shock once more. This was the first time he had heard Sunflower apologize.

"I lost my friend because I was weak. Compared to me, you are far stronger than you realize." Naruto praised him Lelouch merely listened as Naruto brought his hands up and looked down at him.

"Compared to you, my hands are stained in blood. I have killed so many people that I don't even know anymore...and I feel no regret for any of those killed but my first." He spoke as he looked back up at Lelouch.

"What I'm trying to say is…don't become like me. Be better." He advised as Lelouch's eyes widened. Was Sunflower trying to teach him a lesson? To not lose his humanity?

"I…understand…" Lelouch replied. Despite Sunflower's brutality, he understood what he had become, what he was.

"Sunflower, I don't know what made you what you are today or why you killed your friend. And someday I hope you might tell me, but I know that you haven't lost your humanity." Lelouch tried to explain before he cracked a grin.

"Besides, Britannia is much worse." He tried to lighten the mood a bit to which Naruto almost cracked a smile. At the very least people still believed in him, believed that he wasn't lost.

"My name is Naruto," Naruto spoke his true name as Lelouch blinked at that before realizing how much faith and trust Sunflower, no, Naruto had put in him.

"Naruto? You're named after a ramen topping?" Lelouch questioned with a slight laugh as Naruto almost frowned, almost.

"It means maelstrom." He corrected him rather aggressively. Hinata loved his name because it, in her words, reminded her of a storm that could wipe away all adversity. She loved the strong meaning of his name.

"I know, I know." Lelouch raised his hands in mock surrender. Names had meanings and power.

"Count yourself luck, even C.C. doesn't know my name yet. But don't ever refer me to by my name outside of this room." He still wanted to maintain a sense of secrecy, to which Lelouch nodded. He would not want to be discovered as Zero after all.

"You should begin planning for how you want to capture Cornelia. Although, I suggest you forgo her and turn Jeremiah into an agent if you simply tell him who you are. You can easily turn him. And leaving Cornelia in charge while humbling her in her first defeat will greatly put her leadership as a military lead into question." Naruto advised while Lelouch hummed at that.

"You sound like you have experience," Lelouch questioned as Naruto nodded.

"Why waste resources and manpower trying to beat the enemy on the battlefield when you can break them from within their ranks? Even Cornelia will eventually lose control of her political and military positions so long as she continues to suffer military defeat." Naruto explained.

"That is true. Britannian politics are justified by its military victories. So long as it dominates the battlefield, the political stability of the administration remains strong. But with mounting defeats that same stability turns into division as the leadership's inability to produce results comes into question. Such is the product of an autocratic regime." Lelouch added his thoughts. War and conquest justified Britannian expansion and self-righteousness, war abroad meant peace at home.

"Let them question and fight with themselves. Make Jeremiah your agent so your conquest will be far easier and faster when the time comes. I'm sure Jeremiah can secure the loyalties of various dissatisfied factions and units within the administration." Naruto pointed out as Lelouch nodded. Naruto's plan made a lot of sense.

"I'll think about it," Lelouch stated as Naruto nodded before he stepped back into the shadows leaving the older boy to his thoughts.

A week later:

"Yes Princess, it seems like the base is abandoned." Andreas Darlton was an imposing man. He was tall, very well built and the scar on his face proved his worth as a military man. But right now, he was reporting back to Cornelia and explaining to her how the rebel base of the Blood of the Last Samurai faction was abandoned with nothing but a hollow mountain.

"How? Our intelligence suggested that they had amassed all their forces her?" Cornelia questioned with a frown.

"We are currently conducting reconnaissance and an investigation to see if they were tipped off somehow, but for now yes, their base is all but abandoned. Although, from how thoroughly it has been evacuated and how they have destroyed equipment they could not take, they most likely knew well in advance." Darlton stated as Cornelia frowned while looking at the hollow mountain.

"I want to expand our intelligence gathering unit. We need to drive these terrorists from the ground and find Zero. And if it is an intelligence leak, then see to it that is corrected. A failure like this will not be tolerated again." Cornelia warned as Darlton nodded seriously. While he knew that he wouldn't be the one suffering her wrath, it was still a serious matter.

"At once." And with that, he went to work. Cornelia, however, was livid. This operation was supposed to serve two purposes. The first was to shatter the Blood of the Last Samurai faction, which would instill fear within other terrorist cells and factions, causing them to slip up. The second reason was to make herself known so that she could begin pulling the rank and file of Area Eleven administration. Loath as she was to admit it, the Area's administration was weak, corrupt, and jealously guarded their interests. She was an outsider, even if she was a princess of the Empire, she needed to show them why she was the one taking charge.

"This would have been easier if heads would simply roll." She thought with a frown. She should have down away with all the worthless bureaucrats, but Jeremiah had explained to her that simply liquidating the entire administration would create more enemies than allies. She noted that Jeremiah was a smart man. While he did imprison many after many investigations, he did just that, imprison. He never ordered their execution. No. He allowed that decision to fall on her.

"Clever man. If I ordered their deaths, I'd look like I was complicit, and it'd be automatically an enemy of the conspirators. While Jeremiah simply blended back into the sidelines." She didn't know if Jeremiah had that by design or simply luck. Either way, the man knew how to play the political game. Still, she could trust him simply because he was not only loyal to the Empire, but also served on the same honor guard that…

"It doesn't matter…they are all dead and gone." Her hands balled into fists as she recalled her greatest failure.

"I'll hunt you down Zero. I'll drag you from the shadows and make you pay for what you have done." She muttered in controlled rage. Clovis wasn't her closest half-siblings, but he was her sibling and brother. She had sworn to never let any harm befall her family. But Clovis was now dead and her pride demanded vengeance and vengeance she shall have!

Well, that's it! For now. So, alot to unpack here. Blood of the Last Samuria surviving, Naruto finally giving his real name, and Cornellia being royally pissed. All this is leading up to the next chapter which will be the first engagement between Cornellia and Lelouch. Place your bets on how this will go down. Will Lelouch thoroughly beat Cornellia? Will she beat him like in cannon? What part with Naruto play in this coming battle?!

Leave a review with your thoughts! Until next time!