Hey there my loyal readers! Been a while eh? I know, I know. Too long, but hey, I got a life to you know! Like work, family, and other things lol. Well, anyway, not much to say for this AN other than to let you all enjoy this chapter! Also, the FanFiction notification system still isn't working for me, let's hope they fix this because it's getting annoying. Well, enjoy!
Saitama Ghetto, located north of Shinjuku Ghetto, was as ruined as Shinjuku was. After the war, Britannia barely paid any attention to these cities beyond rebuilding some of the rail and bridge networks, for their benefit. Chief among these resorted or rebuilt projects was a single bridge across the Arakawa River, a bridge that was currently being used by Cornelia's force as a crossing point into the Ghetto.
G1 Command Center:
Amidst the orderly chaos that was ongoing in the command center, Cornelia sat in her chair, merely looking at the proceedings with boredom. She internally scoffed at the inefficiency of the command staff officers. She had been forged in the fires of war, and so had been her subordinates. Comparing her elite force of conquers to these bloated blue-blood officers caused her to shake her head.
"No wonder these fools lost to mere terrorists." She thought internally. While none of these officers currently present were with Clovis when the Shinjuku incident went down, no, those were all dead. These were the ones that were not on the battlefield when the events went down. Sighing, she stood up, gaining all their attention.
"I trust that the conditions are the same as at Shinjuku?" She questioned them as the officers saluted.
"Yes, milady. Although to put yourself in such danger…" One of the brave few officers responded before trying to voice his concerns but was silenced when she glared at him.
"What you fail to understand is that war is a matter of pride. That and Zero seems to have a flair for the dramatic. If my thoughts are correct, then Zero won't miss a chance." She reasoned as the officers looked at her in shock. She was willingly creating a situation in which she was in danger! In other words, she was gambling with her life.
"Are all units in position?" She barked out her orders, snapping their attention back to her. They hurriedly looked over the tactical map at the center of the bridge before a unanimous yes resounded within the bridge. Cornelia nodded, her eyes narrowing, her heart pounding, and her hands balled into fists.
"Very well. Commence the clearing operation of Saitama Ghetto!" With that, she ordered the death of countless as her force began a massacre, just as Clovis had done in the past.
With Lelouch:
"Typical. Cornelia replaces Clovis and nothing changes." Lelouch said as studied the tactical map on the Sutherland he had once again managed to settle. He briefly questioned if Cornelia was a competent strategist considering that her battleplans appeared just like Clovis's.
"She's trying to bait." Naruto chimed in, standing on the right shoulder of the Knightmare, his cloak fluttering in the wind as his maskless face and lavender cold eyes gazed at the city.
"What?" Lelouch questioned him. He had his forces arrayed in a fashion similar to Clovis. Given that his force consisted of a rag-tag group of terrorists of the Yamato Alliance, thanks to his Geass, he had opted to use the city against the Britannian forces. Once more he was going to utilize the old maps of Saitama and the ruins against the Cornelia as he had with Clovis.
"Cornelia is a great tactician, yes, but a strategist she is not," Naruto said coldly as Lelouch raised an eyebrow at that. Cornelia had proven to be a formidable warrior and commander, given her conquests.
"Explain." He questioned as Naruto's right eye almost twitched at that.
"For someone so intelligent you sure are dumb," Naruto stated simply, causing the older teen to frown slightly, but before he could rebuke the younger one Naruto chose to elaborate.
"Cornelia has had the almost near inexhaustible resources of the Britannian Empire at her command. It is easy to defeat a conventional force when your force is superior and more numerous." Naruto started as Lelouch listened closely.
"I have studied Cornelia's past battles. She has always sought to seek a decisive and set-piece battle that determines the over-arching nature of the war. When she comes across a force that stands in her way, she uses effective tactics to defeat them with her superior forces." He continued as realization slowly dawned on Lelouch's face.
"She is incapable of seeing a battle strategically in the greater war. To her, a battle won is a war won. She will rarely order a retreat as she expects nothing but victory. As such, she is incapable of fighting an enemy that isn't conventional. If you fight her head-on, you will lose. So, fighting like you did with Clovis, but don't take her bait." Naruto finished as Lelouch mulled over what the blond had said.
"I see. Very well then. I will adjust my plans accordingly. What will you do?" Lelouch questioned as he turned to look at Naruto. His eyes slightly widened as veins around Naruto's eyes bulged, becoming more profound and visible, but his stoic face never changed.
"I'll cause as much havoc as possible and secure Agent Orange," Naruto responded as he dawned on his mask and merely vanished from Lelouch's sight.
"W-What…was that?" Lelouch muttered under his breath. Just what exactly was Naruto capable of? Shaking his head, he focused on the task at hand as the cockpit of the Knightmare closed shut. It was time for the battle to commence.
With Naruto:
Naruto could see everything, absolutely everything. The Byakugan granted him sight for miles on out, allowing him to focus on the smallest of details that others could not. It also gave him X-ray-like vision, allowing him to see through people and objects.
"Please! There are children here!" The voice of a man screeched across the air and Naruto's attention was quickly drawn to it.
"500 meters..." He thought mentally as he saw a group of civilians rounded up by Britannian infantry, ready to massacre them. Without thinking, Naruto sprang forward and was upon them within seconds.
"One." His first jab was delivered straight to the head of the unlucky Britannian soldier, the brain inside instantly turning to mush.
"Two." He rounded quickly as another jab was delivered to the chest of the Britannian soldier to his left, the heart imploding inside.
"Three, Four." Leaping to his right, he sent two consecutive strikes to the spines of two of the last remaining Britannian soldiers, shattering their spines in an instant. He looked at the two, as they wailed in agony, unable to move their bodies while the one that had his heart imploded coughed out blood, falling to his knees. Turning his attention to the terrified group of Japanese, he merely uttered one word.
"Go." The shocked group of adults quickly rushed the children and themselves out of the scene and fled deeper into the ruins, away from the fighting and bloodshed all the while Naruto saw them flee with his ever-stoic expression.
"Am I doing good…Hinata…" He muttered to himself as he looked down at his hands, hands which were the cause of much suffering and pain. He was broken out of his thought as a gust of wind rushed past him, his hair fluttering up as he looked up with almost surprise before he allowed a simple smile to grace his face.
"I'll use your gift as it was meant to be used." He offered a quick prayer to his departed friend, knowing somehow she was still watching over him. He was broken out of his thoughts by the sounds of gunfire and explosives going off in the distance. Regaining his composer, he focused back on the battlefield. He had more lives to take…and to save.
"300 meters," He muttered as he crouched down before jumping up high, landing on a nearby building as three Knightmare's came speeding down the avenue. The Byakugan allowed him extraordinary vision with great detail at that too. He could see not only every single detail of the machines before him, but he could see inside of them, and the pilot.
"Strike from above at the closest target." He muttered to himself, drawing his Tantō as he waited for the right moment to strike. As the Knightmare's closed in, he sprung into action. Jumping right over the top, he added Chakra to the Tantō, coating it with wind, sharpening and lengthening its reach and lethality.
"One." He spoke as he aimed his blade straight down, right into the cockpit of the first pilot. The war machine immediately lumped forward, heading straight into the ground without its pilot to guide it, but Naruto was already in action. He crouched down onto the cockpit of the right Knightmare before he propelled himself off of it, spinning wildly as he bisected the second Knightmare in half.
"Two." He counted as he used his momentum and took the legs of the last, causing it to launching it straight into the as Naruto landed gracefully. Looking at the last Knightmare, the cockpit hissed open as a disorientated pilot crawled himself out of the ruined machine.
"W-What the hell?" The pilot mumbled out, not sure what had happened or who had attacked his squadron. Shaking his head, he looked up to find a cloaked figure with some sort of sword in his hand. Eyes widening, he reached for his side arm and freed it from his holster.
"Die you dam –!" The pilot didn't get to finish as the cloaked figure appeared directly in front of him, his left hand jabbed into his chest, right where his heart was.
"Three," Naruto muttered as the pilot's eyes widened before he coughed, blood accompanying the coughing as droplets of it splattered onto Naruto's mask. The pilot didn't get a word in as his heart exploded from within, his vision fading as his body fell backward.
"Years of training…" These were his final thoughts. His first battle and he was bested not by a Knightmare, but by some cloaked figure. Naruto made no reaction as the pilot's body fell with a thud as a calm silence entered the battlefield, well, apart from the sporadic fire in the distance. Looking down the avenue, he vanished from sight. The battle wasn't over just yet.
With Cornelia:
Cornelia's frown deepened ever so much at the way the group of officers conducted the battle. So far she had allowed Clovis's officers, what remained of them, in charge of the battle. She had opted to take the back seat, waiting, watching, observing.
"Squads Three, Four, Eight, and Tenth of Fifth Platoon of Charli Company have been wiped out!" An officer shouted as the tactical map marked the said squads as "lost", having been ambushed within the Ghetto.
"What?! That leaves 1st Company short a whole Platoon!" Another shouted. Unacceptable! Their command structure was not designed to sustain such losses! Their troubles didn't stop there as the bridge behind them violently exploded, taking down armor, infantry, and Knightmare's into the river.
"We just lost the entirety of 2nd Company!" Panic began to set in as Knightmare's were losing communications with command, infantry squads were being ambushed, and armor vehicle losses began to mount. Cornelia had seen enough. She stood up and walked over to the tactical map table as all attention was turned to her. She wasn't exactly the master at fighting asymmetrical warfare. But she did know not to waste lives.
"Enough. You fools are only throwing more men and material into their traps and ambushes. Have all forces fall back at once, form a perimeter around the G1 Command Center!" She ordered at once.
"But milady, we can win this! We simply need to commit our reserve!" An officer voiced his opinion but was silenced by her glare.
"You shouldn't be needing to utilize our reserves to win against rabble. My orders stand; follow them or I'll have you executed for insubordination." She threw down the gauntlet. She would not tolerate any opposition to her command. They would follow, be it out of fear or not.
"Y-Yes, milady!" The officer responded as the communications and orders began to flow out of the G1 Command Center and down the chain of command. Cornelia nodded as she now waited to see what Zero's next move would be.
"Now then, how will you fight an enemy that has disengaged with your rabble?" She thought to herself, already relishing in her self-assured victory.
With Jeremiah:
"What could the Princess be thinking? Is she trying to make Zero walk into a trap by playing on his pride?" Jeremiah thought to himself with a frown as he stood at attention, the cockpit of his Knightmare in the open position allowing how to stand full and see the Ghetto ahead.
"Why has the princess not deployed us? We were Lord Clovis's elite forces!" Jeremiah rolled his eyes at Kewell ranting, while the rest of the purists silently agreed with Kewell.
"Silence you fool. While there might be no evidence to link you with Zero, your actions have cast doubt on the Purists." Jeremiah reprimanded him while Kewell shot in him a glare but held his breath. Jeremiah knew well that he was not currently popular with the Purist faction, after all, he had put almost all of them in jail.
"Lord Jeremiah, surely you don't think that Princess Cornelia still doesn't trust us?" Villetta questioned him as Jeremiah scoffed. Even he didn't trust them!
"That would be an understatement. Be lucky that you all were offered a chance to start over as pilots and not be sent back to the Homeland in chains." He answered causing Villetta to flinch at his tone. She knew the difference between her, and Jeremiah was that she joined the military to gain statues and upward mobility. Jeremiah joined the military not because of statues, no, his family were already nobles, and he was a Margrave. No, he joined because he wanted to. Be it out of national pride or admiration, she didn't truly know.
"Seem's like the princess has ordered all forces to fall back." Jeremiah frowned as he studied the map, waiting to see what the end goal was here. He didn't think that Zero would emerge so quickly. However, as he read the incoming reports, a few interesting reports were coming in from a few stragglers.
"A masked figure engaging infantry…could it be?" Was the masked assassin here as well? He was broken out of his thoughts as the cry of his fellow Knightmare pilots altered him. Blinking, he quickly looked to his left and saw two of the Knightmare's to his left exploding violently.
"We are under attack!" Villetta shouted as she quickly sat down in her seat and closed the cockpit shut, ready to engage the unknown enemy. But she never got the chance as her system flashed red, her Knightmare sliced in half losing all functions below the cockpit. Thinking quickly, she ejected, the cockpit capsule rocketing back and across the river. Her compatriots were not so lucky as they were cut down within seconds.
"What the…" It all happened in an instant. The entire Pursits Squad had been wiped out with him now looking at the masked assassin before him, his blade pointed at his neck.
"Lord Jeremiah, corporate, and you will survive." The assassin that had provided him with so much information in the past requested, but it didn't feel like a request with a blade to his neck.
"I suppose I have a choice in the matter?" His answer was the blade slightly digging into his neck. Jeremiah was a loyal soldier, but he wasn't a fool.
"Very well…" He surrendered.
With Zero:
"What's this? Pulling your forces back?" Lelouch thought with a frown as he saw Cornelia's forces fall back, forming a ring around the city of sorts.
"I could set a trap and lure her forces back in…" Lelouch thought out loud to himself. Yes, that would be a fine tactic, but…
"No. Cornelia is far too competent to fall for such an obvious trap. Not only that, but she also has no appetite for those who disobey orders or fail to carry them out." He frowned while humming. How should he processed? Mount an offensive? No, his forces would be wiped out in a frontal assault. Their strength was fighting in asymmetrical warfare, they would get obliterated in open combat by the more conventionally trained forces.
"I'm surprised that you haven't made your move yet." He blinked as he shifted to one of the screens showing him outside the Knightmare's surroundings.
"C2? What are you doing here?" He questioned looking at the green-haired witch, who smirked as she pointed at him.
"To save you from Cornelia of course, but I see that you haven't done something foolish, yet." She responded as Lelouch sighed.
"Tactically there isn't much I can do without a better trained and equipped force. Cornelia would annihilate this group in an instant in open battle and she won't commit forces to attack knowing that the urban combat would incur more casualties." He reasoned as C2 chuckled.
"In other words, you are at an impasse. They say that discretion is better part of valor." C2 advised as Lelouch nodded. He had to think strategically for a long-term goal and wasting resources here to get to Cornelia would do no good. At least not yet. He'd put himself in more danger. Flipping his radio on, he issued out his final orders for the day.
"All forces withdraw from the battlefield. Ditch and spike all enemy equipment you can't take with you. Cornelia's forces are amassing for a renewed offensive and we lack the sufficient means to engage them. Disengage and retreat." He ordered, adding a bit of a lie. Cornelia wasn't amassing for any offensive, but the terrorist didn't need to know that.
"I'm surprised that you swallowed your pride and made a logical decision, knowing that Cornelia is right there." C2 taunted him slightly as Lelouch grumbled at her.
"I have recently come to learn that pride will only get you killed on the battlefield." He responded as C2 smirked again.
"I sure that's something you learned from Sunflower?" She questioned as it was now Lelouch who smirked. He knew something about him she didn't.
"Why yes. Our resident assassin puts practicality and logic over things like pride and valor." Lelouch finished with a chuckle. Yes, Naruto provided him with valuable insight, but he also would now provide him with another valuable asset. Turning his attention back to the map, his eyes narrowed over the G1 Base icon.
"Just you wait Cornelia. Not today, but one day I will have my answers. And I'll do it by destroying your forces from inside out." Lelouch thought darkly. He'll have his revenge. It might not be today or tomorrow, but he will have it one way or another.
And that's a wrap force! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Also, I got another story I've been cooking up, a Naruto X Avatar The Last Airbender. Hope you all keep a lookout for that one. Anyways, later everyone!