This here is a fun story written by me, Castle, and NSG. Naruto x Taimanin with Final Fantasy 7 elements.

Enjoy!

"Okay, everybody. ROLL CALL!"

"SoulEmbrace2010!"
Soul: *falls out of a portal*"Ahhhhhhhhhh- Ow. Here~"

"NorthSouthGolem!"
NSG: "It's GOREM! And here."

"Sorry! CastleCrasher009!"
Castle: "Present and accounted for."

"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto: "Ore Sanjou, dattebayo!"

"Igawa Asagi!"
Asagi: "Here as commanded."

"Igawa Sakura!"
Sakura: "Present!"

"Mizuki Yukikaze!"
Yukikaze: "Ready to rock and roll!"

"All Authors and Primary Cast have been assembled! The Stage is set! Now, let us draw the curtain on a new adventure! LET'S GO!"

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is wonderful for you to gather here to hear this tale of mine. Oh, but where are my manners? I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?

Reeve Tuesti is my name. Yes, that Reeve Tuesti. Former head of Shinra Urban Development and currently the Director of the World Regenesis Organization within the universe of Final Fantasy VII. Why am I here, you ask? Well, it's simple, really. I am here, like many, to play a part in this tale. You see, I have been given a role not much dissimilar to my current role in my universe. I am a Director of a paramilitary organization dedicated to ensuring the peace and tranquility of Earth, known as SOLDIER.

Ah, I know what you are thinking. Isn't SOLDIER a part of Shinra? Well, perhaps it was in my universe, but here, it's a bit different. SOLDIER was originally a Private Military Company that offered its service as peacekeepers in otherwise hostile areas. SOLDIER recruited only the best, because only the best could handle the jobs they were given. At first, it operated just like any normal PMC, utilizing modern weapons, equipment, and vehicles. But that changed when SOLDIER encountered more supernatural foes, where normal assault rifles and pistols just didn't cut it anymore. So, SOLDIER had to find a way to even the playing field, otherwise the organization wouldn't last in this new world.

The breakthrough came in the form of Genetic Manipulation that granted humans with superhuman abilities. Now, I don't mean they were faster than speeding bullets, or more powerful than a locomotive…well, not necessarily, at least. But it did make them stronger, faster, and better. It also granted them immunity from certain…conditions. But, we'll get into details about that later. For now, though, I will tell you of the story of one particular team in SOLDIER, the legendary First Squad in the Japan branch, led by one of the greatest SOLDIER Commanders ever produced. This is the story of the battles fought in cooperation with a sect of special ninjas employed by the Japanese Government.

This is the story of…."

SOLDIER and Taimanin

The bright lights of Tokyo illuminated the night sky as a single VTOL flew over the city skyline. As the aircraft maneuvered around the tall buildings, the lights illuminated its side, showing the symbol that indicated the aircraft's affiliation with SOLDIER.

"Echo-4, this is Dragnet. Target is moving Northwest on rail at 100 kilometers per hour, bearing 0-2-4. Proceed to interception point Alpha."

"Roger, Dragnet. Echo-4 in route to intercept."

The pilots of the VTOL adjusted their instruments as two individuals waited patiently in the crew compartment. As the two adjusted the gear they were wearing, a voice spoke over the intercom.

"Gentleman. I apologize for the very sudden mobilization alert, but the situation is critical. A terrorist organization has hijacked a mega-rail cargo train and is headed towards the central hub in Kyoto. They claim to have loaded the train with high explosives and seem intent on detonating the train once it reaches the Takeyama Chemical Storage site near the hub if anyone attempts to intervene. We suspect they are trying to steal high value cargo. There are also reports of weapons being secretly transported."

"Great. A bunch of crazies with chips on their shoulders." Tanaka Kiyohisa remarked as he put his gloves on.

Tanaka was a member of the Combat Division of SOLDIER, with the coveted rank of First Class. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he sighed as he started up at the ceiling with faintly glowing blue eyes. He wore the usual combat outfit assigned to most SOLDIER Combat personnel; a long blue coat with black trim and buckles worn over a black zip-up turtleneck sleeveless vest and black combat pants with boots.

"Why the hell do they think they can pull stunts like this and believe they can win, huh? What do you think, boss?"

"Hm, business as usual. Since these idiots want to act up, I'll be more than happy to kick their asses as usual so my skills won't rust." Uzumaki Naruto replied as he looked over his swords.

Naruto was also a member of SOLDIER as a high-ranking SOLDIER Commander. With spiky blonde hair tied up under a hitai-ate, and glowing blue eyes, he gazed over the passing scenery to get a feel for the environment. As a SOLDIER Commander, he had the freedom of choice for his outfits, wearing a sleeveless high-collared black shirt, an orange cloth covering his arm, black cargo pants with a black cloth around his waist, black standard combat boots, and a shoulder pauldron on his left shoulder with a silver fox emblem.

"Better here than at some insufferable meeting."

"You two were the only SOLDIERs available on such short notice. It will be up to you to stop the terrorists."

"Roger that." Naruto replied, sheathing his many blades on his person.

"So, the two of us against a whole cell of terrorists armed to the teeth? Make it challenging for us, why don'cha."

"Depends on how challenging they actually are, so don't underestimate them."

"You won't be going in alone. The Taimanin are also en route. They will arrive approximately five minutes after you have reached the train."

"So, the girls will be joining us? This is looking like it'll be a fun party after all." Tanaka smirked at his commander. "Think your biggest fan is going to be joining us, boss?"

"Keh, just as long as she doesn't slow us down," the blonde answered while suppressing a smirk. "But Taimanin, eh? Sounds like the usual suspects may be involved…" he muttered to himself.

"Hm. Maybe my girl will be dropping in."

"Yo, guys! We are three minutes out! Better get ready for the drop! We're going in hot!" The pilot shouted back as the VTOL banked to the right as they left the buildings behind and entered open sky. Down below, two sets of parallel tracks could be seen crossing the landscape.

"That's our cue." Tanaka said as he stood and pulled a long two handed sword from a holster on the wall.

"Remember Tanaka, this is nothing like the simulation. Judge your landing strategy wrong, and it's game over." Naruto said as the train came into sight. "We'll be landing on the train and making our way to the front. Neutralize any hostiles in our way, understood?"

"Got it. Let's go say hello." Tanaka secured his sword to his back and walked to the side access door. Opening the latch, he pulled the door open. Feeling the wind on his face, he peered out and caught sight of the massive mega train.

The Mega Train was a large cargo platform situated on parallel train cars, capable of carrying thrice the cargo size that normal cargo trains could haul. It was a marvel of engineering. Now, however, it had been turned into a weapon by a rogue faction.

"That's a big ass train!" Tanaka remarked at the sight.

"Makes you wonder what the hell is so important that the terrorists rigged the damn train to blow, and where they got the resources to pull it off," Naruto said to himself, before shouting back at the pilot, "Is the investigation team on the way as well?!"

"The team will move in once the train is secure. Your objective is to neutralize the terrorists and defuse any explosives that you find."

"Eh, I'll settle for tossing them in the air and blasting them from below," Naruto muttered in amusement. "Understood. And the Taimanin?"

"Will arrive on schedule."

"Hm. We'll be sure to leave a few terrorists for them to handle."

"Well, let's get ready to-Whoa! SMOKE IN THE AIR!"

Tanaka shouted as two bright flashes originated from the rear of the train and dim lights that were clearly the exhaust from anti-air missiles were streaking towards the aircraft.

"Evasive maneuvers!"

"Tch, real trigger happy, these terrorists. I'll be dropping in first. Try to catch up." Naruto said before leaning backwards and freefalling onto the train. "See ya!"

""Hey, wait!"

The Mega Train was fast, but it was nothing for the seasoned SOLDIER using the wind as his ally to fly towards the train. With a front flip, he landed on the back cart, pulled his primary sword out, and spun around in a 360 degree angle, taking out the anti-air turrets and the terrorist operating them. A hail of bullets flew past him as he saw troops heading his way, guns blazing. With a smirk, he ran towards them, deflecting the bullets, some back at them, and with one slice, cut through their armor and downed them.

"Too easy." Naruto muttered as he looked around. A terrorist stepped out from behind a large box and leveled his rifle at Naruto's back.

"WOO-HOO! Head's up!"

The man spun around just in time to meet a pair of boots straight to his face. The man crashed to the deck as Tanaka flipped off the terrorist and landed gracefully. "And he sticks the landing!"

"Ah, just now, I was reminded of my own dynamic entries as a kid. The 'Flames of Youth,' as Might Gai would put it." Naruto mused, referring to one of the more infamous SOLDIER trainers. "Nice kick, by the way. But…" Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind Tanaka, slicing down a terrorist sneaking up on him. "Awareness is key. Remember that."

"Damn. Don't I feel sheepish. Well, that's why I'm glad to have you around, boss." Tanaka scratched the back of his head before reaching for his sword. "Well, let's make sure all the anti-air is taken out. Don't want the Taimanin to have to go through that mess."

"Then we better get started." Naruto suggested and jumped ahead on the roof of the next car.

"I think I saw a few more turrets on the next car up while I was falling. Take half?" Tanaka asked his superior.

"Take half," Naruto agreed, slashing through one turret before moving to another in his line of sight.

"Let's rock!" Tanaka shouted as his blade cleaved through metal. He spun around and sliced into a man who had just popped out of a hatch, sending him off the train screaming.

"SOLDIER is here! Send some men to the back now- ACK!" the terrorist choked out blood as Naruto stabbed him from behind and grabbed his radio. "Y-you b-b-ast-ard!"

"Please, do send more our way. Makes our job faster, and your deaths quicker." he said before crushing the radio and used his blade to toss the terrorist off. "Now, where were we?"

Tanaka saw a group of men running towards them. He smirked as he began channeling energy as a red orb glowed from an intention on his sword.

"Burn!" Tanaka threw his hand out and a bright wisp of flame flew from him and collided with the lead man. An explosion sent all the men flying through the air, where a couple even managed to clear the sides of the train.

"Gotta love Materia!" Tanaka boasted before some shots nearly hit him. "Whoa!"

"Riflemen." Naruto noted dryly.

Tanaka deflected the bullets with his blade, and while Naruto might have wished for him to find some cover, he was nonetheless proud to see the skills that he had helped him refine. "No kidding!"

The blond smirked before planting his sword on the roof and revving the throttle. A green orb glowed from one of his sword's holes as he channeled his chakra into it. "Heads up!" he yelled, yanking his sword out, before pulling the trigger and slamming the blade down.

A large blade of wind energy erupted from his weapon, speeding towards the Terrorist Riflemen's bullet and slashing through them, with blood now gushing from their wounds as they fell off the train dead. A surviving member had his arm cut off, but managed to get off a shot. Naruto snorted, catching the bullet with his blade and whipping it back, causing the bullet to go through the terrorists skull and sending him to join his comrades.

"Nice one, boss." Tanaka gave Naruto a thumbs up.

"Would you believe me when I say it took me at least 2 years to get that down?"

"…I'd hate to see what happened when you messed up," the subordinate muttered, before towards the last of the two turrets on that particular car. He ducked under the barrel of a gun that popped out the side of the turret before cutting through the metal and flesh of the person inside and jumped down to the third platform of the train, where the last four turrets containing chainguns waited. Alongside them stood a large group of terrorists, riflemen, and assault machines that leveled their guns while the close combatants drew buttons.

There was a loud thunk as the top of the last turret from the second car fell to the platform, and Naruto dropped down next to Tanaka.

"Maybe using the radio wasn't the best idea." Naruto chuckled, preparing another wind blade attack.

Tanaka chuckled. "Guess they're finally getting serious. Listen guys, we're on a bit of a tight schedule here, so out of personal respect, how about we skip straight to the ass-kicking, ne?"

"My thoughts exactly, gentlemen!"

The new voice confused the terrorists until their heads suddenly shot off their necks. The remaining ones looked about in panic and aimed their guns in vain as a purple streak zipped around them, throwing them all into disarray as they were killed one by one.

"I take that back. It was the best idea." Naruto chuckled as he jumped into the fray, taking advantage of the distraction to cut down more terrorists himself. With one swipe, the terrorists near him were sliced in half as the purple streak stopped behind him, revealing a masked woman with long, dark blue hair and teal eyes, wearing a skintight purple battle suit that left nothing to imagination, particularly her bare back. "You're late, sweetheart!"

"On the contrary, SOLDIER, I've arrived exactly when I needed to!" Taimanin Igawa Asagi shot back with a grin under her mask.

Tanaka blinked. "How'd you get on the train without the radar picking your aircraft up? I'm sure they would have started shooting before you got close."

"She's a kunoichi, what do you expect?" Naruto replied, leaning sideways to avoid a shot and threw one of his Side Blades into the head of the offender.

"I am a Taimanin, thank you very much! And much like a kunoichi, we never reveal our secrets!" Asagi nipped back before moving on the attack. "I've already taken out dozens of these terrorists! Try to keep up now! Lowest kills buys the drinks!"

"Heh, you're on!" Naruto agreed, before unleashing another wind blade, taking out several more turrets and terrorists, following after her, retrieving his Side Blade.

Tanaka scratched the back of his head. "Man. Those two always get so competitive in a fight."

"Taka-kun~!"

An orange and brown blur dropped down in front of him, which ended up being another Taimanin kunoichi with short blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a skintight brown and orange Taimanin outfit with twin kodachi strapped to her back. She spun around and winked at him, fingers in a peace sign over her eye.

"Yo, Sakura! I thought you might be dropping in!"

Igawa Sakura, the younger sister of Asagi, giggled at her boyfriend's demeanor. It was so similar to her own.

"Well, you know how I like a good brawl. Besides, we're fighting bad guys!"

"Too true." Tanaka walked up to the Taimanin and gestured to the fight. "Shall we?"

Naruto glanced back and was surprised to see Sakura. "Huh, I thought it was just going to be just you. The fact that you deployed yourself and Sakura both means that the cargo is that damn valuable I take it?" he guessed, lifting his fist over his shoulder and bashing the skull of the terrorist who tried to ambush him.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Naruto. All we know is that NOMAD is funding them, and whatever they have in here can't be good." Asagi murmured, gazing at him almost wistfully out of the corner of her eye. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Us together like this?"

"It has, but not alone," he said, gesturing towards their tag-a-longs. "Not that I'm complaining. It's been a few months of back and forth Familiar messaging." he said, taking her hand. "Our relationship…it shouldn't have to be a secret. Tanaka and Sakura are getting along just fine."

"I know, but I'm the headmaster of Gosha Academy, as well as the strongest Taimanin, but even that's not enough," Asagi looked away with a wistful look on her face. "This is for the best. I don't want you to end up like-"

"Never going to happen." Naruto said, tilting her head back towards him. "I'm a SOLDIER. Edwin Black and his band of Oboro clones won't do me in that easily. Have a little faith, eh Asagi-chan?" To punctuate his confidence, he wrapped an arm around her toned, slim waist and pulled her in, gently tugging down her mask and exposing her blushing face.

"Naruto…"

Their lips nearly closed the distance until Naruto brought his sword up to block a shot. Bringing it down, the two glared at a lone terrorist, who was now shaking in his boots.

"Very poor choice of timing, there." Naruto commented with a mock disapproving look.

Asagi clearly agreed, judging by the demonically sour look on her face, before putting her mask back up.

The goon didn't even have a chance to apologize before getting sliced apart by Naruto and Asagi's blades.

Tanaka cut through an assault machine before glancing at the two obviously smitten commanders. "Do they seriously think nobody can tell that they are seeing each other? Man, this is ridiculous."

Sakura giggled as she backed up into him. "I think it's cute. I always hoped she would find someone to love, even if they don't show it openly."

"Like us?" Tanaka asked as he quickly swatted Sakura's butt.

"Ah! Taka-kun~"

He chuckled, before spotting more goons arriving from further up along the train. "Got more company!"

At that moment, Naruto and Asagi were making their way to the front of the train, dancing around each other and covering each other's backs and blind-spots. Asagi even nicked one of Naruto's Side Blades to dual-wield with her Ninjato. Following suit, Naruto dual-wielded his Main and Hollow Blades, allowing both secret lovebirds to work twice as efficiently, cutting down both terrorists and turrets alike.

"We're almost there." Asagi murmured.

"Enough turrets are out. Support should be coming in shortly," Naruto agreed. "Now all we need to do is to take the front, and hope there's no backup for the terrorists at their station."

"Actually, Naruto," Asagi smirked. "That's already being taken care of…"

…

As Asagi said that, the terrorist goons at the station dropped to the ground with scorched bullet holes in their skulls, twitching and shuddering from residual electricity.

"That should take care of that." Mizuki Yukikaze stated as she holstered her guns, tapping her communicator. "The station's been taken. I await your arrival, Sensei."

…

"Good work, Yukikaze. Hear that, Naruto? All handled, and I'm up by one." Asagi boasted as the two arrived at the engine control terminal near the front of the train…and blanched when they realized that the entire compartment was loaded with explosives and a timer sitting on the control panel ticking away. It also seemed to be rigged to the brake controls.

"SHIT! They really did rig a bomb!" Tanaka shouted as he and Sakura caught up.

"Before I go ahead with my idea, I don't suppose any of you are proficient in bomb defusing?" Naruto groaned, eye twitching.

"Uh, well, some of our support might be!" Sakura said brightly.

"ETA?" Naruto pressed.

"With the turrets down, about two minutes." Asagi informed him before hearing the sounds of an incoming helicopter. "Looks like they're here…early…"

"The hell is that?" Tanaka asked as they heard a helicopter chopping through the air. Everyone looked up as a heavy transport chopper flew over with something dangling underneath. Before they could determine what it was, the cables holding it detached and the object fell down onto the platform car behind them, shaking the floor with a crash that made them stumble. The object quickly unfolded and revealed itself to be a giant, scorpion-like machine, with two machine guns mounted on the arms and an energy weapon for a tail. Its ocular sensors glowed ominously as it locked onto the group.

"What the?! A Scorpion Sentinel?! Where'd they get that?!" Tanaka shouted, recognizing the AI operated combat mecha.

"Damn it! We gotta take it out! It will shoot down anything approaching the train!" Asagi shouted as everyone got ready to fight.

"Not if we distract it and hold it here first!" Naruto said, connecting his Hollow Blade to the front of his Main Blade. "Time to cut this bucket of bolts down to size!"

"Kinda wish Yukikaze was here, now. Her lightning would be really helpful!" Sakura sweatdropped as she readied herself.

"Gotta make do with what we have!" Naruto charged forward, running to the side of it. There was enough space on the platform of the Mega Train car to move around, as long as they weren't cornered. He slashed at the three heavily armored legs on the side, only to hear loud *clunk*ing noises instead. "Even more reinforced armor plating than usual. Shit." he grumbled as the tail turned its attention towards him, before whipping another way. "Buy me some time- Never mind."

Asagi was attacking the other side, albeit at a faster pace than him, slashing at the metal monstrosity. The tail tried to swat her away but she flipped over it and slashed at the clawed end of the tail, knocking it away.

Tanaka charged forward. The machine turned its attention to him and swung at him with one of its arms. The First Class SOLDIER ducked under the swing and slid between the Sentinel's legs, scraping his sword along the bottom of the mech and leaving a shallow gash in areas that were not armored. He hopped back up onto his feet and turned just as the clawed tail tried to snap at him, electricity dancing between the bladed pincers. He ducked out of the way, swinging his sword to knock the tail away.

As Tanaka and Asagi struck, Naruto was tacking on all of his blades together, slotting in his Back Blade and two Side Blades. With the Hollow Blade already attached, Naruto completely assembled his Fusion Sword, with the Thundaga Elemental materia slotted in to empower his weapon with powerful Thunder magic. Leaping towards the metallic monstrosity, he unleashed multiple slashes that left several gashes on its frame. The thunder magic left behind zapped the Scorpion, causing its damaged sections to spark and for the machine to jerk about. It tried to move away, but was impeded by a series of shadowy limbs emerging from the ground.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura shouted, utilizing her 'Ninja Arts: Shadow' abilities to restrict the machine's movements as the shadow limbs grabbed a leg each. She then took it a step further and spawned a series of shadow blades that speared the Sentinel, targeting its numerous joints and damaging several servos inside.

The Sentinel let out a mechanical screech as its eyes lit up. The machine suddenly jumped up, breaking free of the shadow limbs and sailed overhead before landing on top of the control car. It whipped its tail around and pointed it at the group as the blades fanned out and electrical energy began to charge up at the tip.

"Shit! Take cover! That's its laser!" Tanaka shouted to the group as the tail started shaking violently.

"Scatter among the debris! It can't hit all of us!" Naruto commanded, with his suboardiate and Taimanin nodded and took cover.

The group got to their individual covers just in time for the Scorpion Sentinel to fire its beam. Picking its target at random, it aimed where Tanaka and fired on his location, the laser melting its cover.

"You have competition, Sakura! That Sentinel really likes Tanaka!" Naruto called out.

"Probably because of his knowledge of that machine!" Asagi guessed in amusement.

"It'll have to get in line!" Sakura screeched at them with sharp teeth.

"Flattered!" Tanaka yelled out.

Once the laser finally discharged, the Sentinel switched to its machine guns and started peppering the platform with bullets, trying to take anyone it could hit out.

"We gotta get it back down! We're sitting ducks as long as it's up there!" Tanaka shouted over the sound of machine gun fire and bullet ricochets.

"Only way to go is forward!" Naruto said, zooming past them.

"Naruto!" Asagi called out.

"Boss, what are you doing?!" Tanaka demanded and saw the tail charging up again. "Boss! The tail!"

Using the Jump materia, Naruto leaped towards the Sentinel, using the incoming missiles as platforms to get closer to the mech. Raising his sword up, he made it to the Sentinel and plunged the Fusion Sword into its back and revved the handle, channeling the Thundaga materia into its back. The Sentinel's shielding took most of the abuse as it pointed its tail into Naruto's face. Disconnecting the blades by kicking his Fusion Sword, he pulled out his Hollow and Back Blades and thrust them forward while criss-crossing them, catching the tail and pushing upward. The tail fired its laser, but was forced to fire upwards away from the others.

"I…don't think…you'll…be needing…this…ANYMORE!"

With a roar, Naruto dissected the end of the tail, permanently disabling its annoying laser weapon to the awe of everyone watching; with said piece of the tail landing near the others.

"Holy crap, we actually have a chance now!" Sakura cheered.

"That was hot-" Asagi said dreamily before quickly correcting herself. "I mean yeah, let's take advantage!"

'Smooth…' Tanaka and Sakura deadpanned as one.

"Oh boy!" Naruto yelled as the Sentinel started wailing about, fire breaking all over its frame from the continuous damage from Naruto's Materia as it fell back down on the floor of the car. He kept his balance, pulled out his Main Blade before recombining his Fusion Sword, and jumped off the mech while slashing it, leaving a deep gash as he landed near his allies. "Nailed it!"

The Sentinel staggered from the damage to its body and control module from the electrical shock, so much that it slipped off the top of the car and fell back down to the platform. It laid still before the optical sensor turned red. It stood on shaky legs when it was enveloped in a green glow. Before the group's eyes, parts of the mech began to regenerate.

"Auto-repair! It's trying to fix itself!" Tanaka shouted.

"Great, everything has to have a nanotech gimmick now!" Naruto growled.

"Falcon Arts!" Asagi darted forward with her Taima Particles enveloping her. "Renjinka!" she yelled, performing repetitive stabbings into the mech's face. The Sentinel responded by trying to grab her with its claws. "Koujinka!" Asagi evaded at the last second, her senses now heightened at the close call and causing everything around to move slowly. "Senjinka!" she countered with consecutive cross-slashes, slicing at its legs with its joints creaking.

"Shadow Arts: Shadow Cleave!" Sakura chanted, charging her Taima Particles, before spinning about at high velocity around the Sentinel, furiously slashing at its frame. "Ha!" She skidded to a halt behind it, leaving behind a whirlpool of shadows that snaked itself into the Sentinel, continuously damaging it.

Tanaka leveled his sword at the Sentinel with a grin as the sword started to glow. "Got Somthin' For Ya!" Tanaka shouted as he struck with one…two…three powerful slashes that crossed each other, leaving glowing slash marks that exploded a second later. "CROSS-SLASH!"

The Scorpion Sentinel staggered back towards the edge of the platform, its auto-repair disabled from the constant attacks. The injuries it managed to heal had returned, with even more fires breaking out on its steel frame as it fell down with a slump.

"Boss!" Tanaka shouted, jumping back as Naruto flew past them, generating crystalized orange energy that coated and extended from his Fusion Sword.

"Let's see if this rare Crystal Materia is worth the asking price! Channel the fox's chakra, and… Obelisk Blade!" Naruto roared, growing orange with the aura of nine tails around him. He spun around and whipping his sword outward, driving the crystalized blade across into the machine. "And that's how it's done!"

The Scorpion Sentinel, once a fearsome and terrifying machine, whined as it struggled to stay on its legs until the limbs fell apart. But in the end, it collapsed, the light in its eyes blinking before shutting off for good. The machine rocked before falling backwards off the platform as the mega train crossed a bridge. The Sentinel fell, flames flickering out of its damaged sections as it dropped to the bottom of the ravine down below and exploded as it collided with the rocks.

A sense of relief washed over the group as they relaxed. That was until they remembered that they still had to deal with the active bomb inside the control cockpit.

"Alright everyone, time for some defusing. And by defusing, I mean my plan. Toss them up, and I blow them to high hell." Naruto said, rubbing his hands together.

"You got some ice materia, boss?" Tanaka asked as he and the two Taimanin ran over to the explosives. "We can use it to freeze the detonators and stall the bombs."

"...Mine are out on loan."

"SERIOUSLY?! Who has them?!"

"No comment."

"Just like you SOLDIERS. Always charging in headfirst with no preparation." Asagi said dryly and set to work fiddling with the wires. "I got this. Everyone, watch closely so we can get this done."

"To be fair, this was last minute." Naruto said as he watched her magic carefully.

"Careful, Asagi-san. Get this wrong and we're all going to become involuntary astronauts." Tanaka informed the Almighty Taimanin.

"This isn't my first rodeo, Tanaka." Asagi replied and finished the defuse of the first bomb. "There and there, like that. Quick and simple. Now get to it everyone."

"Hai!" Sakura said cheerfully.

Thanks to Asagi's guidance, the bombs were disabled one by one. Of course, it ended up being a competition between the current strongest SOLDIER and the Almighty Taimanin; both moving faster and faster to the point that the other two watched after doing a few.

"Man, what's with these two? Always trying to be on top." Tanaka muttered as he scratched the top of his head in exasperation.

"Easy as pie," Naruto said gleefully before he pulled a wire and the bomb started beeping. "Oops."

Asagi zipped over and fixed his mistake, inserting the wrong wire and pulling the correct one out. "And with that, I believe this counts as my win, Uzumaki." she cooed in his face.

"She's got ya there, boss."

"Yeah, through luck." Naruto deadpanned and grinned. "But I took out more terrorists, so…it's a tie."

Asagi rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Sounds like a date." Naruto whispered with a wide grin.

"If only…" Asagi whispered back wistfully.

"If you two are done flirting, how about we stop this oversized sled on rails, ne?" Tanaka quipped while Sakura giggled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto and Asagi said as one as they headed towards the train cockpit.

"Of course you don't." Tanaka and Sakura deadpanned together. "...Jinx!" They declared while pointing at each other.

Now that the bombs were dealt with, all they had to do now was to regulate the brake controls and activate it to slow down and bring the train to a halt. Helicopters could be heard in the distance as they moved in, not having to worry about anti-air cannons and a giant mechanized scorpion. With one swipe of Naruto's sword, the brakes were now behaving as intended. As they began to slow the train down, they didn't notice a figure hiding in the shadows of the car behind them.

'Thanks for taking care of those terrorists for me.'

The Train Station

It had been twenty minutes since the train arrived and the cleanup crew were combing the train for anything that the group might have missed. The SOLDIERS and Taimanin meanwhile, were speaking with the last member of the three ninja that were deployed to deal with the situation.

"Looks like the mission is complete." Yukikaze cheered as she smiled at her comrades.

"You did well clearing the station, Yukikaze." Asagi complimented the younger Taimanin.

"And you did it by yourself. Not bad, kid." Naruto praised her with a headpat.

"I am 18, thank you very much!" the petite, tanned girl snapped at him with sharp teeth.

Naruto gave her a quick once-over before snorting. "Sure you are."

"I guess that wraps up this crisis. It wasn't the full squad, but between all of us, it was almost too easy." Tanaka commented as he stretched.

Naruto scuffed. "Those guys were just low-level grunts. You kinda have to feel sorry for them, going up against a SOLDIER Commander, a First-Class Squad Captain, and two high-ranking Taimanin."

Tanaka shrugged. "Well, you gotta point their- Wait! Did you just say Squad Captain?!" Tanaka asked with wide eyes.

Naruto smirked. "Consider it your promotion. You did well tonight, Tanaka."

A massive grin spread across Tanaka's face. "Awesome!"

"Yay!" Sakura cheered as she glomped on the newly appointed captain. "Congrats, Taka-kun!"

"And you know what that means, ladies and gent? Drinks on me for a successful emergency mission!" Naruto declared putting his arms around Tanaka and Asagi, who snorted.

"Yeah, since I win." she giggled.

"Well, aren't you guys a cheerful bunch?"

Everyone whipped around at the unfamiliar voice. Sitting in one of the empty station's benches, legs crossed, was a man in a long, dark coat. He was dressed far more casually than everyone else in their combat uniforms, wearing a loose button-up shirt and slacks. The more striking detail was the metal mask that encased his head, coming together in a series of ridges around the edge, a dull bronze with four eye holes clustered on each side. "Aha, sorry! I felt so out of place that I just had to break the ice~"

"Who are you? Identify yourself," Asagi ordered sternly, hand creeping to the hilt of her ninjato. Naruto couldn't blame her for the aggressive wariness; until he'd spoken up, none of them had noticed the man's presence.

"Hai hai~ I'm special agent Sasori of NOMAD. Nice to meetcha." declared the man openly, standing up with a flourish.

"I supposed you're here to retrieve the cargo your bosses want?" Naruto guessed and pointed his Fusion Sword at the stranger. "That's a tall order since you're surrounded, Sasori."

True to his word, Sasori found himself boxed in by the SOLDIERs and Taimanin on one side, and a large group of heavily armed JSDF soldiers running up behind him, all with guns pointed at the intruder.

"You! Put your hands up! Now!" The lead soldier, obviously the commanding officer, ordered the NOMAD agent.

"Touchy, touchy." Sasori chuckled and raised his arms, his fists closed.

"Open your hands, and lay down on the ground," the lead soldier snapped.

"...Well, since you insist." Sasori said, opening his fingers. Several spheres clattered to the ground as he did so.

"Take cover!" Naruto yelled and planted his sword in the ground. "Barrier!"

A hexagonal barrier erupted in front of Naruto, covering himself and his allies as the orbs fell onto the ground and exploded, producing a billowing smoke cloud that covered the area. However, it was more than a smokescreen, as the electronics around them fizzled in and out.

"EMP? No, our electronics are being jammed!" Tanaka reported.

"I can't find him anywhere!" Sakura shouted, waving her arms around. "And I can't see!"

Naruto sighed as he equipped an Aeroga materia and stabbed his Fusion Sword into the ground again, a strong gust of wind blowing about and clearing the smoke. To no one's surprise, the one named Sasori was gone, and the SOLDIER and Taimanin immediately looking around to search for him. The blonde SOLDIER Commander tuned his senses, focusing his ears until he heard rustling from the train.

"There!" he declared, pointing at where Sasori was now taking two boxes of whatever cargo NOMAD was after.

"Damn! And this footwear was supposed to be silent!" Sasori groaned before leaping away with two boxes hoisted over his shoulders.

"Taimanin, watch the others here! Tanaka, after him!" Naruto yelled and leaped after them.

"Gah, wait for me!" Tanaka yelped, leaping after him.

"Go get him!" Sakura yelled, waving them off.

"...Naruto." Asagi murmured, watching them go.

The SOLDIER Commander and newly minted First-Class Squad Captain raced across the city after the NOMAD agent. Despite the weight of the cargo, it was not slowing down Sasori in the slightest, but the two members of SOLDIER were catching up. They didn't train hard in grueling conditions for nothing after all. This guy wasn't getting away from them.

"Give it up! You can't outrun us!" Tanaka shouted as he pushed himself harder to catch up with the thief.

"You guys are really persistent!" Sasori remarked to his pursuers. "Don't let the rumors fool you, ladies don't always like that, and I don't swing that way anyway!"

"Neither do we, and we're not your average SOLDIER. We're the cream of the crop, and it ain't your lucky day." Naruto called out while revving his sword. "Now drop the cargo and surrender!"

"With all the gains I'm making schlepping this stuff? I'll consider it on my rest day," Sasori shot back.

As the SOLDIERs chased down Sasori, the civilians yelled out, pointing at the blurs of the chase going down.

"Tanaka, I'll give you a boost. Slow him down." Naruto ordered, readying his Fusion Sword.

Tanaka nodded. "Roger, boss!"

Naruto reared his sword back, with Tanaka jumping in front of him, feet on the flat of the sword. With a yell, Naruto swung the sword forward while unleashing the revved-up power, allowing Tanaka to shoot forward, closing the distance with the NOMAD thief and landing on top of one of the boxes of cargo.

"I gotcha now!" Tanaka boasted, preparing for a sword strike.

Sasori snorted. "Footsies, huh? Well, allow me to respond in kind." Suddenly, the man's legs erupted in white-hot flames, and he dashed forward.

"Oh, shit!" Tanaka shouted as he switched from attack to defense, bringing his sword up to block.

Sasori stamped outward, slamming into Tanaka's Mythril Sword, which endured the incredibly hot flame. The force knocked him off the crate, though, and Tanaka backflipped and landed on his feet, letting out a frustrated 'che' as he glared at the thief.

"Mythril, huh? That organization of yours must be rolling in dough." Sasori noted before noticing that the other SOLDIER was nowhere to be found. "Ah, wait a sec-"

His alarm was answered as Naruto appeared above him, sword coming down to cleave him in half. It was Sasori's turn to 'che' in annoyance…

Naruto frowned when the masked man suddenly disappeared from his sight, but sensed that the masked agent was still close. Turning his sword around, he swung in a 360 degree arc to try and slice into him; but still nothing.

"Geez man, you nearly caught yours truly with that!" Sasori chirped, now standing on the flat of the Fusion Sword. "Honestly, how many swords do you need in this thing- Bzzzzgah?!"

Naruto revved the handle, activating the Lightning Materia that was equipped in his sword, shocking the thief, literally. "Tanaka!" he yelled as Sasori tumbled off onto the floor, twitching and shuddering.

"Dynamic Surprise!" Tanaka yelled, kicking one of the crates Sasori was carrying, knocking it out of his grip and letting it fall off the rooftop.

"Oh come on, at least let me have this one-!" Sasori groaned in a mock childish manner, "Woah there!" he yelped, avoiding Tanaka's ax-kick. "You could split a boulder in half with that one, buddy!"

"And now for the other one!" Naruto declared, channeling energy into his Aero Materia. "Time for a lil' firestorm, Tanaka!"

"You got it, Boss! Time to Burn!" Tanaka powered up his Fire Materia in turn.

"H-Hey! Wait-a-minute!" Sasori shouted, palling a bit.

"One grilled scorpion, coming up-!"

Suddenly there was a booming sound, with a stationary crane that was near Sasori breaking apart. The mysterious man took this chance to jump ahead, disappearing and reappearing a ways away behind the broken equipment that stopped the SOLDIERS in their tracks.

"Dammit!" Tanaka growled before the broken crane started tilting over.

"Oh shoot!" Naruto said, noticing the bystanders down below. "We gotta get the people!"

"Yeah, you might wanna get on that!" Sasori yelled before flourishing a bow with his remaining cargo. "Until next time, gentlemen! My boss sends his regards!" As he jumped away, the SOLDIERS quickly descended towards the crane.

"Shit, even if we slice it apart…" Tanaka yelled, but Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry about it. It's covered."

Before Tanaka could inquire, he saw Asagi, Sakura, and Yukikaze springing into action on the street, clearing out the civilians.

"Alright, ladies!" Tanaka cheered as he and Naruto kicked off the side of the building and started slicing clean through the metal crane sections, reducing the mass as much as possible before it could hit the ground.

By the time the two hit the ground, the pieces came down relatively harmless on the ground. The two SOLDIERs nonchalantly evaded them as they made their way to the Taimanin.

"Awesome work, Girls! You saved the day!" Tanaka praised the three Taimanin as he brought Sakura into a one-arm hug.

Sakura laughed. "We couldn't let you boys have all the fun!"

Asagi looked around. "What a mess…What of that Agent?"

"Long gone." Naruto sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "He used the crane collapse as a distraction. Got away with one of the crates."

"But, how did the crane fall? Was it damaged in the fight?" Asagi asked the two SOLDIERs.

"Hard to say. It didn't seem like anything damaged it, but…." Naruto cupped his chin in thought.

He could've swore he heard some kind of weird noise before the crane went tumbling…

"Well, nothing for it. At least he didn't get away scot-free." Naruto remarked. "We got one of the crates away from him."

"Speaking of which." Tanaka gestured to a nearby city flower bed that happened to have said crate resting on it. The SOLDIER walked over and flipped the crate right side up. "Let's see what he was after…" Tanaka tinkered with the latch until it opened. The others gathered around as he opened the crate and examined the contents. "Woah! This isn't your usual hardware."

"What is it?" Naruto asked as Tanaka pulled what looked like an oversized Hard Drive wrapped in clear plastic out of a foam slot in the crate.

"Advanced AI Processing Cores…." Tanaka read the label on the plastic.

"Isn't that what they use in robots nowadays, like that Sentinel you told me about?" Yukikaze asked the older Taimanins.

"Sounds like it," Asagi answered her subordinate.

"These things enhance the processing speed and power of an AI. The more you add, the more efficient it becomes." Tanaka remarked as he scrutinized the core more carefully. "NOMAD already produces advanced AI combat machines. Why would they need to steal these?"

Asagi hummed in thought. "I heard there was a schism between NOMAD and much of its client base after that incident. Perhaps they're losing too much funding to produce components independently."

"So they may be getting desperate. No surprise." Naruto remarked as he turned to Tanaka. "Who's the manufacturer?"

Tanaka flipped the core over and showed the group a logo that looked like a red diamond with kanji written inside.

"Shinra."

"The major weapon's manufacturer?" Asagi asked. "I thought the JSDF didn't have a contract with them."

Naruto crossed his arms. "To my knowledge, they don't. So that leaves two questions. One, who ordered these? And two, how did NOMAD know they were on board the train?"

Tanaka put the core back inside the crate and closed it up. "Looks like our boys are going to be doing some investigative work. The Director will want to know about this."

Naruto nodded. "That is an understatement, especially with his past concerning Shinra." He looked out at the city as the sun began to rise. "Let's hope this won't become a major problem later."

The two SOLDIERs and three Taimanin made their way to the nearby rooftop. Sirens could be heard as law enforcement and rescue workers made their way to the scene. In addition, a Squad of SOLDIERs were following, led by a woman with flowing strawberry-pink hair.

"I'll see what I can find on my end. It is a pleasure to work with you both as always." Asagi said and gestured to Yukikaze and Sakura, the latter pouting at having to part with her boyfriend. "C'mon girl, let's return to Gosha Academy. And Uzumaki, we'll take a raincheck on those drink. I still expect you to pick up the tab."

"As long as it's a date, I'm all in, sweetcheeks." Naruto taunted his secret lover, who smirked under her mask.

"Oh we shall see, my dear SOLDIER Commander. Until then."

"Bye, Taka-kun! Let's do this again someday!" Sakura said as Asagi and Yukikaze departed. The orange-clad Taimanin quickly bowed to Naruto before leaving.

"All in a night's work." Naruto said with a smile before turning to his squad member. "You did well tonight for this surprise mission, Tanaka. As expected of SOLDIER 1st Class."

"Thanks, Boss. The last thing I want to do is to disappoint." Tanaka said with a salute.

"C'mon, let's get some breakfast with the boys."

"They're going to be so mad that they missed out on all this action."

"If their girls drained them last night, then we have nothing to worry about."

NOMAD HQ

"Sasori. Our best up-and-coming lieutenant. Supposed to be one of our best. Yet you come back to us with…one box. One…BOX!"

"Hey, hey, easy buddy! I had SOLDIER and Taimanin on my ass! You should be impressed that I came back with one box. I'd like to see any of you clowns manage that."

At NOMAD Headquarters, Sasori had delivered the goods. Well, one box of goods, and now the other NOMAD lieutenants were on his ass.

"Besides, I did ask for back up, and guess who decided to leave me on read? That's right, your punk-asses!"

"Those men on the train were your back up!"

"Oh they were? That's funny, because they looked pretty dead when I came around. Hence the need for my own back up. We're fully staffed, aren't we? Oh wait, I guess those Taimanin are leaving some vacancies in our ranks, aren't they? Isn't that how I got my seat? Hell, didn't some of you motherfuckers get your seats that way?"

"You uppity-!"

"Enough."

The door opened, and a man with spiky silver hair wearing a suit with a red and black trenchcoat came through, flanked by Ingrid and Oboro, two women of unparalleled beauty (well, one of them).

"Sasori…you did…well," the man grunted, eying the cargo. "The Taimanin are easy pickings, but the SOLDIERs, well…there's only so much you can do."

"Thank you, sir." Sasori said, dropping his insolent act to bow low, "It's good to know that at least our boss knows to set realistic expectations." The other lieutenants fumed. "I expected Taimanin, of course, but the SOLDIERs? I thought they'd be tired from all their training."

"Hmm. Best to never underestimate them," Black muttered as he pulled out one of the AI cores. "These should suffice for our scientists down below. Too bad we can't have an army, but quality triumphs over quantity. Most of the time. Tell me, who were the ones who interfered in the mission?"

"Let's see," Sasori mumbled, rubbing the 'chin' of his metal helmet. "There was that blonde SOLDIER Commander." He noticed a particular flinch from Black. "With what looked like a 1st-Class protege, and three Taimanin. One was the infamous Asagi, the other wearing yellow, and a cute shortstack with guns."

"...The SOLDIER, Uzumaki Naruto, and Taimanin Asagi, eh?" Black growled out with the other lieutenants now looking fearful. "The two most powerful of their organizations. The irony is not lost."

"Oh, so you know them personally?" Sasori inquired curiously, "Got some history with 'em, boss?"

"The kind of history that moves me to cripple Uzumaki, and force him to watch as I corrupt and make Asagi mine for good."

"Well, I suppose that's what I signed up with…" Sasori muttered with a head-tilt and a sweatdrop.

"But that comes much later. This is only the first stage of my plan to rid us of those annoying SOLDIER and Taimanin for good. Remember that patience is key, and this world will soon be ours."

"And CUT! Great work, guys!"

Castle: "Woo! Not too shabby. Considering we are just flying by the seat of our pants for this story."

Soul: "Yep. And it was fun to do. Heck, I might get back into Action Taimanin…if my account wasn't deleted yet."

Castle: "I'd do it even if it were. So, Naruto, what do you think of your new role?"

Naruto: "It feels like my Le Fox Den chef role. I guess all those acting classes with Koyuki-chan paid off."

Asagi: "Yeah, acting classes. Let's go with that."

Soul: "Too many to count, I bet."

Naruto: "I bet I have another crossover with Taimanin too."

Soul: "Lemme cook...after the rumored purge is done."

Sakura: "When do the lemons start, by the way? Just to get my stretches in."

Soul: "Chapter 3. The boys will be introduced next. The squad goes on another adventure, and then we get to the fun stuff. In the meanwhile, I'm gonna watch the FF7MA again."

Castle: "And on that note, we conclude the first chapter of this new collab story. Enjoy!"

Release date: August 8, 2023