Hey guys, I apologize for the long delay. I've been going through a few things. I still haven't found a better job. I've been taking an online IT certificate course. I've also had a case of Writer's Block. But I want to let you know, this story will not be abandoned, contrary to what some may say. These next few chapters will cover Naruto's time in the British Army. I'm not in the British Army. I'm American. So I don't know what the Brits do with their military, so I have to do some research. Unless you guys want me to make it up on the fly and be inconsistent on a few details. I appreciate your patience.

"Dialogue like this," will be Naruto in the present talking.

Present day – 1 hour after Al-Asad's death.

Price finished his tale about the failed assassination of Imran Zakhaev 15 years ago. Now the SAS and Leaf Shinobi had to hold out until their extraction choppers could arrive and get them out of the Land of Spring. As Naruto began to take first watch while some of the team slept, he was approached by Kakashi.

"Well…," Kakashi said hoping to start a conversation with his sensei's son, "Price killing Al-Asad was a bit, um… excessive."

"Yeah…," Naruto agreed, "We could've brought him back for any additional intel, but if I had to guess correctly, Zakhaev calling was all that he needed to know who the real mastermind was."

Kakashi nodded.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

Kakashi nodded again, "So, what have you been up to these last ten years?"

Naruto turned away from the window he was looking out of and looked at Kakashi.

"You really wanna know?"

"If that's okay with you. I understand that you had a better life in Hereford, but besides that, what about your time as a soldier. Captain Price said you had a noteworthy service."

Naruto grunted and said, "I like to think of it as his attempt to boast about me, but he's kinda right. But I don't really like to talk about it."

"Bad memories?" Kakashi asked with sympathy, given how some of the missions he took in the past ended in tragedy. Obito, Rin, Minato and Kushina.

"Something like that," Naruto replied, "Look, I know this is your attempt to get close to me, make up for lost time of not looking out for me more when I was in the Leaf because of my dad, try to convince me to return there, but it's not gonna work. I've made it clear on that back in Hereford."

Kakashi just stared at him. He read him like an open book, albeit not the perverted Make Out series of books.

"You don't have to tell him if you don't want to, Naruto."

Naruto and Kakashi both turned to Hinata as she approached them.

"I think I'll leave you two alone," Kakashi said as he walked away, giving the two love birds some space. Once the two were alone, they just stared at each other.

"Hinata, I…," Naruto was cut off as Hinata threw herself at him and hugged him tight.

"I missed you, Naruto," she said with many emotions running through her. He hugged her back.

"I missed you too, Hinata, but I did what I had to do. I couldn't stay in the village any longer, and you know what my answer is going to be to the question you're gonna ask."

"I know, and I understand, but I just had to know it's actually you. Without you, I never had the motivation to be who I am. I never stopped missing you."

"Hey, I sent you those letters a few years ago, didn't I?" Naruto revealed he was the one who sent letters of confidence to Hinata. He never sent a return address to keep his location a secret.

"Yes, but to actually be with you in person after so many years…," Hinata said as she started to tear up. Naruto wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Hey, how about I tell you a story, maybe to help you feel better," he offered her.

She looked in his eyes, "Is it about your time as a soldier?"

"Sure, why not? I've been told talking about past battles is supposed to be therapeutic, but I ain't too sure about that."

"You don't have to tell me if it hurts too much, Naruto," Hinata said. She didn't want him to relive any painful memories he might have, whether when he was in the Leaf or in the army.

"No, it's fine," he dismissed, "Besides, I know the others are listening."

All the shinobi tensed at Naruto's deadpanned statement about them eavesdropping on them.

"Well, might as well get comfortable. I joined the British Army in 2006 after I graduated school in Hereford. I went through basic training and qualified for Infantry. My first deployment was in Iraq in 2007, where I was stationed in the city of Basra, at the airport."

Four years ago…

"Army Days"

March 7th, 2007 – 07:27:13

Basra, Iraq

Private Naruto Uzumaki

British Army

Private Naruto Uzumaki was finishing up some push-ups in the barracks after his section had breakfast. Next to him was his friend, Private Tommy Finch, looking at his watch.

"75 push-ups in a minute," Finch said, "Not bad, Uzumaki. You managed to beat the platoon record."

"Hah!" Naruto exclaimed as he shot up, "Pay up Huckens, believe it!"

Lance Corporal Steven Huckens grumbled as he pulled out 50 British pounds and shoved the cash in Naruto's hands.

"Here, take it."

Naruto just gave Huckens his signature foxy grin. His unit had been deployed to Basra, Iraq for about three months. They had been dealing with Iraqi insurgents ever since they arrived. Patrols being ambushed, convoys getting hit, suicide bombers in the markets, or just sitting in the base waiting to see which of the above would happen. Some of Naruto's brothers-in-arms were calling it the British version of Fallujah, although that was somewhat debated. Nevertheless, it was another Iraqi city full of insurgents that popped up after the fall Saddam Hussein. And with the recent revolution overthrowing the Saud regime in the newly formed Islamic Republic of Arabia, the British Army had to contend with any violent out spills from the more radical elements of revolutionaries.

Their platoon sergeant, Seargeant Tony Cramley, came into the barracks.

"Alright, ladies, if you're done pissing about, we've got a briefing to get to, so don't dawdle," Cramley chastised the three soldiers goofing off.

"Coming Sarge," Naruto said as he wiped himself off with a towel and headed to the briefing room with Huckens and Finch. As they exited the barracks, the base was buzzing with activity. Mechanics working on vehicles, soldiers drilling, engineers doing maintenance work, and there were some British officers training local Iraqi soldiers. The hope was that once the British left, the new Iraqi government would step in and keep the peace to prevent another insurgency or rise of terrorist cells in the country (AN: Take a guess how that went).

As the trio entered the briefing room, they gathered around platoon commander, 2nd Lt. Geoffry Sachson.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, here's the rundown lads," Sachson started, "Our company's been tasked with convoy escort duty. We're gonna be transporting food and medical supplies to the local hospital in the town of Az Zubayr, just South of the city. Local law enforcement hasn't done the brightest job of keeping insurgent activity down, so be on guard for any ambushes or IEDs. There've been reports of insurgents taking potshots at the hospital and stealing medicine from there, so once we arrive there, we secure the perimeter. Any local twat, whether he be an insurgent, al-Qaeda, or just some lowly street thug, wants to test his luck, you make him change his mind, permanently if you must. Get your kits, we're Oscar Mike in 20. Dismissed."

All the soldiers nodded and went to the barracks to get their weapons and gear. They went into the armory and got their weapons along with ammunition. Naruto got his standard issue L85A2 assault rifle equipped with a SUSAT scope and L123 underbarrel grenade launcher, a variant of the HK AG36 grenade launcher. With his rifle came with a standard combat load of seven 30-round STANAG magazines, as well as an ammo pouch with an additional 210 rounds in stripper clips, giving him a total of 420 5.56x45mm NATO rounds of ammo. For his grenade launcher he was given ten 40mm grenades, as well as four frag grenades, and four smoke grenades. In a rare addition, the soldiers in Naruto's company were also issued P226 pistols, designated the L106A1 (AN: I don't know if any regular British infantry are given pistols, and if they were I don't know if they were Browning Hi Powers or P226s.) Normally, they would only be issued to officers and machine gunners, but going into an urban environment, as well as some rumors coming out of Afghanistan about allied locals attacking coalition forces, the Commanding Officers thought to see fit that soldiers would have some personal protection. Naruto put his P226 in the holster along with 2 spare magazines. Overall, Naruto was pretty well armed, even by British Army standards.

Once everyone was loaded up, they headed to the vehicle bay where the soldiers were loading up the supplies onto the trucks. The convoy consisted of about 30 trucks, a mixture of MAN SV trucks, Land Rover Wolves, Mastiff, Ridgeback and Wolfhound MRAPs, with one Wolfhound being in front of the convoy with mine rollers to sweep for mines and IEDs. They all separated to get into their designated vehicles with their sections. Naruto, Finch and Huckens arrived at their designated vehicle with the rest of their section. Corporal Hank Walsh, Privates Michael Danson, Ernest Morgan, and Richard Forrest made up Charlie Team, while Huckens, Finch, Naruto, and Private Blake Mackenzie made up Delta Team. Their section, designated 2nd Section but collectively known as the "Foxy Wankers" on account of a certain soldier being cheeky little fox, loaded up into the back of one of the Mastiffs.

"Let's do this thing, boys," Walsh said, "Everything goes right, we'll be back in time for tea."

Everyone in the section nodded in agreement, although Naruto was thinking about ramen.

"Delta Company, let's roll," the company commanding officer, Captain Sherman said on the radio, "Street Sweeper, take point."

"Roger that," Street Sweeper, the callsign for the Wolfhound with the mine rollers, acknowledged.

"We were in the wild; Iraqi insurgents waiting to pop out with RPGs or detonate an IED with the push of a cell phone button; all to resupply a hospital in Az Zubayr, Iraq. One of the main goals in Iraq was to win the hearts and minds of the people, to let them know we were on their side. But of course, some religious fanatics who hate Western culture with a passion won't take kindly to foreign soldiers on their own soil. The problem was they took potshots at us and then hide behind the civilian population. But on that particular day, they decided to get a little bold."

Naruto was in the back of the MRAP looking over his shoulder out the bulletproof window. He saw the passing countryside, if one could call it a countryside considering much of Iraq is desert, keeping an eye out for any ambushes. Meanwhile, his team members were going about their girlfriends, and how a few of them might currently be sleeping with someone else.

"Oi, Uzumaki," Morgan said catching Naruto's attention, "you got a girl back home looking forward to?"

"No, Morgan," he replied with a hint of annoyance, "I told you I don't have a girlfriend."

"Come on mate," Huckens pushed, "You must have someone waiting for you. Every time you go on leave, you go and blow half your pay on another one of your ramen binges."

"Hey, it's not as bad as when I was a kid," Naruto defended his favorite food, "And besides, ramen is the king of foods, believe it!"

"I thought we was talking about girls and not food?" Mackenzie asked, "And now I'm kinda in the mood for some decent grub."

"You just had breakfast this morning Mackenzie," Walsh said, "And no changing the subject Uzumaki. We all talked about our girlfriends/exes/soon-to-be-exes, except you."

Knowing they were right, and he wasn't gonna get out of it, Naruto answered, "Well there was one when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago and I didn't really pay attention to her."

"Aha, I knew it," Morgan grinned, "What was she like?"

Naruto thought about the one girl who cared about him but was oblivious to her until he left the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Well, her name was Hinata Hyuga. She was in my class around the same time I came to the UK. But even if I did pay attention to her, I don't know if it would've worked out. She's a part of this noble family, and they didn't take kindly to me, and especially her dad."

"Noble?" Finch asked, "Must've been a real 'Romeo & Juliet' except in this case you leave, break her heart, and join the army."

"Oh bugger off, Finch," Naruto said, silently cutting himself off before revealing anything else about his past, where he originally came from, Hinata, the Hyuga clan, or how he left. "I still think about her."

"Yeah?" Huckens said, "Well maybe one day you can head back, find her, tell you how you feel, and then start fucking once you had a couple drinks."

"Fuck you, Huckens."

"Alright, can it boys," Walsh stopped them before it could escalate.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until they felt their MRAP slow down. They looked out the windows and saw they were nowhere near their destination. This was not a good sign.

"Got an abandoned vehicle on the side of the road," Street Sweeper called in, "Possible car bomb. Hang back."

"Shite," Finch said nervously.

They looked out the windows for any signs of insurgents that could pop out of the ground.

Outside, the crew of Street Sweeper slowly drove up to an abandoned beat-up car. Insurgents and terrorists had thing for using car bombs to ambush convoys, so it was up to Street Sweeper to determine if the car was a threat to the convoy or not. It used its rollers to carefully push the car out of the way. Some of the vehicles in the convoy backed up a bit in case it went off and sent shrapnel. It seemed like everything was fine, when suddenly…

*BOOM!*

"IED! IED!" Street Sweeper said. The mine rollers were wrecked, but the MRAP only suffered minor damage.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Contact rear!" a voice went over the radio as one of the Mastiffs was taking fire. Several pick-up trucks and technicals with machine guns came up behind the convoy.

"All units, defensive positions! Protect the convoy!" Sherman ordered over the radio.

"Uzumaki," the Mastiff commander called out, "get on the .50 and take those buggers out!"

"On it!" Naruto responded as he climbed his way up to the Mastiff's M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun. He opened the hatch and racked the M2's charging handle and readied the .50 caliber projectiles in the chamber.

"Contact right! More enemy Victors coming across the field!"

Naruto turned the machine gun to the right and saw more trucks and technicals coming across the previously empty countryside. Naruto lined up the sights on the lead vehicle and opened fire. The .50 caliber projectiles tore through the sheet metal armor that were haphazardly welded onto the insurgents' pick-ups. Naruto didn't have time to contemplate how he killed a few people, because he saw how Mizuki was when he first met Captain Price, as there were more enemy vehicles coming. One of the insurgent technicals was armed with a ZU-23 anti-air gun as a makeshift IFV.

"Uzumaki, take out the bloody gun!" the Mastiff commander barked.

"I'm working on it, believe it!" Naruto shouted as he lined up the M2 with the technical. He fired multiple shots at the truck with the AA gun until he could see a few bodies fall off the truck.

"Nice shot, Uzumaki!"

"Contact left, contact left!"

Uzumaki turned the M2 around and saw even more insurgent vehicles coming in, with one of them strapped with sheet metal armor and was speeding towards the middle of the convoy. That only meant one thing.

"Suicide truck, incoming!" Naruto called out.

"Do not let that son of a bitch come near!" Sherman ordered. Naruto unleashed a hail of bullets from the heavy machine gun at the incoming suicide bomber. The result was both the truck's front tires blown out, the truck swerving until it flipped over.

However, this resulting in a massive explosion which sent debris flying everywhere. Naruto ducked down into the MRAP to avoid being hit.

"Bloody good job there, Uzumaki!" Walsh said.

"RPGS!" the driver called out as several RPGs were heading towards the convoy, including their vehicle.

"Watch out!" Walsh said as the rocket impacted the MRAP. This resulted in everyone being thrown all over, with Naruto hitting the back of his head against the wall. His vision blurred and he was close to being unconscious.

"Uzumaki!"

"They waited until we were outside of the city. They used a car bomb to ambush our convoy and then circle us in their pick-up trucks. When that rocket hit our vehicle, I hit the back of my head against the interior. I thought for sure I was going to die on my first combat tour. Thankfully, the vehicle I was in was designed to take some punishment. But it wasn't over yet."

Naruto's vision started to clear up. He could see Finch looking over him.

"You alright, mate?" Finch asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered groggily, "I'm good."

"That's great, but we're not out of this yet. Our Mastiff is fucked. We gotta get out of here."

Naruto nodded, grabbed his rifle and followed Finch out of the Mastiff. It survived an RPG, but it wasn't a tank. They made their way into a ditch on the side of the road with the rest of their section.

"More Tangos coming from across the field!" Huckens called out. Naruto looked through his SUSAT scope and saw multiple insurgents jumping out of the beds of several trucks with AK-47 assault rifles, PKM general purpose machine guns, and a few RPG-7 rocket launchers.

Naruto fired several shots at the RPG wielders as they were the priority targets. Several of the insurgent fighters went down, with one firing his RPG into the air as he fell dead. A technical with a mounted PKM drove in with the gunner firing at the convoy. Naruto fired at the gunner and the gunner dropped dead. He fired at more insurgents before having to reload his weapon.

"How many more of these fuckers are there?" Naruto asked as he inserted a fresh magazine into his rifle's mag well.

"No idea," Mackenzie answered as he fired his L86A2 Light Support Weapon at more insurgents.

"Cut the chatter and keep firing!" Cramley ordered.

The MRAPs surrounded the supply trucks and Land Rovers earlier to protect them and lay down covering fire for the infantry that had to dismount, but they couldn't stay out in the open.

"We need to get out of here, Captain!" Sachson said on the radio to Sherman, "We're sitting ducks!"

"HQ, this is Delta 6 Actual!" Sherman radioed Basra Airport, "We're currently trapped on the highway and surrounded by significant insurgent forces! Requesting air support, over!"

"Roger, Delta 6. Apache gunships on their way, ETA 2 mikes. Hang tight, out."

"2 minutes, gentlemen!" Sherman radioed the defending soldiers.

"I don't know if we'll be alive by then!" Mackenzie said to his teammates.

"Just keep firing!" Cramley said as he fired his rifle at more insurgents.

After what felt like an eternity, a voice came on the radio, "Delta 6 Actual, this is Stinger 3-1, flight of two Apaches, eight Hellfires, 38 Hydras, 1200 rounds a piece. Tell us where you want them."

"Stinger 3-1, thank God you're here!" Sherman praised, "Enemy technical and foot mobiles blocking our way out! Send everything you got, danger close!"

"Roger that. Danger close."

"Keep your heads down, lads!" Sachson warned. Two AgustaWestland Apache attack helicopters, callsigns Stinger 3-1 and Stinger 3-2, flew in and unleashed a barrage from their rockets, missiles, and 30mm chain guns onto the insurgents.

"HELL YEAH!" Forrest exclaimed. The insurgents were either torn to shreds or fleeing for their lives as the gunships continued their attack.

"Their falling back!" Naruto pointed out. The gunships halted their attack once it was clear.

"Casualty report," Sherman ordered.

"One of the Wolves is destroyed, three dead, five injured," one of the platoon leaders reported.

"Three Mastiff damaged, but okay."

"Our vehicle is compromised, sir," the commander of the Mastiff Naruto's section was in reported, "RPG damaged the armor, took out the engine. We were damn close to getting blown up twice."

"Our rollers are gone, but we're still functional," Street Sweeper reported.

"Okay, new plan," Sherman announced, "Any Wolves not carrying cargo, get the wounded and dead back to base. The rest of us will continue to the hospital. Dismounts start cramming into any vehicle that's got room. We're Oscar Mike in five."

"You heard him boys," Walsh said, "Charlie Team, on me. Delta Team, check with Street Sweeper; see if they got room."

"Roger that," Huckens said. They ran to the front of the convoy to find the Wolfhound with the now mangled up mine rollers. Huckens knocked on the back door of the MRAP.

"Oi, got any room in the inn?"

The door opened and one of the crew came out with his arm stretched helping the team up inside.

"You guys alright?" Naruto asked as he climbed in.

"Oh just dandy," Street Sweeper's commander sarcastically said, "It's not like none of us shite our trousers after almost getting blown up by a bloody car bomb."

"Taking the wounded back to base," one of the platoon leaders reported, "We'll link up with you once we've dropped them off."

"Roger that," Sherman acknowledged, "Convoy is Oscar Mike. Street Sweeper, take point."

"Roger that."

"Stinger 3-1, can you provide armed overwatch until we make it to the hospital?"

"Wilco, better get a move on, out."

The convoy continued on its way to the hospital, undeterred by the ambush that happened earlier.

"Well Uzumaki, how do you feel about what happened?" Finch asked.

"You mean how I thought I was gonna die when those RPGs hit us?" Naruto replied, "I thought for sure we were cooked. I didn't even know a second RPG hit us after I hit my head when the first one hit."

"We all thought that mate," Huckens reminded him, "but don't think for a second it's over. Those sons of bitches don't know the meaning of giving up."

"Heh, believe it," Naruto agreed as he took the time to grab some stripper clips of ammo and refilled his magazines. He used three of his seven loaded rifle mags; not bad, but it could've been worse. Once he was done reloading, he checked and saw he had 120 5.56mm NATO rounds in his ammo pouch. Obviously not enough to refill all of his magazines if they all went empty, but hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that. He still his pistol and two spare pistol mags full, his four frags and smoke grenades, and 10 40mm grenades for his grenade launcher. Hopefully the rest of the mission will go well. He remembered this was his second month on his first combat tour, four more to go. He was hoping to go back to Hereford, see some of his friends, see Captain Price, and go out for some ramen. He was determined to get through this war alive.

"We survived the ambush when our attack helicopters came and sent those insurgent bastards running. At first, I thought the rest of the day would be smooth sailing. Oh, how wrong I was."

And I'm going to leave it here. Again I apologize for taking so long to update. I do not intend to abandon this story.

If I got any details wrong about the British Army in Iraq, I apologize. Feel free to correct me.

I'll try to make regular updates, but as of right now, I'm currently looking for a new job, and I may have to move out closer to said job. Lots of things going on right now. I appreciate your patience.

Next time:

"Uzumaki, where the bloody hell are you?!"

"I'm pinned down!"