Hey guys. Back with another chapter. Finally done with college. So now I'm starting to look for a job in my area of study. Hopefully it'll all work out.
Last time, a nuke has destroyed much of the US invasion force in Arabia. I know many of you were hoping that Jackson would survive in this fic, but unfortunately, I had other plans. Still, it is tragic.
Now let's take a glance at what the aftermath of it is.
Also, I know I added the mission "Aftermath" in the last chapter. I didn't feel like making an entire chapter for that one mission as it is just one long cutscene showing what happened after the nuke went off.
In the aftermath of the disaster that was the nuclear explosion in the city of Jeddah, everyone scrambled to find out what the hell just happened. It was a shock to the US military. 30,000 soldiers, Marines, and aviators of the 50,000 strong invasion force had been killed, including half of the elite SEAL Team 6 who stayed behind to cover the NEST team. The Arabian military had lost 20,000 men in the assault on Jeddah. It was safe to assume most, if not all, of the Lion's Sword forces in the city were killed when the bomb went off, but it didn't ease many people's thoughts. To top it all off, no one was sure if Khaled Al-Asad was in the city when the nuke went off or not.
Back in Hereford, the tone was grim. The SAS troopers watching the event were shocked at what had happened, but the Leaf shinobi guests were horrified at that they had seen. A weapon that had more power than a Tailed Beast, perhaps multiple, and could wipe out entire armies of shinobi, samurai, and even modern soldiers in the blink of an eye.
"Holy shit," Sakura muttered in horror as she watched the footage of the mushroom cloud on the TV in the room, "how many people do you think died?"
"It's hard to say," Kakashi responded grimly.
"The reports mentioned that somewhere around 50,000 have been lost," Sai pointed out. Kakashi just looked down as he absorbed the information.
In another room, Price, Gaz, Soap, and Naruto were on a video call with Nikolai and Sandman.
"The man is a coward, Captain Price," Nikolai said, "Al-Asad would never sacrifice himself like that."
"Do we have a fix on where he might be?" Price asked.
"Delta Force raided a known safehouse in Northern Azerbaijan that he used in the past, but we haven't found anything," Sandman explained, "The place was empty."
"So if he's not in Azerbaijan, where the bloody hell could he be?" Soap asked.
"I think I may have a location," Nikolai piped in, "Before I was captured with the ninjas, I had discovered documents and overheard the officers talking to the Akatsuki about moving Al-Asad to a civilian village in the Land of Spring. He may or may not be there, but it is a good start to locate him. I am sending you the coordinates."
"Understood Nikolai," Price thanked before turning to Sandman, "We'll contact you when we find him."
"Understood, good luck," Sandman nodded before cutting the feed.
"Gaz, assemble the team," Price ordered, "We're going to the Land of Spring."
"Yes sir," Gaz responded, "I hear it's lovely this time of year."
"Naruto, get your chopper ready," Price told Naruto, "With everything going on, it's not going to be easy to get a ride over there."
Naruto, excited that he was getting to fly his personal helicopter, enthusiastically said, "You got it, Pop."
"I'll go inform our guests that they're gonna get a ride home," Price said mentioning the Leaf shinobi.
They all headed off to get ready for their next mission.
"Safehouse"
October 13, 2011 – 01:50:32
Southern Land of Spring
2nd Lt. Naruto "Fox" Uzumaki
22nd SAS Regiment
Naruto landed his heavily modified S-70 helicopter, the civilian version of the UH-60 Blackhawk, along the banks of the river near the target village. The team consisted of himself, Price, Gaz, Soap, Mac, Sergeants Arem and Barton, and Corporal Sanderson, along with Team 7. Once everyone exited from the chopper, Naruto made multiple shadow clones to take over the chopper while they continued their mission. However, it wasn't a few minutes after landing that when the chopper took off, it was shot down. The clones' memories went back to Naruto.
"Dammit," Naruto cursed, "There goes our ride home. I was working on that baby for years."
"We'll worry it later," Price reminded him, "Let's focus on our mission."
They continued along the dirt road until they stopped a hundred meters away from a riverside rest area. They paused for a few moments. Up on the hill they could hear gunfire and screaming. They were wondering what was happening. Their thoughts were interrupted when they saw a light flashing from the rest area.
"There's our Loyalist contact," Price said as the team made their way to meet up with the Loyalist FSB agent in the Ultranationalist army.
"Al-Asad is in the village," Agent Antony Orlav explained "The Ultranationalists and the Akatsuki are protecting him."
"Perfect," Price said before turning to the team, "Move out. Remember, we want Al-Asad alive, but this mission is Kill or Capture."
Everyone nodded as they went up the hill. As they went up the gunfire and screams got louder.
"What the bloody hell's going on up there?" Gaz asked.
"It's the Ultranationalists," Orlav explained grimly, "They're killing the villagers."
"Yeah, well not for long they aren't, believe it!" Naruto said, determined not to let any innocent lives be lost. They continued up the hill until they encountered Ultranationalists on top.
"Contact!" Soap called out as the team took cover and returned fire.
They made their way up the hill and approached a house, killing enemy troops firing from the open windows.
"Fox, Gaz, take Team 7 and clear the building!" Price ordered, "We'll cover the left flank!"
"Roger that!" Gaz replied, "Team 7 go in through the basement! We'll take the front entrance!"
"Got it!" Kakashi nodded as he readied the MP5SD3 that was lent to him. He motioned Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai to follow him down to the basement entrance. Gaz and Naruto stacked up next to a door. Naruto switched from his FN Minimi LMG with an EOTech, the original version of the M249 SAW, to his M1014 shotgun, also with an EOTech. Gaz tossed a flashbang to disorient anyone inside. They burst in the doorway into a kitchen area and took out any hostiles in there.
"Room clear!" Naruto called.
"Basement is clear!" Kakashi called on the radio, "We're coming up!"
Team 7 emerged from the basement stairs.
"Sasuke, Sai, go upstairs and clear the rooms!" Kakashi ordered.
They both nodded as they went upstairs. They took out a few Akatsuki swordsmen that were hiding in two bedrooms.
"Upstairs is clear!" Sai called out.
"I'm coming up!" Naruto called as he went up the stairs. They checked the bodies, but not one of them was their target.
"Building clear," Gaz announced on the radio, "No sign of Al-Asad. Move on."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai were about to head downstairs when they suddenly ducked to avoid incoming automatic fire from a market building next door.
"Taking fire! Taking fire!" Naruto called out as he switched to his LMG and began unloading on the Ultranationalists.
"BMP coming down the road!" Sanderson called out as a BMP-2 IFV began to roll down the hill on the dirt road along with a few dozen infantry.
"Soap, call in air support!" Price ordered.
"Roger that!" Soap said as he pulled out his radio, "Mosin 2-5, this is Bravo 3-1! We have enemy armor and infantry! Marking coordinates, danger close!"
"Mosin 2-5 here," the pilot of the Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopter, callsign Mosin 2-5, responded, "We're on the way. Standby for air support."
Just when the BMP got down to the end, it suddenly exploded when two missiles hit it along with several of its supporting infantry while the remaining enemy troops were mowed down by the incoming gunship's 30mm cannon.
"We're still taking fire from the market building!" Naruto called out.
"Copy, we are shifting fire."
Mosin 2-5 turned and fired a few rockets at the courtyard surrounding the building and opened fire on the building with its 30mm cannon. Once there were no enemies in sight, the pilot got on the radio.
"2-5 here, we have to refuel and rearm. We will not be available for some time."
The Havoc flew off to rearm its weapons. The SAS and shinobi were on their own for now.
"Alright, check the market," Price ordered, "We need a PID on Al-Asad."
They make their way over to the market building. They entered the building and put down the few survivors from the gunship's attack.
When they make their way up to the attic only to find more dead Ultranationalists.
"This building's clear. Let's check the other buildings."
While the SAS and Team 7 continued to move through the village searching for Al-Asad, they were being observed from across the river.
"Looks like Lady Tsunade's hunch was correct this time," Asuma said as he looked through his binoculars, "These guys are definitely British SAS. And it looks like Team 7 is there helping them.
As they continued to observe, they could hear chopping noises. Akamaru smelled something and began barking.
"Get down!" Kurenai ordered. Everyone got low as they saw a helicopter fly over and began to unleash what could only be described as hell on Earth. They saw this helicopter take out an armored vehicle and dozens of foot soldiers with ease. It could've also had the potential to level one of the buildings in the village, but it decided not to. When they saw it stop its thunderous barrage, it flew off in a different direction. But they had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time they saw it.
"What was that?" Ino asked.
"I think that's what some in the West call a 'helicopter,'" Asuma answered.
"So this is the power of a modern military?" Tenten wondered in shock and awe at the display of strength of a modern military.
"I don't think so, Tenten," Neji said, "We might have only seen a small fraction of their capabilities.
"We can wonder about their tech later," Shikamaru interrupted, "Remember what our mission is."
Hinata was scanning the area for any signs of Naruto with her Byakugan, desperate to find him after 10 long years of searching. After what felt like an eternity of searching, she noticed one of the SAS soldiers had blond hair, a headband with a sort of metal forehead protecter… and whisker marks on his face.
"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed. This caught the attention of everyone in the group.
"You see him?" Kiba asked surprised. Neji also activated his Byakugan and got a glimpse of him.
"Yes, Kiba. It's him!"
"I can confirm," Neji added, "Naruto is in there with the British."
"Why are they going to each building?" Choji asked.
"They must be looking for person or object of interest that the Russian Ultranationalists and Akatsuki are protecting," Shino guessed.
"I wonder how Kakashi managed to convince them to join them on their mission?" Guy said.
"My guess is that this must've been their most convenient way back to the Elemental Nations," Asuma guessed.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lee asked with enthusiasm, "If Naruto is down there, then we should help him and ask him to return to the Leaf."
"Hang on, Lee" Neji stopped him before the mini version of Might Guy could rush in, "We can't go taking on those soldiers head on. Remember what Lady Tsunade said. Same goes for you as well, Lady Hinata."
Hinata was almost tempted to rush in the fray to go after Naruto, but stopped when she remembered Tsunade's words.
"I say we sit back for now and wait until the village is almost secure," Shikamaru surmised, "We'll move in and help clean up. The villagers we encountered will have lost loved ones to these Russian bastards. We'll help find what the SAS are looking for, then we offer Naruto a chance to come back to the Leaf."
They couldn't argue with Shikamaru's logic, not even the Jonin senseis. He was the best strategist in the group. Hinata couldn't help but look at the village ruins and think of Naruto.
"Naruto, please be safe," Hinata thought.
Back with the SAS, they continued to fight their way to the next set of buildings to look for their target. As they went up the dirt road, they passed by the crash site of Naruto's S-70 helicopter next to a burning building. It most likely had civilians hiding there, and the Ultranationalists and/or Akatsuki decided to burn them alive. Naruto knew he would make these sons of bitches pay for what they did. But his thoughts were interrupted when they noticed a BTR-80 APC approaching.
"Enemy BTR, incoming!" Barton pointed out.
"Spread out!" Price said. The team spread out to avoid getting hit by the BTR's 30mm cannon. Naruto and Team 7 hid in a temple that lined the dirt road. As they hid inside the BTR stopped and unloaded several Akatsuki swordsmen. They entered the temple where they spotted Team 7 and Naruto.
"You!" one of the samurai yelled, "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! You never should have come back!"
"Shit," Naruto cursed under his breath. He was surprised to see Team 7 jump in front of him defensively.
"Naruto," Kakashi told him, "We'll hold them off. You go help your comrades find Al-Asad."
Naruto nodded knowing he was right. He went off out the back of the temple while Team 7 held off the Akatsuki samurai, only to be met by a trio of Akatsuki chunin in the cemetery next to the temple.
Meanwhile, Price and the other SAS troopers had gone back down the road and made a hard right up the hill towards the crashed chopper.
"We need to take out that BTR!" Arem pointed out noting they weren't gonna get far with it being active.
"Any got any explosives?" Price asked.
"Yeah," Soap replied, "Four blocks of C4."
"Alright Soap, follow me," Price told him, "The rest of you, cover us."
Price and Soap creeped up over the ledge and found the BTR going down the hill. It stopped to unload several Akatsuki swordsmen.
"Soap, see if you toss a few bricks on top of the BTR."
"Yes sir," Soap responded. He took out two bricks of C4 plastic explosives. He gave both of them a good toss. One landed near the turret, the other at the rear of the vehicle.
"Do it," Price ordered.
"Fire in the hole!" Soap yelled as he pressed the detonator. The C4 blocks detonated destroying the BTR.
"The BTR is down!" Price said on the radio, "Move up; keep looking for Al-Asad!"
They regroup and make their way past the burning building and begin to make their way towards a tavern. They take cover then they start taking machine gun fire.
"MGs in the tavern!" Mac called out.
"Mosin 2-5 here. We are ready for attack and are standing by for new orders."
Soap pulled out his radio, "Mosin 2-5, we are taking MG fire from the 2nd floor of the tavern! Marking coordinates!"
"Copy, we are on the way. We'll handle it, out."
Mosin 2-5 flew in and fired its 30mm cannon at the tavern's second floor taking care not to level the building.
"Gaz, Soap, Sanderson, Orlav, go in the through the cellar!" Price called.
"Roger that!" Gaz replied. The three made their way towards the stairs leading to the cellar while the Havoc covered them. They entered the tavern only to discover it was flooded. Wading their way through they took out two Ultranationalists who were in there while waiting for the gunship to cease fire.
Outside, the gunship turned and fired its rockets at a few UAZ trucks bringing in reinforcements.
"2-5 here, we have to refuel and rearm. We will not be available for some time."
Mosin 2-5 flew off to rearm its weapons (AN: Does anyone else think it's weird that an attack helicopter has such a low fuel capacity? I don't care if it's for gameplay balance purposes, it sucks!).
Price, Mac, Arem, and Barton entered the tavern and cleared out the first floor.
"Hold your fire! Friendlies coming up!" Gaz said on the radio as he, Soap, Orlav, and Sanderson came up the stairs from the cellar. They then went up to the second floor to check for any remaining hostiles. They noticed one hostile quickly closed the door. They weren't sure of his intentions until he began blindly firing a Mini-Uzi SMG. Price fired a short burst at the door, and the unlucky bastard fell out of the door dead. They searched the rest of the second floor before finding no one else.
"Building clear," Gaz said, "Let's check the next one."
Naruto was fighting the Akatsuki chunin that confronted him. He had no time for this shit. One of the chunin charged at him with a sword, but Naruto blocked it with his kunai. He tried to aim his shotgun at him to finish him off, but he moved out of the way. He dodged some incoming shurikens thrown at him, but the assault didn't let on. They were determined to capture him because of the Nine-Tailed Fox he carried. The three chunin then barraged him with their swords. He deflected them all with his kunai, but it was a three on one fight. They weren't gonna give him the chance to use his shotgun or LMG.
"Dammit, this is taking too long," Naruto thought. His best strategy was to move back far enough that he could have enough room to draw his weapons. But it was hard to do since they had him surrounded. However, Naruto's luck would soon turn around.
"Primary Lotus!"
One of the Akatsuki chunin turned around and was unable to block the kick from a green clad shinobi.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Two figures spinning like a tornado hit a second Akatsuki chunin obliterating him. Naruto could've sworn the second voice sounded familiar. The third chunin was dumbstruck of what just happened until he felt himself being possessed.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu, successful," came lazy sounding voice. The chunin then felt his arm with his sword raise it up to his throat and he unwillingly slit it.
Shikamaru undid his family jutsu and looked at Naruto. Naruto stared back at him.
"Man, Naruto, you can be such a drag," Shikamaru complained, "You've been gone for ten years, and you still get into trouble?"
"I had everything under control, Nara," Naruto said before his radio went off.
"Fox, where the hell are you?!" Price said.
"Got held up by some Akatsuki chunin. I'm on my way. Hatake, what's your status?"
Shikamaru's interest peaked when he heard Kakashi's name.
"We're all good here. We're coming out of the temple."
Team 7 came out of the temple and regrouped with Naruto. He then spotted Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye.
"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.
Before Shikamaru could answer, Naruto cut in, "We can catch up later. Right now, we need to move. Team 7, on me."
Naruto rushed off to the next building not wanting to let his past get the best of him while he was still on a mission. He made it to the next building.
"Bravo 6, this is Fox. Entering rear of the building next to the cemetery," Naruto said on the radio.
"Copy that."
He reloaded his shotgun, threw a flashbang, and entered the building taking out three tangos. Team 7 soon followed him in. They fight there way through the kitchen eliminating an LMG nest. They make their way up the stairs. Sakura takes out a hostile with her MP5SD3 over the staircase. They split up to take each of the bedrooms. Once every hostile target in the house was dead, Naruto got on the radio.
"This building's clear, but the target is not inside, over."
"Roger that, Fox. Regroup with us," Price said.
As the SAS made their way out of the tavern, they made their way past a water tower where there was a small house nearby. They took out any Ultranationalists that were in the building with speed, aggression, and surprise. Once the living area and kitchen were clear, Gaz and Soap went up in the attic to search for Al-Asad, but no one was in the attic.
"Building clear, no sign of Al-Asad," Gaz said.
"Where the bloody hell is he?" Soap asked as they exited the attic.
Naruto and Team 7 made their way towards the others' location.
"We've searched this entire village, and he's not here," Naruto said with frustration.
"There's a barn on the other side of the field to the West," Orlav said, "It's the only other building we haven't checked."
"Then that's where we're heading," Price concluded, "But stay sharp. They may have more armor and he might be ready to skip town."
"Then we'll come along with you."
They turned to where the voice had come from. They saw Teams 3, 8, and 10 from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Hinata then looked at Naruto with tears in her eyes. He looked right back at her, secretly thankful that she's alright.
"Captain Price," Kakashi said, "Let them come with us. I'll take full responsibility for them."
Not having enough time to debate this, Price relented, "Fine, but they stay behind us. Move out."
They made their way towards the field where they spread out to not bunch up. There were fences at different areas of the field for different crops, but they were not the best cover. This was made clear when a shot was heard and Orlav was struck in the head.
"Sniper! Get down!" Soap called out as everyone hit the deck.
"Man down!" Mac said. Sakura crawled over to Orlav to see if he was alright, but sadly shook her head confirming that FSB Agent Antony Orlav was dead.
They started taking fire from the barn as two BMPs and BTRs were in front of the barn.
"Mosin 2-5, we have enemy armor and infantry! Marking coordinates!" Soap said on the radio.
"Copy that, we are on the way. Standby for air support."
Mosin 2-5 came in and fired rockets at the enemy armor as well as UAZs that where there in case they prepared to move Al-Asad, preventing his escape. However once the enemies outside the barn were dealt with, another BTR-80 showed up from the forest to the North and fired its 30mm cannon at the Havoc.
"We're hit, we're hit!" Mosin 2-5's gunner said as the attack helicopter spun out of control from damage to the side of its fuselage.
"Stay down!" Price ordered as everyone hugged the ground or retreated to the village.
"This is Mosin 2-5! We are going down!" Mosin 2-5's pilot cried before crashing.
"Son of a bitch!" Gaz cried out, "There goes our air support!"
"Good thing I brought the Javelin!" Naruto said as he unsealed an FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile from a storage scroll. He looked through the sights, locked on and fired a missile which hit the BTR-80, destroying it.
"Is that it?" Soap asked, hoping there wouldn't be any more surprises.
"I sure hope so," Sanderson said. They cautiously made their way towards the barn where they began to secure the perimeter.
"Hinata," Kurenai said, "Check to see if there is anyone in the barn."
"Yes," Hinata said, "Byakugan!"
Hinata activated her Kekkei Genkai and saw there were three people in the barn. They looked like they were arguing with each other.
"There are three people inside," Hinata described, "One of them is wearing sunglasses and a red hat."
"That's Al-Asad," Price determined, "Okay, you shinobi surround the barn and make sure no one gets out. We'll breach and clear."
Everyone nodded as they got into position. Price prepared a flashbang.
"Remember, we want Al-Asad alive," Price reminded everyone, "He's no good to us dead. Let's go."
Price threw the flashbang threw the door and pulled out his 1911. The flashbang went off. Price entered the door and killed two Ultranationalists before pistol whipping Al-Asad in the face. He then punched him twice.
A few minutes later…
The Shinobi and SAS were in the barn with a few keeping an eye out for enemy reinforcements. Price was interrogating Al-Asad. Al-Asad was tied to a chair with Price beating the living shit out of him.
"Why'd you do it?!" Price demanded, "Where did you get the bomb?"
Price punched Al-Asad again. Al-Asad grunted as he answered in Arabic, "It wasn't me!"
"Who then?" Another punch.
"*Cough* I can't tell you!"
"Who?! Give me a name!" Price said as he grabbed Al-Asad's shirt bringing him close to his face, "A name! I. Want. His. Name!"
Al-Asad's brutal interrogation continued, but he still wasn't talking. Naruto forcefully grabbed his head.
"It's gonna be a long night for you if you don't tell us who gave you the nuke," Naruto threatened.
Al-Asad cursed at Naruto in Arabic. In response, Naruto punched Al-Asad in the ribs.
Some of the Leaf Shinobi were surprised with the way the SAS were interrogating their prisoner.
"Um, Captain Price, is it?" Asuma said, "Isn't this a bit excessive?"
"Not at all," Price dismissed, "We're just softening him up."
"Hey, Yamanaka," Naruto said.
Surprised that Naruto called her by her last name, Ino answered, "Uh, yes?"
"You're family's jutsu is entering people's minds, right?"
"Um… yes," Ino answered reluctantly, "Why do you ask?"
"How about you enter this fucker's mind so we can find out who he's been working with?"
"Fine by me," Price said as he dragged Al-Asad to where a belt was, "I'll keep him still for you."
Price began to strangle Al-Asad with the belt he picked up off the ground. Ino was shocked but was prepared to enter Al-Asad's mind when all of a sudden there was a ringing sound. The shinobi were wondering what it was. Gaz noticed it as well. He looked at the ground and saw a phone on the ground. He picked it up and examined it.
"Sir, it's his cell phone," Gaz told Price. Price stopped strangling Al-Asad and caught the phone as Gaz tossed it to him. He answered the phone and could hear someone speaking Russian on the other end. His face started to sour as if he recognized the voice. Al-Asad struggled to get out of his bonds to prevent the caller from revealing anything, but it was too late.
"No, wait-" were his last words before Price pulled out his 1911 pistol and shot Khaled Al-Asad in the head.
The shinobi were shocked by what he did. Some of the SAS weren't too surprised, but they held their shock inside knowing better than to question their superior officer. Gaz stepped up and asked Price.
"Who was that, sir?"
Price paused before answering.
"Zakhaev… Imran Zakhaev."
And that'll wrap up this chapter.
The SAS have killed Khaled Al-Asad and potentially found the real culprit behind the nuclear detonation.
And Naruto was reunited with the rest of the Konoha 12. There are going to be words between them. Will they convince Naruto to return to the Hidden Leaf Village, or will their efforts be in vain? You'll have to find out in a future chapter.
Also, is anyone else curious how that Blackhawk in "Safehouse" and "Heat" crashed in the first place? Well, this is my interpretation. Same thing with the Loyalist insider and Mosin 2-5 not showing up in "Heat".
And I know I added additional armored vehicles than in the game. I had to make it more interesting.
Next time:
"Oi, Suzy!"
"That's how it's done, let's go."