Chapter Two

"[How's the mining coming along?]"

"[Disappointingly. The Bastille was established over deep ore veins projected to contain minerals vital to modern materials engineering techniques and mass manufacturing. However, the methods and equipment to extract and refine these were not intended for use while staying hidden under an entire city. I have made do with seeking and mining shallower veins and expanding outwards, but those have played out rapidly. I have barely enough material after refining to produce another MCS with standard equipment, and that's assuming you don't want any supplementary equipment for yours.]"

"[Well, damn. That puts a damper on our plans. Options?]"

"[Abandon stealth. Commence full manufacture and mobilization of drone elements and occupy the city. Collapse key points of infrastructure and command ability and open up deep mining shafts. Maintain control with mass-printed automated defenses and drone rapid strike capability. Full Bastille capacity would be reached within three months.]"

"[Rejected. Next option.]"

"[I expected as much. Long-term stealth. Remain inactive while the mining drones expand further outwards. Other shallow veins must be within reach. Full Bastille capacity would be reached within...five years at best. Ten at worst.]"

"[Eugh...well, it's an option. Next?]"

"[Establish a secondary facility. Search out another site with sufficient material resources, strip down the Bastille, leaving only minimal support details, and build a new base. Depending on the time spent to locate another suitable resource site...this could take anywhere from three to twelve years.]"

"[That...sounds like a last resort. Next?]"

"[Alternative acquisition. Procure the material through another avenue. This would require extensive drone deployment, and more than likely your personal intervention. Depending on the findings, full Bastille capacity could be reached anywhere from one to five years.]"

"[That sounds promising…]"

As has been so for many days over the years in the Land of Water, the day started wet and foggy. Many of the ninja of Kirigakure had learned to cope with this, learning to track and navigate by sound, taste, touch or smell, or utilizing Water Release ninjutsu to clear the mist. Sazama Kazuo and Ueno Thoki, being mere genin (having gone almost nine years without garnering promotion) were not capable of any such techniques.

Which, really, made their assignment at a small guard post on the southernmost island of the Land of Water during its wettest season a rather telling indicator of their value.

"I hate this place."

"Oh god, not again."

"I mean, there's a real sense of loathing just festering in me here. Why are we here? This shitspot of an island doesn't have anything worth mentioning on it - just a couple of hills, a few peasant villages and all this damnable mist!"

"It's also the most likely hiding spot for the rebels."

"Oh come on, you're not still going on about that are you? There are no rebels! All that happened is one of those weird-ass 'ninja swordsmen' went nuts and tried to kill the Mizukage. There's no rebel army hiding out seeking to do a coup d'etat on the village or the country."

"I dunno man, there's all those bloodline hunters out there, civvies going all nuts and whatnot, and the bloodline ninja have been bugging out it seems. They're not popping up on the mainland, and we can't find them in the main islands."

"Just means they're a bunch of spineless deserters. Hunter ninja will catch them eventually. More so if they're still hanging around in the country."

"But they all disappeared around the same time. And with a lot of the bloodlines they've got, they could be hiding in a lot of places normal hunter ninja can't instance, the northern island is an icicle for most of the year and a sucking wet swamp for the rest of it, not really a good place to hide out unless you're a Yuki - although they're all dead."

"Yeah? And what would this foggy ass-sore have to help a bloodline ninja hide?"

"Well, one of the missing ninja is Mei - you know, that hot chick with the red hair and big boobs?"

"Yeah…"

"She's got two bloodlines. Lava Release and Boil Release. The first lets her spit hot lava. The second lets her exhale clouds of acidic steam - which she can control. Hard to tell that from a bit of morning mist eh?"

"...Right, you have successfully creeped me out."

"Me too." Both ninja instantly leaped away and pivoted, kunai flipping out of pouches and into hands, points out.

Then, two enormous hands smashed into their faces, lifted them up, and squeezed. An instant of crushing, killing pressure was the last thing they felt.

"[So, what's our first step?]"

"[The most straightforward acquisition of resources would be simply purchasing them. Ideally, we would be able to purchase the refined materials, but from the data you have provided, I do not believe your civilization possesses the technology to refine the raw ore for the necessary elements, and thus we will have to settle for ore. However…]"

"[I assume we need money to buy this ore.]"

"[Quite so.]"

"[Let me guess. The four thousand ryo I saved up isn't going to be enough.]"

"[Given a reasonable exchange rate between the ryo and the FSS eufran and the amount of ore required...I estimate a minimum amount of at least five million ryo.]"

"[Yeow. That's...not cheap.]"

"[Allowances have been made for comparative economic strength between the Land of Fire and the FSS, and the relative scarcity of the ore in modern times.]"

"[I'm sure. I also assume you have a way to get this money?]"

"[The simplest way is to simply sell technology - however, this is difficult to achieve in any appreciable bulk without extensive reworking of the Bastille's facilities if the secrecy of military technology is to be preserved. As well, much of said technology is reliant on infrastructure that doesn't exist at this point in time, and would require significant investments of time and resources to establish. Without any products to sell, the ideal method would instead be to sell services.]"

"[Ah. I see where this is going.]"

"[I believe you in your MCS would be a capable mercenary unit, with minimal support from drones. Combat action would be the most straightforward and easy service to sell in this culture. And should projections regarding 'chakra' hold out, the MCS would be well-suited for counter-ninja action.]"

"[True, but it'll be hard to start selling our services when there's over a hundred thousand individual ninja across the continent doing the same for their respective villages and clans. I assume you have a solution.]"

"[Quite so.]"

The guard post, a collection of wooden and thatch structures, was slowly, but noticeably engulfed in mist. Around the enormous orange-armored figure, an area of clear air drifted, surrounded by the fog. The titan dropped its kills, the limp bodies with their crushed, bleeding heads falling with dead thuds that resounded clearly throughout the area. Its head turned back and forth, surveying the wall of fog and the unnatural, clear circle around it. It was a large and imposing giant, over two meters tall, with a large pack-like structure upon its back. On either side of the pack were what must be weapons, the left side sporting what was obviously some kind of sword scabbard, about forty centimeters shorter than its owner. The right side, however, had a long, blocky rectangular shape, adorned with a grip like a crossbow.

"What are you doing here I wonder?" A deep, growling voice lashed out, seeming to come from all sides. "Who are you, and what is your reason for murdering poor Sazama and Ueno?"

"And who might you be, and why would you have let me kill them?" In response, a chuckle echoed around the armored figure, one dipping with bloodlust.

"Those two were starting to get annoying with their babbling, and honestly, they were only ever posted here as bait. As for the rest, I don't believe it will matter." At that moment, a dozen blades flashed out from the mist, lancing in towards the armored giant's joints and eyes. A quick movement saw the giant grabbing one out of the air and deflect the ones aimed for that arm, while all the rest struck true.

All that resulted were pathetic clinking noises like hail on a tin roof, the kunai bouncing off of the silvery metal on the inside of the armor's knees and elbows, and the three targeted on the helmet's eyes similarly failing to penetrate the bright blue glass that covered them. The end result, was the armored figure standing alone, unharmed, with a kunai held in hand, a low metallic-sounding chortle emanating from it.

"This is the best you can do?" It laughed, a ear-piercing screech of tortured metal sounding as its hand clenched around the kunai, before opening and dropping the now warped and useless knife to the ground. A low buzz of murmurs and growled swears echoed throughout the misty field. "Either stop playing and come at me, or leave. I have no time for games."

A still moment reigned, and then was broken by the sound of running feet. Shapes burst through the mist, ruining the perfect circle as four ninja darted for the armored giant, each bearing a porcelain mask with thin eye slits, wave-like patterns of paint, and the symbol for Kirigakure carved into the forehead.

The leading member, wielding the typical straight-bladed, single-edged chokuto used by special forces, started in on a stab for the center of the armored plate covering his opponents chest. A swipe came at him from the giant, a punch that seemed laughably slow. With the agility and speed expected of an elite ninja, the swordsman hopped adroitly, landing his feet lightly on the giant's arm and then leaping again, flipping to build momentum for a stab into the back - only to be met by the fist he had just jumped off of, smashing back-handedly into the fancy porcelain mask, shattering it and the ninja's skull and sending the newly-made corpse flying into the mist.

The dead man's comrades flinched slightly at the sudden and brutal death, but forged on their paths, their own swords out and striking. However, the giant didn't just stand there and take the blows like it did the kunai.

Something so large, so bulky should have been clumsy, slow, barely able to move under its own weight. And yet, it seemed to move quickly, smoothly, leaning and twisting around so that the most any of the slashes and thrusts did is scrape along the surface of the armor plating, leaving no mark behind. The counterattack was just as swift and unbelievably graceful. One gauntlet reached out and grabbed the arm of a ninja, yanking the man aside with a horrific cracking of breaking bone to slam him into his comrade opposite him. The one struck was sent flying into the mist as the giant turned, human weapon in hand, to the last one.

The point of a sword was driven at the glass-covered eye, only to be denied in the same way as the kunai before it. As the ninja pulled back, the giant's free hand engulfed his head, crushing down and killing him quickly.

As his comrade died, the ninja held by his arm recovered, and acted with remarkable clarity and surety for someone in his position. Taking out a kunai, he severed his sword arm with a single rapid cut, probably chakra-enhanced in some manner.

The giant simply stared at him for a second, as blood spurted out of the arm and splashed against its side. Then it threw the limb aside, nodded simply at the ninja, and for the first time, took up a fighting stance. It bent slightly at the knees, one hand behind its back as the other was set forward, not in a fist, but in a simple open palm, the back facing its opponent. The Kiri ninja set himself similarly, bleeding stump set behind him as the kunai-holding hand pointed forth.

The giant's fingers curled once, beckoning the ninja forward.

The ninja charged.

The giant punched.

A wet crunch echoed, and the dead ninja was thrown back into the mist.

"That style…" The growling voice called, "Goken, the strong fist, taijutsu of Konoha. You must be from Konoha then, armored one. What does the Leaf want in the Land of Water?"

"You are quite mistaken. I owe no loyalty to any of the Hidden Villages. My presence here is merely in service to my own interest. But to know of the Goken...have you too fought Might Guy?"

"Heh. I only fought the whelp briefly. It was his father Might Duy, who confronted me and my team, opened all Eight Gates, and fought us off to his dying breath. A most grand and noble battle...Sadly, I doubt I shall get as much sport from you." At that, the mist broke fully, wisps of vapor swirling in towards the armored form. The mists came to within a meter of the form before circling around again, but chaotic, undirected, breaking apart as though they were waves against a shore when they came close to the armor. "Interesting... but no matter. For now... you die!"

A resounding clang sounded as an enormous axe blade slammed into the back of the armored figure's head, followed shortly by a heavy weight slamming into the blade.

"[Radio communications are rather rare in this day and age -]"

"[Yeah, I know. You keep harping on about it.]"

"[Quite so. The small amount of transmissions are rather easy to intercept and about a year ago, I discovered a rather strange transmission, one that obviously originated from somewhere on the ground but sounded something like atmospheric interference. It was rather obviously a scrambled audio transmission, and I played around with it for a week before I discovered the sync-word and reverse-engineered the scrambling sequence.]"

"[An arduous process, I'm sure.]"

"[Not really. The transmission, as it turns out, belonged to a faction in the Land of Water that seeks to overthrow the Mizukage of Kirigakure. Posting a drone in high altitude flight allowed me to triangulate the transmissions sharing the sync-word, and I have since pinpointed several locations over the months, each likely to be a current base or outpost for this rebellious element.]"

"[We could just sell the Mizukage this information, that would get us a decent amount of cash with no risk.]"

"[That is true, but it is also short-sighted. It is far better to use this as an opportunity to establish yourself as a capable soldier, create a reputation that will ensure more paying opportunities later on, and create a source of continuous income rather than a single lump sum. As well, there is little guarantee the Mizukage would even pay us - double crosses are, after all, something to be expected from ninja.]"

"[So, we're going with the rebellion then?]"

"[It seems the most profitable long-term. The rebel faction would be likely to reward you greatly for your aid, and if they should succeed in establishing continued governance, be a likely source of funds in the future.]"

"[And what if they don't? What if they try to kill us afterwards when we don't join their forces permanently?]"

"[Why, we kill them, obviously.]"

Fog. That was all Ao could see in the slight and small window to the world outside. The morning was lengthening, and soon it would dissipate naturally. The morning runners had already left, and Ao was simply covering while the thick fog remained. As soon as it dispersed, he would be back inside the base and let the assigned sentries watch.

Ao was a man of average in height and features, the only really notable traits of his being his moused-up blue-tinged hair, a set of two talismans hanging from each ear, and an eyepatch. It was what lay underneath that patch that made Ao a perfect watchman for the foggy morning.

Forming his hands into a simple Snake hand-seal, clasping his hands together in front of him, Ao closed his uncovered eye, and focused. Chakra channeled into the eye under the patch, and it opened, the Byakugan staring through the simple cloth at the world around.

As always, the world appeared in grayscale, but instead of light, the discerning factor was chakra. Chakra, that existed in and sustained all life, ebbed and flowed in the world, leaving dark gray pools and light gray springs to the Byakugan.

Ao once thought he had seen black in the chakra sight, a view of the deserts of the Land of Wind during the Third Ninja War. Even there though, there had been pinpricks of light, signs of life and chakra hidden in burrows and hideouts in the sands.

The figure that approached him now was darker than that. A huge, man-shaped figure that seemed to be composed of sheer nothingness, an absence of all life and light, and yet surrounded by the white glow of chakra that flowed around and about it, but never touched.

Ao could only stare in shock for a moment, and then came to his senses. He reached out and pulled the cord next to him, sending a shake that rang bells throughout the rebel complex. He could see his comrades glancing up, startled, and then quickly move out, packing and mobilizing for a quick withdrawal from the base if it proved necessary. A few others, however, moved for the surface, quickly exiting through concealed passages and doors and spreading out to search for the intruding force.

Ao knew when they detected it, as they began to circle around the figure, their own bright auras and bodily chakra contrasting greatly with the black form. Soon, he could even hear the figure's tread, loud and obvious thumps that shook the ground sounding with each step. As the figure approached closer, Ao could see the head turning, the black shape moving as it seemed to look at the ninja creeping alongside it.

It can see them.

The man-shape stopped then, a few dozen meters away from Ao's position.

"Rebel ninja of Kirigakure." The voice boomed, metallic and menacing. "I have come to you with an offer. In return for payment, to be negotiated, I shall aid you in your overthrow of the current Mizukage."

The figure's voice could be heard clear through the fog, and even down into the base, judging from the sudden reactions of the ninja there. The ninja outside, surrounding the figure, hesitated, and then one of them motioned, chakra shaping and forming within him before being unleashed in a wave that surrounded them and the figure. Ao recognized the shaping and release as a simple wind technique, blowing away the fog around, and opened his normal eye.

The black shape was revealed to be a person in armor, enormous, orange, and covered in blood. The scarlet fluid was spattered all over the plates, but most especially drenched the gauntlets, each holding something. Ao's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the weapon in the stranger's right hand. A large axe, connected by a leathery rope to an enormous hammer.

Kabutowari, the Bluntsword, renowned at breaking through any defense, and weapon of the last loyal ninja swordsman of Kirigakure. Ao's gaze drifted to the side, to the other gauntlet, clutched around the topknot that Jinin Akebino wore, his open eyes set atop the crazed shark-tooth grin and the messy, torn stump of his neck.

All eyes were on the armored giant as he walked in, the low-burning lanterns casting light on it, and making the strange blue glass over its eyes seem to glow, the strange red engraving on the face seem to burn.

The base's meeting room was an unnaturally smooth cavern, formed by what earth-shaping ninjutsu the Kiri rebels knew. Small alcoves housed the lanterns, and a round low table placed in the center of the chamber. The commanders of the rebellion were seated around this table, each hiding their respective awed stares under heavy wrappings and clothes that obscured their features.

The giant came to a stop well before the table, and its head turned in an exaggerated manner, taking in the sight.

"Enough of the theatrics." One of the rebel leaders snarled. "Who are you, and why shouldn't we kill you here?"

"You shouldn't kill me because I've accomplished more in an afternoon than the lot of you have done in a year. As well, I'd slaughter most of you before you killed me, effectively ending your rebellion here. As such, the only thing killing me would accomplish would be to aid your enemy." The giant shot back, eyes glinting in the lantern light as its head turned and locked onto the speaker. "As for who I am, you may call me Hiiro Yui."

"'The magnificent one'? Rather egotistical of you, isn't it?" Another of the leaders snidely commented.

"True, you can read it like that. However, it would be more appropriately ready as 'Hiiro Yui, the one and only, of the Blood and Iron Corps'."

"I see…so we shouldn't expect any more armored soldiers coming?"

"You should not."

"At any rate…" Another leader, this one a woman, interjected, "You wish to aid us?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Simply put, I need work. Helping overthrow a regime is incredibly helpful to a mercenary's reputation. Any funds you would be willing to part with as well would be appreciated, but not required."

"And you offer…"

"A soldier capable of single-handedly killing an ANBU team and the last loyal Swordsman of the Mist, supported by an information-gathering network that will allow you to evade the Mizukage's forces, and seek out their weaknesses."

"I thought you said you were alone?"

"These are not members of the Blood and Iron Corps, simply some contacts...informants...those who owe me favors….and none capable of betraying my trust." The leaders hushed then, quietly murmuring to each other in discussion. Before they got anywhere, one waved at a corner, and a ninja seemed to appear out of thin air, gesturing the giant away.

"We will discuss your offer and give our decision tomorrow." The leader declared. "Until then, please enjoy our hospitality."

With that, the giant was escorted out.

The Kiri rebels left 'Hiiro Yui' in his new chamber, seemingly alone. Naruto, however, knew better. Despite their skill in hiding from the normal, mundane senses of even other ninja, the guards hidden in the cunningly-disguised alcoves in the ceiling still emanated heat that showed like a candle in the night to the thermal optics of his MCS.

They probably expected him to exit the suit, to sleep in the undoubtedly comfortable twin-size bed the rebels accorded him, or to partake of the sumptuous selection of food left in a platter atop the bedside table.

/Gradual step-down to sleep mode, passive security measures active\

The direct visual input lasers darkened, and the audio relays quieted, leaving Naruto alone, entombed in darkness and silence.

Author's Note

Prototype Author's Note: Right, well, that's another deadline gone and dust. You know what, I'm just going to keep doing this. Every Sunday, there will be something posted. Whether it's just what I have of the next chapter, or a repost of it completed, or, all the gods, spirits and demons ever worshiped willing, a full chapter. I still welcome reviews and whatnot, but I'm pretty sure readers can't post multiple reviews for a single chapter, and I don't know if you can delete a review and repost it, so probably save your reviews for full chapters instead of wasting them on the prototype. If you spot any mistakes needing correcting, or can't wait to tell me how great/shitty I am, drop a private message maybe. I don't know, it's you guys's call.

Prototype Author's Note 2.0: Well then...this was going to be the finished Chapter Two...but...well...Battleborn's open beta happened, and the my birthday present for my mom finally got here, and so I spent the entire day I had set aside to write playing Battleborn and watching The Force Awakens. So...yeah. I probably could go ahead and post this as the complete Chapter Two anyway, it has a decent enough cliffhanger-ish ending to it, but it's only around 3,000 words, and there's no way I'm going to pad another 3,000 in my Authors Note for that. Not only do I probably not have that much to say in a Note, it also seems really unethical to promise a 6,000-ish word chapter and have half of it be my ramblings. Anyway, I'll hopefully have this finished by next week...when Dark Souls III releases...hm. Well, I'm sure a Souls game shouldn't take much time right? Right? RIGHT? *Sobs quietly*

Right...so...Looks like Dark Souls took a while. To be fair, I actually passed up any work on the first Sunday I missed so I could get the last bit of the Battleborn open beta all nice and...experienced. Probably going to get that one. The next Sunday was not entirely my fault...Ok, it was, but I was powering through Dark Souls III and scrambling around for a birthday present for my mom. So sue me (Please don't sue me, I can't afford legal fees). And I'm still a good 2,000 words short of my 6,000 pre-note goal, but I'm fed up writing this chapter, and I want to go and get to the good images that keep attacking my brain when I think of this fic.

On a side note, I've taken the time to actually rig the MCS model I have so I can pose it, thus making it much easier to try and get different image renders of it. Rigging is...an involving process.

Anyway, this will be the last version of this chapter, so feel free to tear it up guys. Work on next chapter will start tomorrow.