Chapter 1 – We're All Soldiers Now

Jack Morrison still couldn't exactly understand how he ended up in this situation.

Whenever he thought about the future, he always saw himself back home in Indiana working at his family farm, happily married and with a couple of kids of his own – one boy and one girl, with the boy being the oldest so he could always protect his little sister. A simple life for a simple man.

Even when he decided to join the military at the age of eighteen, just like his father and grandfather had done before him, he knew that his future wouldn't be in the army. He wanted to do his duty to his country but he had no intention to purse a military career. Unfortunately for him, several high-ranking officers thought differently and Jack had to reconsider his plans for the future.

However, he never imagined that he would find himself sitting on a bed in a medical bay of a secret government facility located God knows where while wearing only an hospital gown and a pair of underwear. Still, that was not as weird as the fact that he had been turned into a super soldier to fight against an invasion of robots hell-bent on destroying humanity.

Definitely a huge difference from the simple life he had planned.

But, while a part of him was nervous and afraid of this changing, he still felt proud and honoured that his country believed in him to help them and protect them. One of the things his father taught him was to always help those in need. When he had told him that he was referring to the other farmers of his home town and not the entire US population, but Jack was sure the principle was the same.

Looking at his right, Jack saw the only other member of the Soldier Enhanced Program. A tall, muscular, dark skinned man in his late twenties – one or two years older than himself – with short black hair and a goatee with moustache. He was calmly sitting on a chair in a corner of the room with his arms crossed, his chin resting on his chest and eyes closed.

At first glance he seemed to be sleeping, not a hypothesis so farfetched since he hadn't moved an inch from the moment they had been told to wait there, on the other hand, the subtle but constant tension of his muscles told a different story. Not only was he awake, but probably also very much aware of his surrounding and ready to react if needed to.

Jack was now more than certain that the man in front of him was not only a soldier, obviously, but one with several years of experience on the field. His assumption was not that surprising. Besides the evidences present in his behaviour, the US Government wanted to create super soldiers, so it was only logical that they would select the best as possible candidates.

A single brown eye snapped open and stared back into Jack's blue eyes. Jack fidgeted slightly under the stare and mentally chastised himself. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice he was staring right at him. Way to make a first impression. Clearing his throat, Jack quickly recomposed himself and responded with a polite smile. Since they were probably going to work often together from now own, he really wanted to start off with the right foot.

"I don't believe we've been introduced. My name's Jack Morrison and I'm looking forward to working with you."

A couple of seconds passed and the only response he got was a slow blink from the man in front of him, before he closed his eyes once more, apparently completely ignoring what the blond had just said to him. Jack really wanted to sigh but controlled himself. It was not the first time he encountered this kind of situation. Several men under his command were a little… difficult at the beginning. Nobody wanted to follow the orders of a "pretty country boy", as they often tended to call him, but in the end he had always managed to change their minds. For now, he had no reason to believe it would not work the same with this man.

Straightening his back, Jack began to talk once again, "Since we're going to be partners, I think we sh–"

"We're not partners, Morrison," the man grumbled, interrupting whatever the blond was about to say.

Jack was not fazed by the interruption. He was mostly happy that he managed to make him say a word, even if he was a little annoyed at what exactly he had said. Well, beggars can't be choosers. Apparently, this man was not a team player and considering how almost offended he sounded at the idea of having a partner, he probably was used to working solo. This made things slightly complicated, but Jack was not so easily deterred.

"I know what you're thinking," the dark skinned man said abruptly, looking straight into Jack's eyes, "You want us to work as a team, and you're sure that in one way or another you'll manage to do that. Well, let me stop you right there. It will not work."

Uncrossing his arms, he lazily pointed a finger towards the blond, "I know who you are, Jack Morrison. There isn't one soldier who hasn't heard about your great and good deeds." As he gained a faraway look, he continued speaking with a mocking tone, "The man who fights for justice. The man who defends the poor. The man who leaves no one behind. The man who is the poster boy of the US Army."

"I never wanted any of that. I simply followed the orders like any other soldier," Jack defended himself. He knew that what this man was saying was the truth – his own presence in the controversial Soldier Enhancement Program was due to his fame. Being a known face helped with raising funds. That did not mean he approved.

The man scoffed in response, "You think I don't know that? I don't dislike you personally, Morrison. I dislike what you represent. The Army may need a pretty face to show to the world to paint us as the good guys, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it." Jack was feeling only slightly better at hearing that. "There are so many soldiers who works in the shadows. Risking their lives to do the dirty jobs that no one wants to do but that are necessary none the less and receiving nothing in return. Thankfully they don't do it for fame or glory, because sure as hell they're not going to receive any. They can call themselves lucky if they're simply forgotten. I think you can understand why I'm not so appealed by the idea of working with you."

Jack did not know what to say. He actually agreed with the man – several times he disliked how he was paraded around like some sort of trophy. However, he could not disobey a direct order, no matter what his personal opinions were on that subject. Furrowing his eyebrows, Jack thought long and hard on how to respond. He still believed that working together would be the best course of action.

After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally knew what to say. "You worked on black ops." It was not posed as a question. "You know of me and you already formed an opinion about me. I'm not going to ask you to just forget everything and start from scratch. It would not be right of me to ask you that and, honestly, I don't think it would be something possible to do."

Straightening his back, Jack took a deep breath before continuing, "You seem to be a man of action who dislikes nice words and crafted speeches, so I'm going to let my actions speak for themselves. Form your opinion about me after seeing what I can do and not only from what you have heard. I think this is the only way I can manage to earn your respect and show you that I'm not just the Army's poster boy."

Jack watched with trepidation as the man in front of him slowly arched an eyebrow. He seemed to actually take the idea into consideration. Several seconds passed and Jack was starting to lose hope until, all of the sudden, the man let out a single, faint chuckle while the smallest of smirks tugged at his lips. "Fine boy scout, I'll give you one chance. Only because I'm curious to see you on the field. I'm Gabriel Reyes."

Jack responded with his own smirk. This Gabriel Reyes decided to give him a chance and that was all he needed. He could definitely work with him, after all, he had much worse beginning in the past. "It's a pleasure to meet you Gabriel Reyes."

Suddenly the door swung open and a figure walked into the room. Jack and Gabriel turned towards the newcomer and both of them were a little bit puzzled by what they were seeing. The person who had just entered the room was a tall, easily over 6 foot, man with a tanned complexion, bright blue eyes and neck-length blond spiky hair. His frame was lean and muscular, not so dissimilar from the two other soldier in the room. He could actually pass for a relative of Morrison. There were three faded black lines, barely visible, on each of his cheeks. Possibly scars. But what most intrigued the two soldiers were his clothes – black jeans, combat boots and an orange V-neck t-shirt under a long sleeved dark grey, almost black, trench coat that reached under his knees. Typical civilian's clothes. He had no badge, no military uniform and no lab coat. What was this man doing here?

Dragging a chair in the middle of the room, the strange blond man sat in front of the two soldiers and made appear out of nowhere a bowl of ramen in his left hand and a pair of chopsticks in his right, which both of the soldiers now noticed was completely covered in bandages. He immediately started to merrily slurp the noodles, completely ignoring the other two men in the room who were sharing confused glances with each other.

After finishing the meal in just a couple of minutes, a fact in equal part both astonishing and disgusting, he finally considered Jack and Gabriel by giving them a goofy grin, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'll be your..." tapping his chin with the chopsticks, he assumed a thinking pose, "What was the word they used? Oh right, instructor! I'll be your instructor."

Glancing at the corner of his eyes, Jack saw that Gabriel was surprised by the situation. Good. He was not the only one to find the fellow blond's arrival weird. Clearing his throat, Jack gained Naruto's attention and asked the question that, most likely, was passing through the mind of both soldiers, "Instructor?"

"Of course!" Naruto nodded enthusiastically, as if what he had just said was the most logical thing in the world, "My job is to help you two get used to the new changes in your bodies. So…" he continued with a slight smirk and a glint in his eyes, "Are you two done exchanging friendship bracelets, so that we can start? Personally I've found Jack's speech extremely touching."

Gabriel's jaw tensed and Jack groaned softly to himself, but that did not stop Naruto. Considering his amused expression, he definitely noticed their discomfort and simply decided to ignore it and continue with his teasing. "You could feel his emotions behind every word. This is a man who knows the importance of teamwork. Bromance at his finest! And you, Gabriel, are just one big softie. So hard and cold on the outside, but sweet and fluffy on the inside. You almost got me for a minute with your strict military posture and constant emotionless face."

"How long have you been waiting to enter?" Gabriel's voice was unnervingly quiet and collected when he posed the question. The twitching eyebrow and clenched jaw were telling a different story on his current mood.

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ten minutes give or take."

Hearing the response, Gabriel's other eyebrow started twitching and Jack moved slightly away from the seething dark skinned man who continued to interrogate Naruto, "You waited for ten minutes, standing outside the door, just to eavesdrop our conversation?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Naruto said as he waved his bandaged hand dismissively in front of him, "I waited for twenty minutes. I spent the first ten debating which prank to use to properly introduce myself, then you started talking so I decided to eavesdrop. I was undecided between shish kabob and merry-go-round, if you were wondering."

Jack thought for a second what type of pranks would have those types names when he realized that it was better if he didn't know. They didn't sound pleasant.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was almost furious. They wanted this buffoon, a boy who looked like he had just reached drinking age, to be his instructor. His?! He did not spend more than a decade in the army for this. He might be willing to try to work with Morrison, only because the boy scout showed some balls and didn't back down when Gabriel basically dismissed him, but this he could not simply accept it.

Looking at the syringes on the medical tray next to him, Gabriel considered if he should show this clown who was the one who needed "instruction" between the two of them. After all, a syringe was not that different from a knife. At least in his hands. Naturally, he wouldn't do any permanent damage, just wound the buffoon enough to prove his point. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. His hand twitched towards the medical tray when he suddenly froze.

Bringing his hand to his right cheek, he felt a warm liquid on his fingertips. Gabriel moved his hand in front of his face and his eyes confirmed what he already suspected. His fingers were stained in blood. His blood. Slowly, Gabriel turned his head and, looking over his shoulder, saw a pair of chopsticks embedded in the wall behind him. The wooden sticks, still slightly vibrating, were gently humming in the silent room. How was that possible? One second he was about to attack and the next… this! He was a super soldier. His reflexes were above what any human could ever hope to achieve. How did he miss it? His wound was not even regenerating.

"Lesson number one," Naruto's calm voice broke the silence that filled the room, "Look underneath the underneath. Just because I act like an idiot, it doesn't mean that I'm not a possible threat. This actually brings me to the first problem that I want to address: your arrogance. And don't look at me like that," Naruto immediately said seeing the disgruntled faces of the two soldiers, "You two are arrogant but it's not entirely your fault."

Sighing, Naruto passed a hand through his hair and looked at the various medical equipment around the room, "A bunch of scientists came to you telling you that they had the magical serum to turn you into super soldiers and basically make you the perfect humans. I think it's perfectly normal to feel a little superior after hearing something like that. However, your first mistake was assuming that you two were the only ones with these abilities."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you a member of the program too?"

Chuckling, Naruto shook his head, "No, Jack. I'm the one from whom the magical serum came from." Their gaping faces were quite entertaining and Naruto considered for a moment if leaving them like that for a little longer, but in the end decided against it. He was never one for being mysterious and cryptic. It was more the style of Kakashi-sensei and the teme. "Yes, you didn't mishear me. All your cool and amazing superpowers came from me. You're welcome, by the way. No need to thank me."

Gabriel was a shocked by the revelation but quickly recomposed himself. Looking one last time at his bloody fingers, he moved his eyes towards his new instructor and scrutinized him more carefully this time. The blond's muscles were not tensed, his posture was completely relaxed and he wasn't constantly checking the area around him, not even once to be precise.

At first, Gabriel thought that he was simply a civilian with no training whatsoever, but now he realized the truth. Naruto was so strong that he didn't need to have his guard up. It wasn't arrogance or false bravado but a simple truth. They weren't a threat for him. Nothing was a threat for him. And this fact scared Gabriel. A lot.

"Why did you do it?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at Gabriel's question. "If what you just said it's true, why did you share your power? Why not keep it for yourself?" That was something the former black ops agent couldn't understand. If the roles were reversed, Gabriel was sure that he wouldn't have done it. Of course, there was always the possibility that Naruto was forced by the US Government, but the blond seemed willing to be here. He cracked jokes, he was relaxed and, most importantly, he immediately revealed his abilities to them. Naruto was definitely here of his own volition. Gabriel was even slightly unsure that the US Government – that anyone – could command him to do something against his will.

"Hmm? Why did I do it?" Naruto mused aloud while staring into thin air, "I grew up following a belief. A life philosophy the people of my village lived by, passing it through generation to generation. The Will of Fire, that was the name. Among the numerous teachings of this philosophy, there's one in particular that I had only learnt to appreciate thanks to a lazy friend of mine. The belief that the previous generation has the duty to protect, nurture and guide the next generation so that it may one day surpass it." His lips turned in a nostalgic smile and the two soldiers were surprised by how old the goofy blond now looked. "When the Omnic Crisis started I was curious to see how the different countries – the people – would react. The US Government knew about me, knew about my powers. So, when they asked me a sample of my blood for a super-secret project I thought, why not? You could say that I was simply curious to see what they could do. How they would deal with this crisis. What they could manage to accomplish with just a little of my help."

While Gabriel was looking at Naruto with a mixture of contemplation and disbelief, Jack was awed by the answer of the fellow blond. After the revelation of his abilities, Jack was intrigued. When Naruto hit Gabriel with the chopsticks, something he was still finding hard to believe, he felt slightly nervous. However, when he heard the reasons behind the choice of his instructor of being part of the Soldier Enhancement Program, Jack could only feel respect for him.

"You speak like an old man." Of course Gabriel had to say something like that and completely ruin the moment. Even if Jack looked apologetic, he couldn't stop the small smile tugging on his lips. He did spoke like an old man, after all.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto smiled along with the two men in front of him. If they only knew how true that statement was. "Well, now that all the tension is mostly gone I think we should talk about why I'm actually here." Both soldiers straightened their posture and gave Naruto their complete attention, diligently listening to him. "As I said before, I'm here to make you two combat ready as fast as possible. We have a training ground made specifically for us where we're going to work on getting the two of you readjusted to your new bodies. There, you're going to spar constantly against me until I don't deem you two ready. And who knows, maybe you'll learn a couple of new things in the meantime. I'm not going to lie to you, it'll probably take weeks if not months–"

"Months?!" Jack yelled as he shot up from the bed, "There's a war going on and people need us. We can't spend months sparring while others are fighting and dying out there!" Clenching his fists, Jack took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and slowly sat down again on the bed. "I'm sorry but I can't wait that long. Not when I know that my presence is so important for the war. Isn't that the reason why this program was created in the first place? To let us end the war?"

Naruto hummed to himself as he leaned back on the chair, "Think fast." With a flick of his wrist, Naruto gave Jack a fraction of a second to register the warning before throwing the empty bowl of ramen at him. As predicted, the blond soldier immediately raised his hand to catch it, managing to do so thanks to his amazing reflexes, but the moment his hand grabbed the bowl this shattered into pieces and Jack could on look dumbfounded at the single shard of ceramic between his fingers.

"That is why you're still not ready for the battlefield." Giving the fellow blond a sympathetic smile, Naruto continued to talk, "Trust me, I know very well what you're feeling. Knowing that your comrades are fighting while you're sheltered somewhere safe it's one of the worst experience you could ever have. You feel like you're betraying them but believe me when I say that if you would go on the battlefield as you are right now, you would do more harm than good. You're just like a teenager who got a Ferrari as a first car. All the power but zero control over it."

Jack deflated slightly and felt almost ashamed of his previous outburst. Naruto was their instructor and he had these abilities longer than them. He definitely knew what was better for them. The soldier should have trusted him.

"Stop being so harsh on yourself. I'm basically drowning in your self-deprecation now," Naruto joked lightly with a grin. "Your intentions are good and that's what counts in my book. I promise you that it'll might take a while but it'll be worthy in the end. Okay?" Seeing Jack nodding hesitantly but with a determined look in his eyes, Naruto continued, "Now. Tomorrow morning we're going to start with the training. I strongly advise you to have a good night's sleep. You'll need it. Are there any other questions?"

"I've got two." Naruto was surprised that Gabriel was the one who responded. The former black ops agent seemed fine with just listening and occasionally raising an eyebrow. "Throwing stuff in our faces is going to be a recurrent thing?" Oh, the stoic soldier did have a sense of humour after all. Now Naruto was even more surprised.

Thinking about it for a moment, he grinned as he responded, "Just don't give me a reason and I won't do it. It's always a shame wasting ramen-related utensils. Second question?"

"Will you make me stronger?"

"Yes," Naruto stated without a doubt, conviction clear in his voice, "I'll make both of you strong enough to end this war and protect everyone."

Gabriel stared fixatedly at Naruto, searching for something in his blue eyes. Finding what he needed, he gave him a curt nod, "Then we'll not have a problem."

"The same goes for me," Jack promptly stated. "We're all soldiers now. Nothing more, nothing less. You're in charge and we'll follow your orders."

Chuckling ominously, Naruto stood up from the chair and slowly moved toward the door. When he reached the threshold he stopped and turned his head toward the two confused soldiers. "Oh no, Jack. I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. You're not soldiers. You're all my bitches now." With that said, Naruto exited the room leaving behind two slightly shivering war veterans who were left wondering what exactly their new instructor meant by that.

As Naruto walked through the hallways toward the exit of the facility, his phone started ringing and he immediately brought it to his ear, already knowing who was calling him. "You've reached the phone of Naruto Uzumaki, the show-off, number one unpredictable, ramen eater extraordinaire. How can I help you?"

An exasperated sigh reached his ears, followed by a stern feminine voice that brought a huge grin on Naruto's face. "Why can't you act your age for once?"

"If I acted my age I would be lying six feet under somewhere in a casket. We've already been through this, Gabrielle," Naruto cheekily responded.

Sighing one more time, Gabrielle Adawe, the Secretary-General of the UN, decided to simply ignore Naruto and move on. In all the years she's known him, that's always been the best policy. "You know why I'm calling you. What do you think about the two super soldiers?"

"They have potential."

Gabrielle waited for Naruto to add something else but when he didn't she sounded a little disappointed, "That's it? They have potential? You've really got nothing else to say?"

"I've just met them, Gabrielle. They are what I expected," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders. "As we had already predicted, the serum only increased their physicals abilities – regeneration, strength, agility, speed and reflexes. They didn't unlock their chakra, so no ninjutsu sparring buddies for me unfortunately. That's a real shame, I was really looking forward to it. Finally teaching jutsu and having some–"

"Uzumaki, get back to the main topic," Gabrielle reminded him before he would forget the reason why she had called him. It wouldn't be the first time that he would simply change the subject during one of their conversations and she really didn't want to hear him talk about ninjutsu for half an hour. It was almost as bad as when he described the wonders of ramen. Almost as bad.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, their personalities are just as the profiles described them. They remind me of myself and an old friend of mine, but…" Naruto trailed off, unsure if he should say it or not.

"But?" Gabrielle questioned curiously, prompting him to continue.

"Well, that friend of mine he kind of tried to kill me… thrice. But then we've become great friends," Naruto finished as he grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. His and Sasuke's relationship could sound a little odd to whom didn't know the details.

"That's just great. Thank you Uzumaki. Knowing that our two candidates want to kill each other was just what I needed to hear," Gabrielle rebutted sarcastically.

Naruto was about to respond when he registered Gabrielle's exact words. "Wait a minute. Did you just say candidates?"

"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you. The UN approved the idea of creating an international task force – Titan. I think you deserve a thanks since this wouldn't have been possible without your help," Gabrielle said and Naruto could hear the satisfied smile on her face.

"Nah, you did all the work. I only gave you a couple of pointers. Now I realise why you're so interested in Morrison and Reyes. I'm surprised that they're already thinking about candidates though. And Titan, really? That's the name they're going with?"

"The name's temporary. Knowing the UN, it'll probably take several months if not years before the task force is actually created, but I don't want to be unprepared. Having a list of possible members is a good start and it'll speed things up in the future."

"I have to say that I'm a little bit miffed though," Naruto mumbled in a tone of mock hurt. "You never call and when you do you ask about other men. You wound me so, Gabrielle. Am I not enough for you? I'll tell you what – I'll give you all the details about my two little kōhai while we're having dinner… at my place."

"Are you coercing me into a date by using classified information?" Gabrielle questioned raising an eyebrow, not that he actually could see her face but he just knew that she was doing that, he could almost hear it.

Naruto scoffed at the question and slightly accusation, "Honestly, I don't see what the problem is. You get the information you want while enjoying my amazing company and delicious food. And you know my food is delicious, don't even try to deny it."

"Just a dinner and that's it. Nothing else is going to happen. Got it Uzumaki?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto's amused voice did little to reassure the UN Secretary. "What should happen? I just want to share a dinner with you."

"I'm serious Uzumaki. What happened in the past won't happen again," Gabrielle reaffirmed once more.

"You know," Naruto began to talk in a casual manner, "The fact that you keep bringing up what happened in the past between us it makes me almost think that you want it to happen again."

"… Just shut up Uzumaki. I'll be there at eight."

Chuckling to himself, Naruto could only smile broadly, "As you wish, Her Excellency."

Posted: 08/31/16

Last Updated: 01/20/17