Chapter 3: Threaded Fates and Steel Monkeys
(In which Naruto finds himself in a fancy apartment complex with fancier problems—and runs into the most dangerous thing yet: a redhead with an agenda.)
"Listen here, Kiddo," Metabee said, arms crossed like he was some kind of shady gym coach from a sports anime. "If you want me to tag along, I want a body like that guy's."
He pointed dramatically at Arcbeetle, who was standing like a stoic tank statue in the middle of the park. The red armor shimmered in the sunlight like a mecha god.
"You want a what now?" Ikki asked, visibly sweating.
"Power. Firepower. Beam cannons. Jet feet. That 'I-could-solo-a-small-country' vibe," Metabee said, puffing his metal chest. "I want upgrades, and I want 'em shiny."
Ikki rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… uh… I'm not exactly swimming in cash, and my parents are still recovering from the time I bought a vending machine's worth of toy capsules. But we could, you know… win battles and earn parts?"
Metabee scoffed. "So you want me to work my way to greatness? Ugh. Fine. But I'm picking the first chump we battle. I need my dignity back after getting KO'd by Captain Serious over there."
Arcbeetle didn't even turn his head. "Request acknowledged. Processing... irrelevant."
"Rude." Metabee huffed.
That's when Erica, who had been filming them for possible meme material, chimed in. "You two do realize you have zero experience, right?"
Ikki frowned. "I mean… I watched the tournaments!"
"Watching is not doing." Erica rolled her eyes. "You've got an outdated model and a walking sass-bomb for a partner. If you go out there now, you'll get ragdolled. Like Naruto did to you earlier."
Ikki winced. Metabee muttered, "Still stings."
Meanwhile, I had this very awkward moment of realization: Erica assumed I actually knew what I was doing. That I wasn't just winging it with Arcbeetle like a caffeine-fueled amateur.
Which I totally was.
I scratched the back of my head and gave my best mysterious-teen-smirk. "Yeah, well… not everyone can handle Arcbeetle. Took a lot of training to reach this level."
That was a lie. I literally bought him this morning.
Arcbeetle side-eyed me. "Affirmative. Extensive simulations. Twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds of tactical review."
"Shhh!" I whispered. "Play along."
Arcbeetle blinked once. "Understood. Recalculating timeline: 12 days of advanced drills."
Erica whistled. "Dang, Naruto. No wonder Arcbeetle moves like a pro."
I nodded solemnly, pretending I wasn't sweating through my hoodie. "Yeah. You know. Long hours. Late nights. Training arcs."
Note to self: actually do a training arc. Before someone challenges me to a battle and I end up launching Arcbeetle into a tree.
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After helping Ikki and Metabee find their rhythm, I figured it was best to give them space. Every hero's gotta walk their own path, even if it starts with getting body-slammed by their own bot.
Arcbeetle deactivated and slid into standby mode on my new watch—a clean, sleek model with a glowing dial and a few holographic features. The tech here was way ahead of what I'd seen before. Spatial compression tech in wristwatches? Medabots were practically being stored in Pokéballs now. We were living in the future.
With that handled, I decided it was time to upgrade my life situation too. I didn't plan on staying in some random inn or noisy dorm with ramen packets for pillows.
So… I bought an apartment.
And not just any apartment. I landed one in Summit Crest Towers, the kind of place that screamed, "I have a personal chef and a butler who only speaks in riddles." It had marble floors, an infinity pool, and a medabot training park with actual terrain zones.
That's where I saw her again.
Kim Possible.
The red-haired whirlwind from Threadzilla, the boutique that turned me from "wandering warrior" to "stylish protagonist." I remembered her fast-talking charm, how she casually talked me into buying five jackets I didn't need and three shirts that somehow made me look cooler. She worked that store like a pro. Now, here she was, flipping across monkey bars like a ninja gymnast with a metal monkey at her side.
Her medabot stood tall—red armor with yellow Wukong-style markings that glinted in the sunlight. The yellow circlet on his forehead shimmered, and from his elbows, twin rods extended with a snap, turning his punches into piston-driven rockets. The bot threw a punch that shattered a concrete target like it owed him money.
Gokudo.
He was fast. Precise. Aggressive. And stylish. A perfect match for his owner.
"Hey," Kim said with a smirk as she landed near me. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and leaned on her medabot like they'd just finished warming up. "Well, well. If it isn't my favorite impulse buyer."
I blinked. "Wait… you're that girl from Threadzilla?"
She winked. "Guilty. You looked cute and confused. I figured I'd help."
"By draining my wallet?"
"By upgrading your image," she countered smoothly. "You're welcome."
I chuckled. "Fair enough. Didn't expect to see you again."
"Well, you're in my neighborhood now. This park's part of the residents-only zone. I train here every day after mission hours."
"Mission?"
She tapped her temple and gave me that signature smirk. "Let's just say I'm not your average mall employee. You notice my moves?"
"Hard not to," I said honestly. "You move like someone who's had black-ops training since kindergarten."
She laughed. "Something like that. But I moonlight as a student and Medafighter. Gokudo here keeps me sharp."
Gokudo tilted his head and gave a respectful nod. "You are… competent. For someone with no bot yet." His voice was deep, disciplined, and oddly monk-like.
"I do have a medabot," I replied. "Just stored him for now. He's called Arcbeetle."
Kim's eyes lit up. "That Arcbeetle? Crimson armor? Missile shoulders?"
"The very one."
She grinned wider. "Color me impressed. You've got taste. That's a heavy-hitter right there."
"Still figuring out the controls," I admitted. "I'm new to all this."
"Aw, no shame in that," she said. "Want to join me for some training? Nothing serious—just light drills, movement, dodging routines, robo reflexes. I don't bite." She leaned in slightly. "Unless you want me to."
Arcbeetle probably would've snarked something at that, but he was still tucked away in the watch. Which meant I was solo on defense.
"I appreciate the offer," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "But I'm still syncing up with Arcbeetle. Gonna get in a few more solo sessions before I start training with someone like you."
"Aw, so you do think I'm dangerous," she teased.
"Definitely," I replied, grinning. "You sold me twelve outfits in twenty minutes. You're terrifying."
Kim laughed, loud and unrestrained. "Okay, fair. You've earned a rain check. But don't take too long. Once you're ready, I want to see what you and that beetle of yours can really do."
She turned, snapping her fingers at Gokudo, who dropped into a battle stance and began another round of practice strikes, pistons whooshing like hydraulics.
I walked off with a smirk and a silent promise: I'll be back.
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Kim Possible POV:
Being seventeen didn't usually involve dealing with world-ending tech in a foreign country—but for Kim Possible, it was just another Wednesday.
Japan had been the mission zone this time. The target? Not a person—well, not exactly—but a scientist: Dr. Aki. World-renowned roboticist, genius inventor of Medabots, and current focus of every two-bit villain with a dream of robotic domination.
"Keep him safe," Wade had said through the holographic call. "He's on the verge of creating something big—an artificial Rare Medal. If anyone gets their hands on it—Drakken, Robo Gang, Black Ghost—it's game over."
Rare Medals.
Even saying the words gave Kim chills.
Ancient relics from a lost civilization. The original blueprint for all medabot medals. These things didn't just improve a medabot—they turned them into forces of nature. Power, autonomy, even Medaforce—a weird, almost magical energy—became accessible to the bots that had them.
And now someone was trying to make one.
Kim could already imagine Drakken rubbing his hands together like a raccoon with a blueprint. No way was she letting that happen. So, she and Monique hopped a jet and set up cover: working at Threadzilla, a chic clothing store just near the newly built Summit Crest Towers, close to Aki's usual travel zones.
Ron was technically part of the op too, but he was off getting advanced martial arts training with Yori. That was… fine. Totally fine. Kim wasn't jealous or anything. Besides, she needed someone to keep Drakken occupied if he showed up in the wrong part of Japan.
Which left her here.
In a luxury apartment complex, sipping green tea, training with her medabot—Gokudo—and tracking suspicious characters in her spare time.
Like him.
Naruto.
The guy she ran into at Threadzilla. Admittedly cute. A little clueless. Totally suspicious.
Who just happened to buy a high-end apartment without a registered bank account, credit history, or ID.
"Wade?" she'd whispered through her comms after he left the store. "Can you run a full scan on the guy who bought out half our streetwear wall?"
Wade's response had not helped her suspicions.
"Kim… I don't even know how he made that purchase. He has no ID on any global system. I'm talking blank slate. No citizenship. No birth record. Nothing."
"So he's a ghost?"
"More like a living anomaly. And get this—his body's reading with more energy output than your medabot. That's not normal, KP. Not even close."
So yeah, he was cute. But cute wasn't going to cut it when someone was glowing with enough energy to break reinforced steel—and looked completely unfazed by it.
Which is why she kept running into him. Totally on purpose.
He didn't even realize it.
Kim Possible didn't get paranoid. She got prepared.
And Naruto was on her list now—cute, weird, mysterious, and potentially connected to something way above her clearance level.
She wasn't going to make a move yet. Not without more data. But if he turned out to be another villain in disguise… well…
She cracked her knuckles and smiled.
She was Kim freakin' Possible.
And nobody stole ancient medabot tech on her watch.