Naruto joined the Clover Troupe semi-willingly people. It wasn't just about hostages, though in that scenario he probably could've won the battle, but the hostages were already taken. There's more than one reason why he joined up with him, to end the battle with the troupe now would be shortsighted and completely ruin my segue into the next arc.
Chapter 7: Mammalian Explosion
Gaara left Cerro Gordo the night he fought Qrow, thanking the kind innkeeper and bidding her adieu after the whole mess had been cleaned up. He turned down an invitation for a room, informing her once again that he did not need to sleep and was comfortable wandering the wild in the dead of night. In fact, the sooner he could get started on his journey the better.
After seeing his display, she hardly questioned him.
When Gaara left Cerro Gordo, he traveled north, far away from the border desert between Vacuo and Vale and north through the eastern part of the continent Sanas.
He was technically between the kingdoms right now, though Cerro Gordo and the surrounding towns considered themselves closer to Vale culture than Vacuo culture. And when decisions were made on the region they were underneath Vale legal jurisdiction.
He would walk for a full day, and then take a few hours rest by finding a suitable spot and take in the scenery of this new world by taking in the landscape. When he was sufficiently rested, he would move on without a word.
The terrain really wasn't any different than the biomes of the Elemental Countries. Deserts, forests, mountains, etc, to go along with similar wildlife. The only difference seemed to be the presence of Grimm. Like several places back on his continent, some of it was quite stunning.
The desert at the continent's midsection soon gave way to a mountainous badland region the further he went north, which took about five days for him to cross even as his enhanced pace. He passed scattered villages along the way, though he disregarded staying at any inns. While out in the wild, he would encounter numerous monsters that this world knew as Grimm.
The strangest sight Gaara must've seen thus far would've been the metal giant that tore through the sky like a bird, passing overhead and heading in the direction that he was. Perhaps those were the "airships" that the innkeeper in Cerro Gordo mentioned? If that was the case, his culture was no wear near advanced enough technologically to build a machine like that.
One of the few things the Ichibi Jinchuuriki had requested from a nearby village for his trip was a set of maps. When he saw the map, it did little to alleviate his concerns that he was in a society that was not connected to his own by space or time. If this was the known world, then a landmass resembling his own was not present. It was completely different.
In a map of the continent, the capital of Vale was in the northwest part of the northeastern region of Sanas, protected on one side by ocean and on another by steep mountains. Crossing those mountains would lead him into the kingdom proper, and looking at a more detailed map of the region he was passing through told of a mountain pass near his location.
The third and highest mountain in the range that cut off Vale from the rest of the world, Mt. Plata. Near the base of the mountain lay the only town for miles, but it was booming because Mt. Plata was the biggest source of Dust in the eastern half of Sanas, according to one of the locals at the most recent town he passed.
And the mining town at the base of the mountain was sure to exploit the teeming natural resources. The little dot on the map was labelled Potosi, and he had heard of this town at a local bar. The substance called "Dust" was a sort of all-purpose resource that could be used for everyday purposes or be weaponized. It is what the people in this world used to fight, their weapons usually incorporating it in some way. It was also Remnant's primary source of fuel and power; pretty much everything ran on dust.
When Gaara entered the town, he didn't find it as bustling as he thought a booming mining enterprise would be. Sure, there were a few people around and the basic utilities and necessities seemed to be in proper order, but it was just... fairly lifeless.
He passed a few houses and shops and stopped to observe the tracks that ran through the village and into the mine beneath the mountain itself. Rows and rows of empty minecarts were lined up on what was clearly the beginning of the track, unused.
There was another track some distance away that led into another tunnel, probably in an interconnecting web of them that circled back on each other. Above each tunnel entrance was an identical banner. A black background with a white snowflake logo printed on the middle.
Somewhere behind him, an old wooden door creaked as it opened, and Gaara heard the rhythmic tapping of a cane against the ground as someone slowly approached him.
"May I help you?" an old voice asked.
Gaara's eyes panned backward, before he mechanically turned around, raising an eyebrow when he saw the person that came into view. It was an aging man with long grey hair covered by a stetson, dressed in a brown vest over his white polo shirt. Oddly enough, he had what looked like scales on his neck from what was visible underneath his collar.
"Yes. I have heard that this place was a booming mining town that one could use to pass through the mountain. Where is everybody?" Gaara asked, and the reptile man sighed and lowered his hat over his eyes.
"As ya can see, we're quite desolate at the moment. The Schnee Dust Company heard about the recent attacks, and have sent all the workers here on leave until things can be sorted out with the White Fang..."
And there were more terms that Gaara was unaware of. It was to be expected considering his circumstances, but the learning curve of knowledge he would still have to adjust to.
The Schnee Dust Company? He had heard about the miracle substance by now; that was probably a big company who had stuck its fingers into the local area. And given the surroundings, dust was apparently mined in its rawest form.
The White Fang though? That was entirely a new term for Gaara.
"What is the White Fang?" Gaara asked.
The reptilian faunus looked at him oddly. Then he peered at the bags under Gaara's eyes and shook his head.
"What? You from the boonies out in Vacuo or something? Ain't a faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of the White Fang. The civil rights organization who fights for equal treatment for Faunus everywhere? They've been all over the news lately, though sadly for what maybe all the wrong reasons..."
Gaara stared at the slashed flags of the Schnee dust company, and the faunus took it on himself to continue.
"They've been splitting on the direction they want to go recently. Their old leader stepped down a new one with more radical policies has taken his place. While he returned to Menagerie, some members of the White Fang have tried to keep his policies, while the others follow new leadership. It's essentially a split into factions..."
"And the mine?" Gaara asked.
"An attack from the radical faction of the White Fang. They've been trying to get the Schnee's attention for years, and with this it looks like they'll finally get it."
Gaara hummed, and looked beyond the mountains.
"I need to get to the capital, and I came here because I've heard it was a way through the mountains. Are you a guide that can lead me through them?"
The old faunus shrugged.
"Sorry, kid, I just work here. We had mountain guides that could lead travelers through the pass, but there are only a few of us left here after the incident. Most either were recalled by the Schnee or ran off to join the White Fang after they were liberated."
"So, you can't help me..." It wasn't a question, but it wasn't an indictment either.
Again, the old faunus shrugged.
"I guess so. Gotta say, for a young faunus you don't seem to have much of an interest in the White Fang's cause. Young people are usually the prime recruits to the Faunus Rights Revolution..."
Gaara pondered for a moment. The old miner wasn't entirely right; this group did more or less pique his interest. He could relate to them but at the same time could not. Apparently they were discriminated against by a large scale organization; it wasn't entirely different than how he was treated. At the same time, Gaara was almost one of a kind. There were only eight other people like him.
Therefore, the thought of a race banding together in kinship for equal rights alongside humans was completely foreign to him. As far as he was concerned, there was no cause even able to be formed for the likes of him. With enough effort, perhaps the White Fang could achieve their cause.
"You could say I don't care, yes. Frankly, I find the entire idea rather ludicrous..." Gaara began pacing his way back and forth beside the mine cart tracks.
"Still, could you point me in the direction of where this White Fang is located? I would like to see them myself for my very own eyes..."
The old faunus looked at him strangely, but seemed to willingly oblige anyway. It was odd how neutral he seemed toward the whole ordeal; he didn't have any love or hate for either the SDC or the White Fang. Not if he was about to point Gaara in the direction of the organization that attacked the town he lived in.
"Go back out the gates to Potosi and down south about a mile. Turn east into the forest from there and keep going for a little while. The camp should be somewhere in those woods."
Gaara bowed to the man.
"I see. Thank you..."
"Just... listen to me for a moment, youngster. If you're going there about recruitment, just... really think about it before you join their ranks. This isn't like the White Fang of old. I know that we may not be treated right in the world run by humans, but the radical faction of the White Fang that has suddenly shown up, they're dangerous..."
Yet, Gaara waved it off because the concerns were unfounded.
"Do not worry. I am merely going to observe. I have no intentions of joining such a group. I also wish to see if there is anyone there who can serve as a guide through the mountains. You did say that there are plenty of new recruits from this town..."
The old faunus said nothing, only raising his hand to wave uneasily at the stoic boy. He seemed to be perturbed at the unflappable nature of Gaara, and how he brushed off the idea of a budding terrorist organization and an attack by said terrorist organization.
Clearly, there was more to Gaara than met the eye.
The Ichibi Jinchuuriki left the mining town of Potosi after taking in the ruined nature of the area. He was circling back on the route he had taken, back down the dirt road until he got to a fork with a sign posted there. North a mile was to the mining town of Potosi, some ways west was another village, but there was nothing about anything to the east. Just dense forest, it seems.
A perfect place for a terrorist organization to hide out. Sand lapped at his feet as it protected him from thorny bushes and loose branches while he made his way through the thick underbrush.
He pushed a leafy branch out of his face, and when he got a glimpse of red in a clearing not too far away, the ninja concealed himself by appearing on a branch midway through the tree, at a prime angle to look down upon the camp while not being spotted himself.
So, this was the so-called White Fang. The multitude of tents emblazoned with the same insignia seemed to give away that. The head of a big cat with three diagonal claw marks through it.
There were people wandering around. A few of them were congregating around a larger blue tent, and Gaara noticed a key difference. The ones that were congregating were all wearing street clothes, some of them even dressed like something a miner would wear.
Others were wandering around, and those were all in white and black uniforms while wearing masks to conceal their identities. Gaara raised an eyebrow, noting that he appeared to stumbled across a special scene with this organization.
That congregated group based on their dress were likely the miners who defected, as well as an assortment of other characters from elsewhere. They were likely being recruited.
A small whirlwind of sand surrounded Gaara, and within seconds he appeared on the ground in the same whirlwind. Even better, if this was an open recruitment, then he could just blend in with the crowd.
The old man from Potosi had mistook him for one of these faunus because of the rings around his eyes, and when he walked into the camp his theory that he could pass off as one of them was proven correct.
No one batted an eye as he joined the congregation, probably being billed as some kind of late straggler. There were a few others joining as well, and no one raised any suspicions as pre-existing members began to hand out white masks.
He made sure to lock eyes with the bespectacled member who handed him his mask. The White Fang grunt tilted his head to the side in confusion, as if unsure whether to label him as a faunus. Ears, claws, tails, or other appendages were the most common signs of faunus heritage. Eye markings, on the other hand...
No human had those, though, so in the end Gaara passed the unwritten entry test. Matching the rest of the new recruits, he attached it to his face and began mingling around.
One by one, he and the actual faunus were led into the large tent that was set up for the faction meeting. He pushed past the tent flap when it was his turn, and came into contact with a stage set in the back end of the room.
There was a lone faunus set upon the stage, holding a microphone while he seemingly prepared to make a speech. Rather oddly, the one who stood before them was a gangly teen, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old.
His face was concealed by the same mask that Gaara now wore, and his faunus feature was almost completely hidden by the shock of red hair that he had going on. He carried himself with an aggressive yet calm demeanor, watching the crowd file in with a keen eye underneath that mask.
Hushed whispers surrounded Gaara.
"I've heard about him... the prodigy Adam Taurus. He's risen up significantly through the ranks of the White Fang in the last couple years, being a key proponent of militarization. Some say pretty soon that Sienna Khan is going to put him in charge of the Vale branch. He's already a lieutenant..."
Adam cleared his throat, and the hushed whispers slowly reduced to a silence.
"Thank you all for coming. As the first faction meeting in the New White Fang, I'd like to say that I would like you to disregard anything you might hear from the old leadership. The White Fang has long since been an organization that has resolved to improve human-faunus relationships, to be equals out of mutual respect. And yet, look at how our efforts were repaid! The Schnee have lowered wages for faunus workers yet again, and they're not the only ones! Conditions for our brothers and sisters are getting worse, and why should that be? The humans like to think they're taking steps towards equality, but give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Why should your parents, your children, your siblings be dirty and hungry while some spoiled Schnee heiress lives off the fruits of their labor?"
Adam paused in his reverie, satisfied when the crowd was standing rigidly, their jaws stoney.
"Our protest is not cutting it anymore. We try to be kind and they spit in our faces. That is why the White Fang has decided to go in another direction! With your help, we can make a difference. One way or another. We must fight in order to make a difference, so if you believe in the most righteous cause, you will join ranks with the White Fang! Join the fight for equality!"
Much of the crowd raised their hands and cheered, but Gaara held back and just watched silently. It was very aggrandizing, the type of speech necessary to convert people over to their cause.
Adam began talking again, but Gaara tuned out the rest of the speech. Even with him listening, Gaara couldn't help but scoff. What a farce this was, though he wasn't expecting anything different.
He looked up at the stage when there was a lull in the conversation, and noticed for the first time that Adam wasn't alone up there anymore. A young preteen girl with black hair was standing off to the side, watching Adam was he roused the crowd.
Unlike everyone else there, her eyes were uncertain. It was like she believed in their cause, or wanted to believe in the cause he had heard, but something was holding her back fully.
Curious about the girl, Gaara tuned out instructions that were meant to be given to the new recruits. The girl finally noticed the stare on her, and locked her own unmasked eyes with his.
She flinched and turned away, as the crowd shuffled forward.
"Hey, move it!" someone shouted as they bumped into him, his sand not registering it as enough of a threat to spring into action. He didn't acknowledge back, and began to step forward towards the girl, who disappeared behind the curtain when she noticed him walking directly toward her.
"San no Mai..." he mumbled under his breath and shut one of his eyes. Behind the curtain, the eye of sand materialized and caught a flash of movement as the raven-haired girl escaped through the back flap of the tent. Taking a slight detour and ignoring a few protests as he did so, Gaara exited the tent himself with the purpose of cutting off the girl.
After circling around, he found her sitting on crate of supplies placed directly outside the tent, her hands balling up the fabric of her pants as she stared down at her lap.
The cat ears on her head wiggled as he approached, and she turned to meet him with a golden gaze. Gaara discarded the mask, showing her his own raccoon eyes that let him blend in as a faunus.
"Excuse me, may I speak to you for a moment?" Gaara asked.
The girl seemed to withdraw into herself even further, breaking the gaze and staring elsewhere.
"Who are you? Why aren't you with the rest of the new recruits?" she asked. She eyed the gourd strapped to his back, and Gaara could say it wasn't the first time he had gotten strange looks today about that.
"I was less than impressed with that little speech your so-called prodigy gave. From the looks of things, you appeared the same way when you were standing up there."
That would seem to get the girl's hackles raised.
"What would you know about-"
"Only that your organization has become more extreme as of late and recently attacked a mining village under the control of some company called the SDC. I heard the same speech as everyone else, and fail to understand how you all can succumb to such garbage. Can you not think for yourselves?"
She recoiled as if slapped.
"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. We're fighting here to make a difference, to take a stand against ruthless human rule and the rights we deserve!"
"How asinine. You hardly seemed so confident in that yourself while you were standing on that stage. I would actually consider you an improvement since you at least seemed questioning of the change in leadership..."
"Blake! Blake, where are you?"
The girl's ears twitched and swiveled at the voice coming from inside the tent. It was clearly Adam's.
"People did question it, and they left along with the previous leadership. Some went back to Menagerie, but no matter where they went, Adam just said that their dedication to the cause wasn't strong enough." she whispered, even as she tensed up as footsteps slowly grew louder around her and the tent flap opened.
"There you are, Blake. I need you to..." Adam cut himself off when he noticed Gaara for the first time. Now Adam was many things, his friends called him one hell of a fighter and a charismatic leader.
His enemies called him a possessive fuckwit.
And being a possessive fuckwit meant that the lanky teen drew Wilt and Blush as soon as he saw Gaara anywhere near Blake.
"Who the hell are you? Why is a new recruit out here?"
Gaara crossed his arms.
"There is no need to be alarmed. I was merely out here discussing how much of a farce your organization is..." Gaara stated bluntly, staring disdainfully back at the White Fang lieutenant. Blake also got to her feet and stood off to the side uncomfortably.
"A new recruit who was unreceptive to the cause? Or a traitor to the organization who is stuck in the old ways?" Adam asked rhetorically, hand fiddling with Wilt, "Judging from the way you're dressed, probably the former. I'm surprised every time I see a faunus who has cozied up to the humans..." he snarled.
"I am merely a traveler who was passing through Potosi when I saw the White Fang's handiwork. Being a stranger to these lands, I was curious as to what could have happened. I was pointed in this direction if I was curious enough to see the organization for myself first-hand. But now I see that this sham is hardly worth my time. I'm leaving..." Gaara said, dusting his pants off and turning around without a care in the world, exposing his back for Adam.
"Why, you insufferable little human lover..." Adam snarled, weapons drawn as he leapt forward toward the retreating Jinchuuriki.
Naruto and Neptune leaped back over the village wall just before the first Nevermore swooped down on one of the buildings. Catalhöyuk had been in serious danger after just one Nevermore attack. With three of them, who knew if the village would stay standing.
People bunkered down in their homes, though who even knew if that made them safer against such a giant bird. Heads poked out from behind curtains as eyes trained to the skies, watching the bird Grimm with tight tension. The two boys paid no mind to the distress of the village at the moment, clearing through the village grounds and back on the other side, to which the flood of Grimm was steadily rising.
Like clockwork, all the remaining warriors alive had not abandoned the battlefield outside the front of the village. Flidais and Arteshir were among the mix still, and Naruto found the latter almost immediately, his blonde cornrows and hulking body standing out even among the creatures of Grimm.
"Naruto!" Arteshir cried, taking notice of him holding off a massive Ursae with his gauntlets, "What are you doing back here so soon? Weren't you going to hold off the Clover Troupe trying to sneak into the walls?"
"The rest of the Clover Troupe has abandoned their mission. But it looks to me like there's more Grimm than ever! We've got three Nevermore right up there!" he shouted, punching a Beowolf to dust as he and Neptune fell into line.
The Beowolf dissolved into dust just like the rest of its kind would when defeated, but there were plenty more when it came from.
"Yeah... there's no way we'll be able to hold them off much longer!" he said, punching back at the Ursae. Another Grimm stepped between them, but it was riddled with three arrows from Flidais, who was off to the side.
"Who's the kid?" Arteshir asked suspiciously, eying the circus garment. Neptune looked away, but Naruto was there to step in.
"He's from the circus; the others ran away, but he wants to stick around and fight off the Grimm." Naruto said, hoping that Flidais wasn't near enough to hear their conversation, though she was already eying Neptune even more suspiciously.
Arteshir grunted.
"Well, we need all the help we can get at the moment if we want to get through this. But, we're going to talk about this later..." he said, eyes flashing to Flidais who seemed to be too busy at the moment with her battle to notice Naruto's companion.
That topic seemingly brooked, the Ursae at that moment looked up and locked eyes with Naruto. Naruto flinched as the bear monster completely ignored the human closest to it and began rushing Naruto, along with several other Grimm in the vicinity.
Naruto flicked a kunai up to his grasp, cutting down a few Beowolves, before creating a single clone that in tandem tangled with the Ursae with him for a seconds before it too went down.
He was ready for the next wave, but when he looked up both Flidais and Arteshir were looking at him strangely. Flidais in particular had her eye twitched, as well as her hand as it flicked to her bow as she seemed to strongly consider shooting him.
"Y-You! The Grimm are attracted to you!" she roared accusingly, "No wonder they've been showing up in droves ever since you arrived! The Clover Troupe isn't even the biggest threat to our village anymore! We probably could've cleared them out by now if you weren't attracting more and more Grimm to show up!"
The surrounding warriors looked at him incredulously, halting in their battles however unwise that may be in order to hear this new development. Truth be told, they had noticed the increase in Grimm ever since that strange kid had arrived.
"I knew we never should have allowed you into our midst. What even are you? One individual human shouldn't stand out above the rest according to the Grimm."
Naruto felt eyes on him from all side. Piercing, haunting eyes. Accusatory eyes. Eyes that were too much of a reminder... Even in the cacophony of the battle among the roars of Grimm, all seemed to be silent.
"Why didn't you tell us..." Arteshir said, suddenly feeling very concerned as the village chief.
Naruto looked around himself, seeing people all around him giving pointed stares before they had to turn back to whatever Grimm they were fighting. Naruto took a step back. Even Neptune was looking at him concerned, though he seemed less suspicious than the rest of them and stood by him anyway.
For everyone else, it was like all of a sudden there was an emotion disconnect between Naruto and the rest that only Flidais had seemed to share up to that point.
"I... I didn't know. This is all so new to me!" he defended, telling the truth.
Naruto knew so little about the Grimm; how could he have possibly known?
"Cut the crap!" Flidais roared, "How could you have not possibly noticed you're a magnet to Grimm. Wouldn't it have happened when everyone around you had their lives ruined! Would you not have noticed that the places you went to would fall to ruin? And you would bring this upon us?"
"Now, Flidais..." Arteshir said, though he seemed unsure if siding with Naruto would be the right thing to do as a leader of a community. Before Arteshir could get any sort of order back from their predicament, the reality of the battlefield came crashing down upon them one more when a shriek from one of the Nevermore shook the earth, making a few warriors lose balance as it took the room off one of the houses in the village.
It was Arteshir and Arslan's home.
"Chief! Isn't that your house? Isn't Arslan in there?" one of the warriors asked the lion man.
Naruto croaked.
"Arslan? Is she okay?" the boy screamed.
Arteshir's olive eyes became alight with panic.
"Shit!" he roared, rushing past and bowling over anything in his way as he hurried back to the village without a care in the world.
"Hey, Arteshir! Where are you going? You can't leave now! Without you, more Grimm will get within the walls." the same warrior called out, but Arteshir was already long gone.
Naruto steered himself to the side as the village chieftain passed him, not even focused on Naruto as he rushed to get back to his daughter, hitting Neptune in the process as the blue-haired boy skid into the dirt. He breathed out heavily and when the man was gone, he himself broke into a run before a fire arrow impacted where he would have been not a second later if he hadn't halted upon the snap of the bowstring.
"Don't move..." Flidais sneered, her pretty face twisted into a scowl of pure hatred. "I thought you as a displaced circus worker trying to get into our good graces, and for that I thought you earned my hatred. But I can see now... for whatever the reason you bring Grimm, it's clear you are a much greater threat. You cannot be allowed to live."
And we're done here. Revised chapter and quite a different change of events, though no less dramatic.
The God of Pikmin
