AN: RT needs to calm the fuck down. I can not take so many reveals and shit in so few episodes. It's fucking with me man.
Also... HA! I was fucking right about how strong experienced Hunstman could be! You look me in the damn eye and tell me Qrow or Winter wouldn't give most Jounin or other high tier ninja a run for their money! Best part? They weren't even fucking serious! Qrow never even busted out his scythe and Winter never revealed the full extent of what is apparently the fucking Schnee bloodline.
Gonna start calling Volume 3 the "I was fucking right about shit" season.
Also, since the revelation came about regarding the fact that the Schnee family are the only known family that's Semblance is hereditary, I'll say it now. The Schnee are the Uchiha...well their descendants, but it makes sense! I won't go into the details of how I think it works, nor will it really be a huge plot tool or anything. It'll act as another one of those small things that back up my idea that the RWBY-verse is the distant future of the Naruto-verse.
In other RWBY news, the manga looks fucking great. I can't wait to see what happens in that area. That also brings up the game, Grimm Eclipse. So that's three sources of canon (Show, Manga, Game), each apparently with its own storyline and villain...RT...why you do this to me?
I can't make any promises of either of the two's plots making it into this story as both seem to be more akin to filler stuff to help flesh out the world, but I will more than likely be taking from both as they seem to be pretty interesting additions.
I mean c'mon, someone is mutating Grimm? That could be something to have fun with, especially since in my little story Grimm are pure nature chakra constructs.
There were very few questions that couldn't be answered by the story itself, so I'll be skipping the usual C/C/Q thing that I usually do.
The biggest thing though was the pairing. Most seemed content enough to sit back and see where it went, like myself, and others are still cheering for a specific pairing or a harem. I've received butt loads of suggestions from each side and each has a valid reason, hell even the harem has some rather poignant points to it. But like I said, I'm still really unsure and am happy to sit back and let the story decided, in a manner of speaking.
I will say this though, the Dance will be a pivotal moment for the pairing aspect. Whether that means a pairing will be established then or what...well you'll have to wait and see!
...shit...I was trying to cut this AN short...oh well.
Story time!
As the sun began its daily track across the horizon, the chill of a cold night still lingering in the air, the four teens of team NNPR found themselves up and combat ready whilst most of their fellow students were still asleep in their beds.
Of course, seeing as how this was far from being their first time doing so, the teens were wide awake and alert, already used to having to wake up at a time where the sun's light had yet to start warming the earth.
With a great inhale, taking in the crisp air of the early morning, Naruto took a sidelong glance at his teammates, "You guys all good?"
One last check to ensure that they had the necessities as well as a scroll from their captain that housed anything else they may need, creature comfort or otherwise, and the three gave a nod of confirmation.
"It's a simple extermination mission, it shouldn't take so long," Ren stated confidently in his usual tone.
Giggling Nora commented, "Yeah, but you never know with Captain Whiskers! We might run into some super ancient Grimm or have to fight some rogue group of warriors who know about Kurama and want to use him for some nefarious scheme!"
While they each had a good laugh at Nora's over exaggerating, Pyrrha added, "As funny as it is, she isn't wrong."
Hanging his head, Naruto pouted, "One time guys! One time!"
Ren raised a brow, "Really? What about that time we were on a mission to escort some books, but ended up finding a scroll from your time and had to protect it from that group of black market mercenaries?"
"Oh! Oh! Or when we were supposed to retrieve that super rare flower and it ended up being guarded by a whole pack of old Beowulves!" Nora chimed in helpfully.
Smiling sheepishly, Pyrrha put another nail in the proverbial coffin, "There was also that mission we had here in Vale when we got sidetracked stopping one of Roman Torchwick's thefts."
Nora began to laugh when she and the others turned to see their captain sitting cross legged on the floor, a depressed aura around him as he poked at the floor. Worried for the blond, Pyrrha knelt down and attempted to console the downtrodden Jinchūriki whilst Ren simply shook his head at the antics of his friends.
Doing a quick one eighty in attitude, Naruto was back on his feet, grinning, "Well this mission will be different! We go in, get rid of some Grimm, and we're back before lunch time!"
Without a word more, the blond began marching towards the waiting Bullhead, the other three following after their danger magnet of a captain.
Boarding through the side doors, a familiar voice greeted the team, "Hey kiddies! Off on another mission?"
Already familiar with the voice of the man who had become their usual pilot, Naruto threw up a thumbs up, "Yup! Off to exterminate some Grimm that have been causing trouble near the smaller villages."
Chuckling as he ran over the various checks necessary to make sure they wouldn't crash and burn mid flight, the older male called back, "Not gonna find some ancient treasure today?"
Giggling at the jab at her friend, Pyrrha shook her head, "We're hoping we don't today, Nathan."
The now named Nathan laughed as he looked into the back to see a certain blond sitting in a corner looking like someone had kicked his puppy, "Well, let's get going! Hopefully I can get home to the missus and not have some harrowing story about you kids!"
Pulling on the controls, the older male pulled the massive piece of metal into the air with practiced ease. A few seconds later and the Bullhead was speeding above Vale, the rising sun at its back.
From his office at the top of Beacon, Ozpin watched as the vehicle left, carrying four of his students to their next mission.
"So, that was the famous team NNPR?"
Looking to his side, the silver haired Headmaster took a glance at the imposing and well dressed figure that stood to his right before turning his gaze back to the city of Vale, now bathed in the warming rays of a rising sun, "Yes. A group of talented and powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses to be."
Arms folded behind him, the well dressed man made a noncommittal hum, "I see. And the blond, he's the one who supposedly is able to control the very elements themselves?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, a natural born leader. Powerful and experienced beyond his years," Ozpin replied before taking a sip from his ever present mug of coffee.
The man frowned, "I'm sorry, but I saw none of that. It looked like you were deploying a group of children, not a group of trained warriors meant to defend the people of Vale, more so the blond and the orange haired girl. The only redeeming grace of that team is Pyrrha Nikos, as far as I can see."
Already used to the blunt manner in which his guest spoke, Ozpin gave no verbal response, turning around and bringing up the hologram projector that sat at the middle of his office. With a simple button press, a video feed blurred to life.
On it the man watched as the blond he had previously called childish breathed out a stream of flames that coalesced and formed into the monstrous form of a dragon, the "orange haired girl" plowing her hammer into the ground with enough force to crater it and either daze or kill several Grimm at once, finally ending with the group of four taking down the Deathstalker they had encountered during their entrance exam using a plan formed by the whiskered captain.
Before he could form a rebuttal, more clips began to play, this time focused entirely on team NNPR's captain. As well traveled and experienced as he was, the older male was shocked to see the blue eyed teen summon a torrential wave of water, sending it crashing down upon several Grimm. Then played a clip of the same teen creating a vacuum of visible air, the winds roaring at such a speed that they stripped the nearby trees of their foliage. Finally came one of the most shocking and awing displays thus far, the blond wielding a massive ninja star comprised entirely of flames, using it to meet an absolutely massive Nevermore hundreds of feet in the air.
The detonation of the technique shocked even the experienced Huntsman, leaving him wide eyed as flames consumed the sky in a blaze of beauty and raw power.
Ending the series of clips, Ozpin finally replied, "As you can see, young Mr. Uzumaki is extremely capable of leading his teammates and is quite the impressive force on the battlefield. Just because he does not act as such off the field does not discredit his merits, James."
James Ironwood, general of Atlas and its forces, turned his gaze to his longtime friend as he regained his composure, "I...see. I had heard the reports but never thought that he was capable of such feats. Now I can see why your council pushed for them to be put onto active duty."
Ozpin frowned, "Yes, as unfortunate as that is, team NNPR have performed exceptionally well and have a number of missions already under their belt."
Before the two could continue their conversation, the elevator that led to the office opened, revealing an uneasy and somewhat nervous blond teen dressed in all white armor with only a simple sword sheathed at his side, "Uh, sorry to interrupt sir."
Raising a brow at the teen, Ozpin turned to regard Ironwood, recognizing the armor as that of belonging to the Huntsman of Atlas. Seeing the curious gaze, Ironwood answered, "Ah, yes. Ozpin, I'd like to introduce you to my...protege of sorts, Jaune Arc."
"Nora! Let's give 'em some hail!"
Saluting her captain, Nora hefted her hammer up and with a mighty strike, slammed it into the ground, producing a crater a few yards deep while also causing a huge amount of rock shards and gravel to be thrown up into the air.
Her part done, Nora hopped away only for Naruto to flash through a quick sequence of handseals, "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"
The previously airborne chunks of a earth were quickly sucked up into the tunnel of high speed winds, turning them into deadly spikes that pelted the advancing group of Beowulves. Struck by both the force of the winds and earth shards, the Grimm were unable to do more than stand there and be torn to shreds by the combined attack.
As Naruto cancelled the jutsu, leaving a few dozen or so Grimm still standing, barely, Ren and Pyrrha appeared at his side and began to unload a hail of gunfire, picking off the stragglers.
Between Pyrrha's eagle eye like accuracy and Ren's rapid fire SMG's, the two made quick work of the leftovers. The team of four calmly surveyed the quickly fading bodies of the Grimm, looking for any that could have possibly escaped the two widespread attacks, as unlikely as it was.
Tossing his hands behind his head, Naruto grinned and began to march back towards the village that had requested the mission, "Well, I'd say that's a job well done!"
The other three members made to follow their captain, amused at his laid back attitude, only to pause as they felt the ground beneath them begin to shift in an almost imperceptible manner. Looking at each other to confirm what they had just felt, they shrugged when, after a few seconds, nothing else happened, dismissing it as so,etching they had imagined.
As they attempted to take a step yet again, Pyrrha's eyes widened as she saw the ground begin to bulge and rise just underneath the feet of their whiskered teammate, "Naruto!"
Looking underneath him, the blond Jinchūriki had to hold back from using every curse word he knew as the gaping maw of a massive snake like Grimm emerged from the ground.
"NOT AGAIN DA-," was all Naruto could get out before he was swallowed whole by the King Taijitu.
Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha could only stare in shock, unable to comprehend the fact that they had just watched their captain be consumed by a Grimm as easily as one would swallow a pill.
The Taijitu turning its burning gaze on them, licking its lips in a display of hunger, snapped the teens out of it, forcing them to prepare themselves to fight off the beast that had just claimed the life of their blond friend and teammate not even a few seconds ago.
The massive slithering creature made to lunge at them, ready to eat them as easily as it had Naruto, only for it to stop midway, a look of pain and irritation suddenly etched on its face. The teens began to back up slowly as the Grimm coughed up a cloud of black smoke, looking quite uncomfortable.
To the remaining members of team NNPR's surprise, a familiar blade pierced through the body of the King Taijitu, shining with gore. In a vicious display of brutality, the blade cut a bloody swath around the circumference of the snake Grimm, lopping it in half.
Standing amidst a pile of fluids and gore, still holding the blade of Hi no Ishi in one hand, and panting in what looked to be frustration, Naruto glared at the remains of the fading Taijitu, "I...really...REALLY...hate snakes."
The uproarious laughter of a certain busty blonde rang throughout the cafeteria as she and the rest of team RWBY listened to Nora excitedly detail their latest mission, putting a lot of focus on the fact that Naruto had briefly been on his way to becoming the appetizer for a hungry Grimm.
Said whiskered teen angrily poked at his tray of food as the story was told.
"Ew. That is just revolting," Weiss gagged out, not at all pleased with the imagery.
Blake, knowing of Naruto's less than stellar luck when it came to missions, shook her head and asked, "What did you mean by again?"
Not having caught that detail before, the group of friends turned to the Jinchūriki in curiosity. Knowing there was no way he could escape the curiosity of not just Blake, but Yang, Pyrrha, and Ruby, Naruto sighed as he began to explain the beginning of his path to the dislike of anything remotely serpentine.
"Every few years or so, something called the Chunin Exams would happen. While most thought of it as a way to test a village's Genin to see if they were ready for the responsibility of being a Chunin, it was apparently a substitute for war. It was where each village would send the best of the best of their Genin teams to show off the strengths of its shinobi so they could earn more clients as well as warn the other villages. As far as I know, it was supposed to be three trials that tested us on what the village hosting it thought were important for being a Chunin with the last event being a tournament with all of the Kage, Daimyo, and nobles attending." Not really having paid enough attention during his time to know the full history of the exams, Naruto waved his hand nonchalantly, "Anyways, when it came time for Konoha to host it, my sensei nominated me and my teammates to participate. The first test was some stupid written exam where the whole point was to cheat and not get caught. The second part took place in this creepy forest code named Training Ground Forty Four, or The Forest of Death."
The rest of the group, who had been listening in rapt attention, pulled back at hearing the name of the training ground. There was no way a village run by trained assassins would call a training area the Forest of Death without damn good reason.
"...well...that's not ominous at all," Ruby nervously chuckled.
"Yeah, your home village really knows how to name 'em," Yang added.
Out of sheer curiosity, Ren asked, "Why exactly was it called the Forest of Death?"
Scratching his head, Naruto sheepishly admitted, "I actually don't know."
Sweat drops all around.
The blond was quick to add, "But it might have had to do with the fact that it was full of man eating plants bigger than most trees, tigers twice the size of normal ones, and bears as big and scary as any Ursa Major. Or the flesh eating leeches the size of dogs. Or the poisonous plants that took up most of the area. Or-"
"Ok, ok, we get it! There was a good reason it was called the Forest of Death!" Weiss shouted, shivering in fear at the idea of such a place existing.
Seeing the horrified, disgusted, and uncomfortable looks on everyone's faces, Naruto decided to move on, "Well the objective of the test was to gather two scrolls, one you were given at the start and the other you had to take from an enemy team and deliver to the tower at the middle of the forest. We had five days to do that. It would have gone ok if not even an hour into the test I was separated from my team by some wind jutsu. Next thing I know is I'm coming to in the middle of nowhere. Turn around and bam!...I'm in the stomach of some asshole snake."
"...pft...w-what?" Yang asked, trying her hardest to not break down into a fit of side aching laughter.
"Ewwww," Ruby said aloud, voicing what most of them were thinking.
Palm to face, Blake asked, "I don't want to know, but how in the world did you get out?"
It was only then that Naruto began to grin cheekily, "Simple, I made so many clones that the scaled bastard exploded!"
"...ewwwwwwwwww," the black and red haired leader of team RWBY voiced, sticking her tongue out in disgust.
"I have to agree with Ruby, that is beyond disgusting," Weiss said, looking a little green in the face.
"Aww, I love you too partner!" The youngest of group proclaimed, attempting to pounce on the opportunity to grow closer to the frigid heiress.
"No," was Weiss' cold rejection.
Ignoring the usual banter between the two, Ren shook his head, "So these exams were a normal occurrence?"
Naruto shrugged casually, not as thrown off by the idea of throwing a bunch of adolescents into a kill or be killed test that tested the limits of their mental fortitude all for the glory and pride of a village, "Yup."
"Your time really was insane Foxy," Yang spoke up.
Having lived through it, Naruto shrugged again, "Not really. I mean me and my teammates had only been together for a few months when we participated and we came out alive."
"A few months!?" Weiss questioned, knowing that Naruto's old team hadn't been the most functional.
Worry etched onto her features, Pyrrha added, "How could your sensei have thought that was a good idea? I understand it was a different time, but to throw you into such a dangerous exam with so little preparation seems irresponsible."
Instead of being offended, Naruto chuckled, "That's a pretty spot on description of Kakashi-sensei. He taught me a lot and was always dependable and a powerful ninja, but he wasn't exactly the best role model. Used to go around reading this porn book called Icha Icha Paradise."
Blushing at the memory of when he had told of her what the book was, Blake questioned, "Isn't that the series your godfather wrote?"
Having forgot that he had told the raven haired teen that little tidbit, Naruto began to blush, "Heh. Yeah, Ero-Sennin was the one who wrote the Icha Icha series."
"Wait, so your sensei was super into reading some...adult books that your godfather was responsible for writing?" Ruby asked, a blush staining her own cheeks now.
Hanging his head in shame, the student of two perverts could only nod his head.
The table erupted into laughs at the expense of the blond Uzumaki.
"Jeez Whiskers, trained by two huge perverts? I don't know if I feel safe around you anymore," Yang teased.
"I'm not a pervert!" Naruto huffed impudently.
Wrapping her arms around her fellow blond in such a way that his face ended up dangerously close to her chest, Yang continued, "Don't worry, even if Blake and Pyrrha turn you away because of you being a perv, you'll always have me!"
Being so close to the source of many leering eyes, Naruto could nothing but sputter and blush heavily, unable to form a coherent thought.
"Ew, Yang! Do that stuff when we're not in public!" Weiss called out, turning her head away.
"My eyes!" Ruby cried out.
Ren was meanwhile trying his hardest to hold back a struggling Nora, "No! We can't let her ruin the shipping! We still don't have a name for it yet!"
Blushing at the implication, Pyrrha questioned her teammate, "What do you mean shipping?"
Nora turned to regard the redhead as if she was explaining the most obvious thing in the world, "You and Naruto as a couple, duh! All the cutest couples have one. Now help me stop Yang! You have to defend your man!"
By this point Pyrrha's normally fair cheeks were close to matching her hair, "W-What? He's not...we're not..."
"You know, I feel like Blake would be better suited for him," Weiss added suddenly, surprising everyone.
Now it was Blake's turn to blush, "H-Huh!?"
The Schnee heiress leaned back and folded her arms, "Well it's like they say 'Opposites attract' right? Besides, Blake might actually be able calm him down."
Before any of the involved parties could get a word in, Ruby decided to throw her own two cents in, "Opposites may attract, but I think Yang and Naruto are like two peas in a pod!"
As the group of teens descended into a debate over the love affairs of their friends Naruto couldn't help but to wonder, 'Who would I choose?'
"Hey look who it is, my favorite customer!" A grinning Geoff greeted from behind the counter of the AH store. Seeing a familiar red cloaked teen following close behind, the tattooed store owner added, "And you brought the weapon nut too!"
"Don't be mean to the customers!" A female voice admonished playfully.
Laughing at the pair, Naruto greeted the couple, "Hey Geoff. Hey Griffon. How's Millie?"
Standing to the right of the mustached Achievement Hunter was his equally tattooed and beautiful wife, Griffon. Naruto had met the woman on one of his many trips to the weapons store and had been impressed by how easily she matched the antics and overall madness that was the group of man children that was Achievement Hunter.
Geoff grinned, "Probably kicking Gavin's ass right about now."
Rolling her eyes at her husband, Griffon asked, "So what brings you two here today. Another shopping spree?"
Blushing in embarrassment at the amount of money she had been spent the last time she was at the store, Ruby kicked at the ground with her boots, "No."
Shaking his head, Naruto reached into his jacket to bring out a simple scroll that he tossed to Geoff, "The usual delivery of sealing scrolls and exploding tags."
Stowing it underneath the counter for later, the head of the AH crew sighed, "Ya know, I thought those slips of yours would be selling like hot cakes, but everyone seems to have taken a shine to the scrolls instead."
Ruby interjected, "Well it does kind of make sense, after all most of us use Dust if we need a little more firepower and Naruto is the only one who knows how to use them with his kunai."
The blond former shinobi shrugged, "She's right. Besides, I hardly use them myself these days. I've been using Hi no Ishi a lot more, especially now that it has some really nasty long range uses."
Griffon nodded, "Yeah, I remember seeing Gavin having a field day modding that weapon of yours."
"You still haven't told me what it is that they did to it!" Ruby cried out indignantly.
Chuckling, Naruto decided to take pity on the weapons enthusiast, "You know how I can use Hi no Ishi to cast some jutsu?"
Remembering the first time she had seen the blond use the staff back during their entrance exam, the silver eyed teen nodded.
"Well that's because I originally made it in a way that I could funnel my chakra through it. I don't know exactly how, Kurama said something about chakra treating the metal, but anyways I just had Gavin carve out a spiral groove inside the staff part that hides the blade. By pushing chakra down the blade, the grooves form the chakra into a bullet and give it the spin like the barrel of any gun."
The proverbial light finally clicked in Ruby's head, "I get it! Instead of using some form of combustion that most of our weapons use, yours is completely dependent on the force and amount of power you put into it! You can custom make your own shells and even make them non-lethal by choice."
"Yeah, Ryan was going on and on about how ingenious the science behind it is or some crap. Kept saying your weird Semblance was so amazing," Geoff casually waved off.
Ruby was all too happy to agree, "It is though! Naruto has huge amounts of energy to use so he has a near endless supply of bullets that he can easily change to fit his need! Plus the bonus that he never has to actually reload his gun! Then there's the fact that since he can turn his energy into the elements, he could do the same with his shells! The possibilities are endless!"
Naruto, Geoff, and even Griffon began to sweatdrop as the young teen's eyes turned into stars and drool began to flow from her her mouth like a fountain.
"Hey, I just mopped the floor!" Geoff protested.
With a blush Ruby reclaimed her senses and sheepishly apologized.
"So what's going on with you and Cinder? I didn't know you were into older women Naruto," Griffon teased.
"Goddamnit Michael! Stop telling everybody that I like Cinder!" Naruto shouted out, a blush on his cheeks.
The only response he got was the signature uproarious laughter of said AH member coming from the back room of the shop.
"You like Cinder!?" Ruby asked, looking equal parts shocked and disappointed. While Naruto tried to vehemently deny that, the younger teen had lost herself in her own imagination, "But then you'll never date Yang and we'll never be brother and sister! It would have been perfect!"
"Oh ho, so blondie's trying to play the field, eh?" Geoff asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"No wonder you wear all those rings!" Griffon accused, joining in on the teasing.
At this point, with everyone either laughing at him or trying to pair him up with someone, Naruto could do little more than bang his head on the counter top.
'Why me?'
While he wasn't exactly happy about it, Naruto knew he was a danger magnet. He knew that, for whatever reason, he would eventually find himself tangled up in some kind of grand mess, whether he liked it or not.
That said, he found himself quite happy with his life here in Remnant. Sure he missed his precious people, dearly so, but thanks to the new bonds he had formed with his own teammates and the girls of team RWBY, the grief and sadness was slowly being healed. Besides that, he knew for a fact that none of his precious people from his time would have wanted him to sit on his ass and sulk, that was Sasuke's thing after all.
Even more to the point, despite having been in Remnant for a year and some months now, he could still vividly remember the look on Kakashi's masked face and his words as the Jounin performed his Kamui.
"You've done so much for us, now it's time we do for you. Go, live your life, the life you never got to. Be happy. Find people who will love you and never stop being you. Minato-sensei and Kushina-chan would be proud of who you've grown to be, I know I am."
Even with blood pouring from his body, his implanted Sharingan eye spinning madly as he used it to perform its signature Jikūkan Ninjutsu (Space-Time Ninja Technique), the silver haired leader of Team 7 had managed to pull off that eye-smile of his.
All that in mind, Naruto would be damned if he let everyone from his time down by wallowing in self loathing. Just wasn't his thing.
However, staring down at the item laid out atop Professor Ozpin's desk, the blond couldn't help but feel his heart tighten, his cerulean orbs misting over as a myriad of memories hit him at once.
Sat opposite to his headmaster, and a man whom he learned was the general of the kingdom of Atlas, the blond Jinchūriki could feel his heart racing as his eyes traced every detail of the item, trying as hard as he could to find any discrepancy that could point towards this all being fake.
Deep down though, he knew there would be no such thing. There was no denying it.
Laid flat out on Ozpin's desk was a tattered piece of cloth. Attached to the torn and clearly ancient piece of fabric was a metal plate bearing a symbol Naruto was all too familiar with. After all, it was a symbol he had proudly worn since he was a child, a symbol that, to him, meant home and so much more. A symbol he had thought he would never see again after being sent centuries into the future.
Cerulean eyes gazed forlornly at the hitai-ate (Forehead Protector) emblazoned with the symbol of his home, Konohagakure. Despite the many cracks, dings, and layers of rust that covered it, Naruto was easily able to make out the familiar leaf with ease.
"What...what is this Professor Ozpin?" Naruto barely managed to choke out, near drowning in memories.
Staring into the hazy eyes of his student, Ozpin explained, "It is a relic that General Ironwood came across during his travels and has since kept. Seeing as how you wear one not too unlike it, I found it pertinent to ask you if you had any knowledge about what it was specifically."
It was at this point that the Atlas leader spoke up, "I happened upon it during my younger years on a mission here in Vale actually. Despite the difficulty of the mission, my team and I managed to complete it without undue damage and so I've kept it as something of a lucky charm. However you seem to be much more knowledgeable about its purpose."
Despite knowing that the two Huntsmen were doing this not out of a curiosity for the item, but in a bid to try and have him divulge more of his secrets, Naruto was hard pressed and much too distracted to lie, "They're called hitai-ate, or forehead protectors. While they were meant to do that, their most important function was to serve as a kind of ID."
Raising a brow, Ozpin folded his hands in front of his face and leaned forward, "An ID? How so?"
Snapping out of his reverie and turning to match the steely gaze of Ironwood as well as the curious one of Ozpin, Naruto came up with the best cover he could, "From what I learned from my mom's diary, the ancient villages used them as a way to signify who you allied with, which village you would live and die for."
Ironwood seemed unimpressed, "A rather simple and easily fooled system, no? After all, wouldn't it be easy to simply don an enemies headband and infiltrate their village?"
Naruto shrugged, "People held more pride for their village and home than that. Even those who abandoned their villages still wore their headband, scratching it out to show that they had literally cut ties with their home."
Narrowing his eyes, James stepped up and continued, "And how exactly did your mother know this? How did you get your hands on one? To my knowledge, very few of these items even exist, most of them on display in museums."
Seeing where the man was attempting to go with his questioning, Naruto narrowed his eyes and defiantly stared the general down, "My family took care to tell the children stories of that time. Even when our numbers dwindled down, the stories were still told, my mom just happened to write them down." Turning his gaze elsewhere, the blond continued, "As for this headband, I found it amongst the ruins of Uzushio and seeing as I'm the last of my clan, I took it and now wear it as a way to show my pride in my name."
Knowing how his friend was, and seeing the anger at being disrespected by someone he viewed as below him, Ozpin interrupted, "Yes, well. The main reason we've showed you this is because we want to see if we can find anymore artifacts such as these where General Ironwood found his. In light of that, we're organizing another expedition with you and your team again."
Gritting his teeth at how the man had claimed something he had no right to, a headband that had to be earned, not found and taken, Naruto decided to bite the proverbial bullet and nodded his head, "When do we depart?"
Seeing the anger in the young teen's eyes, Ozpin raised a brow but nonetheless answered, "Two days from now. Professors Panathenaia and Oobleck will be accompanying you again as well."
Ironwood jumped in, "And I will be sending one of my own as well. If anything is found, it could be beneficial for all the kingdoms."
Clenching his fists, Naruto silently nodding his head before rising from his seat. Without a word more or a look back, the Uzumaki Jinchūriki took the elevator from Ozpin's office.
"Disrespectful, emotional, and far too volatile. On top of that, he lied straight to our faces! How could you simply let him go Ozpin? How could you possibly think it's a good idea to keep him around?" Ironwood questioned.
Still staring at the spot the aforementioned teen had sat, Ozpin waited a moment, composing his thoughts before turning to observe the city of Vale bathed in the beautiful hues of a setting sun. After a few minutes, the bespectacled headmaster answered, "That is all true and it is because of those same reasons that I 'keep him around'. Naruto Uzumaki is...different. He is like his namesake, a force of nature and an unyielding entity that leaves nothing as it was. He will bring change to these times and with those in the shadows moving more and more each day, he will be a key player in the coming days."
Deep in the Emerald Forest, the sounds of wood being snapped and broken echoed throughout the otherwise eerily silent forest.
With a snap of his arm, Naruto caused the trunk of yet another tree to explode in a shower of splinters and wood chips, taking out a huge chunk of the tree's body in the process. Looking around, one would find the other trees in the clearing in a similar state, barely standing with only a sliver of their trunk keeping them up.
Those younger and thinner trees were not so lucky, felled by a single enraged fist and now laid out on the floor of the forest.
The critters that roamed the forest and called it home were nowhere to be found, having vacated the area, staying as far away as possible with their instincts telling them that something dangerous had entered their home. Even the Grimm, creatures naturally drawn to feelings of negativity, felt it prudent to keep their distance, the feeling of something hanging thick in the air like a dense fog being enough to keep them wary.
With a roar of anger, another tree was snapped in half, falling to the ground with a loud thud that reverberated throughout the area.
"I'm surprised you haven't attracted a horde of Grimm to you yet," a smoky voice commented from the shadows.
Rising to his full height and brushing off the wood chips and splinters from his jacket, Naruto regained some sense of himself and replied, "They're scared. They can feel the chakra I'm using and they know I'm stronger than them."
Sauntering out of the shadows, Cinder admired the sight of a ragged Naruto. His hands still clenched into fists, his blond mane even more wild than was normal, and a hint of crimson bleeding into his sapphires gave him the appearance of a beast on the edge, only a step away from unleashing hell on those dumb enough to have incurred his wrath.
It was enticing to her.
"My, my, someone's cocky," the amber eyed woman commented.
Naruto huffed, "You and I both know what I can do and I'm sure Torchwick told you all about the incident on the dock."
Cinder only smirked, "Indeed. Taking down two fully armored Bullheads in a few seconds? And with arms made entirely out of chakra? You Jinchūriki truly are forces to be reckoned with."
A frown marred Naruto's whiskered cheeks, not liking the reference to the fact that he and his brothers and sisters had been born and made into weapons of war without their consent. Sure his mother and father had sealed Kurama into him in the hopes that he would use the power being a Bijū container granted him for good, but that wasn't how others viewed them.
Jinchūriki were not human, merely tools to be wielded by their Kage, a sword and shield against their enemies. Despite his close bond to Sarutobi-jiji, Naruto knew that, had an event arose in which he was needed, the Third would have been forced to use him as such.
"What do you want Cinder?" Naruto snarled, his already poor mood soured by those thoughts.
Knowing she would have to tread carefully lest she ignite the flames of the teen's fury and the Bijū he contained, the femme fatale frowned, "I heard that you and your tea, are being sent on a mission to find more artifacts from the time of your ancestors."
In a moment of clarity, Naruto remembered a rather important detail, 'I never told her that I'm actually from that time! She thinks that I'm just a descendant of the old shinobi or something.' Deciding that it was best the grand schemer continued to believe that to be the case, the former shinobi raised a brow, "And?"
"I also know that Ironwood is sending one of his lackeys to keep an eye on you," Cinder continued.
"So? It's not like whoever it is will cause any problems for me," Naruto confidently stated.
Sauntering closer, the raven haired beauty raked a nail across the former shinobi's cheek, tracing one of his whisker marks, "I can help. I could...pull some strings and send Neo or Emerald with you and have them keep whoever it is off your back and let you do some real exploring."
Despite the pleasurable shiver running down his spine, Naruto had been trained well enough to be a little wary of the woman despite knowing her ultimate goal, "And what would you want out of it?"
Smirking as she stared into the striking blue eyes of the taller teen, Cinder replied, "Nothing too outlandish, just the answers to some questions I've had concerning your ancestors."
Naruto may not have had the years of experience that his mentors had, or even the few years that Cinder had on him, but even he could tell that there was something off about the situation. Cinder was many things, and none of them entailed her being so simple. She had webs upon interlocking webs spun around her.
She may have told him more about her end goal than she had most anybody else, but there was no way she would want something as simple as a few questions answered. There had to be more to it.
"That's it? No favors? No asking me to steal some powerful tool or something?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
Cinder only offered a smile, "No. Just some answers is all. So, do you accept?"
Still leery of the deal coming back to bite him in the ass, the blond Huntsman-In-Training frowned but nodded his head, "Fine, but I'd like Neo. She may creep me out, but that's better than Emerald's crappy attitude."
Cinder said nothing about the jab at one of her underlings, shrugging instead, "Neo will be happy to hear that. You two have been getting along well."
Recalling the rash of pranks the two had been pulling as of late, Naruto sheepishly began to chuckle, "Yeah, you could say that."
With a smirk, Cinder turned to leave, that ever present sway of her hips attracting even Naruto's gaze. Before she fully passed into the shadows of the darkened forest, the amber eyed woman turned her head, "Oh, by the way, that Faunus girl is looking for you."
Without a word more, Cinder was gone.
Scratching his head in puzzlement, Naruto questioned that last tidbit, "Blake's looking for me? How did Cinder know that?"
"Nothing is quite right about that woman," interrupted a familiar gruff voice.
Turning to regard his Bijū partner who was situated amidst the branches of a nearby tree, Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I know. Here's just something...off about her."
Switching his crimson gaze from where Cinder had left, Kurama stared at his container, "And yet you still took that deal with her."
Clenching his fists, Naruto growled out, "I didn't have a choice. Wherever Ironwood found that headband has to have some clues about what happened to Konoha or where it could be now and I wouldn't be able to do anything with his lackey breathing down my neck."
"Need I remind you that you are capable of making corporeal copies of yourself that can freely interact with the world, and hundreds of them at that. Not only that, you have the ability to change your appearance at will," Kurama bit back.
"But what about trying to keep all this a secret?" Naruto challenged.
The Kyūbi scoffed, "Did you really think that would last long? I'm honestly surprised you've made it this far without shouting it to the heavens."
Naruto growled in response, "Oi! What's that supposed to mean you furry asshole!"
Kurama smirked, "Please, you were never good at keeping a low profile. You stuck out like a sore thumb in our time and you do even more now in this day and age."
"Hey! I'm damn good at being stealthy when I need to!" The blond Jinchūriki protested.
The Kitsune like chakra monster waved a paw dismissively, "I wasn't talking about that. Loathe as I am to admit it, stealth is probably one of your strongest points. However keeping your head down and not getting involved into every shit storm that comes your way is not your forte."
Naruto grumbled, "Not my fault trouble finds me."
Chuckling at the misfortune of his container, Kurama hopped down from his perch, "Besides, you've already used Sennin Mōdo in front of two professors, spammed Kage Bunshin in areas where Ozpin can see, used my chakra in public, you're selling Sealing Scrolls and Explosive Tags to the public, and still keep throwing jutsu out like they're going out of style. Face it, it's a little late to try and keep it all under wraps."
Throwing his hands behind his head, Naruto raised a brow, "So, what? Should I just tell Ozpin what he wants to know? Go around calling myself a Shinobi Huntsman?"
Kurama snorted, "Don't be an idiot. That woman has given you an even better lie than the one we had before. Use it to your advantage. After all, the ones who need to know, know already. Keep it like that."
Casually waltzing through the Emerald Forest, unafraid of the dangers that called it home, Naruto smiled, "What would I have done without you fuzz butt?"
"Probably still be running around wearing that kill-me-orange jumpsuit and using only two techniques over and over again," the Bijū snarked.
Naruto winced, "Was I really that bad?"
"Worse."
AN: Wanted to get this out before Volume 3 came back from its brief little break so I didn't try and do too much. There was a lot of setup for the next little arc that will hopefully span a few chapters and lengthen the kind of short run of Volume 2.
And yes I know, most of these last few chapters have been very filler/slice of life stuff, but gotta get that setup ready for the arcs and story. Rest assured, everything will be picking back up again.
The whole Painting the Town Red thing WILL happen as will the other big events of Volume 2, but I wanted to lengthen it out so it gives me more world to build and puts even more distance between this and the official release.
Speaking of the official release...Jesus. H. Christ. No. Fuck you RT. YOU CANT DO THAT TO YANG. AND WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THE WHOLE FAIRY TALE SHIT. WHAT IS THIS, HARRY POTTER!?
"Oh yeah, that old fairy tale that you were told as a kid? Yeah that shits real and we need your help."
ARGH.
Volume 3 has got me all fucked up. If anyone wants to discuss it and the many theories running around, feel free to pm me.
And yes, if you're ever wondering if I see the new episodes, I'm an RT sponsor so I see that shit as soon as it's released. I'm all kinds of giddy for the new episode this weekend.
What I'm wondering though is where the fuck is Adam? They made a whole deal at the end of Vol. 2 to show him and he and the White Fang have this whole thing in the Vol. 3 opening, so what's going on with that? Bah. So many things.
Hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, whatever the fuck you celebrate. Happy (early) New Years and all that junk.
Jeez, can't believe I've been doing this for going on three years. Shits crazy.
Until next chapter,
PEACE
OUT.
WAIT. JUST SAW THE PREVIEW FOR CHAPTER 7 LITERALLY RIGHT NOW. FLASHBACK EPISODE. OH FUCK. NO. NO. SHIT. SHIT ALL OVER MY DICK. DAMNIT RT. GOD DAMNIT.