AN: Ya know, I was pretty concerned about how my decision to bring in Hagoromo would go over with you all. Like, I was genuinely worried it would be too far out of left field or too much Naruto for you all.

I was clearly very wrong.

In fact, A LOT of you were actually pretty happy to have the Sage come in.

That said, there was a slew of questions that followed so let's get to em.

Questions/Comments/Concerns

Q: Is Naruto not getting his Six Paths Sage Mode?

A: Honestly? Probably not. Logically speaking, Hagoromo was the one who gave that power to Naruto and as previously stated, since the Rikudō was something akin to a mere echo of his true self, his actual soul presumably having gone onto the Pure Land (Shinobi world Afterlife), he would not have been able to gift him with said powers.

Speaking as the author, I've already said that Naruto being a Jinchūriki, even without full merge, is outlandishly stronger than most of what we've seen from Remnant, possibly bar the Maidens, that Old Guy, and Salem...possibly. So to give him the power that could well rival that of a god, it'd be unfair. I doubt RWBY will ever reach planet buster levels, and that's what Naruto becomes.

HOWEVER, there is a power up I will give him...somewhat. Refer back to what was said last chapter.

Q/C/C: my whole wanting Cinder to be an anti hero theory thing.

A: I admit, this is more of my own theory and my wanting this to be the case. I WANT Cinder and Salem to have some motive aside from "DEATH TO HOOMANS." I want it because I have faith that Monty, having apparently laid out the foundations for NINE volumes of this, wouldn't resort to such a simple and cliché theme.

Monty had shit planned since day one. Having recently rewatched RWBY, there was so much foreshadowing regarding Pyrrha, Ruby and her silver eyes (First episode Ozpin literally says "You have silver eyes"!), and EVERYTHING. Monty did not do anything without a reason. Kudos to Miles and Kerry for keeping it going, but I wouldn't doubt they're just adding the flesh to the already meaty skeleton Monty had written out.

Will Cinder end up with Naruto? At this point, she's like 98% likely out of the running, Yang having taken her spot.

But, we'll have to see what Monty, Miles, and Kerry have planned for us with the series.

On another note, Dissenter, my bad, didn't mean to outright ignore your review like that. I did read it, like I do all of them, but I also have terrible memory. Anyways, reread it and while your theory on the pairing has some merit, you're not the first to point it out. I have said before, the pairing isn't at the forefront of my writing process, I'm just sort of letting it happen as it happens. If you wanna talk more about it, feel free to pm me!

Also to Kaijukage, I really don't have a problem with Penny. My best friend is an ardent fan of her and Nora, but I'm just really kind of...eh to her. I never meant to make it seem like Naruto was disgusted by Penny, more put off and, looking back, I'd say that came across well enough. Kurama seemed somewhat more disgusted, but Naruto was more apathetic and interested in why Penny seemed off to him.

Anyways!

This will be the conclusion of my little Konoha arc, so let's get to it!

"You know, seeing as how this is a forest and all, I don't get how your ancestor thought his hint was helpful," Ren remarked tiredly.

And rightly so. The now joined up team NNPR had spent the better part of their morning scouring the wilds in search of Konoha with no more success than they had in previous days.

Luckily for them, they were able to wander around in relative peace thanks to the others of their group being otherwise occupied.

Jaune had been tasked with helping some of the local farmers with their crops and such while the professors were attempting to narrow the search area by investigating local rumors and such. Meanwhile, Neo had been put on guard duty with Aria, something that was clearly not as enjoyable for the shorter of the two as it was for the elder Huntress.

"Well it kind of is. The forests around Konoha were a lot more dense than this, and we had plenty of waterfalls and stuff around," Naruto explained, though a hint of frustration was beginning to creep into his voice.

Pyrrha frowned worriedly, deciding to voice her own concerns, "But Naruto, that was during your time. A lot has happened between then and now, there's no way the terrain could be the same as it was."

Sighing, Naruto agreed, "I know, but there has to be a reason the old Sage said that. He wouldn't just throw it out there for no reason."

Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Pyrrha offered what comfort she could, "And you're right about that. From what you've said, he doesn't seem like the type of person to just casually throw something like that out there for no reason. We'll figure it out, together."

Smiling warmly at the redhead, Naruto nodded, "Yeah, you're right Pyrrha-chan."

"What if the hint means that the trees are supposed to tell us where to go?" Nora suddenly asked out of the blue.

Naruto seemed ready to turn down the idea, when suddenly, something hit him, "Kurama? Old Man Sage knew I could use Senjutsu right?"

The Bijū frowned in thought, "More than likely. He was a Sage himself and I have no doubt that even his echo, with as limited of an awareness as it had, would still be more than capable of sensing such a thing. Plus, you are of his blood, it'd be expected of you."

Frowning in thought, Naruto decided to follow his hunch. Placing a hand on a nearby tree, the blond Uzumaki closed his eyes, and became eerily still.

At first, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha were content and curious enough to simply watch and wonder what their captain was doing. However, when his breathing seemed to all but come to a stop, coming in nearly imperceptible shifts, they began to grow slightly worried.

They'd seen Naruto meditate before, he did it often enough to properly control the apparently massive reserves of chakra he had, but they had never seen him so at peace and so still. If he wasn't still standing, they might've begun to worry that he'd died.

Suddenly, without any sort of warning, Naruto was gone in a blur of motion, almost literally disappearing in the blink of an eye. Caught completely off guard by the burst of speed, the rest of team NNPR could only stand and stare in shock.

"Knew he would do something dumb like this," Kurama groused. Stretching, the Kyūbi turned his crimson gaze to the teens and nodded his head in the direction Naruto had gone in, "Try and keep up."

Shaking off their stupor, the teens broke into a dead sprint, trailing behind the speedy little Bijū in disguise.

For a few grueling minutes, the three teens were yet again forced to test the limits of their speed and stamina, Kurama, despite his small size, easily keeping ahead of them with zero effort despite their best efforts to catch up.

Trees, boulders, small bodies of water, and even Grimm were sped past as the group of four traversed the wilds of uncharted land, following after the trail of their blond captain. With Naruto being their main concern, the three were oblivious to how much ground they were covering and how far into the forests they were heading.

Thankfully for them, they eventually spotted the bright sunny blond locks of their captain, said blond seated atop what looked to be some sort of stone surface. Pushing that thought to the back of their mind, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha rushed to join Naruto.

None of them were prepared for what lay before them.

As the three set foot on the same stone surface that Naruto was seated on, they found themselves at a loss for words.

Stretching far out below them were the dilapidated buildings, vine covered monuments, and remains of what could only be the home of their friend, Konohagakure no Sato, the famed Village Hidden in the Leaves.

As devastated as Uzushio was, it had been preserved thanks to its isolated location as well as the numerous barriers and such that kept it safe.

Konoha was not so lucky.

The shifting of the land as well as the grips of time and age had devastated the once great Shinobi village. Where once stood homes and shops were now great trees of a verdant green. Towering warehouses and such were split in twine by the very earth itself. At the heart of the village a once great tower stood, now covered in sprouting trees and vines, chunks of the structure missing, exposing its insides to the elements.

Even with Nature having moved to bring Konoha back into its fold, it was painful to see that not all of the damage done to the village had been wrought by the hand of time and the elements. Millennia had passed and, even then, it was easy to see that a great battle had scarred not just the village, but the very earth itself.

Patches of land where not a single piece of greenery grew, where only barren earth and rubble lay. Something, or more accurately, someone had brought true devastation down upon Konoha and her people.

It was an odd mixture of beauty and horror, a vestige of the past, no doubt capable of revealing a great many secrets or yielding years of historical knowledge and such. And yet it was also a grave reminder of just what that time in human history had been like.

Uzushio had been destroyed long before Naruto was even born, making it that much harder to grasp the pain and strife that were the end result of its siege.

Konoha, however, was ground zero for what was almost the apocalypse, the great blank spot in Remnant's history books, the near end of humanity, and the very real end of the shinobi, a people who had been gifted with a power that allowed them to defy the very laws of nature and do the impossible.

Most importantly though, Konoha was Naruto's home. He had been born in this very village. He had made friendships and even deeper bonds of love within the walls of this place. The teachings of Konoha and its Hokage had been so ingrained in him that they had become his personal creed and moral compass.

So it was with understanding that Pyrrha watched her captain, her partner, her friend, silently shed tears of untold grief. There was no words she could possibly say that would or could possibly make him feel better. So, she settled for the next best thing. Without a word, the redhead got to her knees behind the grief stricken blond, draped her arms around his neck, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Naruto made no move to argue with the gesture, instead allowing the tears to come even more freely.

Knowing just how much this hurt his container, Kurama just as silently offered his own solace, seating himself on Naruto's lap and curling into a ball.

Nora and Ren tried to do what they could as well, each taking up either side of their friend and captain, hoping their silent way of conveying their support for him came across as strongly as they wanted it to.

Minutes passed, none of the five making so much as a sound or a move, their eyes surveying the remains of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

As the sun reached the apex of its journey across the sky, the group and the village were bathed in its bright rays. While team NNPR didn't exactly take notice of the sun's position, they were able to see what the effects of it were.

All at once, the shell of a village and the forest seemed to come to life, a cooling breeze rushing through the area, gently ruffling the greenery and stirring a wave of emotions within Naruto.

Drying his eyes, the Shinobi turned Huntsman smiled ruefully, "This was my favorite spot in the entire village. I used to spend hours just sitting here, thinking about whatever was on my mind or just watching the sunset. Sometimes I'd feel like the past Hokage were here too, helping me out in their own way."

Remembering when Naruto had told her about his favorite spot, Pyrrha suddenly realized just what they were on top of, "This is the Hokage Monument."

"This is the thing you painted graffiti on?" Nora questioned, now understanding just why Naruto had been particularly proud of that escapade. They were seated on what appeared to be a literal mountain!

Chuckling, Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, this is it."

Turning somewhat somber, he rose to his feet slowly and walked to the edge, using chakra to stick to the surface. It was with a genuine frown that he saw that the once proud and strong visages of the Leaf's past leaders had suffered just as their village had, hardly even resembling what they once were.

"Well, at least it used to be," Naruto added, touching the spot where he knew his father's likeness had been. He had spent literal hours atop this mountain, so of course he knew it pretty well. Even now, in its fallen state, he could still see the ghostly image of what it once was as clear as day.

It really drove home just how much damage had been done to the village. Even when Pein had attacked and literally erased the village, the Hokage Rock had stood, a show of the village's unyielding fire. Not even Kurama had managed to damage the mountain in his brief rampage.

And now it lay in shambles, mirroring the state of his home.

Walking back to stand with his team, Naruto sighed, "I'll send a clone back to the village and have it lead the others here. It'll take them awhile to get here so in the meantime I wanna see if some things made it."

"Anything in particular we should keep an eye out for?" Ren asked, knowing that this entire place held a very special place in his friend's heart and memories.

"Not really. Other than a few sentimental things, the only thing I want to keep away from anyone is the Fūin no Shō. I doubt anyone could do anything with the jutsu in it, but I'd rather not take the chance," Naruto answered.

"The knowledge of jutsu like the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style), Kage Bunshin, and the countless others in it is not something that this day and age need knowledge of," Kurama agreed.

While the demise of the Shinobi era was a hard pill to swallow, there was some good to have come from it. Namely the loss such things as the Sharingan and the dōjutsu's Curse of Hatred, the everyday bloodshed between shinobi over petty matters, the need for Jinchūriki, and especially that foul Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Resurrection).

A technique that defiled the souls of the deceased by forcibly bringing them back to the living world through the sacrifice of another living human was vile and should have never been made in Kurama's opinion. Thankfully it's only known users, Tobirama Senju - the Nidaime Hokage (Second Hokage) and the jutsu's creator - and that foul snake, Orochimaru, were long dead, leaving the Scroll of Seals as the only way to access any kind of knowledge about the jutsu.

If the scroll had made it through the ages, then it would be best for the entire world if it was kept under lock and key by his Jinchūriki , hopefully to never see the light of day again. That said, there might still be some useful techniques kept in the Fūin no Sho that would be useful to add to Naruto's arsenal.

Wordlessly and without need for the handseal, Naruto created a Shadow Clone. Already knowing its orders, the clone sped off back in the direction of the village.

With that done, team NNPR began their descent down the mountain side, using the various outcroppings as footholds. Well, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren did. Naruto used chakra to casually walk down the monument.

Regrouping at the foot of the monument, the group set out, Naruto leading the way. Even with the village now in shambles, the blond was still able to easily navigate the broken streets with practiced ease, having spent near his entire life exploring every nook and cranny of his home out of both necessity and boredom.

Arriving at what had once been the main market place, Naruto made a beeline for a very specific shop.

Blue orbs sadly looked upon the broken building that had once been among his most visited spots in the village, a place where a certain father and daughter had offered him free food and shelter an innumerable amount of times. Aside from the elderly Sandaime, the two had been among the very few whom he knew had been in his corner from day one.

While most of the eateries around the village had shown him disdain for what he was, the father and daughter duo had been the only ones to welcome him into their restaurant with a smile and a warmth he had been unfamiliar with at that time.

Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku had welcomed him not only into their ramen stand, but their family as well.

Ayame had been the sweet, caring elder sister figure in his life, always pushing him to better himself and never shying away from displays of affection.

Teuchi was one his earliest male role models, offering advice where he could and never afraid to stand up for Naruto when he had to.

Many a shinobi and villager alike had been threatened with the ramen chef's impressive set of knives when they made the dumb decision and bad mouthed the blond anywhere in the vicinity of his ramen stand.

Stepping over the fallen rubble, Naruto trailed his hand along the broken and rusted counter, a wave of memories washing over him.

"Arigatou Teuchi-ojisan, Ayame-neechan, for all that you did for me. No place could ever make ramen like you guys did. I'll miss you," Naruto murmured to himself, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

Despite the quiet way it was said, the others still managed to make it out perfectly clear.

Pyrrha mentally resolved to ask about it later, holding her tongue for now as she realized that Naruto was saying his goodbyes, something he had never been able to do till now.

Wiping away the tear, Naruto continued on, heading straight for the Hokage Tower.

Arriving at the base of the tower, the blond led the group up the winding staircase, or what remained of it. Rotted wood, a result of being exposed to the elements, had caused the stairwell to collapse in on itself in most places. Even some of the still standing sections were in much the same state, falling away under the slightest movement.

Still, the group managed to make their way to their goal, the Hokage's office.

Stepping over the fallen doors, the teens were greeted by the branches of a tree that had sprouted several floors below. What was left of the office were scattered books and scrolls, most in very poor condition. No doubt they would fade to dust if touched.

Something however caught Nora's eye. Stepping over some rubble, the orange haired hammer wielder picked up the interesting item, blowing layers of dust off of it.

"What's this?"

Seeing what Nora held in her hands, Naruto smiled sadly, gently taking the torn and heavily damaged accessory, "This was the Hokage's hat. Tsunade-baachan never really liked wearing it or the robes, but it was pretty much all Jiji wore. I always told him and Tsunade-baachan that one day I'd be the one wearing it instead of them."

Struck by a sudden realization, Naruto began to laugh, throwing the others off.

"Ar-Are you ok Naruto?" Pyrrha asked unsurely.

Realizing that he was probably freaking his teammates out, the whiskered teen explained, "I just realized, I never made it passed Genin."

Seeing the confused looks, Kurama explained, "In the shinobi system, there were three main ranks. Genin was the lowest rank."

"WHAT!?" the rest of team NNPR collectively shouted.

No one could blame them for their surprise either. They had seen firsthand just how powerful Naruto was and had heard the stories of the amazingly strong opponents he had defeated. While they knew he obviously hadn't achieved his dream of leading his village, they figured he had at least been pretty high up in the ranks.

But to be the lowest rank possible? That just didn't add up!

Understanding why they were shocked, Naruto shrugged, "Well the first time I took the Chunin exams, I wasn't exactly...the smartest or anything. Plus I left pretty quickly after the whole invasion thing to find Tsunade-baachan so she could become the Godaime. Then I left on a three year training trip with Ero-Sennin to train and explore the world. Because we were always on the move, I missed the following Chunin Exams. When I got back, Akatsuki became more active. Then I left again to get my Sage training. Pretty much, there was just so much going on, it kind of slipped everyone's mind that I was the only one from my graduating class that was still a genin."

Pyrrha shook her head with a quiet laugh, Ren simply sighed, and Nora cracked a grin as she giggled. At this point in their friendship with the temporally displaced shinobi, none of them could find it in themselves to do much else, having learned to accept the fact that the whiskered teen was one surprise after another.

"So if it were here, where would the scroll be?" Ren asked, deciding it was best to move on to their goal.

Scratching his chin, Naruto thought aloud, "Well, after I stole it, Jiji thought it'd be best he kept it in here with him and knowing Tsunade-baachan-"

"Hold on, you STOLE the scroll?" Ren asked, halfway between incredulity and exasperation.

Realizing that he had never told his team just how he had become a genin, Naruto chuckled uneasily, "Heh, never told you guys that story, huh?"

Chuckling, Pyrrha shook her head, "No, but you may as well now."

"Well, I actually failed my genin exam...a third time. My sensei at the time, some teme who hated me for being Kurama's Jinchūriki, tricked me into thinking that if I stole the scroll and learned a jutsu from it, I'd be able to graduate anyways. Dumb me listened to him and well, I did it," Naruto explained.

Deciding to ask about the whole "failing for a third time" thing at a later time, Pyrrha inquired, "Wait, if he used you to steal it, wouldn't he have tried to take it from you or something?"

Sighing, the blond nodded, "He was going to kill me and then leave the village with the scroll." Before the others could voice their opinions on his traitorous sensei, Naruto continued, "But, lucky for me, my other sensei, Iruka, got to me first. Long story short, Iruka defended me and when Mizuki threatened to kill him, I jumped in and used the jutsu I had learned from the scroll to kick his ass. Iruka-sensei and Sarutobi-jiji decided that my 'Helping to stop the attempted theft of one of the village's most treasured items as well as helping to apprehend the traitor' was reason enough to make me a genin."

Furrowing his brow in thought, Ren asked, "Wait, isn't the scroll supposed to contain a bunch of dangerous and forbidden jutsu? What jutsu did you learn from it?"

Grinning cheekily, Naruto answered, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

"What!?" The three exclaimed in shock.

Having used and abused the technique since literally day one of his shinobi career, Naruto shrugged, "Well, yeah. The reason the clones are solid and can move and act on their own is because I'm actually dividing up my chakra to create them. Plus when they pop, I get any information they learned. If you make too many, you could accidentally use up all your chakra and die. Or if you dispel too many at once, the huge rush of info could turn your brain to mush."

"And you use it so carelessly?" Pyrrha cried in worry. While Naruto had previously explained the benefits of the jutsu, she had thought there had to be some sort of catch to it, otherwise it would far too broken of a technique. Now, finding out just what those repercussions and dangers were, the redhead was extremely worried about the fine line the blond seemed to be dancing when he used the jutsu.

Realizing how bad he had made his signature jutsu sound, Naruto quickly explained, "But I don't have to worry about any of that!" Seeing the incredulous stares, the Jinchūriki explained, "Since I'm part Uzumaki, I inherited my clan's naturally potent chakra. Plus I constantly have Kurama's chakra being filtered into me. Even as a kid, I had way more chakra than most adults. I've made hundreds of clones before and felt barely a drop in my chakra."

"As for the danger of information overload, brat also has me to thank for that. If he passes a certain threshold, I can and have helped to organize the information and block out anything unnecessary," Kurama groused.

After a moment of silence, Ren sighed, "I can see why people called you 'The Most Surprising Shinobi'."

Naruto could only grin cheekily.

Shaking her head in exasperation, Pyrrha decided to refocus on their task, "After you stole it, do you know where the scroll was moved to?"

Naruto scratched at his chin in thought, "Well like I was saying, I doubt Tsunade-baachan would've bothered to move it since I was the only person who ever really tried to take it. And knowing Jiji, there's only one place where he would hide stuff he didn't want me to find."

Moving over to the right side of the room, the blond moved away the remains of a couch. Knocking on the floor in a few spots, the whiskered teen grinned as he pulled up a loose floorboard. However, instead of there being some hidden space, there was just the support materials that crossed under each floor of the building.

Still grinning, Naruto flipped the board over to reveal what the group had come to recognize as a sealing array.

"I'm afraid to ask how you knew about that," Ren sighed.

"I spent a lot of time snooping in this office. It's how I knew Tsunade-baachan would stash her alcohol in a seal underneath the top right drawer of her desk and that Jiji would hide his copies of Icha Icha in a seal on the left drawer."

"What's Icha Icha?" Nora asked, just as confused as the others.

Remembering he had only told Blake about Jiraiya's…"novels", Naruto nervously began to chuckle, "I'll tell you guys some other time."

Peering at the seal, the half blood Uzumaki began to decode the intricate array. He doubted the Sandaime would seal away the village's prized scroll with a seal that could be unlocked by simply funneling chakra through it. But, he also wouldn't have used a blood seal as that would mean only members of the Sarutobi clan would be able to unlock it, barring any future Hokage from getting to it should the need arise.

Frowning in thought, Naruto began to remember why the old Kage had been hailed as The Professor.

The student of both the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage, titans in their own right, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the battlefield. He had been the one to lead Konoha through not one, but two of the three Great Shinobi Wars as its Hokage. Heck, it had been during the First Shinobi World War that he had been made Sandaime by the Nidaime.

After the untimely death of his father as the Yondaime, the reason Hiruzen had been able to reclaim his seat as Hokage was, because there was no one in the village aside from Jiraiya capable of filling that roll. Even in his old age, the Sandaime was still far stronger than most any shinobi in Konoha, a vast library of jutsu at his hands and the wisdom and knowledge to put those techniques to devastating use.

Despite not being as versed in the arts of Fūinjutsu as his student, Jiraiya, or having the proclivity to them like an Uzumaki, Hiruzen had managed to make an elegant and airtight sealing array.

The seal not only had a specific "key" needed to unlock it, but it also had a fail-safe designed into it. If any one tried to overload it by flooding it with chakra, the seal would disintegrate, taking its contents with it.

Luckily for Naruto, he was the son of not one, but two renowned masters of the sealing arts and had also studied under yet another master.

Pushing chakra into his fingertip, the blond teen traced a specific pattern into the seal, one he was all too familiar with, and in a poof of smoke, a scroll that came up to his chest popped into existence.

Staring fondly at the massive scroll, Naruto chuckled, "I remember when this was almost as big as me."

Snickering, Nora taunted, "Jeez Whiskers, you were a shrimp!"

Naruto huffed indignantly, "Hey! I just hadn't hit my growth spurts yet, alright!?"

"No, you were a midget, because your diet consisted almost entirely of ramen," Kurama snarked.

"Whatever! Let's just get this scroll sealed up before the others show up," the blond pouted.

The others simply chuckled at the childish reaction their captain had to his previous stature. Still it was a little hard to believe considering he now easily matched Pyrrha's impressive six foot height. Those growth spurts really had hit pretty hard.

"Is there anything else you wanted to do before the rest of our group got here?" Pyrrha asked, slightly excited to explore the village. Despite its less than stellar condition, it was still the place her closest friend had been born and raised in. She couldn't wait to hear the no doubt countless stories Naruto had to share.

The Jinchūriki hummed in thought, "There's a few places I'd like to see one more time, but nothing that we have to be cautious about. Besides, Professor Oobleck would probably appreciate me explaining some of it to him."

Raising a brow, Ren asked, "You're not worried about Jaune or Professor Panathenaia getting suspicious and asking questions?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I already got a believable enough backstory for why I would know about Konoha."

"Parents' diary?" Ren asked, recalling the lie the blond had used to fool the suspicious language and strategy professor before.

"Worked before, it'll probably work again," Naruto shrugged.

Nodding, team NNPR began to make their way out of the tower, cautiously retracing their steps to avoid falling the rest of the way down.

"THIS IS ASTOUNDING! AN ENTIRE VILLAGE LEFTOVER FROM BEFORE RECORDED HISTORY!"

Their exiting the tower was apparently perfectly timed as the team of four was met by the astounded faces of the rest of their group. Oobleck, who had been the one to shout, was racing around the village, frantically typing away at the digital scroll in his hands and taking several snapshots as well.

"I have to agree with Professor Oobleck, this is a monumental historical find. We already knew about Uzushio and were simply working on decoding its secrets, but this is a completely new and never before touched territory. I wonder what this village was called?" Panathenaia wondered, her inner history buff itching to be released.

"Konohagakure no Sato," Naruto answered.

"The Village Hidden in the Leaves...fitting. If this was truly one of the long lost shinobi villages, they would've no doubt relied on the thick forestry as a natural defense," the brunette professor agreed. Turning her focus to the teen who had answered her question, the bespectacled woman asked, "May I ask how you know this was Konoha?"

Naruto shrugged, "My mom's family was from Uzushio. My father's were all native to Konoha."

Olive frowned in thought, "Then it is safe to say that you can easily trace your heritage back to the people of this time, the shinobi."

Naruto simply nodded.

"Why then have none of your family ever come forth with this knowledge? It would've no doubt made them extremely wealthy and well known as well as helping the historic community learn more about the time before Huntsmen and Grimm," Olive questioned.

"We all thought it was just a bunch of fairy tales and myths. None of us could've guessed it was real. Heck, I never thought I'd get to step foot on Uzushio, let alone find out that Konoha is real as well," Naruto argued back.

Olive seemed ready to continue her interrogation, but after a moment, dropped it altogether and accepted the answer.

"If those stories are true after all, you no doubt have some very intimate knowledge about this place and its history, correct!?" Oobleck asked, suddenly invading the whiskered blond's personal space bubble.

Caught off guard, Naruto nervously backed up and answered, "Uh, yeah I do. This tower here was home to the village's leader, the Hokage."

The blond former shinobi went on to explain some of Konoha's most prominent features such as Hokage Rock, the Academy, the Clan District as well as the various compounds in it, and even the market district. Oobleck and Olive were all too happy to jot down the given information as well as taking any sample they could get their hands on.

Neo, while somewhat intrigued by the relic of a village, was more apathetic. Cinder would more than likely want to know as much as she could about this village as well, but her boss would no doubt have some way to get that information out of Naruto herself.

Jaune was actually stunned by Konoha and all its wonder, but was just as interested in the info his fellow blond seemed to have on the apparent home of his ancestors, mentally filing away what he could to report to Ironwood when he got back.

Having learned what they could, and with the sun still high in the sky, the group splintered apart to do their own exploration with a promise to meet back at the tower at sunset.

Taking the chance given to them, team NNPR followed after their captain who had one last spot he wanted to visit, a place Naruto's jounin sensei, Kakashi, had spent a lot of time at, the Memorial Stone.

Naruto was surprised to find it still standing, somewhat. A large chunk of the kunai shaped structure was missing, but considering the literal war that was being waged during Naruto's forced departure, it was shocking to see it still standing at all.

Tracing his fingers across the numerous names carved into the black stone memorial, the Konoha native had to use all of his will power to not let even more tears spill. The number of names had increased since the last time he had seen it. What made it even harder on him was that he recognized some of the names that had been added.

"This is a memorial, isn't it?" Pyrrha asked softly.

Naruto nodded, unable to form the proper words.

Gathering himself as best he could, the blond rose to his feet, "We should get going now if we want to get back to the village before dark."

Silently nodding, the solemn team followed after their friend, finding no words to say yet again.

"Today was a monumental day for the historical community and it is only the tip of the iceberg," Olive informed, speaking to the teens gathered before her.

"Yes! We were, but a recon team! Our success here is simply the beginning as more excursions to Konoha and its surroundings will no doubt follow in the coming months as we discover more and more of our bloody past!" Oobleck added.

"I'm surprised you lot managed to find anything out there in the first place," Grey interjected.

"I just hope we don't become some sort of tourist attraction," Marcus groused.

Aria was having none of it, "Oh come on Mr. Grumpy Pants! Even you have to admit this is pretty cool! A whole village from the time before even Grimm!"

While the others had their moment of celebration, team NNPR couldn't find it in themselves to join them.

Without a word to anyone, Naruto suddenly up and left, Pyrrha quickly following after him.

"Want to talk about it?" Pyrrha asked, joining Naruto on a tree branch high enough up in the canopy to get a great view of the surrounding forests illuminated by the moon.

"I...I don't know if I can," Naruto admitted.

"It's a lot to take in, I know," Pyrrha consoled. After a few moments of silence, the redheaded beauty spoke up, "Do you remember initiation?"

Raising a brow, Naruto answered, "Well, yeah, it hasn't been that long."

Smiling, Pyrrha nodded as she gazed out at the moonlit forest, "I know. Do you remember when I asked about your home?"

Still slightly ashamed for having partially lied to the person who was now one of his closest friends, the blond Jinchūriki nodded, "Yeah, I told you that Konoha had been overrun by Grimm."

"You did," Pyrrha agreed, still smiling. Turning her gaze to her confused friend, the young teen continued, "And do you remember what I told you after?"

Realizing what she was getting at, Naruto genuinely smiled, "Yeah, you said you'd be there for me whenever I needed you."

Laying her head on her not so secret crush's shoulder, Pyrrha closed her eyes and hummed in agreement, "And I always will be. But I'm not the only one. Ren, Nora, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and even Weiss care about you. We all do. And just like you go out of your way to help us, we're going to try our best to help you."

Again Naruto was reminded of how different the relationships he had now were from the ones he had during his younger years. The friendship and sense of closeness he shared with his team and team RWBY were the sort of things he had yearned for as a lonely child and even as a teenager.

While he had a special sort of bond with Sasuke and Sakura, they had never been so ready to openly admit just how close they were, it was a sort of unspoken thing. His friendship with the rest of his graduating class was even less intimate than that.

Here though, no one, aside from Weiss, really had any issue with showing or even telling him just how much they cared for him.

It was a pretty stark contrast, but one that he wasn't really complaining about.

"Thanks Pyrrha-chan," Naruto softly responded, feeling for once like he had found where he truly belonged and he'd be damned before he let anything threaten that.

"...you think Beacon is still standing?"

"I hope so…"

AN: FUCKING FINALLY. Jesus fucking christ. Never have I disliked myself for being so damn long winded as much as I did while working on this chapter. So many sections and different scenarios were entirely scrapped just cause they went fucking nowhere.

Anyways, like I said, this is the last chapter of my little off shoot arc. Next chapter will be partially to wrap things up with the arc and then it's off into the some crazy other crap!

I'll probably still be working on that chapter by the time I leave for RTX, so I'm gonna be using the plane ride to get the writing done so hopefully by the end of RTX, I'll have the next chapter out as well.

That said, I CANT FUCKING WAIT. If anyone else is heading out to RTX, feel free to hit me up! Would love to meet some fellow RT nerds! I'll probably be heavily drinking and making a general fool of myself, but yay vacation!

I've not much else to say sooooooooooooooooo

PEACE OUT