AN: I had a whole like, paragraph or two written, raving about my irritation towards the handful of reviews/flames that went off and bitched and moaned about an insignificant and offhanded comment I made last chapter.
Then, as I sat and read it, I reverted back to my usual "Fuck 'em" attitude. Ranting and raving to my friend about it also helped.
Now, to the reviews that weren't a pile of inane childishness, thank you. You guys continue to surprise me with your predictions and even ideas. If I ever take an idea from one of you, I will try my hardest to give credit where it's due.
As much as I have this planned out, some of you come up with some pretty cool stuff and I'm always open to hear a new idea or something different.
Really though, that says something about the Naruto and RWBY fanbases. Not just that, but really, the people on this site. Like anything on the internet, it has its fair share of shitty people, but it also has some really friendly, and well natured people. Glad to see that, at least for me, I have more of the latter interacting with me and this story.
NOW, on to the damn story!
"Couldn't resist, could you?" Ren asked as he finished getting ready for the self imposed mission ahead.
Taking the jab at his thrill seeking ways, Naruto grinned, "I was getting pretty bored."
"So you consider finding lost villages and trekking into uncharted, Grimm filled territory boring?" Pyrrha asked with a chuckle.
Naruto only laughed, somewhat abashed, in response.
"I'm just excited we get to try out our new outfits!" Nora cried in her usual exuberance.
The orange haired teen proceeded to prance around the room, showing off her new set of clothes. While she had kept her pink skirt, a pair of black leggings now covered her legs, ending in a pair of all pink ankle boots. The boots had sections of white outlining them and bore her signature hammer symbol on either side of the ankles. Gone was her white top with a heart shaped hole, replaced by a light gray, long sleeved, V-neck shirt with a heart split by a lightning bolt in pink emblazoned over her chest. Over top that she wore a sleeveless white vest, her hammer and lightning bolt symbol etched into the back of it in her usual shade of pink.
Stretching out an arm and buttoning up his new coat, Ren examined the cloth, "Achievement Hunter did do a really good job on these."
While Nora had opted for covering more skin, Ren had taken the opposite direction, his emerald tail coat replaced by a sleeveless and thinner one of a similar color, however the black portion was now a simple stripe that stretched from his abdomen to his collar. The coat didn't button up all the way and exposed the tight black shirt he wore underneath the much longer coat. Etched into the back of the emerald over coat was Ren's lotus symbol in the same shade of magenta as his eyes and hair. His pants, like his top, hadn't changed all that much except they now only reached to to the top portion of his ankles and billowed out, allowing for more freedom of movement.
"I must admit, I do like the change," Pyrrha added admiring her own set of clothes.
Out of the three, the redhead had been the one whose change in clothing was the most drastic. The emerald eyed teen had done away with her pieces of armor almost entirely, her torso now covered by a somewhat flowing and loose white top with gold lace embroidered in random patterns. Her mini skirt had also been swapped out for a pair of fitted brown shorts that reached to her mid thigh. Despite having changed much of her outfit, Pyrrha had opted to keep the flowing stretch of red cloth tied around her waist, held up now by a golden plate with her shield and spear emblem etched into it.
One of the most drastic changes to her look was the decision to get rid of the bronze circlet that helped to keep her hair in place. Now, her crimson locks softly framed her face. Her ponytail was now tied up by a thin length of golden colored lace that weaved into her hair as well.
While she had also kept the armlet on her upper arm, Pyrrha had decided to not wear her opera style gloves, leaving her alabaster skin exposed.
The whole change had surprised her teammates, none more so than Naruto who, upon seeing his partner with her new look, had walked straight into a wall.
Speaking of the blond, the whiskered teen had also changed his style up. His formerly all black and rather thick jacket had been swapped out for a much thinner one with dark burnt orange sleeves, the Uzumaki spiral still present on each shoulder. He had also decided to swap out his black shirt for a simple white one with a swirl of fire that represented the Will of Fire. His Uzushio hitae-ate now hung loosely around his neck, allowing his blond spikes to fall around his face again.
Flexing his arms and admiring the extremely soft and flexible material, Naruto nodded, "Yeah, this even beats some of the stuff we had during my time. Surprised that Ryan and Gavin managed to not kill each other when they were making these."
Ren smirked, "I wouldn't be so sure, I heard Ryan plotting something as we were leaving."
The team of four shared a laugh as they imagined the madhouse that the Achievement Hunter shop was right now.
"Foxy!" came an all too familiar and boisterous voice.
Naruto shook his head as Yang barged into their room without any sort of preamble. Within a few short moments, he was being suffocated by his fellow blond's impressive pair of assets.
"New clothes? You know just how to treat a girl!" Yang cheered.
Managing to free himself from the "mounds of doom", the whiskered teen took in the sight of team RWBY, decked out in their own set of new clothes courtesy of the Achievement Hunter crew.
Yang's new set of clothes, while covering more than her usual set did, made her seem even more alluring. The busty brawler now wore a cream colored coat over top a black top, both of which left a considerable amount of cleavage visible. A black sort of half jacket that only covered her collarbone and neck had sleeves that reached to just past her elbows, ending in a gold coloring. Several black and gold belts hung loosely around her hips, tied to which was a simple purple and lilac colored piece of cloth. Covering her legs were a pair of black stockings, bearing her burning heart symbol in a vibrant gold.
Ruby was now wearing a grey long sleeved shirt, over top which was a black pinafore with red laces dangling from each side. She of course still wore her cloak/cape, though this one seemed more scarf like as it was much more thickly bundled around her neck. Her skirt had also been swapped out for a red one, her rose emblem printed in black on it. Her legs were covered by all black stockings which were tucked into her red and black boots.
Blake had donned a white, zip-up, v-neck shirt with black trim that left her toned stomach visible. Barely visible on her left side was her belladonna flower symbol in a light gray that almost matched the white of her shirt. The young Faunus had also swapped out her usual black and purple leggings for a pair of form fitting black pants with a gray stripe stretching vertically down the outside of each leg. A black belt hung around her hips, around the backside of which hung a layer of black cloth over top another, longer, layer of a see through purple cloth.
Weiss had gone for a much simpler look than her usual one, swapping out her bolero and skirt combo for a single piece dress in white that matched her snow like hair. The insides, buttons, and frilly bottom parts of the dress were a contrasting black though, adding a little flavor to the new outfit. Her snowflake emblem was branded across the back of the outfit in a light blue. Her legs were covered by a pair of thigh high, white, high heeled boots.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "They are...kind of nice."
Ruby chuckled, "What Weiss is TRYING to say is, thank you for the new clothes. And they are really awesome!"
Used to Weiss' usual behavior, Naruto grinned, "Yeah, I know how Princess is."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"
"I doubt these are just some new clothes for the sake of it, so what's so different about them?" Blake asked curiously, ignoring her indignant teammate.
Naruto scratched his head, "I honestly wasn't paying all that much attention. Gavin and Ryan were going on about something to do with weaving some kind of lightweight steel and Dust, or something. All I got was that they're way more durable and kind of like armor."
That caught Weiss' interest, "I've worn clothes infused with Dust and none it is near as light and comfortable as this."
Naruto shrugged, "Beats me."
The snow haired heiress sighed in frustration, "Why am I not surprised?"
Nora, done prancing around, jumped in to defend her captain, "Because he wouldn't be Captain Whiskers otherwise!"
"...thanks?" Naruto sweatdropped, not sure if the hammer wielder knew she had just given him a rather backhanded compliment, even if it was unintentional.
Deciding to move forward with their not so little mission, Ruby interjected, "So what's our game plan!?"
Pyrrha, having been one of the ones responsible for the plan, spoke up, "Weiss and Ruby, you two will head to the CCT to check the records for any recent robberies or other odd inconsistencies."
Weiss smirked, "As a member of the Schnee family, that shouldn't be too hard."
"You got it!" Ruby cheered.
Naruto stepped up next, "Me and Blake will see if we can find and get into a White Fang rally, see if we can get any info there."
Ren crossed his arms, "Nora and I will head for the docks again, see if there is anything left behind that could be useful."
"And I have an old friend on the shady side of town. Me and Pyrrha will head over there and see if he knows anything," Yang added.
With a round of nods and cheers, the group of teens was off.
"I always forget how big the tower is!" Ruby practically gushed as she gazed at the several stories tall structure.
Weiss smirked, "You should see the one in Atlas."
Ruby snapped her fingers, "I totally forgot, you're from Atlas!"
Weiss sighed in frustration as she rubbed her forehead, "What do you mean you forgot!?"
The red and black haired team captain abashedly rubbed her head, "Kinda just slipped my mind."
'Oh god, he's rubbing off on her!' Weiss thought in horror.
"Wait, doesn't that mean you would know General Ironwood?" Ruby asked curiously.
"I...do. My sister, Winter, actually works for him," the Schnee heiress admitted.
Filing away the fact that her partner had a sister, the younger teen asked, "Do you know why he doesn't like Naruto?"
Weiss sighed, "General Ironwood isn't exactly the most...liberal person. He's very strict about certain matters and works in a very militaristic fashion. He no doubt knows about team NNPR having been forced into active duty, but with as...childish as Naruto usually is, General Ironwood wouldn't exactly be too happy with him, especially considering he's the team leader."
Ruby frowned, "Well what does it matter how Naruto acts? Professor Ozpin trusts Naruto, and we know that he's a great leader."
"Yes, we know that, but General Ironwood doesn't and he's in a position of power, so his words carry more weight than ours do," Weiss answered.
Before the two could carry on with their conversation, a familiar shock of orange and green caught Ruby's eyes, "Penny!"
The ginger haired teen waved cheerily, "Salutations!"
"Hey guys!" Another familiar voice called out.
Turning, both Ruby and Weiss weren't at all surprised to see Jaune jogging up to them, remembering that he was Penny's caretaker of sorts.
Rolling her eyes and knowing they'd only get sidetracked, Weiss said, "Ruby, we have something important to take care of, remember?"
"Maybe I can help!" Penny chimed in.
A look of slight hesitation and unease crossed Jaune's face for a second as he recalled one of the more important parts of being Penny's friend/handler, "Uh, Penny, I don't think they need our help! After all weren't there some stores you wanted to see?"
Before anyone could react, the blond Atlesian was dragging his charge away at a rather quick pace, garnering raised brows from Ruby and Weiss.
"Well, that was weird," Weiss summed up.
Ruby frowned, "Yeah, that was really weird."
"Oh well, we got other things to worry about," the Schnee heiress shrugged off, already making her way to the large structure that was the CCT.
"You go on! I'm going to try and figure out what's going on with those two!" Ruby called back, racing away.
Massaging her forehead, the snow haired heiress began to mutter a mantra to herself, "Coming to Vale was a good idea, coming to Vale was a good idea…"
"This is the spot!" Yang called out, stepping off her personalized motorcycle in one clean and smooth movement.
Pyrrha sighed as she dismounted the machine, shakily regaining her sense of gravity, "Yang, who gave you your license?"
Threading her fingers through her hair to rid it of any helmet hair or knots, the blond quirked a brow, "My what?"
The redhead sweatdropped, "Nevermind."
Turning, the two regarded the warehouse like building before them, Pyrrha with a small amount of trepidation and Yang with curiosity.
"Huh, Junior must have renovated or something," Yang remarked casually, noticing the remodeled front section.
Shrugging, the blonde sauntered off to the entrance, Pyrrha following suit.
To Pyrrha's curiosity, the two, presumed, bouncers took one look at the pair before rushing into the building with a look of fear painted across their faces, slamming the doors behind them.
Instead of being shocked or even deterred, Yang grinned, "Looks like we get an entrance!"
Without any sort of warning, the blond teen marched up to the doors and punched them into splinters with a war cry.
'Yang and Naruto should never have children,' Pyrrha mentally decided, not out of a sense of jealousy, but out of worry and fear of what the two blonds making babies would bring upon the world.
Images of small, blond, blue and purple eyed children running around with super strength, the power of the elements at their beck and call, and a general disregard or care for any sense of decency or normalcy raced through the redhead's mind.
Pyrrha shivered.
Shoving that image into the deeper levels of her memory, hopefully to be forgotten, the redhead followed after her temporary partner.
Walking through the doors, or what remained of them, Pyrrha sighed and had to resist the urge to put palm to face.
"Guess who's back!" Yang called out.
The next instant, dozens of guns were all trained on the blonde who didn't even flinch.
A less than pleased look slowly formed on Yang's face as she crossed her arms and frowned.
"Stop! Stop! Would you idiots just put the damn guns away?" A voice called out. Junior forced his way through his employees and examined the pair of teens before him before turning to address Yang, "Blondie, you're back...with a friend...why?"
Said busty teen smirked as she marched up to the club owner, grabbing him by the arm and roughly dragging him to the bar counter, "You still owe me a drink."
Pyrrha frowned when the eyes of the club workers turned to her with less than savory grins on their faces. Before the inevitable cat calls and such could begin, the redhead made her way to stand with Yang.
"Look, I don't know anything blondie. Last I talked to him was months ago when he asked for some of my men. We couldn't even finish the deal before him and his damn sidekick started something with some blond and his pet fox," Junior grit out in frustration.
Both Yang and Pyrrha looked at each other in surprise at the mention of a blond and a fox, something which sounded eerily familiar.
"He wouldn't have happened to have whisker marks and carry a staff, would he?" Pyrrha asked.
Junior frowned, "Yeah. Brat had come in here and was just drinking before Torchwick had to bother him. Would've kicked them both out if I had known his pet fox was gonna blow out the whole front of this place."
'Naruto drinks?' The two teens unknowingly thought at the same time.
Pyrrha thought about it for a moment before recalling that Naruto had mentioned that during his time, most bars would allow shinobi of any age to drink, operating on the principle of "Old enough to kill, old enough to drink". Even still, she had never taken her partner for the type to indulge in the bottle.
Seeing as they had gotten all they could out of the shady club owner, the two decided to cut their losses, making their way out.
"Hopefully the others are having more luck than we are," Yang lamented.
"Claw marks? Really? Real inconspicuous," Naruto snarked as he followed Blake.
Rolling her eyes, the cat Faunus continued to follow the lead of the claw marks, knowing that it was how the White Fang led others to their recruiting meetings, "You have bright blond hair and wear orange, I don't think you can talk about being inconspicuous."
"Hey, I know damn well how to be sneaky when I want to," Naruto protested.
Remembering the story of how he had painted a literal mountain in bright daylight wearing an even brighter shade of orange, Blake had to give this one to the whiskered teen.
Peeking around a corner, the two took were relieved to see that they had finally found the apparent meeting spot, Faunus of varying ages making their way into the warehouse.
Wanting to make sure that no one would question him for a lack of animalistic features, Naruto funneled a small amount of Kurama's chakra through his body, thickening his whiskers, turning his eyes a crimson red, and extending his canines.
A Henge would have probably worked just as well, but authenticity was often the better disguise.
The shinobi and Huntress to be casually made their way up to the warehouse, greeted by an unassuming older gentleman who handed them each a visor that looked like the one most of the terrorist/activist group wore.
Curious, Naruto had to ask, "Any reason these masks look like a Grimm's?"
Placing hers on and pushing aside the rush of memories the familiar mask brought, Blake explained, "Most people saw us as monsters, so we decided to don the masks of monsters."
Naruto frowned as he placed his on, "So instead of fighting against that prejudice, you gave in and became what they said you were."
Being no stranger to the prejudice of humans, Naruto was familiar with the idea of giving in to the hate and becoming the beast others painted you as. There had been many a time, especially after finding out about being Kurama's Jinchūriki, that the temptation of lashing out was all too inviting.
However, like Jiraiya and the Sandaime had taught him, returning hate with hate would only bring more hate, breeding pain and suffering, which would in turn lead to death and would then lead to even more hate perpetuating the cycle that had consumed the era of chakra for generations.
Blake flinched, but could not argue. After many a conversation with her blond friend, she had come to realize why Naruto wasn't fond of the White Fang and its current actions. She also couldn't fault him for his distaste either, knowing that he was familiar with the strife the Faunus people were faced with on a daily basis.
Filing those thoughts away, the pair became highly alert as they entered the open space of the warehouse, seeing a shockingly good blend of initiated White Fang members as well as what appeared to be aspiring recruits dressed in casual clothes.
Walking onto the stage, a man wearing a full mask with a muscled and tattooed form spoke out, "Thank you all for coming! For those of you who are joining us for the first time, I'd like to introduce to you a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long."
Roman Torchwick's appearance on stage was not well received, some of the White Fang members just as surprised and outraged as the initiates were.
Naruto peeked out of the corner of his eyes to see Blake clenching her fist tightly, barely holding herself back from lashing out at the orange haired crime boss.
Returning his attention to the stage, Naruto frowned. While he was not at all a fan of the man, Torchwick knew how to talk to people. A few words and he had already gained the trust of those gathered at the rally, as uneasy as it was.
The former shinobi had to resist the urge to growl out as he was reminded of a certain Snake Sennin. The vile man had been just as charismatic, his words a sweet poison that had gained him the loyalty of many a shinobi, despite the horrid way he treated them.
Thankfully, Torchwick was neither as powerful or as evil as Orochimaru was. The rogue shinobi had gone as far as human experimentation and defiling the dead in his attempt to evade his own mortality, twisting his soul and body into a monstrous form that had no longer been human or even resembled the man he had once been.
"Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around...no offense to any rodents in the room," Torchwick smugly finished.
With a snap of his finger, the White Fang banner that had been hanging from the ceiling fell away, revealing a large mechanized behemoth armed to the teeth with various guns and explosives.
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked upon the hulking machine, 'That can't be good.'
"How did he get his hands on that?" Blake whispered in panic.
This was far more than they had originally intended to find, not only because of what they were looking at, but because it meant so much more. This wasn't simply a move to show off some muscle or to prove a point, no this was the beginnings of all out war.
Naruto's mind was racing a mile a minute as he Torchwick continued his speech, admitting that the White Fang and his group had managed to steal more of these, apparently Atlesian, mechs. Apparently, the White Fang itself had also relocated elsewhere, preparing for something big.
'What the hell are you planning Cinder!?' Naruto mentally growled.
'She's preparing to wage a full scale war,' Kurama solemnly replied, taking in what his container saw from the seal with a grimace.
"Would all new recruits please move forward!" the White Fang spokesman called out.
Noticing that they were quickly becoming the center of attention as they weren't moving anywhere, Naruto called out, "Blake! Lights!"
Nodding, the raven haired teen took aim and shot out the circuit breaker, plunging the warehouse into darkness.
Shouts and calls for retaliation followed, Naruto and Blake quickly making their exit through a second story window.
Following right behind them was the Atlesian mech, Torchwick piloting it from the inside, as it tore through the concrete wall with ease.
Without a word, the two teens took to the roofs, both jumping from building to building with a practiced ease, somewhat surprising Naruto as he had yet to meet someone who could travel in such a very shinobi way.
Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Naruto reached into his jacket and pulled out his Scroll, quickly calling the rest of his team and team RWBY, "Guys! We need backup! ASAP!"
Weiss, coming out of the CTT after having scoured through the databanks, listened, "There's a huge mech thing the White Fang managed to get their hands on and it is tearing its way through the city! Could use some help!"
Rolling her eyes, the Schnee heiress began to sprint off, following the sounds of destruction in the distance.
Ruby grinned as Naruto continued, "Holy crap it just took out an entire building! Could really use that backup!"
"I am so not missing out on this!" the young teen cheered, disappearing in a burst of speed.
"No seriously guys! We have got to stop this thing before!...oh...well there goes that mall..."
"Oooo! We get to fight a Gundam!" Nora cheered with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Nora!" Ren called out, already sprinting off.
"Coming Ren!"
"Where are you guys!?" Yang questioned, her and Pyrrha already situated on her bike.
"OVER HERE!" Naruto called out as he, Blake, and the mech sped passed the alley where Yang and Pyrrha were waiting.
Yang sweatdropped as she revved her motorcycle, "Leave it to Foxy."
Naruto spared a quick glance behind himself, watching as the mech was incredibly able to follow him and Blake as they leapt onto a highway. In that same moment, he caught a flash of yellow and red quickly catching up to the rampaging machine.
"Looks like our backup is coming in!" Naruto cried over the roar of the winds as he leapt onto the hood of another car. Turning around and planting his feet, he continued, "Let's give 'em a hand!"
Blake followed his example, readying Gambol Shroud.
With a poise and sense of balance gained from years of grueling training, Pyrrha stood atop the back end of Yang's bike as it tore down the highway, Milo in rifle form.
Likewise, Naruto pulled out Hi no Ishi, aiming down the barrel at the Atlesian machine rampaging towards them.
Before Torchwick could do much of anything, he was being jostled within the mech as three sets of gunfire rained down on him.
Taking note of where the gunfire was coming from, the crime boss moved the mech to grab a passing vehicle, flinging it at an extremely caught off guard Naruto.
"Naruto!" Pyrrha cried, watching the vehicle as well as her teammate go sailing over the edge of the highway.
She and Yang were given no respite either though, Roman purposefully moving into the traffic and knocking back several cars aimed at taking them out. Seeing one headed right for her, Pyrrha pushed off Yang's bike as the blond swerved to move out of the way. Using a slight amount of polarity manipulation, the redhead scaled the car, sprung off it as it reached the apex of its arc, and landed on the machine, plunging Mió through it.
With her hand pulsing a dark gray, Pyrrha used her Semblance and began to literally bend and peel away the metal of the machine with ridiculous ease.
"What the hell is she doing!?" Roman cried as light began to leak into the cockpit.
Realizing that he would have to quickly rid himself of the redhead lest she pop open his new weapon like a can opener, Torchwick made to jump into the quickly approaching highway above them, intent on smashing Pyrrha between the concrete structure and him.
That plan was just as quickly derailed.
"YAHOO!"
With a flash of pink and a shout, Nora came flying onto the scene like she had been fired out of a canon.
Seeing her teammate, Pyrrha called out, "Nora! Magnet crush!"
An even bigger grin crossed Nora's face at hearing the combo attack.
Before Torchwick even had time to reevaluate his plan, Pyrrha was using her semblance to "pull" Magnhild towards her, greatly increasing Nora's own acceleration.
With a sound similar to a clap of thunder, Magnhild met Atlesian machinery with the force of a speeding train, plowing into the hulking mech and sending it rocketing through the nearby highway supports.
Having leapt off the machine at the last possible moment, Pyrrha landed with a soft thud, keeping an eye on the downed machine.
The rest of her team as well as the girls of team RWBY were quick to catch up, all of them ready to rush into the fight.
Naruto, having been thrown off the edge, casually walked back onto the highway using chakra.
Ruby was the first to speak out, equally excited and curious about Pyrrha and Nora's attack, "What was that!?"
Nora grinned, "That's what I call a good smashing!"
"Uh guys, it's getting back up," Blake announced with a frown.
"That thing can sure as hell take a beating," Naruto remarked casually.
Weiss chimed in, "My family and the Atlesian R&D department have been working on the Paladin for years now. There's no way they'd send them out into the field if they couldn't sustain a lot of damage from Grimm and Huntsmen alike."
"Any ideas on how to take it down Princess?" Naruto asked, absentmindedly twirling Hi no Ishi.
The Schnee heiress sighed, "As loathe as I am to say it, hit it hard and hit it fast."
Nora, Naruto, and Yang grinned, "You just said the magic words Princess!"
Without a word more, the three heavy hitters leapt off the highway, falling to the empty area below them.
Pyrrha shrugged before following their lead, Ruby joining her with a grin on her face. Ren and Blake sighed simultaneously before joining their teammates.
Weiss stood for a moment longer, "Hopefully no one back home hears about this. Doubt they'd be happy to hear I helped to destroy one of the new Paladins…"
Down below, Roman was forcing the Paladin to move, a sneer stretched across his face as blood streamed from his forehead, "Really should install some kind of seatbelts in this damn thing."
A rushing Naruto, Nora, and Yang gave him no more time to make any more jokes.
Before he could even begin to make an attack, Yang was on him, throwing a powerful strike at the cockpit. However the armor of the Paladin proved to be made of a tougher stuff, barely suffering a dent.
With the flick of a control, Torchwick smashed a robotic arm into the blonde brawler, sending her flying.
"Cannonball Nora!"
"Weeeee!"
Roman was again violently jostled around inside the Atlesian mech as Nora's hammer smashed into the Paladin.
Nora quickly hopped away as the two males of team NNPR were already speeding towards the still stunned mech.
"Ren! Bolt Flower!"
Quickly and without the need for seals, Naruto created a Kage Bunshin which Ren used as a springboard. Landing with a handstand on top of the Paladin, Ren unleashed a stream of bullets straight down into the joints of the mech. Shifting his center of gravity, the long haired teen cartwheeled, striking with a flurry of slashes from Storm Flower.
Gracefully landing on his feet, Ren dismounted with a quick jump and a flip, still firing bullets as he did so.
He was met by Naruto who had swiftly passed through the mech's legs, using the blade of Hi no Ishi to let loose his own whirlwind of attacks.
With a seamless and rehearsed grace, the two swapped places, Naruto hitting high while Ren hit low.
Sparks flew as the two males ran circles around Roman and his machine, dealing more and more damage with each successive pass.
Finally having had enough, Roman used all of his strength to move the arms of the Paladin, smashing them into the ground with enough force to crater it and throw both Ren and Naruto off balance for a quick second, a second the flame haired criminal took advantage of. Lashing out with rapid gunfire from the Paladin's mounted guns.
Naruto and Ren were quick to retreat, though their spots were quickly filled by a rushing Ruby and Blake.
"Ladybug!"
Sparks flew as Crescent Rose sliced into the mech, tearing through the mech like the claw of an angry beast.
Gambol Shroud carved out several of its own jagged grooves in a blur of slashes and gunfire.
Roman was again put on the defensive as the fastest and most nimble members of team RWBY ricocheted around him in blurs of crimson and black.
The two young ladies were forced to retreat though as an increasingly furious Torchwick unleashed a plethora of missiles, intent on ridding himself of the bothersome teens.
Seeing the missiles speeding towards her and the others, Weiss stepped forward. With her usual poise and grace, the Schnee heiress plunged Myrtenaster into the ground and erected a wall of jagged ice spikes.
The crystal-like structure exploded in a shower of flakes and snow, having done its job and protected those behind it from the flying explosives.
Out of the cloud of smoke and ice, Yang came charging out with a warcry, eager to rejoin the fray.
The blonde's fist collided with the Atlesian Paladin with a crack of fire and enough power to dent the hard metal armor. However, she was not quick enough to dodge Roman's retaliation, a cold metallic fist that sent her tumbling into a concrete support pillar.
Cracks in the structure formed and chunks of concrete were dislodged as Yang's body harshly collided with the pillar.
Roman pushed the Paladin to speed forward, intent on finishing off one of the brats that had been a rather bothersome thorn in his side.
"Leave her alone!" Blake cried out, appearing between her teammate and the charging mech.
"Weiss! Use it!" Naruto suddenly cried out, worried for both of his friends.
Without any kind of acknowledgment, the snow haired heiress sprung into action, waving both Myrtenaster and her fingers to form a completely new and untested rune, one she was sure not even Winter had thought of, one created as a joint project between herself and Naruto.
A trail of dark violet energy followed her fingers as Weiss focused on forming the intricate array, pouring both her Aura and concentration into the construct. With a final wave of her fingers and her weapon, an encompassing circle of archaic and unknown symbols spun into life below the Paladin, the large design glowing a vibrant and royal shade of purple.
In that exact moment the hulking metal behemoth was ground to a halt and even forced to its knees. The others looked on in awe as Weiss was visibly using all her might and power to do whatever it was she was doing to the Paladin. Sweat began to dot her brow as she pushed her Semblance even further which in turn caused the sound of creaking joints and metal to ring through the air.
Seeing the opportunity granted to them, Pyrrha and the others attempted to rush the downed and trapped mech only for Naruto call out, "Stop! Don't go near that thing!"
Curious eyes regarded the blond, forcing him to answer, "This is a rune me and Weiss have been designing. Anything within its circle of influence is put under an intensified field of gravity. If you jumped in, it'd probably crush your bones and insides."
As if to prove his point, sparks began to fly from the Paladin as even louder groans and creaks were heard, the glowing of the rune intensifying as well.
Naruto hoped that Weiss would have enough energy to crush the mech under an insane amount of pressure, but he had underestimated just how much punishment the machine could take and Weiss was already pushing herself to her limits, this being the first time their creation was used in live combat.
Despite that, he had to admit that he was rather proud to see something he had helped to make doing what it was intended to. If this was what Weiss and the Gravity Rune were capable of doing to a thousands of pounds armored behemoth, he could only imagine what it would do to Grimm or even a human enemy.
However seeing the somewhat disappointed look on Yang's face, Naruto formed a new idea.
"Yang! You and me?"
Seeing the feral grin on her fellow blonde's face, the busty teen felt a pleasant shiver crawl down her spine, bringing one of her own grins out.
"How could I say no?"
The two blondes bumped fists, each letting loose their power at that exact moment.
Yang's Semblance flared to life, changing her lilac eyes into a light shade of crimson while her blonde mane seemed to gain an almost ethereal glow to it, making it seem like flowing gold. While this wasn't the height of what her Semblance could do for her, she had taken enough damage to give her an edge.
Naruto flared his own chakra while drawing on the energy of Nature, bringing on his Sage Mode, amber eyes and all. With as much chakra as he was letting loose, a light blue luminescent shroud had formed around him. The visible chakra flowed and danced around him like a living flame.
The two blondes stepped away from their awe struck teammates, moving in such a synchronised fashion that it looked like they had been doing this for years.
The similarities ended there though as Yang cocked Ember Celica with a casual flick of her wrists while Naruto held out his hand, a Rasengan whirring into existence.
"Think we can hit it hard enough?" Yang asked sarcastically, knowing full well that the mass of metal and tech would not survive the two of them.
Naruto grinned, creating two Shadow Clones. One grabbed the arm that wasn't holding the spinning ball of doom while the other grabbed Yang's.
"Oh, we will."
Without another word, the two clones moved as one and used their strength to begin spinning their creator and his fellow blond.
With a war cry and a feral glint to each of their eyes, Naruto and Yang were sent tearing through the air.
Right as they were just about to enter the field of Weiss' Gravity Rune, the heiress released the breath she had been holding, collapsing to her knees. Without a source of energy, the sprawling circle of runes collapsed and disappeared, releasing the Paladin.
However the timing had been perfect and Roman could do nothing but watch and brace himself for impact.
Fist and condensed ball of chakra met the armor of the Paladin with an explosion of power and force. For a split second, the protective layer of metal held strong. However the grinding nature of the Rasengan proved far more powerful as it began to tear through the material like it was paper. Likewise, Yang's monstrous strength forced the armor to groan and give way.
Together, the two pushed all their energy into their strike and let it loose.
The resulting explosion of chakra and Aura sent the Paladin spinning through the air like a bullet. The airborne mech collided with pillar after pillar, each collision destroying it further and further before it eventually could take no more and simply exploded in a shower of metal shrapnel.
A heavily wounded and clearly bleeding Torchwick lay on the cold concrete, coughing and moaning in pain, surrounded by the remains of the now destroyed Paladin.
The two teams approached the downed criminal with weapons raised, ready just in case he tried anything underhanded.
Looking at the man, Naruto couldn't shrug off the feeling that something was wrong.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, seeing nothing. However, since he was still in Sennin Mōdo, his ability to sense out others was heavily amplified. It was thanks to this that he was able to pick out the energy signature of a quickly moving Torchwick and Neo.
Growling, the blond surprised everyone when he viciously struck out with a slash from Hi no Ishi's blade. However instead of watching an already wounded Roman Torchwick be turned into mincemeat, they were instead treated to the sight and sound of glass breaking.
Wide eyed, the others watched as the image before them fell away, revealing that Naruto had only carved out a small trench in the concrete floor.
The sound of laughing and the roar of an engine caught everyone's attention.
With frowns, team RWBY and NNPR watched as Roman was carried away by a Bullhead.
"What the heck was that!?" Ruby cried out, completely confused.
As Naruto eye's bled back into their usual shade of blue, he answered, "An illusion, a very good one."
Yang huffed, "Well that's not fair."
Regaining his usual carefree demeanor, Naruto grinned, "As fair as it would've been if we let Pyrrha handle that big hunk of metal."
The members of team RWBY quirked a brow, confused by what he meant. Sure Pyrrha was strong, no doubt about that, but strong enough to fight that thing by herself? That was a little unbelievable.
"Pyrrha can control metal!" Nora exclaimed.
"Yeah, she probably would've just torn that thing apart with her bare hands," Naruto praised.
A faint red hue dusted the redhead's alabaster cheeks, "Well, actually I can control polarity so-"
A giddy Ruby interrupted the older teen, "That's sooo cool!"
Naruto watched with a grin as his friends all began to relax, returning to their normal demeanor and antics. However, he and Kurama were having a very different conversation through their link.
'So what are we going to do now brat? Cinder has made it clear that she plans to wage an all out war to achieve her goals.'
'We stop her, simple as that,' Naruto concluded with a hint of steel to his voice. He had seen the horrors that war brought on and he'd be damned if he sat back and watched Vale meet the same fate as Konoha.
Memories of Obito and his army of White Zetsu and reanimated corpses razing Konoha to the ground to get to him flashed through Naruto's mind, his fists clenching and unclenching.
'Then we better get started on getting even stronger. I doubt Cinder has anything that could possibly pose us a challenge, but with Kaguya still skulking around in whatever form, it'd do us well to be prepared for anything,' Kurama intoned.
Naruto nodded firmly. There were far too many unanswered questions and variables to simply sit back and wait.
If Kaguya really was still around, then he'd be ready for her and whatever her plan was.
AN: Alright, alright, would ya'll get off my back? God!
In all seriousness, this was a goddamn work of effort. Sections were changed, deleted, etc.
Hopefully you guys think I did Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha justice with their new outfits. I spent a lot of time just browsing through google images, looking at various pieces of fan art and taking cues from what I liked and didn't like.
Also, ya'll are a bunch of perverts. I'm not at all new to the world of ecchi or hentai, but damn I don't think Monty imagined Cinder doing that to Pyrrha.
Next chapter will be another mix of canon/my stuff as I'm trying to work my way to the all important Vytal Festival.
I've got plenty of ideas and plans for when we get there and I can not wait to get them out.
Also, yes, the next few chapters will be a little more action packed, seeing as how that hasn't been a thing for a few chapters.
To the person who asked me to find someone to do a reading of this fic, BlackMagic622 had originally been doing just that, but I haven't heard a word from the guy so I have no clue what's going on with that. If someone else wants to try their hand at taking on such a project, feel free to pm me.
Hope you all enjoyed this.
Ya'll should know the drill by now.
Peace out
