He didn't bother with the door handle as he burst out of the office with a shoulder-charge that, if he were to be footing the bill, probably cost half his bank account.
He was too preoccupied with skilled acting to actually care about the cost of damages, and he was at least mostly responsible for whatever damage had occurred a moment before, so it wasn't as if it mattered either way.
Jacques was right behind him, eyes wide as Naruto pushed down the hallway towards where the explosion had sounded out, echoing footsteps of security forces coming from behind him. He didn't want to get too far ahead of them, he needed them to at least see him on their side.
He wasn't particularly sure where Weiss's room was, but as he rounded the corner, he discovered that it wasn't too hard to figure out which one of the many doors it was, because the doorway was missing the crucial element of said doors, which were currently against the opposite wall in a smoking heap.
Ilia was a little too talented with explosives.
He motioned for the security guards behind him to stack up on him, recalling the same hand signs that Angel Squad had used during Operation Kingslayer, and he felt one gloved hand on his shoulder a moment later.
He pushed into the room, Predator raised, other hand wafting away smoke from his vision.
Two rifle barrels poked around the door behind him as two security guards pushed in behind him, barely able to see through the thick blanket of dark smoke.
A gust of wind blew the smoke away in a near instant, and Naruto could suddenly see a hooded Alcmena and a hooded-and-cloaked Ouroboros standing on the banister of the balcony, Weiss held aloft in Alcmena's arms, unconscious, the sentient Stymphalian summon holding the barrel of her handgun against the white-haired heiress's temple, whilst Ouro pointed his own weapon at the assembled group.
"Hold fire!" Naruto shouted, holding his free hand up. "Don't engage, they've got a hostage!"
More security moved into the room, and Jacques himself followed them in, albeit behind three men, one holding a metallic shield in front of the man.
There was a tense moment as Jacques realised what was happening, but before the man could get a word in edgewise, the 'attackers' fell backwards, over the edge of the balcony.
There was a chorus of panicked shouting, but Naruto was already moving up to the balcony. "Get to your Bullheads, call the military! I'll follow them!"
He didn't wait for an answer, instead breaking into a Sprint and hurdling the balcony into a freefall, plunging down through the sky after Alcmena and Ouroboros.
Naruto watched as Ouroboros hooked his arm around Alcmena's legs as the winged-woman flared her avian features, slowing down as they neared the ground.
Naruto straightened out, plummeting like an arrow towards the ground, nearing closer and closer to impact.
Right before he hit he pulled out of the dive, pointing feet first towards the ground and activating Featherfall as he hit, his fist meeting concrete as he landed on one knee.
Alcmena was already putting her cloak back on, and Ouroboros was checking Weiss over to make sure she was okay. She was still unconscious, apparently she'd put up a proper resistance to what were effectively complete strangers wearing disguises with Faunus features that she hadn't recognized, so that wasn't entirely unexpected.
"Quick, into the tunnels," Naruto ordered, and the two carried her down the nearby access hatch, moving carefully in the dark.
He sent a message to Ironwood from his scroll, 'in old evacuation tunnels, close. Send reinforcements', before pocketing it, leaving the hatch open as he followed his summons inside.
Blake and Ilia were waiting inside at the bottom of the stairs, and they quickly took Weiss into their arms, carrying her around a corner and into a pre-prepared alcove Naruto had carved with Terrakinesis. He sealed the wall behind them for a moment, before kneeling down in front of the heiress and concentrating hard.
"Blake, I need you to draw some of Weiss's blood. Here's the transfusion kit." He handed it over, and to Blake's credit, she didn't question his order, instead rolling up one of Weiss's sleeves and carefully beginning the sharp insertion, handing Ilia the bag to hold.
"I don't need too much, don't drain her. Fifty milliliters should be plenty," He said as he cleared the floor of loose rubble with Terrakinesis, gently beginning to carve a pair of intersecting ritual circles.
Ilia's eyes widened as she noticed what Naruto placed down in the first of the two circles. "Is that a dead Husk?!"
Naruto ignored her exclamation, placing the crystalline white compound of Albedo down atop the Husk Cadaver, and then held out his hand.
Blake handed him the small bag of blood, and he tipped it atop the Grimm corpse and the Albedo.
Once he'd emptied the bag, he put it back in with the other medical supplies, taking Weiss into his arms and gently laying her down atop the other circle.
He closed his eyes, and the enclosed alcove filled with a bright white light.
[You have begun the Ritual of Cloning!]
[Detecting a valid target… Target identified, beginning procedure!]
He kept his eyes closed, mind focused, as bright lights assailed his mind. It was nearly a minute before the lights stopped.
[You have finished the Ritual of Cloning and created a clone of Weiss Schnee!]
Naruto opened his eyes to an identical, if nude, Weiss Schnee, eyes open, unblinking, completely unaware.
He averted his gaze. "The clone is brain-dead, just flesh given a form. That's our sacrifice, our fake body, identical in every way. Swap their clothes and then get out of here, take the Bullhead to Frostwreath and hide there. I'll recall the Bullhead when I need to leave, and say I'm going to retrieve the two of you from your mission and then pursue what leads we have."
Blake and Ilia appeared to be somewhat in shock, but they understood the urgency of the situation nonetheless, quickly changing both Weiss and her identical clone, before Ouroboros bent over and picked up the now-dressed clone as Blake and Ilia lifted the real Weiss, who was wearing a warm set of spare clothes Naruto had bought during his preparations.
"You owe us an explanation later," Blake said, before wrapping Naruto in one free arm. "Be careful out there, it's all riding on you."
Naruto returned the one-armed hug. "I won't mess this up, I promise. Now get moving."
Before the two of them could fully depart, Naruto turned to Ilia. "Activate the defenses, have them target anyone other than Ouroboros and Alcmena. I can handle the friendly-fire."
Ilia nodded, hitting a button on her scroll. Distant creaks and mechanical groans sounded through the dark hallways as Naruto unsealed the alcove.
He could also hear soldiers approaching from above, if only their distant Bullhead engines growing closer.
He motioned for Ouroboros and Alcmena to move quickly, and he slowed himself down, beginning to leave a trail for the soldiers to follow, quite literally drawing arrows with Terrakinesis.
He plunged into the darkness after his summons, equipping his shield as he moved.
He'd said he could handle the friendly-fire, after all.
Captain Argyle Bison of the Atlesian Special Operations Branch was all professional, calmly dictating orders to any and every nearby soldier and Atlesian Knight. "Cordon off all exits to the underground evacuation tunnels, I want a squad watching every single hatch, door and manhole."
His own squad, Kilo, were close behind him, checking their equipment with well-trained haste. His second in command, Lieutenant Kenshi, stepped up to his commanding officer. "We're ready to go on your order, sir. We're supposed to be looking for a Huntsman?"
Bison nodded. "Huntsman Naruto Uzumaki was in pursuit before we even got the call. He's the one who sent the intel out on their presumed location. We're going down in thirty, final gear check."
The captain took the ACR-104 the lieutenant handed him, holstering it in a special holster on his chest, checking to make sure none of the microfilaments of his bodysuit were disturbed by the weapon. He then took the offered helmet, sliding the solid black glassy helm over his head.
Kilo squad donned their helmets once their captain had done so, looking like obsidian figurines.
At least, they looked like obsidian figurines until they all began to flicker transparent, until they all faded from view completely, only slightly distorted air in their places, like a slight heat haze.
The voice that came from essentially nowhere spooked a couple of the nearby soldiers. "Kilo is moving. Nobody goes in or comes out without our permission."
They descended down into the darkness, internal systems aware of their own positions, highlighting invisible friendlies with a green outline.
"Sir, got something here. Arrow, pointing one direction, carved straight into the concrete. Looks new."
Bison knelt down next to Corporal Margrave. "This must be the Huntsman's doing. Follow the trail, keep your cloaks up. Who knows what else is down here. I'll take point, Kenshi, take the rear."
Sounds of militaristic assent sounded behind the man as redoubled his pace, HUD marking the arrow yellow. Recent developments to their helmets was more than appreciated, but he hadn't expected to take them for a field test so soon.
"Gunfire, distant," remarked Corporal Katt, the faunus having far more sensitive auditory organs than any of the rest of Kilo. "Sounds automated."
Bison nodded. "Could be the old defense systems. Surprised they still work."
Katt paused for a single moment. "Well, they won't for long. Sounds like our Huntsman isn't too far ahead of us."
"Turrets must've delayed him," Corporal Delaware pointed out, keeping her eye on the opposite corner. "We may be on the losing side of this one today."
"We will be if you keep that attitude up," Bison pointed out, rounding the corner and continuing his pace. "Keep moving, we're close. Weapons out."
The cloaking suits flickered as their weapons were drawn from the special holsters, reverting to pure transparency once they were sealed once more, guns coming up to rest in their shoulders, hands on foregrips.
Bison rounded the final corner, noting the arrow disappeared, and in its place was a tall blond man, shield and handgun directed at the only automated turret left in the open shelter area.
Each round spat from the turret impacted against his shield, and the Huntsman fired back in kind, larger rounds putting tears and dents into thick steel plating.
"Open fire," Bison muttered into the comms, and Kilo squad opened fire, cloaks dropping as the muzzle flash from their ACR-104s lagged out the optical units on the suits. They typically used suppressors for that reason, but the weapons didn't fit in the holsters with them attached. Something that definitely should have been caught before field tests, but that was what Bison had expected from the Atlas R&D team.
.45 AFP rounds cut through the less armored part of the turret, seeing as it was almost all front-facing armor, and after a moment it shut down, sparking and coughing smoke.
The Huntsman turned, warily keeping his shield up as the flickering figures lowered their weapons somewhat, suits recovering slowly.
Bison dimmed his active camo, releasing the catch on his visor. "Huntsman Naruto Uzumaki?"
The Huntsman nodded, lowering his shield. "They're close, I was right behind them. Weiss is unconscious, they're holding her hostage."
Bison nodded, resealing his visor. "We're right behind you."
Naruto reloaded Predator with an impressive one-handed flourish, taking advantage of Sleight of Hand before motioning towards the nearby doorway, keeping his shield up as he stepped through.
It was strange to be pretending to chase after Ouroboros and Alcmena when he knew where they were, the telepathic link of Bound Senses remaining a constant in his mind as he pushed through the darkness. The only true threats being the automated defenses, but they were old, rusted and loud when they turned, all creaking metal on metal.
They were also pretty inaccurate, barrels warped and sagging from age. He knew a few more were waiting along the dark, deserted hallways, and with his new Atlesian backup being essentially invisible, he was their sole target.
Rounds splashed against his shield, proving to be less than effective when they did land on target, the low caliber barely fazing the thick, well-treated metal.
Predator would bark a reply if Kilo Squad didn't fire first, and together they made steady progress through the aging passageways, Naruto occasionally bending down to check a marking or piece of rubble deliberately knocked over or left behind. Further evidence to support his own innocence, in one sense, but also simply just so that at the least Kilo could see that he was tracking the 'enemy'.
It took only a few minutes of pathfinding before Naruto and Kilo Squad entered a large room, big enough to house at least a couple hundred people, something that Naruto presumed it was quite literally designed to do. There were three other exits other than the one they'd just walked in, but the thick steel blast doors were sealed shut and coated in a layer of thick red rust.
From what it looked like, Ouroboros was struggling to get one open as Alcmena covered him from the front, holding what Naruto knew to be the brain-dead Weiss-clone in front of the two of them, her handgun held steady at the Weiss-clone's head.
The Weiss-clone had her eyes closed, obviously unconscious, if only to sell the illusion better. Naruto pointed Predator up at Alcmena, announcing his presence. Not that she didn't already know he was here, of course.
"Stop. Put the gun down and we'll let you live."
It was a seemingly simple statement, an easy order to follow, but in the words was a message that he was sure Alcmena and Ouroboros understood.
Ouro pulled away from the door panel, pointing his own handgun at Naruto, as all of Kilo Squad uncloaked, flickering into perspective, positioned on all sides of the room.
All five members of Kilo Squad had their submachine guns pointed at the two summons, though they wisely kept their fingers off the triggers. With what they assumed to be Weiss in the way and unconscious, her Aura wouldn't activate if she was hit.
Not that the Weiss-clone had Aura, of course, but they didn't know that.
A minor burst of static sounded out before Captain Bison's voice emerged from his suit. "You are surrounded and you have nowhere left to turn. Let the hostage go and you will be given leniency."
Ouroboros took a step closer to Alcmena, placing his hand on her shoulder. "This is not how I wished for our little event to play out, but I suppose there are enough witnesses here."
He gave the winged summon a nod.
Alcmena pulled the trigger.
[You have gained 10 Corruption for taking an innocent life!]
Naruto barely noticed the notification as he focused entirely on his charisma-boosted shout, bellowing out a 'no' that went hoarse halfway through, sprinting headlong at his own two summons, who were more than aware of their next step in the plan.
Ouroboros closed his eyes as Alcmena dropped the Weiss-clone's body onto the floor unceremoniously, and the two de-summoned themselves, fading into nothing but ash and smoke.
To Kilo Squad, it seemed as if they had simply faded from existence, and whilst Naruto slid on his knees next to the now deceased Weiss-clone, Kilo burst into action.
Bison began speaking quickly into his communicator as Corporal Delaware quickly rushed over to where Naruto was kneeling, medic training taking over as she checked the Weiss-clone.
Naruto already knew it was a casualty, and the bullet hole in the side of the Weiss-clone's head was remarkably difficult to look at. Naruto had already become rather desensitized to violence, that was expected of someone who'd suffered so many injuries, but there was a significant gap between reality and planning something like this, and no matter how many times he told himself that the real Weiss was well and alive, it was still very difficult to look at what was essentially her dead body.
It was only thanks to System Mind that he was able to keep his composure. "I need to find these bastards. Where did they go?!"
Bison looked towards Naruto, the now standing Huntsman clutching Predator in a tight grip. "We-" The man paused, looking off to the side for a moment. "We don't know. There's been no reports of external sightings, and we've locked down every nearby exit. Some kind of teleportation or concealment semblance."
Naruto spared another look at the Weiss-clone, before holstering Predator. "I'm going topside, see if I can find anything. I refuse to let them get away with this. Ironwood can get in touch if he has anything."
And with that, Naruto stalked out of the room, what seemed like implacable fury written into every movement.
It was actually nerves and impatience that propelled his movements, but he didn't want to let anyone actually know that. He was walking a very fine line between believability, and one wrong move could still send him tumbling off the precipice. The main meat of the operation may have been taken care of, but there was still much left in the way of acting to be done, and no one had ever said Naruto was an expert actor. It was taking everything he had to just get this much done.
The nearest exit wasn't the one he'd entered through, but it was one he'd noticed while fighting the automated defenses, and he moved up and out, pushing past any soldier that tried, in vain, to stop him.
There weren't many after the first two, and from what he assumed was the look on his face, the rest seemed to understand the situation to some extent.
The recent news of Weiss's death, or rather, the death of her clone, seemed to have not gotten around yet, as expected, and the only person that Naruto could tell knew in the crowd of soldiers was the most senior of the officers, armor markings dictating him as a lieutenant.
Quickly, Naruto made his way up to the man, not waiting to greet him. "Anything? Any leads, any ideas?"
He knew there would be a negative on the intel, considering the actual truth, so he really wasn't expecting an answer.
When he got one, he was shocked, though he tried hard not to let it show on his face.
"We're checking out local suspected White Fang hideouts now, sir. We're running an organised series of simultaneous raids on the locations as we speak."
Naruto winced internally. He wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the White Fang, for a multitude of reasons, and they weren't big fans of him either, but his stunt had inadvertently put a lot of innocent Faunus in the proverbial line of fire.
The White Fang, of course, would see what he'd supposedly done as a benefit to the cause, a true strike by fellow brothers and sisters of all free Faunus.
At least it meant they didn't suspect anything or anyone else, though, with their attention drawn, for one reason or another, towards anyone but him. If they started to look elsewhere, Naruto was going to have to think of something quick.
Instead of replying to that information, Naruto allowed himself to take a step back, leaning against a lamp post.
"Are you alright, sir?" The lieutenant asked, taking a step closer.
Naruto glared at the man.
"Sorry, sir, stupid question." Wisely, the soldier took a step back to where he was standing, resuming his post.
Naruto gave the soldier one last look. "Make sure I'm kept informed of anything, pass that up to your superiors."
Naruto ignored the ding that only he could hear, checking if Predator was loaded before moving off down the street.
He still had a few hours to kill, and looking for nonexistent tracks was a half-decent way to do exactly that.
He truly hoped that pacing back and forth around the landing sight with a frustrated expression on his face was convincing enough.
The frustration was real, of course, but not quite as severe as he was making it up to be. It was mostly just impatience.
At least the System was giving him something to read.
[Encounter Complete!]
[You've gained 96,000 XP and 2,640 Lien! You've acquired 1 Scrap Metal, 4 Circuitry Components, 1 Grade II Energy Dust Crystal, 4 Anaxis Herbs and 2 Curin Seeds!]
Those turrets weren't worth the ammunition he'd spent on them. Worthless XP, barely worthwhile drops, even with the luck he'd had on their rolls. Better than nothing of course, but even still, .50 GK rounds weren't cheap.
He kicked an empty can across the street, where it bounced off a wall and landed in a trash can, and he paused to take a moment to admire the sheer chance of that happening before he heard voices approaching from behind him.
He turned quickly, drawing Predator, though he didn't aim it at the approaching figures.
"Huntsman Uzumaki?" The lead man asked, and Naruto frowned.
"Who's asking?"
He didn't wait for an answer, Observe activating as he stared at the clean-shaven man.
[Clover Ebi]
[Leader of the Ace Ops; Level 79]
Naruto interrupted the man's answer with another question. "What do you want?"
Naruto was supposed to be grieving, so being curt and plain rude seemed like a good call, acting wise.
Clover lifted one hand placatingly. "I won't take up your time, you've got a lot on your plate. The General has a message for you, he sent it with me."
"You won't take up my time but you won't tell me the message?" Naruto cocked one eyebrow, holstering Predator.
"There are zero leads. Nothing, no traces. Wherever they went, they seem to have teleported there somehow. The entire scene was swept professionally, and they found absolutely no traces. We're interviewing people who may have been involved, but it could take days."
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I need to retrieve the rest of my team. I might not even come back. I doubt these bastards will."
Clover's fingers drummed a beat atop the grip of what Naruto thought might've been a fishing rod, for some reason. "You believe that?"
Naruto nodded. "They had to have been White Fang, some elites from Menagerie, most likely."
"Why would they go after Weiss and not Jacques? They were in the same location," Clover asked, though he was more simply throwing the theory out there to be heard.
Naruto shrugged. "Probably because I was meeting with Jacques at the time of the attack. The White Fang are terrified of me, they've named me the 'Demon', or 'Devil', or something like that. I don't really know. They went for the easier target. This may not have even been an attack directly on the SDC, they could've gone for Weiss to get at me, too."
Naruto didn't know, because there was nothing to know. Clover didn't know that, though, and he seemed to be deep in thought. "I'm sure we'll get them one way or another. Where is the rest of your team?"
"Last I checked they were up at World's Peak, clearing out Grimm. I was already going to go back and pick them up tonight, but…" He peeled off, fists tightening, even as the ding he'd been waiting for sounded out. "I'm going. Try to keep me informed of the situation, and I'll do the same on my end."
Clover looked for a moment as if he was going to try to stop Naruto, but the blond didn't even give him a chance to consider that option as Naruto leapt into the air with an Aura-charged Jump, his Bullhead forming around him as he landed, engines already running.
Clover put one arm in front of him as the waft of the engines hit him and threatened to knock him backwards as Naruto throttled forwards and accelerated off into the night.
He leaned back in the cockpit, finally able to relax as he read the newest update from his semblance.
[Quest Complete!]
[Stealing the Show]
[Successfully kidnap and falsify the death of Weiss Schnee.]
[Reward: Formation Seed or Divinity Seed]
"Well, I took the Divinity Seed last time. Might as well see what the Formation Seed is about", Naruto remarked to himself, making minor adjustments to the cyclic as he pocketed the crystalline seed, dropping it into his inventory without so much as a glance, instinct guiding his hand.
Now all Naruto had to do was find Blake, Weiss and Ilia, and then never ever return to Atlas.
If only it was that simple.