Kitsune In Remnant
I don't own Naruto or RWBY
"Talking""Different Language"
'Thoughts'
'Attacks'
"Demon/Summon Talking"
"You've been quiet ever since we've left Konoha."
Naruto, still clad in his orange jumpsuit, glanced up from the fire. "Sorry, Ero-Sennin, I've just been thinking." He scratched his cheek absently.
The large man sitting across from him scoffed in amusement, "You, thinking? Try not to hurt yourself kid." He replied in jest.
Naruto stamped down on the knee jerk reaction to angrily retort, inside continuing to glare into the fire.
Jiraiya sensing this was a more serious subject, smoothed out his own face and lent forward, "Alright, what's bothering you?" He questioned.
The blond shifted, "I've been thinking about Sasuke." He admitted.
Jiraiya huffed, "That much was evident, the bigger question is why?"
"Sakura-Ch- Sakura asked me to bring him back to the village, made me promise on it but…" Naruto trailed off.
"You don't think you want to."
"He stabbed me Ero-Sennin," His hand came up to the still tender flesh on his chest, "Without any hesitation."
"Like you did."
Naruto nodded. "I was there, ready to end it. And I hesitated, all I saw was the only person to relate to me." He explained glumly. "Then he put his fist in my chest."
"You know, I've had my own experience with that." Jiraiya remarked, with his own frown. "It was after we discovered Orochimaru had been experimenting on people, both myself and Sensei hesitated stopping him. And for that, well a lot of people have died."
"What if I've made the same mistake?" Naruto inquired sadly. "What if Sasuke turns out the same way?"
"Then you deal with it as the situation arises, both myself and the Sandaime knew what Orochimaru was like, and yet we still let him go. You had no idea that the Uchiha was trying to kill you." The sage comforted.
"But he was my friend!" Naruto protested, "I should have seen what that seal was doing to him, how he was changing!"
"The seal is not at fault." Jiraiya amended.
"Why? Isn't it controlling him, that's what Sakura believes?"
Jiraiya shook his head, "No, the seal can only amplify what's already there. Do you recall Mitarashi Anko, she was one of your proctors for the exams." He asked.
Naruto frowned in thought, "Crazy snake lady?"
Jiraiya scoffed in amusement at the name, "Yes, that's the one. She was a former student of Orochimaru, he experimented on her like others, and was the only one to survive receiving the one of the first renditions of the curse mark."
"Wait, she's had it this entire time?" Naruto questioned.
"That's right, I sealed it off with one called 'Evil Sealing Method', the same one that Kakashi used on Sasuke. Her seal eventually receded because she lacked the will to use it, while Sasuke activated his even through the suppression seal." The Sage explained.
Naruto didn't respond, but the forlorn expression said it all.
"Naruto," Jiraiya began, "What exactly are you looking for during this training trip?"
"Initially it was to keep my promise to Sakura, but now I don't know. Apparently I don't know a lot." Naruto replied dejectedly. "Maybe the village, and my friends. Not to mention, there's those Akatsuki guys after me."
"All viable reasons to fight."
"Ero-Sennin, what exactly are you going to teach me?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya mulled over his options, "I was going to teach you to use the Kyuubi's chakra, just general control and taijutsu. Improve your basics, because they're just bad." He clarified.
The blond frowned again, "I don't want to use the Kyuubi's chakra." He protested strongly.
Jiraiya blinked in surprise, "Why not, it's immensely powerful!"
"Because I don't want to rely on it, and I can't properly control it." He shook his strong vehemently, "I don't want to lose myself like Sasuke did, no power is worth losing themselves."
"But if you don't use it more, how will you learn to control it?" The Sage pointed out.
Naruto paused, despite his disagreements, he was right. He fiddled with his hands, "What about a deal?"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, and lent backwards on his elbows, "Alright, what kind?"
"For every tail I master, you have to teach me for a month doubling that tail." Naruto offered.
"And what will this training entail exactly?" The man asked.
"Everything. I want you to teach me everything you know."
Naruto awoke with a small start, like normal, he took in his surroundings without opening his eyes. It was still dark out, likely early morning, and there was a light cold breeze in the room. There was also someone else in bed with him, judging by the small depression in the mantress and the body curled into his back, it was probably Ruby. Again.
This time opening his eyes, he glanced at the clock, 3:38, a few hours of sleep again. He carefully rolled onto his back, Ruby mewled quietly in her sleep at the movement but settled when he gently tucked her back into his side.
For a change his dreams were more passive in nature, rather than reliving past battles.
True to his word however, Jiraiya did train him, to his full extent. He mastered the first tail within the first month, having already had experience with it as limited as it was. The things he learnt in the following months, while simple such as chakra control, helped lay the foundations of what he was today.
Funny thing is, he didn't think he ever called the man 'Sensei'.
He fully deserved the title, more so than Kakashi at any rate, his growth rate was exponential after their initial start. Jirayia remarked he was probably a high Chunin, maybe even low Jonin, at the end of their first year alone, and that was without any experience gained.
By the middle of their second year he had mastered the use of the first three tails, and was experienced in using the fourth, although he had a tendency to lose himself. It was also at this point where he'd begun to get more in-depth with sealing, Jiraiya had let slip that he was learning the art faster than he'd ever seen, putting it down to the blood of both his parents in him.
It was also at that point where Naruto openly began questioning who his parents were. It was also when he and Jiraiya had their first true fight, when the Sage had refused to tell him of their identities.
They had come to an eventual agreement, but at the time the argument had really hampered their relationship and the training suffered as a result. Not long after, he returned to Konoha as a result of the Remnant incursion, and the rest is history.
His death, like the rest of his friends, was a huge blow. Although he'd talked to Pa about the circumstances of Jiraiya's death, and the Akatsuki member and leader Pain's involvement, his next move never seemed clear.
The Akatsuki had to be stopped, but he had no idea where or how to start. But they would come for him, and while immensely powerful, he had no idea if he was ready or strong enough.
He sighed deeply and closed his eyes again, trying to shift into a more comfortable position with another body in the bed.
Trying to solve that problem now was pointless, he couldn't directly move against the terrorist group because he didn't know how. He was currently restricted to being purely reactionary, a feeling he wasn't usually familiar with.
He hated being in the dark, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice.
With another sigh, he realised sleep would elude him. He shifted and slipped out of Ruby's grip and dressed himself in training gear, grabbing his blades and scrolls as he disappeared out the door.
He headed towards the training rooms instead of the forest, away from the prying eyes of his fellow shinobi, and naturally at this time in the morning all were free.
He picks one at random and locks the door behind him, creating a dozen clones as he walks further in.
"Set up, you know how!" He instructed, pulled out a specific scroll, "Did we make the specific changes?"
"Well, yeah, you're the one who did it?!" One of the clones responds sarcastically.
Naruto blinked and glanced up, "Oh right." Sometimes the memories between him and his clones got rather confusing. The walls around the hall get reinforced with seals, and for extra effect a purple barrier popped up around it as well.
Two of the clones walked to the middle of the room, while the other scattered around it, the first of which was strapping a bracer to his forearm.
"Ok is everyone ready?" Naruto asked his collection of clones, and received positive replies.
The two clones walked to opposite ends of the room, one held the bracer out in the front of him, the other held up his palm and charged a 'Rasengan'. The final test.
The clone charged hand held outstretched, just before contact was made the deep blue barrier surrounded the other clone. The ball of chakra hit, and the attacking clone was propelled away from the shield, dispelling when it hit a wall behind it.
But Naruto's eyes weren't on it, instead they were watching the clearing smoke where the other clone still stood, a massive grin on his face. "It works." He proclaimed.
The clone dispelled and the bracer drooped to the floor, Naruto absorbed it's memories, and he unconsciously rubbed his arm where the phantom pains of chakra burns flared. He nodded, however, "It works." He repeated, he dispelled the barrier and swiped up the bracer in a few quick steps.
He inspected the cooling seal with a critical eye for details, he'd need to fix the feedback when it activated, the burns while healable weren't necessary. He placed his palm over the seal, and it recharged too slowly, it needed to be independent of his own network.
A clone obediently came up to him at a gesture, "Fix the issues, and make it smaller." The clone nodded, and walked off.
Pain.
His foot tapped irritably on the floor.
If this man wanted to call himself God, then he'd just have to become a Godslayer.
With a surge of chakra several dozen more clones appeared, he has work to do.
Breathe in.
His ear twitched and his body responded, forming a gale of wind that snapped a brace of kunai out of the air.
Breathe out.
Fire burst into existence, swallowing several clumps of dirt, before dissipating.
Breathe in.
Another twitch, he tilted his head to the side and avoided the silent blade of wind that aimed for his neck.
Breathe out.
"Excuse me?"
The shinobi opened his eyes, zoning in on the upside down Faunus opposite him, a pleasant but nervous smile on her face.
He blinked, "Good afternoon, Velvet." He greeted, another gale of wind rose around a fireball, snuffing the flames as it entered the vacuum. "Shouldn't you be watching the fights?" He questioned, narrowly using a shield of water to block the several more fireballs. He sent an irritated look at the clone for that.
She shrugged, "Coco and Yatsuhashi finished their fight earlier, they lost unfortunately and are currently recovering in the medical wing. Shouldn't you be though, Blake and Yang are fighting soon right?" She responded.
Naruto nimbly flipped onto his feet, and shrugged good naturedly. "Their fight isn't for another hour, besides I have faith in the pair of them."
The days had passed, the group stages ended, and then so onto the duo's, Blake and Yang had been chosen to represent RPBY rather than Penny as strong as she was. But yet the shadow's remained quiet. The shinobi had his hijacked network in Vale working overtime, and all they'd found were whispers, his own clones in the city found naught as well on the coming storm.
It only served to aggravate his worries further.
"What can I do for you?" He inquired.
"Before that, may I ask what you are doing?" She asked tentatively but curiously.
He saw the blatant misdirection but went with it, "Chakra control and manipulation, the clones dotted around the area throw things at me and I have to use my chakra to make pure elements rather than Jutsu." He explained.
"Is it difficult then?" Velvet questioned, a small spark lighting in her eyes.
Naruto folded his arms and shifted slightly in thought, "It can be, it also depends on other factors. For me, I've always struggled with chakra control because I possess such a large amount, however because of it manipulation comes easier because of it."
"Like filling a bucket? Open the tap too wide and you overfill it, not wide enough and you risk underfilling it." Velvet proposed, unconsciously stepping forward to engage more.
Naruto nodded and grinned, "Yes good!"
"What about manipulation though, the only thing that comes close for us Hunters and Huntresses is our Aura and our Semblances, neither of which is necessarily needed for the other. But also, it seems like Chakra is a lot more versatile than Aura." Velvet theorized thoughtfully.
"It certainly can be, while your energies are more rigid in nature, we combine them inside of us to create chakra. Changing our chakra into pure elements takes both a significant amount of control but also power that a lot of people lack. It's why we use hand signs to guide our chakra." He demonstrated a few as he finished explaining.
Velvet nodded her head, her rabbit ears bouncing, "Interesting." She bit her lip in thought, "I wonder if we can do something similar with our Aura and Semblances?" She hummed.
Naruto shrugged, "It's always possible, but I think your two energies are used to being separated. It would not only likely do more than harm but possibly impossible. Your semblances and aura are two different things, like a sword and shield, while able to be used as the other it isn't what they're made for. But then again, I'm no expert." He finished rather lamely.
Velvet bounced as she hummed again, Naruto refused to admit it was rather cute. "Food for thought." She amended, then blinked, "For a 'barbarian' you're a really good teacher." She commented.
Naruto couldn't stop the bark of laughter that escaped. He smiled wistfully, "It's funny, I used to be the difficult student, but now I'm teaching, albeit in a different environment."
Velvet giggled in response, "You know, your Remnen is pretty good for a foreigner, I know some people that don't speak as easily as you do." She complimented.
Naruto smirked and bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, I've practised rather hard to be fluent inside a week for when I first came here. My team helped with bits and pieces after that, sometimes I have difficulties when people speak quickly. There is also there, their and they're that sometimes stumps me when I write but…" He shrugged as he trailed off.
The Faunus giggled again at the slightly flummoxed look on the blond's face. "Yes, I can see why they're difficult for someone who isn't a native speaker." She agreed.
Naruto nodded slightly and shoved his hands in his pockets, "So Ms. Scarlatina, what can this fine shinobi do for you?" He asked finally.
The Faunus noticeably tensed and began fiddling with her ears, "I...I wanted to thank you?"
Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "For?"
"The cafeteria, back at the beginning of the year." Velvet continued, she shrugged slightly, "It wasn't hard to figure out who threw the apple, even if I didn't hear you talk about it." She revealed. "I've wanted to say thanks for a while now, Coco finally told me to get it over with."
Naruto smiled underneath his mask, "You have nothing to thank me for, Velvet. I have a rather large dislike for bullies." He waved off.
"So do many people, but you're the one who did something, that isn't as common." Velvet argued hotly, before backing off with a blush.
"It's fine Velvet, I promise." Naruto reassured.
Velvet nodded uncertainly before grabbing both her ears, "Come on Velvet, pull yourself together, just like Coco said." His keen hearing picked up her whispers, he was about to inquire what she meant when she darted forward, and wrapped her arms around him for all of 2 seconds and proceeded to run out of the room with an atomic blush.
He snorted to himself in amusement, "Just like Hinata." He compared unconsciously, immediately freezing after the comment was made. He huffed in annoyance, more at himself, and shook himself out of it.
He glanced at the digital clock on the wall, plenty of time, besides he meant what he said. He had faith in the pair, he was sure that if he got caught up in training and missed the match they'd understand.
He scanned the assortment of clones patiently waiting for his commands, and then summoned a few dozen more. "Alright, let's move onto more combination Jutsu, I want to be able to use Ice and Lava techniques by the days end."
Naruto walked down the dorm halls at a 'faster than normal pace', rounding the final corner he spied the two droids standing guard outside his door with thinly veiled disgust, and two shuriken proudly ended their synthetic lives.
As he approached his door, raised voices could be heard from within.
"He attacked me!" Yang.
"Camera footage and millions of viewers say otherwise." Winter.
"But Yang would never do something like this!" Ruby next.
Naruto stayed outside to see where this was going.
"And many other teams from Beacon and members of the school faculty would agree with you, and I myself know that under normal circumstances you wouldn't. But what I believe, hope to believe is that this is nothing more than a mistake from stress from a battlefield, as Huntresses in training, you should be aware of the struggle of maintaining concentration. The battle clouding your judgement, seeing things that aren't there. Even after the fight has passed." The elder Schnee sister tried justifying.
The blond frowned, and placed a hand over the door controls.
"But I wasn't…!" Yang tried protesting again.
"That's enough!" Winter interrupted.
"Winter!" Naruto barked, shoving open the door, all the room's occupants turning to look in his direction. He gave the Atlesian general a long look.
Winter had a hard frown on her face, she glanced behind the shinobi at the collapsed forms of the droids. But she sighed instead, "Fine." She turned back to the students. "Whatever happened, it's my job to inform you that you're disqualified." She informed softly, turning a moment later to leave.
Naruto watched her leave, and then looked at the rest of his team in resignation. "Well, this is a fine mess you've found yourself in Yang." He commented as he ran a hand over his face.
"But…!" Yang once more protested but halted when Naruto raised his hand.
"I know." He reassured. "I know you Yang, you're aggressive, but not violent." The shinobi moved further into the room and sat beside Blake and opposite Ruby.
Yang smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "You guys believe me right?" She asked, turning to the other pair.
"Of course!" Ruby immediately agreed.
Blake however seemed less sure, doing her best at avoiding her partner's eyes. "I had a friend, that did something similar. Promised me it was nothing to worry about." Naruto looked at the Faunus with a small frown, already aware of the story and wondering why she was comparing him with Yang. "But you're not him, I need you to promise me that he attacked you first." She implored.
Yang nodded her head resolutely, "He attacked me."
"Ok." Blake smiled herself, a small one but it was there.
Naruto leant against the bed's headboard and folded his arms, "What happened?" He questioned.
Yang sighed and launched into an explanation of her match against Mercury, they were fairly even throughout most of the match until the end when she overpowered him and won the match. And then at the end, as she was walking away Mercury attacked her, she reacted by breaking his leg.
"And you saw it, clear as day, as clear as you see any of us?" Naruto pressured.
Yang simply nodded.
"What are you thinking?" A new voice spoke, all but Naruto looked over in shock at Qrow standing by the door. He smiled sadly, "Hey firecracker."
Naruto scrunched his nose up, "What do you guys know of Genjutsu?" He asked.
"Illusions?" Blake translated.
The shinobi nodded, "The art of 'Illusionary Techniques, I'm not great at it myself, I have to use these seals to help manipulate my chakra." He gestured to the marks running along his arms.
"You thinking that someone set her up." Qrow wondered.
"I'm saying it's not out of the question, while I wasn't there in person none of my shinobi would have done so, they'd have nothing to gain. But then they'd also make a fuss if they sensed anyone doing it." Naruto explained.
Ruby twitched, "What if it was a semblance? That woman we fought against Roman used some sort of illusions. Although hers were easy to spot once they broke." She put forward.
"Maybe someone similar in the White Fang, or working with them has one?" Blake offered.
Naruto shared a look with Qrow who shook his head, "Right now it doesn't matter." Naruto waved off. "Are there any other matches today?" he asked.
Ruby shook her head, "No, they've been cancelled in light of what happened today. They'll start earlier tomorrow and finish later in the day." She told him.
"Have you decided if you're proctoring your own matches tomorrow.?" Blake pondered.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I decided to give it a shot. We only have a dozen pairs with us to compete, so they'll be held before the finals to allow the competitors a chance to relax."
"We'll be there to watch you." Ruby assured.
Naruto frowned, "Why, I'm not exactly doing much." He protested but Ruby just shrugged.
"No use arguing." Blake sighed.
"Trust me I know." The shinobi replied lightly, but with a smile. He stood with a small grunt, "Alright, just because you're not in the tournament anymore doesn't mean that I can't train you some more." Naruto announced.
"I think I might sit this one out." Yang murmured, looking down again.
Naruto didn't push her, knowing she needed some time to think. Ruby and Blake nodded understandingly as well. "We'll get out of your hair." Blake agreed as she and Ruby headed for the door.
Naruto pressed a hand onto his fellow blonds head reassuringly, "Keep your chin up girl, you have nothing to be ashamed about." He encouraged, with a smile.
Yang smiled in thanks, her eyes brightened a spark but didn't answer, Naruto left it at that and followed the pair of girls out.
He knocked on the door, and surprisingly Ren answered. "How is she?" He questioned, opening the door wider revealing the rest of team PRWN awaiting the response.
"She's doing the best she can." Blake clarified sadly.
"I heard that Mercury went back to Haven to be with his family." Ruby revealed.
"Convenient, no one can question him about his point of view." Naruto pointed out.
"Well, if there's anything we can do, just ask." Weiss offered with a small smile.
"We were just about to head down to the training rooms, I was going to run some more drills, interested." Naruto explained.
"We'll join you, someone has an important match tomorrow!" Nora grinned, somehow already decked out in her training clothes.
Naruto's eyes swept over to the redhead sitting quietly on the bed, he hadn't failed to spy the girl's poor mood in the most recent days, the result of a meeting with the Headmaster. "You coming Pyrrha?" he asked, trying to see if he could improve her mood. If she wanted help, she'd come for it, he wouldn't pressure her.
Pyrrha looked indecisive for a moment before she sighed and nodded, "Let me change, I'll be right out." She agreed and the shinobi nodded as well and disappeared down the hall, Ruby and Blake trailing behind.
"Alright, you've all been chosen because you've shown the most potential during the opening phases of the exam. Make no mistake, you'll be watched not only by our Kage's but thousands of other shinobi and millions of people from Remnant." Naruto began, assessing the sea of eyes staring back at him in mild admiration. "There are two rules once you enter that arena, my word is law and no killing. Other than that, anything goes. Am I clear?" He received a wave of eager nods.
"Uzumaki-Sama! They're waiting!" A shinobi called from the entrance to the lockers.
"Very well." Naruto nodded, "Two more things; unlike at home this audience is not your friend, they may boo and curse at you, some may even cheer. Don't listen to them and focus on your fight and your fight alone. Lastly, have fun and show off. This is as much a demonstration as a political move." More nods. "Alright, line up." The Genin lined up at the tunnel entrance, and Naruto to his place at the head.
He listened carefully for the two commentators que, and began leading the troop out. He was briefly blinded by the afternoon light as he exited, what he was surprised about were the amount of cheers he could hear. There were definitely boos hidden amongst them, but they were drowned out by the cacophony of cheers and claps as the Genin followed behind him.
"Better reception than I anticipated." He murmured to himself, keeping his posture straight and face blank even with the mask on. The pinnacle of professionalism.
He stopped and turned to his trail of Genin who stopped with him and lined up facing him. "Before you fight, you will stand before me and bow to the Kages behind you, you will then turn and bow to the rest of the crowd in respect and finally me. After I nod you will split to the opposite ends of the arena, stopping at 100 metres. You will bow to each other and then I will start the fight, I will stop it if I deem one of you the winner. Understand?" He explained and questioned. He received another round of nods.
"Good, Onaya Gorai and Yananoda Mena stay behind, the rest of you head back to the tunnel entrance and wait."
The Genin in question stayed and waited patiently while the others ran at a light jog back to the entrance. Once they were in place he gestured to the two Genin still in place and they turned on the spot to begin their bowing.
He nodded in respect once that was done and both ran to their starting position, "Onaya Gorai, are you ready?" The Genin nodded and shifted into his position. "Yananoda Mena, are you ready?" She nodded also. Naruto nodded a final time and raised his hand, "HAJIME!" He bellowed to be heard over the crowd who roared with him as the pair clashed.
He kept half an eye on the pair as he locked eyes with Kakashi in the stands, an area segmented off for use by the Kage's and the shinobi who wanted to watch the fights. The man minutely shook his head in the negative.
Naruto bit his lip and refocused on the duelling Genin. After the fiasco with Yang he'd made some quiet inquiries with the ANBU present and Kakashi so see if they'd sensed anything while spectating, they hadn't and Kakashi said he'd launch an investigation so see if he could uncover anything from their delegation. Once more everything was quiet, which was what worried him the most. Thankfully, despite their most recent difficulties, the Gokage agreed with him.
The hair on the back of his head stood on end, something just appeared. A big something. Or someone. Glancing back up at the box, everyone else felt the same thing. Each Kage was scanning the crowd and more than a few shinobi had stood from their seats in alarm.
He allowed the fight to continue as he too began hastily searching. "Naruto, above, high on the stadium." Kurama spoke urgently within him, the first time he'd spoken since the fight with Itachi and Kisame.
Naruto's head shot up and he spotted the distant figure topped with Orange hair standing tall on the rim of the stadium, hands outstretched.
"SHINRA TENSEI."
Naruto's hand disappeared into his pouch before the chakra had even begun surging.
(End)
Oh dear, what appears to have happened?
This chapter is a few days later than I wanted but I really struggled with the flow of time and dialogue, hence the large time skips in between sections. But I hope it was enough to satisfy you for another month, and if you guys haven't figured it out yet, we're finally at the Fall of Beacon.
Now, I must warn you. The Fall is coming out in three parts, I won't name or describe them here because it'll (obviously) ruin the surprise. But I'm going to try and write them simultaneously and get them out close together to keep the level of suspense the same.
Finally I must warn you for those who dislike it, there MAY be character death ahead. I have yet to decide myself, and exactly who and how.
Until next time then.
-Red