A/N: EDIT: Ouch. Flames are getting persistent, but I'm trying to stay strong...

WARNING! As ever, the "Embers" rule remains.

If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. Deleted Reviews are the fire that keeps me writing. Without them, I cannot put pen to paper. Simple as that. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up!

Calling this chapter intense would be...well, it would be an understatement.

Hope you're prepared. We're near the finish line here, folks.

Now lets answer a few quick questions:

Q: Does this chapter focus mainly on Naruto?

A: You'll see.

Q: What's your update schedule?

A: Remnants, Golden Grimm and Untraveled Road, in theory. Of course, I may update Just A Dust Shop and Popular Monster early if folks are that keen on it.. Trying for a lot of double -as in two in one day!- updates, but its hard with all this pain. I hate, hate, HATE the dentist, and it doesn't help that I have to drive really far to see mine. Needless to say I don't much like needless, to say nothing of all that poking and prodding.

And yes, before anyone asks, I'm stockpiling updates for my non-RWBY updates. I know not all of you like RWBY.

Q: How powerful enough is Naruto right now? He's using Kurama's power now, right?

A: Ask yourself this. What happens when you mix Salem's power, magic, and a whole lot of tailed beast Chakra? What happens when you take a perfectly nice young man, betray him at every twist and turn, reject his attempts to make peace and just...keep...hurting him? Well? We all know the answer, do we not?

Demons run when a good man goes to war. Remember that. Ozpin didn't.

Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough, I think. Shall we begin?

As ever, I own no quotes, references, memes or themes~!

"...well, that does it. I'm awake now. I warned you. But you couldn't let it be, could you? No...

...you just had to push me. You had to PUSH and push, and PUSH!. And keep pushing...

...congratulations. You have my attention. I hope its everything you wanted."

"You're just one person! You can't-

"I! AM! TALKING!"

~?

No Turning Back

This was new.

Naruto lowered his arm -still extended from the vicious punch that had sent his foe flying- and frowned down at his clawed hands, marveling at the scarlet shroud sheathing them. Very new indeed. Downright fascinating, really. He flexed his fingers, only to his hiss as the sharpened edges of his fingernails bit into his palms. Before his very eyes the wounds sealed themselves shut, leaving him even stronger than before. It felt like he'd been asleep for so long, seeing the world through some dark veil. Now the veil had been burned away. Now he was awake.

This was different.

Crimson energy crawled along the length of his body as he climbed to his feet, mending his wounds. Feeding his stamina. Pushing him to new heights. He felt the grisly tear in his chest close with an awful sucking sound; one he'd never forget. Even now he felt the painful process of flesh regrowing alongside muscle and bone. It felt...odd. Not necessarily painful, but strange all the same. Teeth twisted in his mouth, sharpening into awful fangs, ghastly canines that twisted his smile into something hideous.

This was as it should be.

He planted his feet and pivoted, bringing single scarlet iris to bear over his shoulder. Tan skin bled away, becoming pale and ghost white as hideous crimson veins bulged in his face, across his arms, across every bit of visible skin. Black bled across the whites of his eyes as the last semblance of color leeched from his hair, leaving him standing tall and proud. His adversaries shrank back at the sight, but he made no move to attack. There were no words to give. No taunts to make. Only anger, only a dull roar in his ears-

"Ruby! Hit him again!"

Silver eyes flashed from the little red one. At least he assumed they flashed; because his world burned. Blood boiling! Head aching! Make it stop! A soundless hiss escaped him as he recoiled. He pushed past it and flung his arm outward, bringing a swath of red light with it. Someone screamed and the pain abated. His vision cleared just in time to see four figures sprawled on the ground. He raised a thumb, prepared to bite and summon reinforcements, finishing what he'd started.

"If its any consolation...that hurt like hell."

A thousand chirping birds was the only warning Naruto received.

He whirled and caught Sasuke's arm at the wrist; not a moment too soon. A blinding expanse of blue light filled his vision, striving for his chest. The impact alone blasted him away from the girls, sending the two of them tearing across the ruined forest in a streak of violence. Clawed fingers tightened around that wrist and it guttered out with a whine. Another fist scythed out and he caught that too, wrenching the arm around and down. Muscle and bone creaked ominously in his grasp.

"Demon!" he snarled as they grappled with one another. "You won't win here!"

A clawed hand closed around his throat. "Give Sasuke back. Now!"

"Never! I'd sooner die than...than...!" Without warning, the Uchiha's face twisted in a rictus of a grimace, and when next he spoke, his voice was his own once more. "Kill me."

Naruto nearly recoiled and released him out of sheer habit. It was only an ironclad sense of self control that prevented it. The Uchiha's body struggled in his grasp and it took a physical effort on his part not to hurt him any more than he already had.

"What?! No!" he hissed back. "Fight him! I know you can! You're stronger than-

Sasuke kicked out against his chest and fought his way free.

"I can't!" Panic in his eyes. "He's in my head! My soul!" Bloody fingers clawed at his chest. "I can't get rid of him!"

Naruto ducked a knife and slammed a haymaker into his teammate's cheek; for all the good it did him. "Sasuke" merely rode the blow and used it to smash a heel into his face. That horrendous cane flicked out a second later, striking impossibly fast against his chest. Bone cracked and twisted, eliciting a gasp. He caught the cane and reeled him into a rousing roundhouse.

Crazed black eyes met his, flickering rapidly. "KILL ME!"

"I can't! You're my best friend!"

"Then I won't be your friend anymore!" Sasuke ripped at his own face, fingers tearing furrows into his skin. "Don't you see?! I can't live like this! I don't want to!"

"But your dream-

"It won't be my dream now! It'll be his!" He blocked a kick and cut out in a line of sparks. "Kill me before I kill you!"

"No! Stop...it...! I won't...Blasted boy!" Sasuke's voice shifted anew. "Don't make this difficult! Can't you see the necessity of this?!"

Naruto bit his thumb, summoning a pack of Beowolves from grisly black spatter. "Hold him down!"

Green light flashed. Sasuke tore through them like paper. Laughter pierced the smoky forest.

"You'll have to do better than that, I'm afraid."

He dove into the haze after him, only to find his friend writhing on the ground.

"Sasuke...?"

Steel flashed up at him and he slapped another knife away, only to find himself grappling with the body snatcher.

"I'd do it myself if I could! I can't! He won't let me!" his face screwed up again, eyes flashing gold, then black anew. "Kakashi doesn't suspect anything. No one does!" his forehead smashed against his, bloodying his face once. Twice. thrice. "He's fooled them all! Do you have any idea how it feels to be a prisoner in your body?! How powerful he'll be now that he has mine?! End me!"

Tears pricked at his eyes.

"Just...make it...stop!"

Part of Naruto understood the truth of those words. He'd rather die on his feet than live as a slave. His union with Salem was a symbiotic one; whereas this...whatever it was, proved purely parasitic. It would be a mercy to free his friend from that. But to kill him...!

A knife slammed into his thigh. Naruto's left leg buckled, but he daren't let go.

"He has so many plans." Sasuke glared balefully at him as the wound bled. "So many schemes that involve me. I've seen them all. Spare me now, and he'll become a nightmare for you. I can't stop him...

No. There had to be another way. He could knock him out. Stun him. Take him back to the village and...and then what? He'd be released on the spot. No one would believe him this. Ozpin would keep trying, again and again and again, until he succeeded. Was it possible to separate two souls? Salem might know. She had to know. She must. She'd worked with souls before!

"I can help you." he gripped his shoulders, refusing to release him still. "We can find a way. Just stay with me and I'll get you to Salem-

Black eyes flashed gold as his pale face twisted in a rictus of fury. "NEVER!"

Something slammed into his back.

Naruto looked down, mouth working wordlessly. His lips pursed as he beheld the curved blade of a scythe jutting outward from his stomach. It was only aura that kept him from being bisected on the spot. Ozpin saw his opportunity and took control once more to shove him back, impaling him yet further upon the massive blade.

And yet for all that he felt no fear.

"I'm sorry." a regretful voice whispered in his ear. "I wish there was another way."

His attacker whirled and launched him into a tree, tearing a trench into his body. He crashed into the earth and stumbled upright, only for a a golden meteor to slam into his back from on high. Breath burst from his lungs as his skull kissed the ground. Soil cratered underfoot. At the end of the day, Naruto was still mortal. And this? This was painful; beyond painful. He thrashed upright and another blow cracked down against his spine at an awkward angle, driving a pained cry from him.

"Just stay down if you know what's good for you." a fist gripped the back of his head by the hair and hoisted him up. "You don't have to die."

"I'm afraid he does, miss, Xiao-Long." he heard Ozpin's voice as though from a great distance. "Hold him there for a moment."

Their arguments faded away as his mind fell further into the black. Even now, he'd tried to show mercy. And where had that gotten him? Nowhere. He heard the awful sound of that jutsu again, countless chirping birds an eerie death knell coming for his head. If he died here Sasuke would forever be a slave to that...thing. Damnit. Damn them. Damn them all. Crimson chakra continued to bled from his stomach, taking on the shape of a single tail. His heart hammered frantically, a steady drumming that drowned out all else. Naruto hated rarely, but when he did hate, he hated murderously.

His body shivered once.

"Fine. You win. I...give up."

He heard his captor exhale. "Great. Now lets just-

Hooked claws shot up and obliterated her right arm below the elbow. She toppled backward with a shriek, clutching at her ruined limb. Naruto caught the falling arm and smacked her across the face with it, sending her spinning to the ground. Clawed fingers closed around the back of her head by the face as she fell and slammed her into the ground. Once. Twice. Thrice. She didn't rise again.

"Yang!"

Oh, was that her name. His mind slurred, thoughts turning brutish and sharp. Unimportant.

Sasuke's body lunged at him; a contemptuous backhand sent it sprawling back into the treeline. Deal with him later.

Naruto felt his mask formed with an awful squelch, concealing his snarling visage beneath a roaring maw of bone as he rounded on them.

"I've given up trying to spare any of you."

Silver light flashed out again, hobbling him. Less than before. He lunged at the little reaper for it.

Everything was so clear now. So simple. They kept getting in his way. He couldn't save Sasuke like this, not with them stabbing him him in the back. So they had to die. Each of them. Every single one of them. Why hadn't he thought of it before? Rip and tear. That was all he need do. Until it was done.

The red one would be first.

A girl with dark hair intercepted him before he could reach her, blade howling for his head. He caught it by the wrist. His fist scythed down, breaking it at the elbow. He wasn't quite quick enough to stop her followup. She did something with her odd sword and it barked an angry dust round in his face, startling him. Nevertheless he fought on like a champion. He took another blow on his chin, turned and caught their arm. He struck out and his fist slammed through a shadow instead.

"More and more of you!" he reared back and lashed out with a claw, raking five flowing furrows through the air. "Well?! C'mon, then!"

Ice sprouted around his feet, entrapping him where he stood. Something snapped. Blue eyes burst into flame as he threw back his head with a snarl. He spied a girl with white hair. Easily remedied. His hand snapped out and a shockwave followed, ripping her from her feet. She crashed against a tree and fell still, stunned by the blow.

Naruto stormed after her.

"ENOUGH!"

The shadow came back for him while he was distracted. His tail flicked once, lazily lopping off her left leg, and she collapsed with a wordless cry. Someone called her name but he was too far gone to hear it. Red eyes fell upon the reaper, now scrambling back, fumbling with her weapon. Next.

He lunged at her, only for his claws to pass through a cloud of petals.

Sasuke's body surged through it and slammed the chidori through his chest, exploding out of his shoulder. Naruto's left arm slumped as one of his lungs burst beneath the blow, but he carried through. He had no choice. Even as the jutsu tore through his body, he kept moving.

He closed with Sasuke.

"I'm sorry...!"

Ozpin's cane swept in. Naruto blocked with his deadened arm and flowed behind him, raking razor sharp chakra claws across his chest. Sasuke's body flinched, and that flinch bought him that crucial second he needed to get behind him. His good locked around his neck and wrenched him backwards, binding him in place. A knife swung back, stabbing wildly at his chest. He could already feel his mangled arm healing, the hole in his chest closing as blood flowed freely from the wound.

"You fool!" Black marks began to scrawl across the madman's body. "This won't stop me!"

"Yes." Naruto closed his eyes and bowed his head. "It will."

There was only one way...and he hated himself for it.

He ripped the knife from his chest and slammed it into Sasuke's back, severing his spine. There was resistance...for a moment. Ozpin screamed, and Sasuke with him. An awful pop filled the afternoon. Sasuke's body slumped to the ground with an awful thud, a puppet cut from its strings. Naruto let it fall, for he couldn't bear to look at it. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. It was all a bad dream. Had to be. To even consider the alternative threatened to unman him entirely.

Ozpin growled at him, unable to rise where he lay. "Curse you...!"

Naruto's boot thundered into the side of his head and laid him out flat. This wasn't the end. He wouldn't let this be the end. He could fix this. He could explain. Medical chakra was an amazing thing. Sasuke's body could be healed up once...once that thing was split from his soul and...and...ohgodhewonteverforgivemeforthis...but he would live...!

His gorge betrayed him and he doubled over, retching.

Distantly, he heard voices.

"Ozpin!

"Is he really-

"What do we do now?!"

No doubt they thought him dead. That was fine. He was content to maintain the illusion. Sasuke's body was strong and the wound wasn't bleeding heavily. He would live...for now. Their fate was more uncertain. His hands twitched, aching to lash out, brimming with wrath.

"Are you satisfied?" he turned a black look upon them all. "Some villains you are! You couldn't even kill me properly! Look what you made me do!"

"We're not evil!" the reaper cried! "We're trying to save the world!"

A blond brow quirked. "Yours or mine? I'm happy just the way I am...or I was."

Silence was their sole response. When they didn't answer him, Naruto shook his head and turned away.

Slowly, gradually, the red chakra began to bleed away, allowing his mind to break the surface once more. That single crimson tail bled away, leaving him cloaked in red light, but so...so terribly angry. He hated them. He hadn't thought it possible to hate anyone this much before. He wanted to break them, hurt them, as he'd never hurt anyone else.

It frightened him.

"Alright!" he ripped the mask from his face, planted both hands in his pockets and leaned forward, eyes blazing with flames. "The question of the hour is this. Who's going to test their might? Well?" when no one moved he rolled his eyes and tossed his head in thinly veiled agitation. "C'mon! Look at me! No plan! No backup. Nothing! Oh, and something else. I have nothing to lose."

Another step.

"Now, before you attack me with your silly little semblances, and your silly little weapons, just remember." he singled out the smallest of them, red eyes locking onto silver. "I just killed your leader. I'll kill all of you if you attack me. I won't like it, I won't be happy about it, but I will if you push this. So do the smart thing for once in your lives."

He spread his arms wide.

"And let somebody else try first.

"But you're evil!" the reaper wrenched herself upright, her face streaked with tears. "You have to be stopped!"

"Am I? The only evil ones I see are you. This isn't your world anymore. Its mine. And I'm tired of playing games.

Blondie was out of the fight. The one in black had all but passed out once he'd taken her leg. That left her and little White over there, only just now rising from where he'd left her.

Naturally, he went for the weakest first.

His fist closed around the back of White's head, ripped her into the air, spun her around then slammed that pretty nose through a tree at speed. She cried out and stuck him with her rapier, for all the good it did; the puny weapon was too thin to inflict any meaningful damage. The back of her head struck the ground. His fist descended, bloodying her nose. Once. Twice. Thrice. Aura fizzled away. She crumpled with a groan. Another slam ensured she didn't rise again.

"Weiss!"

Oh, was that her name? Unimportant. Naruto planted a boot on her back and kept her there. Never had he felt more tempted than he did now. These people had hurt him. Sasuke life would be forever change because of them. Eye for an eye. Blood for blood. Evil for evil. His head snapped up with a snarl, and little red recoiled. Her eyes flashed but the light fizzled, spent as he resisted it once more.

"Let go." A voice whispered in the back of his head. "Let go of everything."

It would be so easy to bend down and bite her pretty little neck. Brand her, mark her, tear her apart-where did that come from?!

He wrenched himself back with a start. Red eyes locked with silver.

"Drop your weapon or she dies."

Ruby wavered. "That's not fair...!"

"Tough."

Strength wouldn't beat these people down. They'd just keep coming until he killed them. He didn't want to. Enough blood had been shed today. If he gave in and started killing, he wouldn't be able to stop. He just knew it, and the thought terrified him. He'd already done something horribly, possibly even ended Sasuke's career as a shinobi altogether. Because of them. Even now his heart growled with hatred, demanding vengeance for what had been done.

Instead he chose another path.

"You think you're the hero of this story, do you?" he turned his head and spat. "All I see is a selfish little girl."

Her shoulders quivered. "No...I...that's not it...

"And you did this to yourself." he straightened with an effort. "I'm awake now. I warned you. But you couldn't let it be, could you? No you just had to push me." his pale face twisted in a snarl. "You had to PUSH and push, and PUSH!. Then push some more!" he stomped down on the huntress's back, pinning Weiss where she lay. "Congratulations. You have my attention. " a clawed finger stabbed out at her with every word. "I hope its everything you wanted. Was it worth all this pain?"

"But you're a Grimm!" Ruby rallied one last time, her words a sob. "You can't be good...!"

"I AM!" he flung up his arms! "When will you realize that?!"

Her words hit him again, a terrified bleat. "You're lying!"

Something snapped. It was his temper.

"I! AM! TALKING!"

"...!"

Just like that, the little reaper clammed up with a squeak. Naruto's shout was the deathblow to her faltering confidence; with little more than a whimper, she dropped her weapon. It clattered to the scorched ground with a dull clatter. Not a moment later, she joined it, all but crumpling to her knees.

"We...we just wanted to help...

"That's better." Naruto heaved a heart sigh and straightened as the faint sound of her sobs pervaded the clearing. "Now, where were we? Oh! I remember!" He clapped his hands with a snarl, drawing a flinch from his prey. "I was talking. You were listening. And about to surrender."

Yang -blasted stubborn, that one!- somehow managed to groan from where she lay. "To you...and what army?!"

Fine. Hard way it was.

"This army."

Naruto reared back, opened his mouth, and bit into his arm. Black blood bubbled forth and spattered the floor en masse, bubbling and frothing like tar. Within moments the pools of darkness spread growing into a horde of grim fed from his very life force. His wrist was still bleeding -still healing!- when he reached up and crossed his fingers.

"And this."

Smoke joined shadow and birthed an army of shadow clones, a hundred strong.

"But we haven't done anything wrong!"

"No?" he grinned like a wolf. "You ambushed a Leaf shinobi in the middle of an invasion. How do you think that's going to look?"

Once more, silence was their answer. He no longer cared to hear their excuses. Assuming they had any left after that tongue lashing. It was over. Everything was over there could be no turning back from this. One way or another, everything was going to change.

With a shake of his head, Naruto waved his army forward.

"Take them."

A/N: And there we are.

The plot's starting to wrap up, and its been one hell of a ride.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

(Previews)

Naruto felt tears sting at his eyes.

So much death. So much destruction.

All this, wrought because of him. Maybe...maybe it was time to leave.


"No."

...what was that?"

"I said no." Salem planted a hand on her knee and pushed herself upright. "Fascinating word. It means no. Negative. Not. Happening."

"But you have no weapons, no defenses, no plan!"

"Quite so." she smiled through bloody teeth. "And yet I'm still standing. Doesn't that scare you to death!"


"Akatsuki? That's cute. Tell me, have you ever felt your blood boil in your veins? I assure you, its a fascinating spell."

R&R~!