Inspirational Design:

Grimm color palette Merkava from UNiEL.

Behemoth from Monster Hunter/Final Fantasy

And bears, bears are scary.

Then we've got the other inspiration:

Angra Mainyu

Vasto Lorde

Taokaka

And a bit of the Sorceress from Disgaea

~NRK~

Penny focused as she held her weapon aloft in her left hand while her right one crackled with electricity.

"Hmph, I'm guessin' they've got more men, huh?" Qrow asked.

"It'd been a while since you've seen me fight, boy," Sekiei said with a flex of his hand, the purple Aura around it glowing ominously. "And, this time, I've got an Evolved Semblance," he said as he flipped two fingers up.

The area rumbled as a purple haze shot up from the blackened settlement.

Raven's eyes widened. 'The hell?' She growled as she held her blade aloft, lightning forming up the edge. "Take him down!"

The three of them lunged at the two, Kesseki stepping in front of them with narrowed eyes.

A wall of gray Aura sprung up in front of the two, the three's blades slamming into the wall.

An explosive burst of wind shot back from the contact but they didn't make it past it, Penny, Qrow, and Raven jumping back from it with frowns on their faces.

The male Branwen widened his stance as he altered his weapon into its scythe form.

Dark red tinted the edge of the blade before he lunged forward with several slices of his scythe.

Red light carved across the surface of the wall, tearing into the ground near it, but left little noticeable marks on it besides Kesseki's scrunching expression.

"We need to hit him all at once!" Qrow called back as the two women nodded.

Raven widened her stance and held her blade parallel to the ground, one hand on the back of it as it sparked with electricity, eyes burning.

Penny's eyes glowed as she leaned forward, one hand on the ground, as her sword exploded with green lightning.

The ground ruptured beneath their feet and the two's charged weapons slammed into the barrier with explosive results.

It shattered, much to Kesseki's shock, before Qrow jumped up with his weapon raised.

"Attack!" Came Sekiei's voice and Qrow barely had enough time to lower his weapon to block a black claw that still sent him shooting back into the cliff face, grimacing. "Heheheheh, I've learned quite a few things, boy."

Penny and Raven jumped back as two more claws slammed down into the ground, cracking it and allowing the monster to pull itself out of the ground.

"Tsk," Raven frowned as Penny's eyes widened. "There's the Grimm."

It had four long tentacle-like appendages sprouting from its back that held claws at the end of each one, the digits digging into the ground around it.

Its main body, a big wolf-lizard-mole-like thing with similar claws to the ones on its back but on actual limbs. Its body was covered by scales of white bone with red all along them.

The final thing about the creature was that its mask was similar to that of a bull's mixed in with the other animal-like influences, the four eye-cavities within it containing four glowing red eyes as the tip of its face opened with a crackle, its head trembling like some kind of rickety machine.

"... That's not pleasant to look at, yikes," Qrow grimaced.

"A Grave Digger?" Penny realized in horror before she, Raven, and Qrow separated as two of its long tentacle-claws slammed into the area where they'd just been.

Qrow grimaced before swinging behind himself to lock his blade to Kesseki's forearm, the limb glowing gray.

The Branwen's eyes narrowed.

Naruto swung out with his gauntlet, knocking away Jade's knives before swinging out with his ax.

The stealthy woman dodged to the side and yet even then, Naruto dodged similarly to dodge some of her knives that glowed purple.

'Gravity Dust?' He thought before his senses piqued and he swung back with his fist, the wind pressure sending some invisible clattering to the floor. 'She can apply it to them!?'

"Tsk!" The woman stepped back and vanished against the cliff face, pulling her four knives back to her. 'Damn thing is too good at sensing me,' was it its sense of smell? 'Still, he's becoming more valuable. If we can get Sekiei to tame it, we'll have a veritable juggernaut.'

The world knew how Grimm grew more powerful so all Jade needed to do was have the thing commit to murdering enough and it'd get more powerful!

So, for now, all she had to do was bring him down… which might be harder than she thought but she'd make it work!

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the evil intent of the woman reeked of. 'I think she forgot I'm a Grimm,' he considered. 'Whelp! Advantage time!'

He heard the whistles of the knives and made a single move.

'Magna-Ventus.'

His armor erupted over him, the white plates locking in as his eyes flashed, the knives chipping his armor but that was it.

'Magna-what-' Jade began to say only to choke on her own tongue as she was crushed against the cliff face once again. "Kaugh!" Red liquid began to soak her helmet's cloth. 'I-I almost didn't see him!' And her Aura flared a bit.

Blazing green eyes narrowed onto her before the floor rumbled and Naruto's head turned to see the Grimm of the area. 'Shit, I knew you bastards didn't kill it,' he cursed at her, rocks falling around them. 'What exactly was your bright idea, huh?'

"H-Hmph, I bet you w-wouldn't get it or maybe you do," Jade said. 'Chat him up! Regain my breath!'

'Sounds like more trouble than it's worth.'

"You'd think that but a being like you is worth more than his weight in lien."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. 'So, is this the start of that?' He thought with a frown. 'Well, you'll be happy to know that I'll just break through all your little games.'

"Hah! We'll-" Jade began to say, Aura flaring within her Semblance's cover.

A pulse of green and black sent her deeper into the cliff face, the earth cracking and crumbling around her as Naruto snorted and removed his hands, the woman's head fell limp.

'Not today.'

He turned around before finding Qrow in combat with that big guy, Kesseki, he thinks.

Meanwhile Raven and Penny were fending off that Alpha Grimm and that Sekiei guy.

'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.'

Qrow kicked out at Kesseki's stomach before slashing across the man's chest, greeted by sparks.

The behemoth of a man's arm swung out and Qrow jumped, the man's swing tearing apart the ground where he'd just been.

He spun in the air, scythe transitioning into its sword form, before his blade's edge found the Mountain's neck, knocking him off balance.

"Tsk!" The Branwen made to give chase but grunted as he was sent sailing into the ground by a kick barely grazing his side. "Dammit, why are you so damn big?!"

"Hmph!" The large man made to belly-flop on the horrified Qrow only for a black comet to slam into his side, sending him tumbling into a crater.

Naruto landed by Qrow's side. 'Need some help?' He offered the man his hand and pulled him up. 'How's the actual situation?'

"He only grazed me but fuck if my Aura didn't take a hit," Qrow said as he rubbed his side, the pain receding in an instant. "I'm still at 75%. Don't know 'bout him, though. Kesseki was known for his stupid big Aura and how much he mastered his Semblance. I bet my hits barely did a percent."

'Tempered?'

"Yep," Qrow said as he showed his dark-red tinted blade. "He's that tough. The only damn lucky thing is he can't harden his Aura while his Semblance is active so he's not, like, invincible."

Naruto's eyes narrowed before he clapped his hands together. 'Magna-Tenebris.'

Darkness pulsed off his form as it altered.

Darkness element, the element his shell was most aligned to. When using a spell of his element and mixing it in, he could say he was at his peak physical ability, honestly.

The former blonde's body shifted as his limbs elongated and compressed into more slender limbs that pressed against the floor in an all-fours form.

His body condensed as well, Qrow noting the shape being familiar as Naruto's mask became more slender along with his head, thick blue marks around his mask's eye holes while the bones on his body shifted along his spinal cord and spread out to his biceps and thighs.

Five long black tails spread out and the bone shifted down them in a line before forming a cap on all the tips.

'Kyuubi Mode,' Naruto hissed out, black haze slipping off of him, as Qrow smirked while their opponent got up. 'Let's do this.'

The Mountain barely got up before being slammed into again.

He barely prepared for it this time but then his eyes widened as his Aura flickered.

"What-?!" Was all Kesseki got out before his head rocked back from the hit from Qrow's blade, a line of red forming along his cheek. "?!"

"Nice," the Branwen said.k

Naruto's paw-hands pulsed before the bandit was sent shooting back.

Penny and Raven swung out in unison, arcs of lightning slamming into the head of the Grimm to make it reel.

It wailed as Sekiei frowned before raising his hands.

All the fingers tucked in save for the middle and pointer ones before he turned them like clocks.

The Grimm's tentacles, even without its command, shot out before circling the two magical females.

They jumped up and away, the tendrils crushing the area where they'd just been.

Raven's eyes burned before she swept out her hands, human-sized ice shards appearing around her and shooting down on the spun-up tentacles.

They lanced through the coiled tentacles but Sekiei's eyes glowed as his hands moved continuously.

The Grimm wailed as its tentacles unwound regardless of the ice, the ripping and tearing of its limbs were visceral and releasing black ichor.

They came for the two as they landed and Penny's eyes narrowed before she stepped forward with a thrust, burning red circuit-like marks flowing up her arm like flames.

An explosive, HOT, ball of steam combated the limbs, much to the two's surprise.

"... A Water-Element sword," Penny realized as she exerted more flames, the heat building to little effect on her skin.

She burst the ball of steam and shot back, Raven catching her barely.

"Hmph, I guess the sword affects your magic," the Branwen woman said as she set Penny down as they saw Sekiei grimace.

"Stupid Grimm! You're worthless! Not even worth controlling like this!" He shouted at it as it warbled and stood on shaky limbs. "DO SOMETHING!"

Its eyes shined purple and the three humans blinked as the Grimm's form tucked in on itself.

The tentacles, legs, its head, and even a small stubby tail, all of it coiled together before darkness began to flow off it as it crunched in on itself.

"Kill it!" Raven said immediately as she swung her odachi down, a large wave of red Aura tearing towards the 'Grimm'.

Sekiei skidded to a stop in front of it before the Aura around his hands pulsed as he rotated the limbs around one another.

The red wave hit a wall of purple before separating into two devastating waves to the side, carving up the earth but leaving the target unharmed.

Raven's form appeared above the Grimm ball only for Sekiei to kick her away but not without injury.

Red leaked from the old man's side as he landed in a pained crouch, head turning to face the large burst of green lightning that had become Penny's sword.

"Longinus!" She stabbed forward.

The shot of lightning flew true, hitting the Grimm ball with a burst of light and crackle of electricity… to little effect?

Penny's eyes widened as Raven landed next to her with a grimace.

"Just fucking great," the Maiden said as the ball unfurled itself and revealed the 'Grimm'. "... The hell?" Raven blinked at it.

For lack of a better phrase… it wasn't wrong to say that the Grimm had become 'condensed and streamlined'.

Its 'skin', it really did look like it, was pure black and smooth, its form looking now seemingly bipedal.

It was the size of Naruto when he was in his Sage Mode and bore similar musculature. Its head had remained bony like before but had become smoother, no jagged edges and crooked angles, it was smoother and looked like a bull skull helmet, red marks forming over it from the nose going all the way down its back and limbs.

One of its thick arms had a big melted welt in it, a familiar one from Penny's attack.

Its tail, long and bull-like, wagged against the floor as darkness-element vapor caused the area around it to throb, pulse, and distort. The energy around it flowed up around its form as it hissed out steam.

Its thick fingers clenched as its head turned to the two, eyes leaving trails of red light in their wake.

… Wait. Penny's eyes widened as Sekiei cackled from beside the transformed Grimm.

"Attack!" He ordered the creature as its head turned to him. "...?!" His eyes widened at its eyes. "No-!"

His head was picked up by one of its hands, the old man struggling as it began to clench.

Raven and Penny's eyes widened before Sekiei's fingers pointed at its face.

Two bursts of purple Aura had the bandit dropped to the floor as the Grimm covered its face with an audible growl.

Sekiei hissed as he hit the floor before he propelled himself backward with bursts of Aura from his hands.

Raven hesitated before her eyes went back to the growling 'altered' Grimm.

Its eyes locked onto them as its hand fell from its mask-

'DYNAMIC ENTRY!'

The beast was sent sailing as a pair of paws slammed into its noggin from the side.

'Naruto Uzumaki, at your service,' their neighborhood-friendly Grimm said as Penny smiled. 'So, uh, it didn't look like that before,' Naruto said as the enemy Grimm recovered from its tumble into a crouch. 'And it's got some serious power.'

"Sekiei forced it to evolve somehow," Raven said with a frown. "... I think."

"Its energy levels didn't change… one moment," Penny said as a green monocle formed over her left eye, the energy construct's three adjusting rings having a crosshair that moved around within the inner circle. "... Its bone density increased and its form condensed to its current shape. Its energy is extremely potent, as well."

"So, it's a technique?"

"I believe it's a form of false evolution due to Sekiei's command being vague," the former robot said. "And its musculature has become hyper-dense."

The Grimm had been looking confused the entire time they were chatting, its eyes narrowing on Naruto as the blue-eyed Grimm's own eyes narrowed back.

'You got a problem?' He asked the enemy whose form crouched lower in hostility.

Naruto lifted his ax before he swung as the transformed Grimm's lunge brought it into his personal space in a quarter of a second.

His weapon found its arm and cut into it a bit but didn't stop its charge and they went rolling.

Naruto kicked his opponent away before two streaks of lightning slipped past him.

Raven went high while Penny went low, the two's swords slamming into the Grimm's bicep and thigh in unison.

Their blades bit into dense Grimm flesh before two harsh twists had it amputated twice over, the two magic women skidding to a stop behind it.

Naruto prepared for anything… and still felt his mouth fall as the Grimm's severed limbs wiggled before new ones found themselves on their opponent's severed appendages, the cut-off limbs vanishing into black vapor.

"What in the world?" Penny's eyes widened along with Naruto and Raven's. "... Constant energy generation? If it's packed all that energy into such a small area-!"

Raven's form barely made it in front of Penny, the Maiden slicing the space in front of her.

The Grimm's chest leaked black ichor.

It reeled back but also prepared to swing out at Raven's head only to find a pair of claws on its biceps.

'Bad idea, buddy!' Naruto roared as he and his clone brought the Grimm down into the floor, crushing the ground where it hit. 'Now!'

A Naruto clone shot down from the sky above like a white and green comet, the other Narutos on the ground grabbing Raven and Penny before getting away from the impact zone.

The attack tore up the ground where the Grimm originated.

Qrow and the fox-Naruto clone battered Kesseki's defenses time and time again.

The hulking man crossed his arms before throwing them out, an Aura field throwing the two back before Naruto dug his tails and claws into the ground, pushing against the field with a growl that the Mountain returned, raising his fist.

The ground ruptured where his blow landed but he found nothing beneath it. Kesseki's sight shifted around before a pair of claws found his ankles from below.

"What-?!" A sword slammed into his chin once more, sending his head snapping upward.

From the ground, more black arms shot out and grabbed his limbs, the man stumbling as he tried to fight them off as Qrow threw out slice after slice, chunking through the man's Aura as he was left with shaky concentration.

'Keep laying it on!' Qrow thought as his form blurred over Kesseki's form, afterimages slicing at the man's wrists, ankles, and neck. 'Don't stop-!'

The sight of a familiar Strategist shooting back past them confused the Branwen as Naruto's head popped out of the ground.

'There's some serious energy going on over there. Grimm energy!' He said as he pulled back on Kesseki's entrapped limbs.

The man flew through the air before Naruto sent him slamming into the cliff face, tails still not letting go.

Then the living Grimm's tails glowed light green, filling with magical symbols of wind nature. 'Bofu Bankatsu!' (Windstorm Division!)

Green surged down his tails before an explosive burst of harsh winds tore apart the top of the cliff in its entirety.

Naruto huffed as he pulled his tails back, his body going back to normal. 'Huh… that didn't take nearly as much out of me as it used to,' he grinned while Qrow frowned, looking around. 'What?'

"Where the hell did Sekiei go?!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he spread out his senses before his eyes widened, front turning on a dime to look at where he'd embedded Jade into the cliff.

And saw nothing.

'Fuck," the two said in unison.

Then Naruto's eyes widened and he cast Magna-Ventus before shooting high into the sky, confusing Qrow for a moment.

Then the man saw the Grimm streak down onto a familiar enemy Grimm, the dust, earth, and stone exploding into a tower of destruction as two more Narutos landed by him, Raven and Penny in their arms.

"So, what happened?" Qrow asked them as Raven frowned.

"The Grimm condensed its body, energy, and abilities. It's become a hyper-dense weapon and can regenerate cut-off pieces," the Maiden frowned. "... And there's something off about it. I don't know if it's just me but that energy around it… it's leaving somewhere."

Penny's eyes widened before she regained that Examiner Module spell. "... I-It is…" she whispered as the Narutos perked up and looked towards the sky around the Grimm impact zone.

'What the hell is that?' They said in unison, stepping back in confusion. 'What? T-There's a big ball of dark energy being collected in the sky,' one of them said, shocking the group.

"What?! What's it doing?!" Qrow choked. "Shit."

"... Wait… Naruto," Raven's eyes narrowed as the Grimm nodded. "Do you remember that weird Black Gate you told us about?" Naruto grimaced.

'Do you think this has something to do with it?'

"We're closer to it right now than we've ever been before," Raven explained to them. "If that's the case, what if Grimm near this side of Anima are different? What if Sekiei caused a reaction by telling it to, basically, evolve?"

"That's not good," Penny grimaced. "For now, we need to defeat-"

The Narutos' eyes widened before they stepped forward and slammed their palms ahead of them.

Two long black arms shot out from the dust cloud ahead and their limbs blocked the blows.

"Extendo-arms, fantastic," Raven hissed as she and Penny skidded by the Narutos' sides, their blades raised.

They cleaved through the arms and the roar in the distance had them on guard, the severed limbs hissed before turning back into black vapor that flowed into the sky and back to the Grimm.

'The vapor is going in two directions,' Naruto explained. 'Up and to the Grimm. Right now, it seems like the more we destroy, the less it gets back.'

The dust cloud cleared to show no Naruto clone with the Grimm and its damage.

Its mask had been cracked and one of its eyes was gone. Besides that, its limbs seemed a bit thinner than before while its entire form had shrunken half a foot.

"... Oh," Qrow got it. "The more we cut off, the more energy it can't use and the weaker it gets."

Raven nodded before she vanished in a burst of dark red, in front of the Grimm in seconds.

It swung out at her and she grinned as she spun to the side while cleaving off the arm.

Electricity crackled near her ear as Penny swiped through the Grimm's thigh, the creature stumbling before a tinted red blade swept across its chest.

It wailed, limbs reforming, only to catch a haymaker to the face, sending it flying back as Naruto and the others gave chase.

Its reformed legs, now more balanced in musculature, carved into the ground of the destroyed village, Kuroko.

Its limbs shot out again and Penny and Raven, the fastest, swerved in and out them as Qrow cleaved as many as he could while he moved.

Then a tower of wind shot down on the Grimm from above, Naruto's outstretched fist held out.

'Coming down!' He shot towards the transformed Grimm with his legs out.

The attack cratered the area beneath it, the Grimm's body flat against the floor before Naruto jumped back as two Aura Slices of dark red sliced through the Grimm's body.

It roared in defiance, form wriggling as tentacles shot out of its body in a chaotic mess.

'DO IT!" Naruto, Raven, and Qrow shouted above as sparks crackled.

Penny smiled as the Naruto clone holding her nodded.

She kicked off him like a bolt of lightning, dispelling the clone from the runoff electricity.

The attack ended in half a second, from high in the skies down onto the Grimm's back, the heat coming off of her searing away the tentacles that even wiggled near her, sword slamming through its body from its back.

Naruto, Raven, and Qrow covered their eyes as green light colored the area with its brilliance before dying down.

"O-Oh," Penny shivered as she stumbled away from the Grimm… or, well, what was left of it "Mmm," Naruto caught her and she moaned into his chest. "I-I believe that much force is new for me. That felt too… t-too strong."

'Whelp, we'll need to up our training, I guess,' Naruto said as the Branwen twins came over. 'But you brought it down, good work.'

That might have been an understatement as charred Grimm remains hissed as it slowly faded away, the molten area where she'd caused when attacking their opponent was just hissing against the open air.

"Good work, kiddos," Qrow said before Raven's form vanished, the falling rubble from the cliff face telling them where she was. "Sekiei and Jade are gone, right?"

'Unfortunately. That old guy took her, I think. I couldn't feel anything so they hid their dark intent and just made a run for it.'

"T-This is bad, yes?" Penny asked as she relaxed. "Right now, Raven needs-"

Raven's feet crunched against the floor as she landed by the two, the Maiden flicking her blade to the side, red spilling against the black ground.

"Done," she said as Penny flinched. "... Hmph, you'll have to live with it. Life out here doesn't come without a cost, Penny," Raven said even as she turned as she sheathed her blade.

"R-Right," the former android winced as she tucked herself further into Naruto's chest. "... We need to find the Dust."

'Yeah,' Naruto said as he raised his head, nose sniffing. '... Hmm? I think I found it. But, should we go and look for whatever was super important here?' He asked and the others looked at him weirdly.

"What are ya talkin' about, Naru?" Qrow asked.

'It's just… the Dust was important here but also the thing about it, ya know?' Naruto said. 'What if there's something else here that was important?'

"Would you even find anything?" Raven asked. "This place is lacking so much life, it feels like a puppet show."

'Not wrong… alright, let's go and find this thing and maybe we'll find something.'

With Penny finding her way onto Naruto's shoulders, the group walked through the area with winces.

"The entire area feels devoid of meaning," Penny said with a frown. "It feels like a wasteland."

"Yeah, it's not pretty," Qrow grimaced as he pulled out his Scroll and recorded everything they saw. "This area feels kind of vacant from what me and my team found. All things considered, there's nothing here, no life, no anything, and everything feels meaningless."

Raven pressed her finger to her lip and pointed at herself, Naruto and Penny nodding.

"We're approaching the central location where the core of the area will be," Penny said as Qrow recorded her atop Naruto. "All things considered, we'll be able to cleanse this area and hopefully living beings can live here again."

'Though, it might be a good idea to not for a bit,' Naruto continued as he pointed at the buildings. 'This whole place is different compared to Umikaen, it really needs to all be broken down and fixed from the ground up. The Grimm we found here wasn't… it was powerful and had different abilities. This place needs to get looked at by powerful Hunters before anyone makes any moves.'

"That's the log for the Black Gate in Kuroko," Qrow said as he stopped the recording and sent it off to Ozpin, James, and Leonardo. "Thanks. You don't see it often but this is a big part of Hunter Jobs that focus on exploring stuff."

He immediately got a call and picked up. "Oz?"

-Yes, I was informed by Leonardo. Everything has been handled?- Ozpin asked.

"Yep. Now, we're heading towards the core of this mess. We might come back with some interesting stuff again if Naru's hunch is right," Qrow said as they saw the location. "... uh, it's a research institute… I think."

-Yes, this might prove to be a grand boon-

Going inside the building, Qrow kicking the door open, the four watched as it seemed to disintegrate into dust.

'Geez, that just turned to powder!' Naruto said as Penny got off his shoulders and crouched by the grainy particles.

Examiner Module activated as she picked some up and rubbed it between her fingers. "... It's full of the Darkness element. It's saturating every particle and molecule in the door's composition. Chances are high that the entire area is like this and that's why everything feels like it lost all its life."

'... I wonder,' Naruto considered the idea as walked forward and pressed his hand down onto the ground. '...'

The blackened area began to throb as its Dark element-infused particles began to lose the black color slowly but surely.

-Is Naruto, perhaps, trying to see if he can remove it?- Ozpin guessed.

'Yep,' Naruto said as he focused. '... It's weird. I'm trying to remove it and it's flowing into my body and stuff.'

Penny observed him as Naruto kept going.

Five minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief, form having grown hazy with dark 'mist'.

"... Naruto-kun's energy signature has risen," Penny said with interest. "... So, does the hazy that comes off a Grimm designate how powerful it is?"

"Seems so," Qrow said as he recorded the whole event. "Naru did this earlier when he used that Tene-thing."

-Tenebris. I guess you used the second-level, yes, Naruto?-

'Yep. I… I never thought about it, honestly,' the Grimm said as he looked at his hand before clenching it.

The haze slowly fell away as his muscles bulged a bit, form growing a bit taller as he concentrated.

'It's like excess energy, you guys. It's just slipping away if I don't concentrate it into my body,' Naruto said as Raven raised a brow at him, leaning back against cream-colored walls. 'This might be super useful. If I can absorb the Darkness element from the Black Gates, I could totally come in super-charge and let loose on the Grimm.'

-It sounds positive. Bring some samples if you would, Penny-

Penny nodded before removing her Electronic-Signature Box from Naruto's scarf and pulling out several jars.

She filled them with the powdered door and put it all back.

"That'll never not be weird," Qrow said with a snort. "Alright, let's go and find this thing."

The four walked through the large building, looking at all the rooms.

"... Wait, this was an observational establishment?" Penny said in surprise as they saw a room full of eroded but still familiar equipment. "Master Ozpin, this building… this was observing the sea… No," her eyes widened. "It was observing something across the ocean."

'... Oh crap,' Naruto realized. 'Did this village find that fifth Black Gate?'

"If they did, no wonder the Grimm snuff it out," Qrow grimaced before frowning. "... Wait, hold on… would they consider this as a boon for humanity?" He asked, blinking in confusion.

-... I hope I'm not correct- Ozpin said. -But what if this was directed like the Toad Sage had implied? The Black Gate across the waters… the Grimm there might be more conniving than we could imagine- He said, concerned. -This isn't good. Very much not good-

'They snuffed this place out… so that means they don't want to be found yet, right?' Naruto offered. 'That means we still have time. Whatever did this, it hasn't made a move yet.'

-But that means it's consolidating power, Naruto. This isn't good no matter how we look at it. Hurry back after you find the source-

The group nodded and hastened their pace before finding the core of the Black Gate.

And it was surprising. "It's mutated," Penny said in shock as Qrow recorded the Dust crystal.

It'd become contorted… oddly into a coral-like shape and was a purple with black marks like the other one but this one pulsed with blue energy, the feeling cool and slightly moist.

'Water Dust,' Naruto said as he walked forward. 'Second verse, same as the first.'

He grabbed one section of it, the middle of the 'coral' Dust, before squeezing.

Cracks appeared throughout it before he crushed it in its entirety, the center becoming crushed before its 'branches' hit the floor, the black marks and purple color fading off it before slipping into Naruto's chest like the last one.

It was a lot, too. Penny observed the former blonde's increase in energy all the way to the end.

"... A 30% increase in your energy levels," she said as Naruto looked at his body before shivering. "N-Naruto?!"

'I-It's fine, I think," mental words became real ones as the Grimm groaned, form shuddering before… compressing. "Oooohhhh, I think… i-it's the… condensing-" He got out before forming a ball of black that floated above the ground.

"The hell?!" Qrow choked as Raven's eyes widened and Penny rushed towards him. "Shit! Naru! You in there?!"

-What's happened?!- Ozpin asked.

"He just turned into a big ball of darkness? I think?"

Penny observed the orb with a frown, spell active… before her eyes widened.

"... Metamorphosis?" She said in shock as the energy within changed shape. "... Evolution?" Penny realized in shock as the ball vibrated and pulsed… before slowly shrinking.

Raven's mouth fell along with Qrow's as the ball's shrinking came with a surprise.

Black energy formed limbs, humanoid limbs. Human-like arms, powerful black human-like arms with clawed fingers touched the ground as black human-like feet, with white claws for toes, clacked against the floor.

A muscular black torso heaved slowly as blue marks formed a sun-like tattoo on his stomach and shoulders while white material formed pants and half a mantle around his waist.

His face was humanoid… kind of? It was pure black with no mouth in sight and blue eyes on a black background even amongst the black 'skin' that he had on his face… oh, how could they forget one important factor?

He had spiky white hair resting atop his head that was covered by a large demon fox skull acting as a helmet for his head, his face peeking through it as two short black horns came through the eye holes of it.

The being stood up on shaky feet, his height the same as two long white tails waved behind him.

"U-Uuuuuuuhhhh," the Grimm wobbled a bit, tilting on one foot before Penny steadied him. "I think I need to lay down."

He dropped like a sack of potatoes as the area outside returned to normal.

They just had to deal with this new Naruto situation.

-... Qrow? What happened?-

"... Uhhhh."

Naruto awoke with a groan, hand covering his face as the sound of something fading away reached his ears.

"Ugh, I feel like I had a wicked workout," he moaned as something soft, smooth, and slender brushed against his forehead "Hmmm?" Blue eyes blinked as they looked up to see a familiar bosom and then a familiar smiling face. "Penny? Did something happen while I was out?"

"Yep," came Qrow's voice from his side and Naruto's eyes went to the grinning Branwen. "You might want to look at this mirror," he said as he handled a full-body mirror next to him to show Naruto.

"...?! The hell that?!" Naruto shot to his feet, skull 'helmet' rematerializing in full on his head. "Huh?!" He turned around, looking past the amused Raven to look at his reflection?! "Who?! What?! When?! I look more normal?!"

"Yes, I believe this was expected, eventually," Penny said as she got up, with no head on her lap, she stood to her full height and looked up to see Naruto's eyes as he gawked at her, the ginger giggling a bit. "You got a new form kind of like myself."

"..." Naruto looked at his reflection, taking the mirror from Qrow so the Hunter could stand up. "... I-I almost look like my normal self… well, that is, I wasn't this tall. Maybe it was puberty?" He considered as he tapped on his helmet. "Huh, I guess this is better than an actual werewolf face… I wonder if I can take it off-?"

The mask's length faded away until it was only a small headdress on his forehead, Naruto's hair slipping past it.

"... Awesome."

"So, now you look like a human. Is that a good thing?" Raven asked as Qrow grinned nervously. "Can he even go back into normal cities like this?"

"Well… maybe he can transform?" Qrow offered as Penny's Examiner Module sprung to life.

"... His biology has adjusted to his current form. All levels are in excellent condition," she said. "... His energy and cells, though, seem to be volatile and unstable while perfectly fitting to his mold."

"... Well, let's see," Naruto said as he closed his eyes and focused.

An orb of black formed around him before dispersing to leave a familiar Alpha Beowolf in its place.

"... Oh. I was trying to go back to my other form but it brought me to this one," Naruto said as they observed him. "... I think it changed my other form? Maybe?"

"You might have evolved your other form, you mean," Qrow said with a hum. "It makes sense, this Grimm could transform, condense… wait! Do you think you have stretchy arms!?"

Naruto hummed before raising his hands at the wall and they slowly extended. "Yes, I do."

They pressed against the wall before snapping back to normal.

"It feels like… um, well, my energy arms/tails. It's so much easier to do this, too. Man, I got an upgrade!" Naruto grinned before shifting back to his other form. "And that's a bit easier since I did it before."

He went back and forth between the two forms before nodding and crossing his arms, grinning to show sharp pearly whites.

"I'm loving this."

"We can tell," Penny smiled. "Still, we didn't find anything here as you thought but we did find an implication."

"... Actually. I think I can tell what was covered by these Black Gates, now." Naruto said, surprising the three. "... This one was covering this place specifically but there's also something else. It's in a farther room."

They hurried out, Naruto minding his feet as they clacked against the floor.

"Geez," he winced at the cracks in the floor his talons had punched into the tile, the others looking amused. "Uhh… shrink," Naruto said to his toes.

They did, a bit, and grew more blunt.

He tapped against the floor and sighed in relief. "Property damage is not what I need in my life right now."

They found the room moments later and gawked at what they'd found.

"It's a submarine?" Qrow choked at the rusty, eroded, half-finished thing that was covered in weakly glowing Water Dust and… Hard-Light Dust. "The hell… they wanted this hidden?"

Raven looked around before finding a computer in the corner of the Sub Room.

Walking over to it, she found a single object still covered in a small orb of darkness, Qrow recording everything but her in the background.

"Yo, Naruto, touch this," she said as he walked over and looked at the USB. "If I'm right, this is the important thing."

Naruto nodded, reaching over and grabbing it. The moment he did, they watched the darkness dissipate.

"... I think we might have found something crazy," the Grimm man said as Qrow nodded, the item in pristine condition.

"... If it sectioned it off from the world at large by covering it in darkness… it might have kept it in a perfect condition!" Penny realized. "It's like your Object Scarf! This is big!" She cheered.

"Yeah. This means that there ARE things in these places that need to be recovered," Naruto said with determined eyes as he popped the USB into his scarf. "Good thing I made this scarf alter-capable. I think it's time we got out of here, yeah?"

"Yep, we've not only gotten something big out of this. You got an upgrade and we might have gained new tech and stuff," Qrow said. "We're going strong, let's not push it."

They all nodded before hurrying out of the building… by blasting through the walls via Raven and her ice.

"It's not like it's supposed to be left up," she'd said as they exited. "So, let's get back to Vernal."

~NRK~

Sekiei and Jade hissed as they watched them go, the woman holding her side as she watched with a small telescope she had.

Sekiei was currently mending his wounds with a grimace. "This isn't good, Old Mountain is dead and they didn't lose shit," he hissed as she grimaced. "I hope you're not plannin' on blamin' this on us," he growled as she grimaced.

"No, I'm not… right now, you're officially under my group," she said with a frown. "Things have changed and you're the key to a few possible new methods."

The old man huffed. "What 'bout him? You didn't get your fuck-Grimm-buddy."

She rolled her eyes. "Sadly, that'll have to wait, Raven Branwen now has some form of possession over him and we can't take her lightly, much less take her. That was the whole reason for this job but now we're down a valuable asset."

~NRK~

Come nighttime, Nora found herself humming as she raised her hands in front of Ren, the boy trying to copy her glowing electricity balls.

"Hmm…" His own pink Aura began to glow around his arms and form an orb that was far less chaotic and full of lightning, its size significantly smaller than Nora's. "I-I think I get it. What's this do?"

"It's a ball!" Nora said excitedly as Li chuckled while his son sweatdropped.

"R-Right."

Vernal watched from the side, sitting upside down against the wall and trying to do the same thing herself.

"... I-I can only make it a bit, too," she said, showing the gray Aura ball in front of her hands.

"You've a good amount of Aura control," An said as Vernal blushed a bit. "And so young, too."

"I-I'm fourteen! I'm just short!"

"Hm, hm, I know, I know."

There was a knock on the door and Nora shot to her feet as she felt who it was.

"THEY'RE BACK!" She shrieked, running to the door in a buzz of electricity as Li Lie chuckled, sending his magical water ball out a window and to splash against the garden. "... YOU GOT DIFFERENT!" They heard Nora's yell of disbelief and blinked.

When they exited Ren's room… they all balked at Nora as she sat in the arms of a man and not a Beowolf.

"Hehe, sup?" Naruto said with a grin as Nora pat his shoulders and neck with intrigue. "So, some stuff that happened," he began as Qrow and Penny chuckled while Raven smirked, Vernal balking at the sight of Naruto.

"The hell happened?!"

One explanation and some food later, the group sat in the garden area, Naruto being observed as Qrow called Ozpin.

"Right, don't say anything about Rae being here, thanks," Qrow said to them as he put the Scroll on Speaker Mode.

It picked up. -Qrow?-

"So, uh, new development."

-What kind?- Came Summer's voice as Qrow wore a more sly grin. -I'm guessing it's with Lil Naru-Naru?"

"Well, he's certainly not little Naru-Naru."

-... He didn't become the size of a bus, right? He wouldn't fit into the house… unless we made a BIGGER ONE?!-

"What, no?!" Qrow choked as he tried to calm her down. "No! No! No! It's not that!"

-... You sure?- Summer sounded disappointed as Nora giggled.

"He looks like a hooman!" She cheered in Naruto's lap as there was stumbling on the other end of the line.

-Huh?!- Summer, Ozpin, Glynda, Bart, and Tai choked in unison. -What?!-

Qrow let out a sigh of relief as he turned on the cameras.

The reactions were hilarious.

-LET'S GET HIM SOME CLOTHES!- Summer said as Yang gasped.

-YEAH!-

-Huh?! Is he taller than me?- Taiyang asked as Naruto snorted. -My boy, think about it. You're, what, in your early twenties?-

"... Yeah," Naruto admitted as Bartholomew gasped in awe.

-Is this a new transformation?!- The history buff asked. -Has he gained a new power?!-

"The first one, this is a new normal form for me," Naruto answered. "And I got a few new powers, yeah."

-MARVELOUS!-

-S-So, you're saying, he's human?- Glynda asked as she viewed him. -... No, not exactly. Summer's right, though. You will need clothes now… I already have a tailor in mind. We can go and handle that whenever you're ready-

"Wait, why did you already have a-"

-T-This is certainly a change, Naruto!- Ozpin said with a chuckle. -I think we'll need to go and call James-

Naruto blinked as his Scroll rang and he picked it up. "... Oh, it's James-ossan. What's up?" Naruto said as he picked up.

-Naruto?! Gamakuro got bigger!- James said with a voice that was tired and yet all the more awake.

"Something else happened, too."

-What are yo-?- James began to say before Naruto put himself on camera.

The sound of someone spewing coffee reached their ears. -WHAT HAPPENED?!-

Another explanation later, the group just looked at him in shock, Pietro quickly brought into the call.

-So… this is a new change. And you have stretchy arms?- Pietro asked as Naruto demonstrated by reaching around the Lie family to pat Ren on the head, the boy giggling a bit as the limb receded. -I see. We might need to have you as a part of this new submarine you spoke of. If what you all saw is true, this is BIGGER than we know. We might be able to handle true underwater travel!-

-We'd still need to go over the notes- Ozpin said. -But he's right. If what you saw is right, and the Gate wanted to hide it, it means that this will be vital-

"Glad to help," Naruto said. "Still… h-hehe, going through town is gonna be weird like this. Especially if I'm gonna get new duds."

"You'll likely have to deal with it," Qrow said. "Or maybe give the populace some time? It's been almost a year, though, so maybe it's not the worst thing. We'd need to publish the destruction of this Black Gate. That way, we can apply your changes to the Gates and stuff."

"True," Li said. "If nothing else, I think the nearby towns to Kuroko will learn of the change the fastest. Perhaps if you go to Mistral, you'll be able to get the press involved."

-I'll tell Leonardo in the morning- James said with a huff. -Still, what about Gamakuro?-

"I'll go and check on him. Anything unique?"

-Well, he's about the size of the nightstand now. That and he's gained some new marks in blue on his stomach. He's as docile as ever and we've been feeding flies as always. So, basically anything that might be different, only you, Ozpin, Fria, or Penny could figure out and Fria is currently in Vale, as you know-

"Gotcha," Naruto nodded. "I guess we'll head to Atlas in the morning," he said. "Right now, we've got so many things to deal with."

-Yes, your new form will certainly desire some getting used to it. Actually, I'm curious about something. That white material on your lower half, what is that?-

Naruto blinked before Penny's examining spell looked at his shin.

"... I believe that's his bones still," she said in surprise, pinching the material with interest. "It's like hard leather but its very malleable-"

-Get to Atlas as soon as possible, that's the plan!- James said in excitement as she chuckled. -New material that's conductive and feels like leather?! That sounds amazing-

"Yea, well, you'll get your fill tomorrow," Qrow said as he stretched. "I'm tired, though I guess we'll slum it in your backyard."

"Alright, we'll see you all eventually," Naruto said with a wave as the calls ended. "It's never-ending, huh?"

"Nope," Raven answered. "Now, we do have a few tents," she said as Naruto smiled.

Raven laid back against Naruto's big foxy form's tails, dead asleep.

As it turned out, using his darkness spells in his newest animalistic Grimm form made him a big fox, and said fox had amazing fur.

With his current bus-like size, even the Lie family had decided to sleep on him.

Nora and Ren laid down atop him as a Penny-made fireball hung in the air by them, warming them enough for no blankets.

Qrow had found the crux of one of Naruto's elbows a comfy angle to sleep in.

An and Li had rested on his side while Vernal had rolled up in one of his tails and slept like a cocooned caterpillar.

Finally, Penny rested against the former blonde's neck, gently rubbing his fur as she slept with a smile on her face.

And so the night passed.

~NRK~

Back on Naruto's boat, Naruto, Nora, Vernal, Raven, Penny, and Qrow watched as a clone of the Grimm bumped fists with Qrow.

"So, I'm not sure how that'd work but if I just did this with the energy of my island which is just my energy, it should work," the Grimm said as Qrow nodded. "Okay, let's see…"

The area around their fists vibrated with energy as Naruto focused.

'We're not fusing… I'm passing on energy, not mixing it,' the Grimm man said as he focused. 'Focus… Focus on the same feeling that I had when it was with the kids.'

Push his energy down into the soul and unlock those channels. Those dilapidated channels that were creaky, old, and unused for generations.

Like a stream slamming against a dam, Naruto's eyes closed as Qrow's Aura sprung to life before it began to fade away in a curious fashion.

The dark red soul energy spiraled in on his core before slipping inside.

Qrow'd form flashed with a 'framework' of string-like passageways that layered over him before disappearing, Naruto's opened slowly as they burned gold.

"There, done," he said slowly with a release of breath as Qrow shivered a bit. "This is different. We all know that. So, hopefully, this doesn't become too weird."

Qrow looked down at his body with a hum. "Whoa… i-it's like energy is just brimming beneath my skin," he said as Raven snorted.

"It's a bit like that in the beginning but it'll settle. When it does, you'll basically have the magical channels. Though, for me, it took almost an entire month for that to take place," the Maiden said as the group looked curious. "In that time, his Aura will work just fine… I think," she said. "He's gonna have a harder time controlling it, though, because of the magic. It's more powerful than Aura and if you use it with just your spiritual channels, prepare for things to get fucked."

"Hmm, so can I use magic like this?"

"Well, you should but like I said, it's gonna be awkward."

"Why not try the spells you're attuned to?" Penny asked with a smile as she pulled something out of her Electronic-Signature Box and removed a small piece of paper. "We copied down the Element Paper for me and Naruto-kun to use in case things got unusual."

Holding it out, Qrow nearly squealed like a girl as he took it.

"Now, just push it in and…" Qrow narrated to himself as he did it.

And several glowed and he fistpumped in success.

"Hmm… Spiritual, like everyone it seems," Naruto began. "Ether, and Darkness. It's kind of weird."

Then they blinked as those three words formed lines between them and another word found itself printed in red on the page.

Ephemeral

"... One second," Penny pulled out her Scroll and made the call. "... Hello?"

-Good morning, Penny- Ozpin said. -What happened this time?-

They explained and Ozpin blinked.

-I believe it was unwise to do this unsupervised but I know what's happening- He said. -Back in the day, there were special skills that could fall under three more categories. Ephemeral is the category for things that can't be touched, it's in the name-

"That makes sense," Qrow said. "What are the other categories?"

-Holy and Cosmic- The six looked confused. -I know how it sounds but, yes, some powers fall into those categories. Holy is defined as powers gifted by the gods themselves. There are few other things defined as such but that's the basic definition. Cosmic, meanwhile, is different. Cosmic powers are typically ones dependent on the state of the world itself, that's why they used to also be called the World category. In a way, Naruto's Sage Mode is like a World spell but it's not been gifted to him by it and that's why it's not a spell-

"That sounds weird," Nora said and Ozpin chuckled.

-Yes, well, just know, this is understandable. Qrow's Semblance is literally bad luck, after all-

"Oh, wait! Can I control that now?!" Qrow asked in hope.

-It's certainly possible. Even then, now that you're gaining magical channels, you could very well just cancel out the aspects by donning magical artifacts-

"Wait, I mean, those should still be around, right?" Naruto said. "I'd wondered about that at some point but totally forgot due to everything that happened."

-Yes. There are likely some still around but those aren't easy to reach if they exist. Though, being fair, one could make magical items if they know the proper methods-

"It sounds curious," Penny said. "I'd like to think that making magical items would be a rather nice benefit to our future battles."

-Hm, hm, hm, maybe one day. For now, get to where you all need to be. Life's thrown us enough curveballs as is-

~NRK~

Eight hours later, Naruto, Penny, Nora, and Summer were moving across the water on the Grimm's back.

Without the need to go into Sage Mode, Naruto was as capable of moving across the sea as he'd been when he took Perry and his family from Atlas to Argus.

And with applications of Magna-Ventus, he got from his island to Atlas in two hours.

Summer grinned as they transitioned from horribly cool waters to soft crunchy snow.

"A bit more and we'll be in Mantle," Naruto said. "Honestly, I wonder how Blake, Perry, Sienna, and Ghira are doing. I need to go and visit Menagerie one of these days."

"It'll come in time! Now, let's focus on Atlas!" Summer said.

In under 20 minutes, they were walking up to Mantle security, the familiar two Huntresses at the gate shrugging at him as he waved his pass.

"I feel like you don't run from continent to continent like I thought," one of them said and Naruto sweatdropped. "Eh, it was just a thought."

He rolled his eyes before gallivanting through Mantle at a brisk speed.

When he got close enough from below, the Narutos took off into the sky towards the floating city.

"How is your energy consumption?" Penny asked from his back with Nora snuggled close. "Before, you told me this took quite the amount of energy."

"Yeah. I guess this is that energy increase you told us about. I've got more stamina to use," Naruto said as he doubled the strength of his 'thrusters'. "We'll figure out a lot once we get to James-ossan."

When they finally reached the city five minutes later, Naruto came soaring above a bullhead port before continuing past it, bullheads, private bullheads, and highways to reach Atlas Academy in the distance.

Ignoring the flashing of cameras from passing people in those bullheads from before, he finally landed in front of Atlas Academy with a huff, he and his clones letting their passengers down before Naruto dispelled them.

"You alright?" Qrow asked him as Naruto shook his body like a wet dog. "Ack!" The Hunter's eyebrow twitched as he was soaked.

Penny giggled a bit before covering Qrow in flames for a few moments.

Once it stopped, the gruff man huffed as his hair stood up on end. "Fantastic."

"Hehe, sorry. Now, let's get to it-"

"I-It's you," came a shaky voice from his side, Naruto blinking as he turned his head to see a shocked Winter Schnee. "I-Is there more?" She asked in disbelief before clearing her throat in embarrassment, straightening her posture and her eyes gaining a look of focus. "... You are the one, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yep," Naruto nodded as her eyes widened at his moving mouth. "It's weird compared to a lot of the names in Remnant but it's my name."

"R-Right," Winter stared at him. "Ahem, 'Naruto' can mean 'Maelstrom', it could bring about the color of storms. Grays, whites, technical blues," she listed off as Summer chuckled, gaining her attention. "...?! W-Wait," she swallowed. "A-Aren't you the Phantom of the Lands?"

"... Oh, right, Sums is kind of important in the world," Qrow said with a smirk as the woman rolled her eyes at him. "I sometimes forget."

"Of course, bird-brainy, I know," Summer shot back and Qrow held his heart in faux pain. "Now, uhhh… Winter! Right, that's your name?"

"Y-Yes?! D-Do I know you?"

"Hmm, not outside of titles, probably," Summer chuckled. "But I know your mother," Winter looked shocked. "Your dad, too. We went on vacation a few times over the past year," she explained as the Schnee looked shocked.

"W-What?!" Winter couldn't believe that of all things. "I-I don't believe you! That doesn't make sense!"

"Well, yeah, I get why you think that," Naruto said as Winter's eyes shrunk in disbelief. "Weiss informed me and Penny-chan about things, had to give a little advice about her bond with your lil bro but things all worked out."

"..." Winter was left there, stunned, as she tried to make a hint of sense out of what Naruto had just said. "W-W-What?" She choked.

"... I believe you've done nothing more than confuse her," Penny said. "We met your siblings before our families had their vacations together. Weiss wanted to meet Naruto after one of his many life lessons captures on camera," she grinned as Winter looked more concerned.

"... I haven't been home in a year…" She grimaced. "I'm surprised father is so… amicable."

"Haha!" Qrow laughed as Winter's eyebrow twitched. "Don't worry, he clearly has a stick where the sun don't shine but he's funny to watch, to watch play chess, and to drink with. He's so dainty."

Winter looked ready to explode in disbelief. "... I-I might need to take all of this with a bit of disbelief."

"He's the lanky man!" Nora said and Winter's cheek trembled. "He liked a lot of drinks like the boom-boom lady!"

"Okay, let's not get into details," Naruto said with a huff and slight blush as Penny grinned slyly behind her hands. "Just know, yeah, he's a bit stuck up but he's not some super-demon."

Winter looked hesitant. "I-I see… I'll… look into this," she said.

"Weiss said she was going to call you," Penny said.

"She did, I promised to come during the upcoming break," Winter answered and the magical woman smiled.

"Then, I think you'll get a better view of things from her compared to hearing it from us."

Winter nodded slowly. "Very… Very well… If I understand, are you all here to see the general?"

"Yep, got some more weird stuff, and good stuff, to report. This'll probably get sent to those repos. You should take a look sometime, it's pretty interesting stuff," Naruto said.

"O-Oh, no, I've read all the documentation already," Winter said. "Ten times over, as a matter of fact. I understand the situation at large but it's worrying to note. What if there are more of these so-called Gates that we don't know about?"

"I mean, that's a given, Lil Naru was just at one a day or so ago," Summer said with a grin as she pat Naruto's shoulder, the Grimm's several feet on her own height getting a roll of the eyes out of him while Winter was left there stunned. "There are likely quite a few we don't know about yet but they're small fry compared to the big ones."

"L-L-Lil Naru?"

"I think you confused her more," Penny repeated with a smile. "For now, we'll be making more notes on them. If we're lucky, we'll be able to release our video footage sooner. For now, we have a general and frog to see."

The group waved as they left, leaving Winter standing there, confused.

"A-A frog?"

"You confused her more," Naruto said to Penny who giggled.

"Maybe."

~NRK~

James and Pietro nodded as they, along with the others, looked at Naruto's readings in his 'human' form.

"Energy increase, increased muscle mass, altered body structure, working tails, and extra ears, and more! He's upgraded in an odd way," Pietro said as he looked at three screens. "Though, comparing it to his more animalistic form, the structure change does offer him different boons in either form."

"Olfactory senses greater than most animals, form built for long-travel stamina, and a transforming medium of a body," James said. "Meanwhile, his more-human form has better energy levels, actual hands, better energy control, better ax-handling, and increased power potential. They each have their purposes. Now, about Gamakuro."

Said toad croaked next to the general's leg as Nora kept stuffing her face into its skin while Penny pet it gently.

Coming out of the observation room, Naruto chuckled before walking over and kneeling down.

"Well, from what I can tell, he's grown a bit more powerful, oddly," Naruto hummed before touching his Summon. "It's…" His eyes flashed and he tilted his head at it.

"Naruto-kun?" Penny said and the Grimm chuckled before lifting up his Summer and taking it into the observation room. "You figured something out?"

"Yep, I was given the information when I touched Gamakuro. He now has Water abilities or magic, I guess. Now, come on, buddy. Let's do some Water-Style!" Naruto said as he put the toad down in the room and kneeled to its height, cheering it on.

The creature croaked before it inflated further and a bullet of water slammed into the wall.

When it was cleared a bit, they saw a small dent in it, leaving Naruto with a big grin before he pressed his hand against the floor.

Boney material spread out to the wall before shooting up into five circles on the wall.

"Take aim and fire! Suidan no Jutsu!"

The toad expanded some more before its front legs raised and slammed into its stomach.

A stream of water swept across the 'targets', carving into them, a little, as its attack stopped.

It croaked in success.

"Haha, he's a hoot," Naruto said before looking at the others. "How's it looking?"

"Well," Penny came in and pet the toad whose eyes closed in harmony. "Hm, hm, you're right. He does have water magic within him. I guess we simply never knew since he probably didn't grow when we met the Water Spirit."

"Seems so," Naruto said as Summer ran in with Nora.

The two babied the toad without remorse as its master watched on in amusement.

-Considering the power, I guess it's about as strong as a firehose- James said over the speakers. -Fascinating… Actually, Naruto, can you apply your spells to your summons?-

"Hmm… I never thought about it," the Grimm albino said as he looked at Gamakuro. "Let's give it a shot, bud."

Touching the toad, he cast Ventus.

He croaked without a hint of change. "I think the froggy has its own element already," Summer said. "If I'm right… you might need to summon something else with the element in mind. You think of frogs and so Gamakuro has water skills now that you have the Water Spirit Blessing."

Naruto looked at her with a hum. "That makes sense," he said before biting his thumb, red blood flowing before he made the three handsigns necessary. "Time to find out. I wonder what I should make?"

"SLOTH!" Nora said with big shining eyes! "SLOTH! SLOTH! SLOTH!"

Penny smiled. "I think she wants a sloth," she said and Naruto chuckled before nodding.

"Alright, sloths, sloths… they look like that… I wonder what kind of element a sloth would have," Naruto sweatdropped. "Well… they're pretty covered in green moss… they're slow. They've got super long arms… Not just an element, a skill," Naruto considered with glowing blue eyes. "Focus… focus…" His hands pulsed with invisible power.

Life.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He slammed his bloody hand down onto the ground.

The array that came out of it was bigger than his own body was this time around. The circles within not just black like last time but a distorted circle, a shining weakly lit white one, and a thicker black one forming four rings with interconnecting lines.

The entire thing grew black as Naruto stepped out of it before a big three-fingered arm came out… a long one.

It was followed by a familiar animalistic body with a thick coat, a white-masked face that looked soft, and two soft blue eyes as it dragged the rest of its body out of the portal.

The portal dispersed, leaving behind the sloth-like Grimm Summon.

"SLOOTTHHHHH!" Nora shrieked as she ran into its side. "FLUFFY SLOTH!" She cheered into its fur as the Summon made a small beep sound.

"... That's adorable," Summer gasped as she held her cheeks. "Come to mommy Summy!"

She rushed over and picked it up before hugging the life out of the Grimm which hugged back awkwardly.

Its beeping cry reached Naruto, who chuckled.

"I know, I know, she's just a bit overeager," he said to it as it whined a bit more before Summer put it down with a big grin. "Honestly, this one's kind of a baby."

It beeped in embarrassment and Naruto rubbed the back of his head before walking over and giving it some head rubs.

Its mouth slowly widened into a smile.

-Do your Summons have personalities?- Pietro asked curiously.

"It seems like it," Naruto said as Nora squealed some more. "Honestly, you're more excited than he is to be alive," he sweatdropped as Nora stuffed her face into its first. "Right, he-"

The Grimm made a complaining beep and Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"H-Haa?" He shot it a look. "... Oh, please do not tell me I just gave this thing a gender," he choked as the others followed suit save for the still-dreamily happy Nora. "Y-Yea, she is very glad you like her, Nora."

The Summon made a happy sound before scooping up both Naruto and Summer.

"... Oh, she's a hugger," the mother of 'three' said as the albino sweatdropped. "Yep, women like this love hugs."

"I'm officially out of my comfort zone."

~NRK~

The scientists around 'oohed' and 'awed' as they watched the two Grimm animals relax in the biome.

Naruto, back in beast mode, as he liked to call it, watched them with a hum. "... I think I might need to bring these guys to the island, eventually," he whispered as the others nodded. "The more of these gates we beat, the bigger they might get. For now, they're good but if we find another gate, I think we'll have to move at least, Osojiai. She's already got a big arm span but I'm pretty sure they can get longer."

"It'll have to be something to consider for now. We don't know if there's another normal Black Gate in our lands," James said as he cupped his chin. "Right now… we need more intelligence in the kingdoms that won't lead our people into a trap that they lucked out in having enough people to handle."

"It's true. Right now, we run on guesses, myths, and anonymous tips," Summer said. "So, right now, there are several objectives. One, we need more information on where these Gates might be and how long they've existed."

"Two, we need Naruto to gain more power by destroying the core and source," Penny added.

"Three, we need to grab the information that's being hidden within," Naruto said. "Speaking of, James-ossan, how's that USB?"

"Magnificent," James said with a look of euphoria, Pietro chuckling.

"That small bit of tech has not only given us notes, entries, and facts on the sub, area of its dive, and mechanisms, we've learned another way to use Dust. By connecting them in a manner to gain a special effect."

"Sounds right, we really hit the jackpots by beating these Gates," Qrow said. "... And… I might have an idea on how to get more info."

"Do tell," James said.

~NRK~

Raven snorted as she laid in a hammock with Yang, the two outside the home on Patch.

Looking at her Scroll, she considered the idea.

Do I get paid?

-Duh-

I'm in.

~NRK~

Two weeks later, Naruto bent down as much as he could to come through the front door, the female cashier balking at his size in the high-quality fashion store in Northern Vale.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Naruto said as Glynda came in after him along with Yang and Summer. "You guys don't have clothes in a size 'me', do you?"

"U-U-U-Um!" The woman just stared at the size of the Grimm. "N-Not really?"

"Oh, you should. I placed an order for his size," Glynda said as the woman stared at her in disbelief.

"That was you?! H-He's clearly bigger than that! How would it fit?!"

Glynda gestured for her to come with them and they moved to a private dressing room, the few other customers choking at the sight of him before watching with interest.

Did Grimm wear clothes? Did they look good in them?

Questions of the evening.

Once they got into a proper private place, Glynda nodded to Naruto.

The female cashier's cheeks twitched as Naruto changed form, the man chuckling nervously in his half-naked state.

"U-Um, yeah, uh, this is the reason for those measure-"

"Strip."

"Whoa?! That's way too forward!" Summer squeaked as Yang huffed.

"You can't just do that, ya gotta date first," the blonde said but the woman's face hadn't shifted in the least, gaining a professional quality even as her face began to glow red.

"No, young lady, these steps are… necessary," the woman growled at his chest. "A top, hat, pants, they all need very in-depth measurements. What if he gained some weight? Lost some? A proper, immediate, set of measurements is necessary."

Naruto blushed as he raised his hands. "I-I know that, uh, I mean, you should have good measurements."

"No, she does have a point," Glynda said as he looked at her in disbelief. "I gave her general measurements since we were busy. That and I don't trust Summer with measuring tape."

"I-It would have been fine!" The short woman squealed as Yang snickered.

"Yes… I'm curious, though, doesn't he have pants?" The cashier asked.

"They're not actual pants. He needs good pants."

"... So… that needs to go."

Naruto looked embarrassed. "W-We can do this nice and platonically. I-If… can I at least get some boxers-"

"Yes," the woman held up two pairs that he gaped at. "It all needs to… coordinate, sir~"

Why was she purring at him?!

~NRK~

The revelation had been shown to their group of friends, first, on Nora's birthday on August 13th two more weeks later.

Naruto chuckled nervously as the bullheads landed on the sandy beaches, the albino rubbing the back of his head in an orange robe top that he tied at the waist with a white belt and black pants with bone bands on the shins, his feet wrapped in bandages up to the middle of his foot's arch.

The waves of disbelief came rushing in as they landed and the side hauls opened just enough for them all to scramble out of like cockroaches.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" The children cried out in disbelief as they rushed him, screeching to a halt as they saw the large sloth that Nora was commandeered as her stead.

The girl hadn't changed too much, now a year older, but she'd started wearing black leather arm guards, her shin down to her ankles covered by pink bandages.

Penny, meanwhile, was wearing a pair of black short shorts and a long-sleeved olive-green jacket zipped up to her neck, her feet covered by gray bandages.

Her hair had grown a bit longer and the shade seemed to be a bit more vibrant.

"So, uh, a lot of stuff," Naruto said with a chuckle as Jaune's mouth fell along with the kids, the Grimm's skull helmet vanishing so they could see him in his entirety. "Didn't you guys follow that new website we put up? We sent it to everyone we could first and foremost."

"Y-You look like a human!" Sarcelle said in disbelief. "Y-You're human-shaped!"

"... Yeah…" Naruto said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head, Blake's mouth dropping before she saw his horns.

"H-Horns?" The Faunus girl asked as Naruto crouched to their level. "You're so big!"

"I was this big in my previous beast mode," Naruto said Whitley's mouth fell along with Weiss's… and Winter's. "Glad to see you made it, Winter," the Grimm chuckled as the Atlas Academy Sophomore just gaped at his form. "Right, I was like this even four weeks back. I can shift between my current form, Oni Mode, or my Beast Mode. It's way cool."

"That sounds ridiculous!" Saphron said in disbelief as the adults made it over before gawking as Naruto chuckled. "Y-You're… h-human-shaped!" She squeaked with red cheeks. 'Crap,' was he supposed to be good-looking right now?

Because he kind of was.

Yang grinned proudly as she gestured at Naruto. "Welcome to my masterful clothing sense," she said smugly as the group looked at her oddly. "Hey!"

Ruby giggled as the adults came over, Naruto standing up to his full height and grinning nervously.

"Sup."

Kali and Ghira stared in confusion as they tilted their heads at the horned Grimm man.

Willow's eyebrows shot into her hairline as Jacques blinked before cupping his chin at the Grimm man.

Fria tilted her head curiously while An and Li chuckled.

Taiyang hummed as he walked up to the albino Grimm and checked their heights.

"Hmm."

Leonardo balked at Naruto's form in confusion.

Cera's face contorted into obscene horror even as her cheeks reddened something fierce.

Jun blinked owlishly before pouting at something.

And, finally, Nicholas… Nicholas yelled.

"What happened to you, young man?!" He shouted in utter shock and bemusement. "He's a human-Grimm now?!"

"Haha, um, well," Naruto grinned nervously. "There's a lot that happened with that last Black Gate."

"Your height has not changed," Sarcelle declared even as her younger siblings quickly found the Grimm's arms as monkey bars. "Yet… Hmmm," the eye power of her Semblance activated and she gasped. "E-Energy readings have shot through the roof!"

"Y-Y-You're…" Winter stumbled over her words as Weiss's mouth remained on the floor.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Blake said as she pouted a bit and Naruto chuckled.

His form shifted before a familiar Alpha Beowolf appeared in the Faunus girl's vision.

The fact Blake looked relieved knocked some sense of consciousness back into her parents.

"T-This is new!" Ghira said in shock as the adults came in closer. "You've become… well, humanoid, I suppose?"

"Seems right," Kali said as she observed the Grimm's form, her right arm covered in a splint. "You just went off and became a whole new thing again."

"Yeah, I don't plan for this stuff," Naruto said as she observed his eyes and mouth, pulling on his cheek. "Mwuch bewter?" He asked and she chuckled before shaking it a bit and letting go.

"It's really skin, that's utterly insane," the jaguar woman said as Glynda hummed as she walked over with a nod.

"It took some time to understand but he just has skin. So, it was good to know he'd feel similar levels of comfort," the deputy headmistress said with a smirk as Penny giggled a bit. "With that understood, Summer, Yang, and I handled his wardrobe."

"We can tell," Willow said as she looked up at him. "It's odd but it feels like he's… taller, like this."

"I-I've noticed," Jun said with a sigh. "And yet Nicholas is still taller so I don't know why this is so weird," she said, looking at her husband who shrugged before nodding to Naruto.

"Feel any different?" Nicholas asked and Naruto nodded, shifting back into Oni Mode. "... Where do the clothes go?" He considered Naruto as the spiky-haired man chuckled.

"Grimm stuff, it's hiding under some bones."

"Well, you seem like you're comfortable."

"It's really nice wearing clothes," Naruto said sagely.

"I'm sure it is," James said with a chuckle. "Now, I believe we've come for a very special day."

Nora grinned brightly.

~NRK~

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NORA!" The group cheered for the now-12-year-old carrot top who grinned with shining eyes.

"YES!" Nora herself cheered with an utterly unstoppable amount of energy as she saw the sheer SIZE of the cake. "CAKE!"

The cutting and sharing of the cake was done quickly and efficiently with Pietro's new mini-robot aides and Penny.

"Hmm, Oso! You should eat cake, too!" Nora said as she ran over to the sloth summon by the window and took a bit of her cake and held it out to the sloth. "Here!"

Osojiai blinked three times before slowly chomping down on the offered fork.

"Heee~!" Nora grinned.

"I believe your summons are getting even more odd," Pietro said as Naruto chuckled nervously, holding Garnet in his arm, the almost two-year-old boy putting his hands on his chest as he looked up at Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the more powerful I get, the better they become," the Grimm man said as he adjusted Topaz. "Honestly, I'm worried about how big they might get if I beat about five more of the Black Gates. Will they become too big? Or is there a cap for it?"

"Yes, I can imagine those are some of the important questions," Ozpin said as he drank some spiked punch. "Now, there's the issue with Qrow's newness," he whispered as Naruto nodded. "I understand, recent news has made us feel like we need to hurry."

"Yeah, sorry. It's not that I just thought it was immediately needed but not only is Qrow the perfect guy to do this to, it proves that, yeah, I can bring magic out in those with Aura already."

"Not wrong," Pietro said. "With how we've been examining him, Qrow's body hasn't gone any other change besides the density of his Aura or the spell. Though Qrow has been exhibiting a euphoric sense of more control over his bad luck, he has 'spasms' where it just hits him and a surrounding area of five meters all at once."

The bird man was currently drinking in a hammock before he hiccuped.

Two trees fell on him moments later, causing him to squawk.

Of course, moments later, he lifted them off himself but wailed at his loss of a hammock.

"Glad to see he's acclimating," Ozpin said with a sigh. "... Has there been any hints from the other children and people you've donned your clones on?"

"So far? No," Naruto tapped Topaz's belly and the boy grabbed his finger. "The thing is, I haven't been spending time with them. Just with Penny and Nora. I can't know."

"... That's unfortunately true," Ozpin said as Glynda came over. "We sadly won't know unless you spend more time with them, mostly the Arc children since there are just so many of them."

"Hmm…" Glynda considered an idea before grinning, the three men, and one tiny boy, looking at her oddly. "Then, for a time, Naruto needs to simply be around them to help them… this island training has been doing well for Nora but if things progress in an abrupt manner, we'll be left without the reaction time. So, let's make the situation more contained."

~NRK~

"A CLASS WITH NARUTO?!" The kids shouted in shock as their parents blinked at them in surprise, Nora along with them.

"R-Really?!" The birthday girl said. "O-Oso! I'll see my friends together!" She said to the sloth summon who was holding her in her arms.

"Beeeep," the creature beeped its usual sound.

"So, you want to hold a sort of small class for children to teach them to handle their powers better?" Ghira summarized as Glynda nodded.

"We'd settle them in with room and board and make it an Abroad-Youth Program," she said. "The children here have shown great potential and Naruto's way of unlocking their powers could lead to new developments. We want to also keep an eye on their development."

"Hmm, Weiss would be in Vale for an entire year?" Jacques considered as Willow nodded. "Not just her but Whitley as well?"

"W-Well, I don't want to be a Huntsman so I don't know if I'd really benefit," the boy said as his parents looked surprised. "?" Whitley blinked.

Did they honestly think he wanted to be one?

"Mother, father, I don't want to be a Hunter, I just wanted to see what Weiss and Winter were like," he said as Winter's eyes snapped to him. "..." He looked away from her and the oldest of three flinched while her mother sighed but nodded.

"We understand… hmm… then how about we try something new?" Willow considered with a smile as Jacques raised a brow. "You don't need to monitor the mines too closely for a few months, correct?"

"Hmm, well… I don't but I do have meetings," Jacques said. "Willow."

"Right but it's not like they can't be virtual or the members could fly out to Vale, they're not the ones who made the company big, so them listening is only a matter of hierarchy."

Jacques, Weiss, and Winter looked alarmed at this cunning while Whitley blinked.

"W-We'd move to Vale for a year?" He asked, hopefully.

"It's not impossible nor is it permanent," Willow reminded him. "But it's not like we can't afford it. If anything, the SDC branches in Vale have been rather… odd as of late," she said with a frown as Jacques cupped his chin.

"This is true…" He considered nervously while Taiyang chuckled. "Hmm, very well, but they must continue their studies."

"O-Of course, father!" Weiss said with excitement. 'Opportunity!' This was a big chance!

Out of his element, her father would be forced to adapt!

Winter was left stunned, confused, this whole series of events didn't make sense!

'M-Mother has become so… eager?' What had happened? '... H-He has to have had something to do with this!' Winter realized as her eyes went to Naruto standing next to Glynda, Ozpin, James, and Leonardo, the Grimm holding Topaz in his arms. 'Why'd they the Grimm the baby?!'

Were people that lax around him? Not that Winter wanted to be suspicious but it'd only been a year since he revealed himself, correct?

"Yes, that'd be good for Weiss and Whitley. All things considered… Winter, would you like to switch to Vale for a year?" James asked with a chuckle as the girl flinched.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "M-Me? But what about my single-path courses?!"

"We'd still be doing them, they'd just be in Beacon," Glynda said with a smile. "You're not on a team so you can seek Beacon's class system for a few changes in pace. You might even find Vale rather homey."

Winter swallowed at that. "I-I…"

"You should come with us, sister," Weiss said with a big grin that Whitley tilted his head at. "You can also help us learn our Semblance with mother."

"W-Wait, mother is teaching you…?" Winter looked at Willow who nodded. "... I-I see, well… v-very well. Expanding my horizons with different Aura techniques will be… interesting."

"And we've considered that if the program goes well, we could rotate," James reassured her, surprising Jacques. "So, say they learn well and can show amazing progress, they can then go to Atlas Academy and then Haven with Naruto coming along for each year. It'd be incredibly safe with him around and they'd get the chance to learn all kinds of energy techniques. From Naruto, likely."

"C-Can I?!" Blake asked Ghira and Kali who hummed and chuckled.

"Well… It'd probably be a good idea," the mother said before Ghira grinned. "Hmm? You have an idea?"

"Yes, two, actually," he said. "You and Blake can go to reside in Vale's White Fang branch. That way, you'll be able to look after her while she's there. Maybe Naruto could even speed up your splint."

Kali hummed before nodding with a smile. "Was that both ideas?"

"No… I want you to take Adam with you."

"Oh, yeah, I get your thinking," Naruto said. "Maybe I can make a breakthrough with him while we're there."

"Yes. I'd hope for the same."

"So… an entire year without my kids?" Nicholas considered as Jun nodded. "Well, we'd still have Violet but that's one quiet house."

"So empty and not full of noise," Jun said.

"No stampeding."

"No obscene food charges."

"No worry about some sneaking out," Saphron, Jaune, and Charlie blushed.

"..."

"..."

"We're in," the two said in unison as their children choked or balked.

"W-Wait, that sounds like you're getting rid of a problem!" Saphron yelled.

"Honey… of course not," Nicholas said without looking at her. "Of course not."

"Dad."

"I-I'd learn tons of cool stuff, right?" Jaune asked Naruto who chuckled.

"Probably, there are Aura techniques that you guys probably won't even finish while we're there. None of you got the Wall Walking down yet, right?"

"No," the Arc kids answered.

"I-I kind of get it," Sarcelle said. "And Jaune's always trying so he's not that far behind."

"It's fine, take your time. Still, your Aura reserves are probably growing by leaps and bounds. Who knows, maybe by the time you guys can finish both exercises, you'll probably have crazy Aura tanks so we can try some really intensive training?"

"That sounds awesome!" Yang said with a grin. "Oh! Wait, should we get Pyrrha?!"

"... I really should go and see Petra and his fam. I'll probably go and ask them and one other pair I know. For now, we're all alright with this?" Naruto asked and the families nodded. "I'm glad you all trust me enough to leave your children in my hands… some of you, literally," he said to Garnet. "I'll make sure your kids come back stronger than ever."

"We'll all do our best," Leonardo said. "If anything, when I can, I could help by offering small lessons on medicines and first-aid."

"I can offer planning and strategy," James said with a chuckle.

"I'll see about developing their minds through tests," Ozpin said as the children paled. "It's not those kinds of tests. Active tests… who knows, with Naruto there, you might be able to truly test yourselves versus, say, Gamakuro."

The frog croaked in front of the Schnee family as Kachi sat next to it, Whitley rubbing the shoe-billed stork's neck as Winter looked at it in fascination.

She touched its beak and it warbled a bit while looking at her.

The heiress rubbed it some more and the bird's eyes closed in pleasure.

Her mother, father, and sister looked on nervously as Whitley smiled brightly,

Well then.

"And I'll handle the manners and etiquette," Glynda said as the Schnees perked up with interested looks. "I don't bring it up in public spaces often but I have been trained in the arts of the elite."

"Wait, really?" Naruto asked and she nodded. "Is our family, like, super famous?"

Glynda smiled brightly. "Honestly, I probably should see my father soon. He's the one that's made a name for ourselves."

"Oh, man, an Old man?!"

"Hm, hm, yes, he is."

"... I knew it!" Weiss said loudly. "Your father's the Puppeteer, r-right?" She asked in wonder as Glynda raised a brow.

"Hm, I'm surprised anyone knew despite everything. My father's not been an active Huntsman in a long time though he has gone to Mantle a lot in the past."

"Oh," Penny smiled. "Actually, from some of the locals in Mantle, I'd heard of rumors of your father, I believe. Puppet shows are very popular down there."

"I guess he's been going there while I haven't visited," Glynda winced before Naruto nodded.

"We'll go see the old man. He must be up in a tizzy with everything," he chuckled as Glynda grinned nervously.

'Oh, like you'd never believe,' she remembered a call from him a couple of months back.

He'd been shocked to no end.

"So, for now, we'll have to ready everything," Penny said. "This will be new," she added with a grin.

"Yup."

They had a bunch of things to learn and deal with.

So, just another day in their lives.

~NRK~

~NRK~

~Omake: Is that a GRIMM driving that boat?! Ft. Naruto and friends~

Naruto had known Blake was a huggy individual but this took the cake.

The Grimm being had coiled herself, her legs, body, and arm-tentacles around his body, chin nuzzling his shoulder as she purred.

'This is still a bit much,' Naruto thought with a roll of the eyes as the Sphinx put its-her-head next to his other shoulder. 'Never good with women in one life and now I've got Grimm girls falling all over me,' he thought sarcastically as he ignored the Deliverers' looks of shock while Neon kept some distance even as she held onto his cloak's sleeve. "The hell are we going?"

"W-We're about to see… her," the leader of this rowdy group said, officially cowed. "Sir!"

"..." Naruto rolled his eyes before they narrowed at the feeling behind the door they'd stopped at. 'So… we meet again, bastard,' he thought as they were officially brought into the room.

The throne room.

And Naruto's eyes narrowed as he walked in on a long red carpet with gold trim, the end of the fabric ending by a set of white steps up to the throne at the back of the room. On both sides of the carpeted line, black Grimm pools bubbled and gurgled randomly.

Sitting within it… was Salem but not how he remembered her.

No, the Grimm woman's hair was now loose and fell down to her tailbone in a slightly wild style. Two gray horns sat upon her forehead while two long, folded, black wings rested on her back as she wore a cold-shoulder dress compared to the full black one he remembered.

Her eyebrow raised as her henchmen stood at her sides.

Hazel Reinhart.

Arthur Watts.

Tyrian Callows.

Marcus Black.

Cinder Fall.

Sienna Khan.

Emerald Sustrai.

And, finally, Norma Valkyrie, Nora's blood-mother.

Brought before her, right by the stairs, Naruto's eyes narrowed as they moved to his side where Salem had appeared, right between him and Neon.

'What do I do?' If he blocked for Neon, would that ruin things?

Would Salem just find it funny? Annoying? Kill-worthy? Or would she like his fire?

Naruto didn't know… but he knew one thing.

Salem's eyes went from Neon to him and their eyes locked.

Then he and Neon were sent flying to the pools of darkness at the sides in opposite directions.

"Dammit!"

He landed on the pool with Blake still 'attached' before vanishing, his feet crushing the wall as he kept Neon within his arms.

The witch looked surprised but intrigued as her followers balked.

Cinder's eyes narrowed as she began to move.

And froze and pale as Salem's hand raised, stopping her.

"Curious," the Grimm woman said as she walked towards the pools and walked atop them like they were normal stone pathways. "I didn't think there was such a capable man within these lands. Of course, I'd also ask how you got 'caught' by my minions?" She asked curiously in a motherly tone.

Naruto was already back on the carpet as black arms slammed into his previous location from the blackened pools below.

"Hmm… and your skills are so sharp," she said with a smile. "But I'm still curious on what will happen to you. The previous boy had proved too protected but I know most of my descendants don't… so…" Naruto's eyes widened as something pulled on his hood.

The Sphinx's tail wagged slowly as she lifted him up and dropped him into the black pools.

Naruto made one last attempt and threw Neon into Hazel Reinhart, the man catching her involuntarily as Naruto sunk into the black muck.

"Hmm?!" The man looked shocked as he looked down at the pale Neon, eyes flicking away from her. "He's in the pools."

"Yes, he is," Salem said as she appeared by the black pool Naruto and Blake had fallen into. "A powerful man like him with similar awoken abilities will make a powerful asset," she said as her hand raised. "Arise!"

The black tar bubbled before a clawed white hand slapped onto the carpet.

Salem smirked as it was followed by white arms along with another hand.

A clawed foot slapped onto the carpet as black pants, a white chest, and a blackened cloak reached the chamber's eyes.

Spiky white hair shifted as a pair of long white tails, tipped with black caps, flared out and pulled Blake Belladonna out of the pool, the Grimm girl looking intrigued as she was deposited onto the carpet a bit away.

"Haa… haa…" Naruto gasped as Salem grinned.

"Don't let your powers go to waste, my useful subject," she spoke softly to the kneeling hybrid. "You will serve a grand purpose-"

There was a splatter on the carpet as the group blinked in confusion.

A pair of white feet remained in front of the man, leaking black ooze, as he lowered his left arm.

Blue eyes on black sclera lifted as they locked onto Neon-

The girl blinked as she stood by the former blonde in confusion. "H-Huh?" She looked down at the white tail unfurling itself from her waist. "Y-You… C-Can we run?!"

"No, you can't," came Salem's voice as she reformed from her disembodied feet into her form once more, eyes reforming before Neon's eyes as Naruto began to stand up. "I see… some punishment is in-"

Another splatter hit the carpet, again, and this time there wasn't a hint of a Grimm witch left in sight.

"Haa… bitch," Naruto cursed as he stumbled a bit before steadying himself. "D-Dammit," he looked at his body.

A sort of forced reaction to the Grimm pools… ever since increasing his Light element, he guessed the effects were altered a bit.

"W-What?!" Cinder choked as Hazel's hands twitched, the lack of Neon had his eyes narrowing. "... You?! What did you do?!"

"Kill her twice," Naruto said as he looked at Cinder, the woman's arm burning dark. "Sit."

She hit her knees, eyes white.

"..." Naruto looked down at his hand while Neon hit behind him, the reforming of Salem leaving him grimacing.

"Genua." (Kneel)

A force settled on Naruto, the Sphinx, Blake, Cinder, and Watts, the group outside of Naruto hitting their knees.

Salem's head reformed and her eyes narrowed at the crater beneath Naruto's feet, his blue eyes looking back at her in defiance.

'She gained a bit of control over me?!' Naruto realized with a grimace. 'Is this because of the pool or because I'm still considered a Grimm in this form?!' He growled.

"Magna-Genua."

The 'hybrid' hit his knees with one hand on the floor… but that was it.

His eyes still looked back at the Grimm queen with defiance.

Her visage gained a snarl and then her eyes pulsed.

Darkness rained down from above and Naruto's tails barely threw Neon towards the Sphinx who looked down.

The floor cratered where he'd just been and Neon paled as she looked up at the Sphinx in horror, its blue eyes peering down at her…?

Her eyes widened before it curled around her and looked back at Salem whose eyes widened at the blue lines slowly crawling over its form.

She raised her hand at it and it coiled into a ball of black that reflected the bursts of wind thrown its way.

"What?" The witch looked at it in disbelief before looking back at where Naruto was.

When the Darkness element attack's vestiges dispersed, a knocked-out hybrid was left within a crater.

"What's going on?!" Watts asked as he stressed against Salem's command, eyes catching sight of what'd happened.

"... It would seem the boy had more potential in him than I expected," the witch said with a sigh as she ignored the Deliverers, the Sphinx, and Neon, walking back to her throne with a neutral gaze, hand waving over Blake's head as she did. "Take him to your room, you seem to have a better set of instructions in mind."

The cat Grimm's eyes glowed before she stood and skittered over to the knocked-out new hybrid.

Her tentacles coiled around him and walked away with him in her grip, bypassing the Sphinx as Neon paled.

"Take the girl, she's useful."

Blake's form froze before her tentacle slithered into the Sphinx's curled arms in an instant.

Neon's eyes widened as the Grimm's limbs were shredded in an instant, trembling as a tentacle, a shredding tentacle, coiled around her waist and dragged her away.

This hellscape… w-was it about to become her reality?!

~NRK~

Naruto groaned into consciousness as he rested against something firm… Wait!?

His eyes snapped open and he sat up in an instant, eyes moving around a dark room to see Neon behind where his head had just been while Blake wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"H-Huh? Neon? What happened?" He asked the girl who sniffled before wrapping her arms around his back, crying wails into his shoulder. "Damn you, Salem," Naruto grimaced before comforting her as much as he could. "What happened?"

She explained, brokenly, what had transpired and he frowned, spreading out his senses.

Nothing was around him, no living or Grimm beings that were, and he looked up and around the room itself. He felt his body out and crushed all the small bugs on his cloak with a flex of dark energy.

Nodding, he looked at Neon as she kept her head pressed into his chest. "Listen," Naruto said softly, rejecting that creeping sensation that was building into his body.

Likely some kind of monitoring magic from Salem. Well, fuck her and her magic, that wasn't happening!

"Right now, things aren't how they seem, okay?" He told her, the Faunus looking up at him in confusion. "I wasn't captured like they think, I came here to find a way into this place and figure some things out… I promise you, me and my crew are going to help you and everyone else in this place. We're gonna be destroying it however we can and, hopefully, solve this madness."

Neon looked hopeful before she hugged him back more and Naruto sighed, rubbing her hair.

Then something piqued off his senses. "Blake's coming back," he told her as her hands dug into his back. "I know, I know."

The door opened with black slithering tentacles with sharp hardened tips spreading it open, their owner's eyes and mouth, just those, coming into view from the darkness before she was lit up.

Naruto crossed his legs and propped his cheek in his hand as she saw him.

She slithered up to him on the lone bed in this room… oh no.

"W-Wait, this isn't your bed-"

"Hmmm," she was up against him in seconds, tentacles resting around his chest and thighs as she rubbed her cheek against his. "Hmmm, powerful," she hissed against his face. "Focused men, mmmm."

Naruto blushed at that as Neon burned like a candle.

Then there were the sounds of steps before the doorway found itself occupied by a series of familiar individuals.

A normal-looking Jaune and a Grimmified Team rest of RWBY and JNPR.

Jaune, the clearly human boy, looked nervous and then embarrassed as he saw the predicament they were in.

"S-So, you're the new guy with similar powers, right?" He asked as the group behind him raged appropriately.

"I wonder if you could deflect my scythe?" Grimm Ruby wondered with excitement shining in her eyes, sharp teeth bared in a grin that dripped with mounting satisfaction.

"So, Blakey found 'im first," Grimm Yang said with a perverted grin and giggle. "Honestly, you don't show a hint towards other guys and gals, and this where we find you?! What? He look nice to chew on?"

Blake purred as her head turned 180 degrees, much to Naruto's disbelief.

"Oh, so, this is just a thing you guys do," he considered as he noted Jaune's attention wasn't on him so much as it was on Neon. 'He probably thinks I'm one of these schmucks,' looking at Neon's pale expression could lead to misunderstandings.

How she hid behind him, though, probably confused the boy to no end.

"A pet?" Grimm Weiss noted Neon who flinched, the Grimm Schnee smirking with glowing eyes. "Curious."

"Ren! We should-!"

"No, go break Cardin's leg again, without one of our students!"

Grimm Ren and Nora… Naruto's eyebrows lowered before his eyes went to Grimm Pyrrha, the young woman smiling 'kindly' at him.

The quotes were important because the young champion of this realm was clearly looking for a fight right then and there… Weirdly enough, he felt like she was fine.

Crazy.

"So, uh, you're gonna be joining us and stuff," Jaune said with a shaky grin. "You've also got a Grimm-Control-"

"Grimm-Domination," Yang corrected with a perverted grin as Jaune blushed.

"F-Fucking, Y-NO! I'm NOT saying that!" The blonde immediately said as the Grimm blonde began to grin wide. "Dammit, Yang. Stop. Ignore her, please," the boy begged as Naruto snorted.

"Is there an off-switch to this one?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the purring, still backwards-having head, Blake. "I can't get out of bed like this."

"Eeh, sounds like you have it good," Grimm Yang said with a grin. "So, powerful newbie, we're here to welcome your ass to Grimm Light Academy."

Great.

"And, as your upperclassmen, we've deigned to give you a tour! Call it a favor we'll collect."

"Now, you make that sound like I'd have to take the chance," Naruto said as he pushed up and out, body coming off Blake's bed and landing on the floor with the tentacle-cat all up on him. "Are you going to do this all day?" He asked her flatly as Neon quickly got up and hid behind him, much to This-Jaune's confusion.

'Isn't he her jailor?' Maybe it was more complicated than that? 'What if he's her brother?!' Crap!

Had this just become a more difficult mission?!

"Oi! We're being nice!" Yang pouted and Naruto's eyebrow rose before he pointed at Blake.

"And what's stopping me from just asking the 'way too clingy' cat for directions?"

Yang choked. "Blake… Blakey?"

The feline Grimm girl grinned viciously, teeth bared not just from her normal mouth but from openings in her cheek by her mouth.

"Hmm, hm, hm. Mine," she said and Naruto began to sweat.

'Oh, no.'

~NRK~

Enjoy.

Ciao.

Words: 17.8k+

~NRK Out~