"Last chapter before a break?" Summer asked.
Everyone nodded at that. Sounded like a good idea.
Grinning, Tenten took the book and started reading.
"So you're telling me that this little slip of paper is capable of holding all of this?" The bearded store owner known as Jack stared incredulously at the unfurled scroll that lay before him.
The readers, realizing what was happening, all smirked. Oh...if that Jack guy only knew!
Team NNPR had purchased far more ammo and Dust than they had really planned for and they had no way to carry it all back with them to Beacon. Luckily for the teens, Naruto was well versed in the creation of storage seals and usually kept anywhere from five to twelve empty storage scrolls on him for just such an occasion.
The ninjas all looked smug.
Of course the large man that was apparently one of the many co-owners of Achievement Hunters' Weapon Shop was skeptical of a simple scroll's ability to carry what amounted to about a hundred or so pounds of ammunition.
Really anyone would be highly skeptical if they were told a scroll could hold such a hefty load, more so if they were told that the unassuming piece of paper was capable of doing so thanks to the writing on it bending time and space to create a pocket dimension where the items in question would be kept.
"...Can you teach me that?" Weiss asked, not bothering to hide her interest in the prospect.
'Fūinjutsu is so cool, -ttebayo,' Naruto thought to himself with a grin as he finished placing each of his teammates respective rounds in their own pile on top of the scroll.
Placing his hands on the scroll, the Jinchūriki pumped a small amount of chakra into each of the sealing matrices inscribed into the paper and in a puff of white smoke the items were gone, leaving only the scroll laying on the floor and a flabbergasted Jack.
"Well...now I think I've seen it all. That's a pretty neat trick kid," the bearded man praised. "Those would be extremely useful to have around the shop."
The readers all nodded.
Naruto began to roll up the scroll, "Actually I've been working on a version of these that others besides me would be capable of using. I have a prototype with me, but haven't had the chance to really try it out."
This seemed to make Jack extremely happy, "Well no time like the present right? Bust it out blondie!"
Weiss nodded, understanding why Jack was so eager.
Naruto grimaced. In truth he really had been working on a version of the basic storage seals that could be activated by Aura users so that he could give a scroll or two to his teammates for them to use. The only problem was figuring out how to compensate for the difference between Chakra and Aura. The two energy sources were similar yet so different.
Everyone looked interested in this topic being explained.
Chakra was comprised of both Yin and Yang, the physical aspect from the body and the spiritual aspect from the mind. It was literally someone's life force which is why chakra exhaustion left its victims in a bedridden state and why it was also possible for someone to die if they used up all their chakra. Aura on the other hand was...well Naruto really didn't know for sure. He and Kurama had theorized that the people of Remnant had somehow had their chakra separated, their spiritual aspect giving birth to Semblances and their physical half becoming what was known as Aura.
"Whoa..." Jaune said, shocked, as were the others from Remnant.
"Is something like that even possible?" Kasashi wondered, frowning under his mask
This meant that they could freely use up either of the two without worrying about little more than fatigue. Really the only way it would be possible for someone to die from overusing their energy would be if they used their Semblance and Aura simultaneously till there was nothing left.
Still the unique situation this presented for Naruto and his seals was trying to figure out how to get the matrix to respond to just the physical aspect of chakra which involved having to tear apart and scrutinize every single minute detail of the entire seal and, in an art where even the smallest mistake could be costly, this wasn't an easy task.
Weiss nodded at the delicate intricacy required of the process. She understood and respected that quite well.
However the prototype he had on him had been tested quite a number of times and the success rate was pretty high...at least with Naruto doing it. He had yet to actually have an Aura user try it out.
Throwing caution to the wind, Naruto nodded as reached into his pouch, "Well alright, guess it's time to see if it works."
Tapping one of the many tiny storage seals that lay inside his weapon's pouch, the blond pulled out a plain looking scroll that seemed to have the same exact markings as the one it's creator had just used. Of course it looked that way to the untrained eye. A seals master would be able to easily see just how many alterations had been made to the core of the seals.
Weiss looked awed at that. As a glyph user, she could appreciate the sheer level of time and effort deconstructing that seal and rewriting what energy it responded to must have taken.
She beamed. Impressive!
With the unassuming scroll laid flat on the counter, Jack grabbed what looked to be a standard sword. Then again this was Remnant so it was more than likely also a gun or something. Laying it on top of one of the marked areas, Naruto instructed the bearded man to place his hands on the scroll and pour a small amount of his Aura into the paper.
Everyone watched with baited breath as Jack followed the teen's instructions to the letter. The black ink that made up the actual seal glowed a faint blue for a second before there was a poof of smoke that obscured their vision. Waving their hands, they managed to clear away the small cloud and saw that where there was once a sword, there was only the scroll, now with some writing below the seal, no doubt indicating that there was something in it.
"Score!" Ruby cheered! Oh...thinking of all the weapons and ammo she could carry got her excited!
"Looks like we're in business." Naruto grinned.
"Kid...if you supply me with these I'd be more than happy to keep you and your friends well stocked on any kind of ammo you may want," said a grinning Jack. You could almost see the gears in his mind turning as it went through the possibilities this presented for him and the business.
Ruby squealed in sheer joy! "Stocked on ANY kind of ammo we want?!"
Tenten shot a beaming smile at Naruto, "Naruto...you beautiful little bastard you! Practically free weapons and ammo...I swear I'm tempted to kiss you!"
Naruto looked nervous as he leaned away from the two weapon-loving girls, much to the amusement of the others in the reading group, even as Blake took the book and located where Tenten's love of weapons caused her to stop.
Normally this would be next to impossible as drawing even a single storage seal took an hour to do and a whole scroll of them took almost half a day to make. However Naruto was more than happy to abuse the Kage Bunshin jutsu for this as it was a rather lucrative deal. That and he had used the technique for a lot less before.
Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and Mikoto all gave Naruto pointed looks, brows raised as he looked sheepish. More than happy to abuse the jutsu, huh?
Seeing as how there was little to no chance he'd ever be able to return "home", what with it being a couple centuries in the past, Naruto decided that this would be a good way to start earning some much needed income. The warrior lifestyle, be it that of a Shinobi or Huntsman, was not as well paying as most would think so a lot of them would seek out other areas to supplement that income.
Naruto's parents and Weiss all nodded. That was easy to see.
Jiraiya had his books, his parents had invested in various businesses both in and out of Konoha, and the various Ninja Clans in Konoha used their Kekkai Genkai or expertise in an area to run their own businesses.
Being an accomplished Fūinjutsu practitioner and multi-tasker with no compare, Naruto saw the opportunity to start making his own business ventures here in his new home of Vale. With a wide grin, Naruto reached into his weapon's pouch, "You said you like anything that goes boom, right?" Jack's own grin was almost as mischievous as the blond's. Almost. "I think you're gonna like this. Got any place where I can show you without having to worry about collateral?"
"This'll be good!" Kushina snickered.
The bearded man motioned for the four teens to follow him, leading them behind the counter and into the back room of the shop which was a huge departure from the tidy look of the actual store itself. Weapon's were strewn everywhere and team NNPR had the slightest inkling that touching anything could lead to half of Vale being wiped off the map.
"Hey guys! Get over here!"
Jack's call was answered by several more.
"The hell do you want Jack!?"
"Damnit Jack! You almost blew us all to hell!"
"Oh anus!"
The last shout was shortly followed by a minor explosion that caused several nearby weapons to fall off their shelves.
"These guy'll be fun! I can just tell!" Nora laughed.
Ren paled, "fun" by Nora's standards meant lots of property damage!
Coming out of the cloud of smoke was possibly one of the motliest looking groups of guys that the teens had ever seen. With so many varying looks, the group looked like they shouldn't be friends let alone have met with each other in any point of time.
Jack turned to team NNPR and began introductions, "Kiddies, meet the rest of the Achievement Hunters."
"Geoff," a man with tattoos covering both his arms and hands with what looked to be a frazzled version of a handlebar mustache waved and nodded at them.
"How's it going?"
"Michael," one of the shorter members of the group stood with a beanie on his head and nodded at them.
"Sup bitches."
"Ryan," a tall and rather intimidating looking man looked down at them and extended a hand for a handshake, which Naruto took.
"Hey guys."
For a moment team NNPR did a double take, astounded at how eerily similar the man sounded to Jack which had most of the group laughing.
"Ray," a darker skinned male with a curly mop of hair and glasses waved at the teens.
"Yo."
"And I'm Gavin!" Came the foreign accent of the last male who looked rather lanky.
Jack didn't seem to be too happy about the interruption though and yelled, "Damnit Gavin! We had a thing going and you messed it up!"
"Son of a bitch Gavin! Can't you be professional for like two seconds!?" Michael snarked.
Weiss sighed and nodded at Jack and Michael's words, there were times she couldn't help but feel that way about Ruby. Of course the white-themed girl knew Ruby could be professional, but still...
As the group of grown men descended into mindless cursing and name calling, the four teens of team NNPR could only look on in awkwardness. The insults being hurled around would have caused most people to burst into tears or actually end the friendship, yet from the little smiles and smirks on their faces it looked like this was normal for the store owners. It almost seemed like this was how they bonded, through scathing insults and harsh language.
"What are they, sailors?" Yang asked, even though she was grinning. These guys sounded fun to her!
Coughing into his fist, Naruto managed to regain the attention of the men, none of whom seemed at all embarrassed by their previous actions.
"So why'd you bring the kiddies back here for?" Michael asked as he eyed the four teens.
With a grin hidden behind all of his facial hair, Jack just motioned for Naruto to show them. With a shrug the blond nin grabbed a nearby spear and performed one of the most basic of the Shinobi arts, shocking those who hadn't seen it before.
The first to respond was the heavily tattooed Geoff, "Holy shit kid! Can you recall it as well?"
Without even a word, Naruto pumped a minuscule amount of chakra into the seal and after the ensuing puff of smoke was gone, revealed the formerly sealed spear to be in his hands.
"...Can you do that?" Ruby asked Tenten.
"Duh! It's pretty much my signature skill, I have so many weapons!" The brunette grinned, "And if we can figure out those aura scrolls. Willing to see about teaching it to you, if you want."
Ruby pumped her fist in excitement. Tenten was awesome! Ruby felt she really owed Naruto for introducing them to one another!
Still widely grinning Jack continued, "Blondie agreed that as long as we keep him and the rest of his team here well stocked on ammo, he'd be willing to supply us with some of these nifty scrolls for our own use."
"Huh, so we can finally clean up this place then?" the dark skinned Ray noted as he caught on to Jack's idea.
"I wouldn't mind. It's a bloody mess back here," Gavin chuckled.
Ryan interjected, "Gavin, most of this mess is your fault so you shouldn't be talking."
"Yeah Gavin, you're the one always blowing shit up," Michael joined in with a smirk.
Knowing that with another word, the grown men could descend back into yet another squabble, Naruto chose to interrupt them yet again, "There's also something else I think you guys would be interested in. I just need some place that where you don't care about collateral."
Hearing his last sentence, Gavin turned to Ray and grinned, "Bunker?"
Chuckling Ray nodded, "Bunker."
"This should be good!" Yang smirked as Nora rubbed her hand together with a manichal laugh
"X-Ray and Vav away!" The two shouted as they hurried behind one of the massive piles of weaponry.
Following at a much slower pace, the rest of the AH crew took the time to explain to the no doubt highly confused teens, Geoff showing himself to be somewhat more of a leader than the others, "Gavin and Ray like to test out a lot of the more dangerous stuff as a team so they made themselves what they call the 'Bunker'. It's their personal little testing area and if it can handle all of their fuck ups, it should have no problem handling what you have to show us."
"What about the whole 'X-Ray and Vav' thing?" Naruto asked out of curiosity.
'I don't care what you say, the minute they try and pull something like that horrendous 'Sunset of Youth' I will erase them from existence,' Kurama growled out.
Memories of a certain pair of "Green Beasts" resurfacing, the fox's Jinchūriki was hard pressed to argue. No one should ever have to endure the horrifyingly scarring experience that was the feared by even the most hardened of criminals.
"Here here!" Tenten agreed, shuddering. She'd been exposed to it nearly every day! The horrors of the Fourth Ninja War were a cakewalk compared to that!
The mustached somewhat leader shrugged, "I dunno. You'd have to ask them about that one."
Turning around the same corner the two eager co-owners had, team NNPR could only stare in appreciation at the veritable armory before them. Sure the store itself and the back room could more than easily supply a whole militia, but somehow Gavin and Ray had managed to construct their own workshop within the already existing one that held almost as much weaponry. How the two had managed to fit so much in what looked to be a simple fallout bunker was mind boggling.
The two then lead the group to a much smaller room that would only fit no more than five people at a time, a thick steel door with a glass viewing window cutting it off from the rest of the Bunker.
Figuring that this was the "blast room" where the more explosive items were tested, Naruto walked in and pulled out a small slip of paper from his weapon's pouch. Laying it in the middle of the floor, the blond rejoined the others as Gavin and Ray sealed the door.
"The fuck is that little slip of paper gonna do?" Michael asked as he stared into the room incredulously.
"Wait for it..." Nora said. She figured the whiskered teen's counterpart in the story wouldn't need blast room if what he had in mind wasn't going to be worth it.
Of course while no else had said it, it was quite clear from the looks on their faces that everyone, even Naruto's own teammates, agreed with the vulgar statement and were skeptical of how much damage a simple piece of paper could do. Of course they didn't know that Fūinjutsu was an art limited only by one's own imagination. Masters of the art could do anything from sealing the soul and power of the strongest portion of a primordial god into a baby or even bend the very fabric of space and time to their will. Using a slip of paper to do something as simple as causing an explosion was child's play for even a novice.
"Ok...now I REALLY want to see if this Fūinjutsu stuff can work with my glyphs..." Weiss said, wide eyed.
Forming the necessary hand seal, Naruto smirked as he muttered, "Baku (Explode)."
The ensuing explosion rocked the entire store and engulfed the blast room in a storm of flames and concussive air as it pushed against its confinement seeking to escape and unleash further destruction. It seemed that Gavin and Ray had really built the place as a bunker though and so the walls and doors stood strong, keeping the conflagration within its four walls.
With a massive grin stretching across his face, Geoff turned to look at a mischievously smirking Naruto, "Blondie...this is gonna be the start of a beautiful partnership."
Naruto smirked.
Following team NNPR's run into the group known as the Achievement Hunters and Naruto's subsequent business dealings with them that would ensure he and his teammates would never have to worry about ammunition or weapon repairs while also leaving the blond Uzumaki with a small stake in the store, the four teens had decided to do something that didn't have something to do with their profession.
Nora had spotted a warehouse that hosted games of Laser Tag as well as various other activities and enthusiastically voted that that be their next stop...which meant she ran into the building before anyone could stop her.
"What? I like Laser Tag." Nora defended.
What began as a casual game between friends quickly escalated into a heated free for all with the teens eventually using their Semblances and battle prowess in an attempt to claim victory.
"This outta be good!" Yang snickered.
Needless to say, the children who had reserved the room after the four were awed as they saw Ren performing acrobatic feats to reach the higher floor where Nora was camping, aiming several decisive hits with his "gun" that left a pouting hammer wielder out of the game.
Nora likewise pouted, "I thought we were friends, Ren!"
Their jaws lowered even further as Naruto dropped from the ceiling behind Ren and fired off several shots his teammate's exposed back, disqualifying the reserved male.
"Ha! Take that, Ren! Karma!" Nora cheered.
Ren sighed, shaking his head, a small, hapless smile on his face.
The duel between Pyrrha and Naruto went even further, the redhead using her control over polarity in an attempt to move her friend into the line of fire while the blond in turn used his own control over wind to do the same.
"So that makes it about even, then." Ren nodded, amused.
The adolescent onlookers cheered loudly as the two partners matched each other move for move, Naruto using his training as a Shinobi of Konoha to perform wild feats of stealth and acrobatics, bouncing from floor to floor and using guerrilla warfare tactics to score hits while Pyrrha used her superior skill as a marksman to keep pace and score her own hits.
Eventually it came down to both having only one "HP" left on their electronic vests, the blond captain hidden behind a wall on the highest floor while Pyrrha panted behind her own cover on the lowest floor. The normally hyperactive children watched with bated breath, waiting to see which of their newest idols would be crowned as champion of laser tag.
With an unseen and unheard signal, Naruto dashed from his cover, weaving between pillars, walls, and the other constructs that dotted the arena, Pyrrha's laser being only centimeters off their target as he did so. When the blond disappeared into the darkness that coated the arena in most areas, the Greek themed warrior hid herself in a small alcove, her weapon trained on the only entrance.
"Sorry Pyrrha...nice tactic, but wrong opponent to use it on." Naruto said, trying not to snicker.
To her shock and awe, a swirl of leaves appeared right beside her, and out of the small flurry of greenery came her friend, plastic laser gun already firing off a shot that robbed her of her last glowing bar of health.
Pyrrha sighed, but smiled and gave a small applause. Naruto had won that round. And to be honest, she respected the Uzumaki male, anyways. Not only did Naruto see her as being the same as everyone else, but comparing the two's skills, she was actually seen as normal to the point of boring. She found she envied her other seeming that way, but that was Pyrrha's desire to step off the pedestal and be treated as an ordinary person talking.
With a grin on his face, Naruto offered a hand to the crouched Pyrrha, who took it with a smile and laugh. The two shared a good natured congratulations before their attention was drawn to the loud cheers and hollers coming from the viewing area. So into their own world the partners had failed to realize that they had attracted themselves an audience. Still they took into stride and waved at the crowd of adolescents.
As the team or four walked out of the arena with waters in hand, Nora was the one to voice the question on the others' minds, "What was that cool swirly thingy you did Naruto!? It was like 'whoosh!' and you disappeared! Were you lying!? Are you really a magician!?"
Ok so not exactly the way most would have put it, but the point still stood.
Everyone chuckled or giggled at that, but they got Nora's point.
The blond captain was growing even more accustomed to his quirky teammate and was unfazed by the phrasing, "It's actually a pretty standard teleportation jutsu that almost all of my village learned. I know other villages also had their own variations that used their namesakes instead of Konoha's leaves."
Ren seemed off put by the idea that such an impressive technique was regarded as simple, "How come such a technique did not become more well known and feared?"
It was a valid question for the most part. A teleportation skill that anyone could learn? The uses were endless and would no doubt give rise to a whole new style of battle. The blond instead shrugged, "It was used more often to just move around quicker within the village and because of all of the limitations, it just wasn't really a viable technique that could be used in battle."
'Though I do remember hearing that one of Sasuke's family members had figured out how to do it. Stupid Uchihas and their Sharingan,' Naruto pouted to himself.
"Present company excluded, of course!" Naruto quickly said to Mikoto.
Said Uchiha woman rolled her eyes at the attempt at damage control, "Relax Naruto...people always complained about that anyways in regards to the Uchiha clan's dōjutsu. And it all honesty, most Uchiha took it as a compliment."
"Even the Rinnegan being just another level the Sharingan can get?" the young man asked with a deadpan expression.
Mikoto shrugged, "I wasn't who decided the rules for that, so I'm not sure how I can explain it. But for what it's worth, I always felt that if it had only been the three stages of beginner, intermediate, and expert with a tomoe in the eye for each stage marking to show the eyes' progression and giving a photographic memory as well as increased reaction time, also allowing to see much quicker than normal, that would have been enough. Mangekyou and onward...I admit our ocular powers are broken."
Naruto stared at her, blinking a few times, "...Itachi is definitely your kid..." the whiskered boy said at last, finding that if the black-winged guardian angel of Konoha taking after his mother in terms of character, it made perfect sense. Certainly explained his humility, at least.
Mikoto stared, a light, flattered blush on her face.
Really the shinobi from the past had all reason to be jealous. There had only ever been two weaponized teleportation jutsu, that he knew of, and besides the Uchiha whose name he forgot, his father was the only user of one.
"Shisui." Mikoto provided.
"Yeesh...all these things these ninjas can do makes me jealous." Yang pouted, everyone else from Remnant nodding in agreement.
Deciding to leave his childish dissatisfaction concerning his former teammate's Kekkai Genkai, Naruto realized that he and his team had been in the laser tag arena for quite some time, the lamp posts now illuminating the streets of Vale.
The events of the day seemed to hit the four teens all at once, team NNPR all yawning in sync as their eyes drooped and their posture slackened. Nora was hunched over and Naruto was only somewhat worried that she would collapse and start snoozing right there on the sidewalk.
Ren nodded, that had happened before. And the subsequent freak-outs after Nora woke up and assumed she'd been abducted were dangerous, especially with her hammer near by...
Another yawn hit the half blood Uzumaki, "Well time, guess we should call it a night."
"Bed, Nora is coming!" the eccentric young woman called out whilst pointing skyward...before she collapsed onto Ren's back and began snoring away. To his credit the reserved male seemed unfazed by this and merely tightened his hold on his friend before following Naruto and Pyrrha.
When Nora began to drool with said liquid coating his shoulder, he made no move to stop her, simply taking it in stride.
'Guess I'm washing this sweater after all.'
Just another day in the life of Lie Ren really.
Ren sighed.
As team NNPR sleepily made their way to their room, a voice from behind stopped them in their tracks, "Mr. Uzumaki, glad to see you and your team returning back safely."
Almost instantly the team, at least the three that were still awake, straightened up and stood at attention seeing as how it was their Headmaster who was addressing them.
"...I don't like this...why was he waiting for them like that, especially for that long?" Minato frowned.
"Yes sir, we were just heading to bed now," Naruto spoke, trying his hardest to not let a yawn escape.
Nora, even asleep, had perfect timing and decided to let out an especially loud snore, unknowingly driving her captain's point home. While her teammates sweatdropped at this, Ozpin let a small smile slip across his face. It made him genuinely happy to see his students act their age. There had always been a push from some council members to implement a much harsher regiment to "better prepare the kids for their career" and he had always been heatedly against such a decision and seeing as how he had several decades as an experienced Hunstman under his belt as well as the political backing to go with his position as Headmaster of Beacon, those voicing such an opinion often found themselves on the losing side of the debate.
Minato nodded. He understood Ozpin's point about all that.
And it was scenes like this that made it all worth it to the silver haired Headmaster. He would gladly put up with the obnoxiousness that most of the other councilmen boasted if it meant he could let his student's have moments like this. Still there was a time and place for it, and right now he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"...I don't like that..." Kakashi muttered.
"While I'm glad to see you all had fun while out in Vale, I must ask that your captain follow me to my office. There are some things I wish to discuss with him." Seeing the longing look said team leader cast towards the door that stood between him and sleep, Ozpin smirked, "Fret not Mr. Uzumaki, our chat will not take long. You will have more than enough time to get a good night's sleep."
With a resigned sigh, Naruto waved to his team and began to follow the Headmaster's sedate pace. Normally he would be going over everything he had done in the past few days trying to figure out just why he was being asked to talk to Ozpin personally, but his sleep addled mind was far from being capable of that kind of work. Just cause he had an inhuman amount of stamina didn't mean he couldn't feel sleepy, especially after a long day.
Naruto nodded at that.
His spar/training session with Pyrrha had gotten him going and then his run in with Cinder left him with so many questions and then there were the dealings he had to hash out with the Achievement Hunters followed by that intense game of laser tag. Yeah, Naruto was ready for bed.
That in mind, the blond shinobi was relieved when the imposing structure of Ozpin's office came into view. Taking a seat opposite to the older male, Naruto waited to see just what this was all about.
"Seeing as how late it is and how long of a day you must have had, I'll get to the point. After reviewing both your own performance and the performance of your teammates, as both individuals and as a cohesive unit, myself and several other professors have seen fit to do something we normally don't do. As of this moment, Team NNPR is being pulled into the active duty roster."
"WHAT?!" Everyone in the reading group cried.
Naruto sat and stared blanky at his technical commander, not saying a word. Any form of fatigue or sleepiness that had clouded his mind had been blown away by the gravity of the situation. He knew that as he had become more at ease with his situation he had been showing more and more of his true potential. Thanks to this his team had tried to keep stride and he knew that outside of their team training days, the others were working their respective asses off to not "drag him down" as it were and in doing so they had earned themselves the top spot in the first year class' ranking, team RWBY trailing behind them. But to hear that they had apparently been performing so well that they were being pulled into the active duty roster, something that didn't happen until a month or so into their second year, was mind boggling.
"Ok...yikes..." Yang muttered.
"I'm not sure if I should feel envious or not..." Weiss admitted.
"Not that I'm not extremely happy to hear that my team has apparently done so well as to warrant your attention, but why? I find it hard to believe that a still freshly inducted team of first years is being pulled onto the field so soon," Naruto spoke in a no nonsense tone. As a Shinobi, he knew that information could mean life or death for people in their profession, despite the change in who or what they were battling. He was not about to put his team, his friends', lives on the line without knowing the whys and hows.
"Damn right I'm not." Naruto frowned, earning smiles sent his way by the other members of the reading group.
"You are right to be wary of this. Unfortunately I must admit that the call was not one made solely by myself or my colleagues here at Beacon. The...order came from even above me," Ozpin grudgingly admitted. He seemed especially displeased to have to do this.
Of course Naruto had dealt with his own council and was used to getting screwed over by them so he knew that it was Vale's council who had called for this move without the silver haired Huntsman having to even say anything. The only question was why they were pushing for this.
"...I swear, I HATE councils...!" Naruto complained.
Minato groaned in agreement.
"Same, but my reason has yours beat." Mikoto said icily, seeing as it was the actions of the council, specifically Danzo, Koharu, and Homura, that had lead to the Uchiha feeling the need to attempt a coup, and the following events with her eldest son killing the Uchiha and her youngest becoming so consumed with hatred that he became an international criminal.
"Why us specifically?"
Taking a sip from his mug to calm his mind, Ozpin replied, "Vale is in a precarious position right now. Despite how well we seem to be doing, there is always the worry of the things that wish to see us buried and gone, both non-human and human. The human aspect has become especially worrisome with the White Fang's recent actions and that problem is only being compounded by Roman Torchwick's rash of thefts. Add to that the fact that the man has evaded all our attempts at apprehending him, well most of our council is more than worried."
Seeing where this was going already, Naruto picked up from where the Headmaster left off, "And because of what happened on the docks a few nights ago, the council is having us, more specifically me, put on the spot because we were the only ones to get anywhere close to catching him."
Ozpin only nodded, happy to see that the blond was not just going to leap into the unknown without having some knowledge beforehand. Seeing the calculative look on whiskered cheeks, the elder male had to pat himself on the back for making the young Uzumaki leader of team NNPR. He was clearly weighing all the pro's and con's, not willing to lead his team on what could very well be a suicide mission.
"And we deeply appreciate that." Pyrrha said, getting nods from her team, save Jaune seeing as he wasn't there. That wasn't to say he didn't understand and respect that about his fellow male blond, however.
'First mission actual mission as a Genin and it ends up being an A-rank and I end up almost dying and manage to somehow liberate a small nation from the death grip of a grubby little tyrant. First month of being at Beacon and I somehow manage to get the attention of some crazy chick who wants to recruit me to her cause and now Vale's council wants me and my team to perform a mission even veteran Hunstman have failed at...Kurama?'
'What?'
'Do you know if Kami is a guy or girl?'
'...I'm gonna regret asking, but, why do you want to know?'
'Cuz I'd like to know WHAT GENDER THE PERSON IS WHEN I'M GETTING FUCKED BY THEM SIX WAYS TO SUNDAY!'
Naruto moaned. He SO needed that question answered!
"Really?" Jaune asked, finding it hard to believe Naruto had liberated a nation before on his first time in the field.
Barely restraining himself from just jumping out the nearest window in pure frustration, Naruto spoke, "I take it we don't really have a say in this?"
Minato, Kushina, Mikoto, Kakashi, and Summer all looked sympathetic at the reason for the frustration of Naruto's counterpart.
"Unfortunately no. I tried to dissuade them from this decision, but in the end I was out voted. However I did manage to stop from them from sending you out on higher ranked missions...for the next year. Instead you will be taking, at most, three missions a month. This first month will also have you paired with an older team as backup, just in case."
Kakashi nodded. That made things a little easier.
Despite the situation, the whiskered teen was happy to know that his headmaster genuinely cared for his students. It reminded him quite a bit of the elderly Sandaime who had been the one to look out for him in his younger years and the one who had given him his dream to become Hokage. Heaving a sigh of resignation, Naruto nodded, "I'll tell my team the news tomorrow. Any idea when our first mission is?"
"End of this week."
With a tired bow, Naruto left the office, even more eager to get into his bed now.
Once the teen was clear out the door, Glynda decided to enter from the side door where her own office was situated.
"This still doesn't sit right with me Ozpin. Regardless of how I may feel in regards to him, Uzumaki is still a child and he shouldn't be put on the spot like this."
"Ok...so maybe she isn't all that bad..." Naruto said with a pensive look in regards to Goodwitch.
The Headmaster spun his chair and stared out into the window that revealed the vacant campus of Beacon in all its night time glory, "I know. I don't like this either. However you know as well as I do that I was lucky enough to have gotten them the respite that I did."
"Thank you, Ozpin!" Minato muttered.
The grim look on the blond Deputy Headmistress' face revealed that she knew what her longtime friend and colleague had said was true, "And what of team RWBY?"
"Thankfully I was able to inform both Qrow and Taiyang in time and they were quick to use their own connections to put a stop to having Ruby and Yang put on active duty so soon.
"Wait...WHAT?!" Yang and Ruby both yelped. Their dad and uncle had their own political connections?!
Slapping a hand to her face with a tired huff that turned into a moan half way, Summer rubbed her eyes. Oh...explaining that was going to be a handful!
Unfortunately the same can not be said for Weiss."
Weiss tensed. Oh...she fought down a cringe as bile rose in her stomach. She knew where this was going and did NOT like it!
Glynda could only sneer, "It figures that man would push for his daughter to be in such a position, regardless of the dangers."
"Indeed. Luckily with myself as well as Qrow and Taiyang protesting it, there was not much he could do, even with his own political sway."
The heiress sighed, then shot Ruby and Yang a discreet smile. She'd need to remember to do something really nice for the sisters and their family! And to be honest, it felt GOOD hearing Jacques had suffered a defeat! The creature Weiss was forced to call a father didn't care about people, he cared only about winning, image, and profit. So hearing he'd suffered ANY type of loss felt good for the heart and soul!
Crossing her arms under her bust, Glynda joined Ozpin in staring out at the night time view before them, "I am still worried about Team NNPR. Both Uzumaki and Nikos are exceptional fighters far above their age, and Lie Ren and Valkyrie seem intent on catching up, but the world is an unforgiving place."
Ren and Nora winced. Oh...they didn't need Goodwitch pointing out that fact, they already knew it!
"Yes the world is harsh, but I have faith. If worse comes to worse I have no doubt that Mr. Uzumaki will manage to pull something out of his sleeves. He seems to be quite the unpredictable element."
Instead of going to his room like he had planned, Naruto found himself perched atop a tree on the outskirts of Beacon's campus, staring blankly at the moon. So much had happened in one day that he found himself needing time to adjust and gain his bearings, a task that would be made harder if he were around others. But here in the forest, a place he felt the most at home in, alongside an equally quiet Kurama, the displaced Shinobi found a sense of peace.
Blake nodded, she felt that way herself sometimes.
'I wonder how far into the future we are,' Naruto mused to himself.
'Very far, considering how much the land and world has changed. In my thousands of years of living before I was sealed into your ancestor, the continents and land masses had only moved by the smallest of margins. It must be centuries upon centuries for the continents to have shifted into their current position,' Kurama replied.
His container hummed in thought, 'Or something happened to cause the shift to happen faster than they would normally.'
'That is also a possibility. Then there is the difference in the people. It seems we were right to assume that somehow the people have had their chakra split into two, giving birth to Aura and Semblances. Not to mention the birth of Faunus.'
'You think the Faunus are just the descendants of clans like the Inuzuka?' Naruto questioned.
Blake perked up, interested.
In turn, the Kyūbi shook his head, 'While it would seem so seeing as how it would be a natural progression for clans like the Inuzuka to become more animalistic, I don't think that is the case. There is just too large a variety from cats, dogs, deer, and other animals for it to be the evolution of those clans, though canine Faunus might have some link to the clans of old. The only plausible thing I can think of is that somehow the world of Summons and this world merged and the consequence of that was the birth of the Faunus.'
'That would explain why I can no longer summon the Toads!'
'Yes, it would seem that with the creators of the contract being technically dead or Mt. Myōboku no longer existing in that plane, the contract is unable to pull anyone or anything to this plane,' Kurama mused.
Blake hummed, rubbing her chin in thought. Seemed she'd need to talk with the ninjas about that later.
Rubbing his head in frustration Naruto continued, 'What about the Grimm? And Dust? Where did they come from?'
The Bijū sat on his haunches and used his tail to scratch underneath his jaw, 'We already know for a fact that the Grimm are much like we Bijū were, entirely made up of chakra, in this case Nature Chakra. However how they are...born is an entirely different matter. We were born when the Sage split the Jūbi. The Grimm may have been born in a similar manner.'
Everyone, Summer especially, looked alarmed at that.
'So is THAT how Salem does it...?' The White Rose thought to herself.
While it was plausible, the thought astounded the blond, 'But you said the Jūbi was the origin of chakra! And it took the Sage AND his brother to split up that monster! Even then you and the others only had a fraction of its power.'
'Yes, so if the Grimm were indeed born like us then it raises the question, what were they born from and who was the one to do it?'
The readers' eyes widened, with the exception of Ruby's biological, she cringed. She already knew the second half of that questions answer from Ozpin filling in Team STRQ...
Naruto nodded in agreement, 'But the nine of you were a one time thing. There are Grimm still being born...almost endlessly.'
Those from Remnant nodded grimly at that.
Coiling himself around his container's neck, Kurama sighed, 'Unfortunately we still can not answer all these questions. To get these answers the best thing to do would be to try and find anything leftover from our time. If that woman could find some then we should easily be able to find plenty more laying around, forgotten by others.'
Noruto hummed, nodding.
"You know, I never took you for the brooding type Foxy!" Came a call from below.
Dropping back down to terra firma, Naruto was met with the grinning face of team RWBY's busty brawler.
Crossing his arms with a huff, the male blond retorted, "I was not brooding...just thinking...intensely."
"And about things that are important..." Summer muttered.
Mimicking his posture, though considering Yang's developed figure it had a whole different effect, she snarked, "Yeah, totally wasn't like you had this scowl on your face or anything. Not like you had us all worrying either."
"Sorry!" Naruto yelped.
"How-?"
"Your room is across the way from ours. We all heard when Ozpin called you. Ruby was worried and so we went your guys' room to wait for you. Nora was the one who spotted you...coming this way instead going back to the room."
"He did have a lot to think about." Ruby defended, which got Naruto to smile at her.
"And you volunteered to come get me?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow.
In turn Yang wrapped an arm around her fellow blond's neck, "Figured that if you were gonna be difficult I could always just beat you up and drag your ass back!"
"Typical Yang..." drawled the other members of RWBY and all of JNPN.
Yang pouted, "You guys stink..."
While the two blonds had their fair bit of rough housing, Naruto had to think to himself,'Maybe finding out all the answers isn't the most important thing right now. If we do find anything, then great. If not, well I have new precious people to worry about.'
Minato and Kushina smiled and nodded, feeling happy for their son deciding that.
While he didn't voice anything aloud, Kurama was glad to see his container gaining back his old resolve. As much as he seemingly cheered for the teen Uzumaki to become more like a real Shinobi, deep down he knew that if that were to happen, it would be betray every part of who Naruto Uzumaki was. He wasn't supposed to be a good Shinobi. What had made him such a force to be reckoned with was not superior tactics or anything like that. No it was his iron clad will to protect those he considered precious to him, consequences be damned.
"Damn...props, Whiskers." Yang blinked, grinning.
"Can I just voice I find it good for the heart, soul, and my own piece of mind that someone like that is close with my daughters?" Summer said, smiling at Naruto and his family.
"Not at all." Kushina smiled.
Naruto blushed.
It was this drive to do what was right that had endeared the Jinchūriki to him. It was this will to fight for peace that reminded the fox of his own "father", the only being whom he respected more than any other. For a time he had truly believed that Naruto would be the one to do what even the Sage had failed at doing: bring peace to the Shinobi era.
"Alright Foxy, now carry me back!"
"Wait, why the hell should I!?"
"Bet he feels her chest alone weights a few metric tons..." Weiss said, smirking.
"Why you little...!" Yang roared at the snowflake.
"Cuz you made me come out here in the middle of the night wearing only pajamas, so the least you could do is keep me warm and take me back to my bed!"
Realizing that Yang was just as stubborn as he was, Naruto decided that the only way he was going to get to bed tonight without a beating was if he listened to her.
Summer gave Yang a look of disapproval, to which she looked sheepish over.
Lowering himself to his knees, he was only slightly surprised when the outspoken teen jumped onto his back. What really surprised him was when she almost literally began to snuggle into his back.
Nonetheless he began the trek back to their rooms at a moderate pace, enjoying the weight on his back and the warmth it brought to him. Growing up an orphan and the village pariah had left him starved for any kind of attention. It wasn't until recent years that he got the affection he had been denied as a child and even still what most would take as small things meant the world to him.
"Not...A...Word...I mean it!" Nora growled. She knew what a life like that was like. She still remembered being homeless and picked on for being a stranger to the town of Kuroyuri.
The late hour seemed to be taking its toll on his passenger as well as she was slowly becoming slightly heavier, allowing herself to come closer and closer to the realm of Morpheus. On the cusp of a deep sleep Yang snuggled further into his shoulders, "How come you're so warm Foxy?"
"Cuz I have a gigantic construct of living chakra in my gut that keeps my body temperature far above the normal human temperature,"Naruto quipped to himself.
Clearly even closer to that deep sleep, the busty teen only hummed in response, "Makes sense."
And like that Yang was fast asleep.
Shaking his head and thankful that she was far too deep into the realm of sleep to have really registered what he said, Naruto just smiled.
'Well, no one can say I never told them the truth now.'
"I don't think that really counts..." Blake said.
"You gotta live learning to deal with the loopholes." Naruto snickered. Seeing Yang growling at him with red eyes, he held up his hands. "What? I need the mood-lightener!" the whiskered you man defended.
Ok...everyone would give him that.
"Did you find what I was looking for Roman?"
Said notorious criminal shrugged and carelessly tossed a scroll that looked like it would fade into dust on top of the table between them.
"...Oh boy...I don't like this..." Mikoto winced.
"Yeah. Don't know why you're so interested in these old things anyways. Not like they're of any real value," Torchwick snarked as he took out one of his cigars.
Only for said cigar to be burnt to a crisp. Turning to look at his technical boss, he felt a shiver of fear run down his spine as amber eyes glared heatedly at him, flames seemingly dancing around the luminescent orbs.
Naruto winced, "...Cinder..." he muttered. He hated when people like her were interested in him! The damned Akatsuki were more than bad enough!
"They are far more valuable than any of the trinkets you normally steal and if all goes according to plan, they will yield me results that you never could. Do not overestimate your own worth Roman, or it may well be your last mistake. Understood?"
"So wish I could have let Kurama eat her before...seriously!" Naruto complained.
Roman Torchwick was a well traveled man. He had fought tooth and nail to get to where he was and had earned himself a feared name in both the criminal underworld and in the political world. As such he had been faced with death many times and yet had still triumphed over those situations, becoming more and more fearless as the years passed.
However sly or powerful he thought himself though, he knew that the woman before him, Cinder Fall, was leagues more powerful than him and could easily incinerate him if she so desired. It had been a long while since he had felt the cold rush of true fear course through his body.
"Yeesh...sounds like an evil fusion between us..." Mikoto winced, Kushina nodded.
Summer stared. That power and that she had a surname so appropriate, she probably picked it herself...was it possible?! She didn't like this...! Shooting a glance at Naruto, Summer quickly mentally recalled to herself he'd look out for her daughters and their friends in order to reassure herself.
Sheesh...what would Raven say if she saw Summer panicking like this? Probably something along the lines that the Uzumaki boy was a good example of why Raven was so fixated on strength: he was strong enough to where hardly anything seemed to be able to threaten him, and by extent, nothing could really be a threat to who mattered to him, he was so powerful.
"...understood. By your leave?"
Cinder casually waved a hand, already engrossed in the scroll he had brought her.
'Tailed Beasts? Are they like Grimm? Hmm, this is interesting.'
"CRAP!" Naruto swore. "You gotta be kidding me! First time trying to find anything and the one the bad guys get is on the Tailed Beasts?!"
The others from Konoha all shared a worried look. It was plane as day to see how something like that deserved worrying about.
"...Anyone else feel we really could use that break we agreed on before starting this chapter?" Tenten voiced, getting nods from everyone.