The Lucky Branwen

by Shinobi of Greed

When Raven left Taiyang and Yang she didn't leave by herself. She took her eldest child and Yang's twin brother with her. Flash forward seventeen years into the future, a tribe raised Naruto decides to meet his two sisters. Though is beacon ready for another headstrong Branwen?

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8. The Sin of Greed

(With Team RWBY)

Walking together down a slightly busy street, the four girls planned to head to the docks. Where a ship from Vacuo was supposed to be arriving with a few students. Though not all the girls were happy with this plan. Well to be more precise that person was Naruto's twin sister Yang.

"So why are we doing this?" Yang finally asked the group of girls. "Don't we have better things to do?"

Weiss, who was leading the group of females scoffed. "Can't you act a little excited? We are getting the opportunity to meet students from other academy's."

Blake leaned over Yang's shoulder. "And that translates to Weiss wanting to scout the competition for the festival."

"I would do no such thing. . . intentionally." Weiss retorted.

Yang rolled her eyes. "If you wanna look at the serious competition, Phyrra is back at Beacon and my brother is probably in Vacuo by now."

Ruby giggled at her sister's true, but cheeky statement.

Weiss folded her arms. "I've already seen plenty of those two. I need to observe other students."

Blake smirked. "And that means she knows none of us stand a chance against those two. So she's hoping to at least get a leg up on any other students."

"Believe what you must." Weiss replied in an annoyed tone.

Ruby smiled and wrapped an arm around her partner. "Awww cheer up Weiss, I wouldn't want to fight my brother or his team either. I mean Naruto and Phyrra are crazy strong, Nora's just crazy and Jaune. Well they have Jaune too!"

"Yeah whatever." Weiss mumbled, while at the same time shrugging Ruby off of her.

Ruby smiled and looked over to her older sister. "You know, speaking of Naruto I wonder how things are going!"

Yang snorted. "Knowing my twin he's probably trying to sneak a drink or two in. While Nora's probably bouncing around the halls of Shade Academy."

Blake smirked. "That does sound like them."

Weiss nodded, but before she could make a comment something caught her eye. "What's all the commotion over there?"

Yang looked down the street and squinted her eyes. "Looks like a crime scene."

Ruby frowned. "You don't think it was that Torchwick guy I ran into awhile back?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Only one way to find out." The girl declared, while she walked over to investigate the scene with her team.

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(With Jaune and Pyrrha)

"Good form Jaune." Pyrrha complemented before the girl parried one of her partner's attacks. "But remember to keep your front foot forward and your shield up."

Jaune nodded and made the quick adjustments to his fighting stance. "Gotcha Pyrrha!"

The redhead smiled and lowered her weapons. "Let's take a break Jaune, no need to over exert yourself."

Raising his arm, Jaune used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Yeah I could use a minute or two, but I have to keep going. I need to get stronger."

Pyrrha smiled and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I know it's frustrating to work so hard and only feel like you're making little to no progress. But you're improving at a great pace Jaune and I'm proud of you. So let's go hunt down our team and relax for the day."

Jaune smiled at Pyrrha's idea and nodded in agreement. "That sounds good, though speaking of Naruto and Nora. Have you seen either of them today?"

The redhead warrior placed a finger to her temple and tried to recollect her thoughts. "Now that you mention it I haven't seen them in awhile. Maybe we should ask around the academy and see if anyone has seen them?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find them." Jaune replied in a casual tone. "I mean how hard could it be to find a hyperactive teenager and her alcoholic partner?"

Pyrrha giggled and started to walk off. "I don't know, but Naruto and Nora are both full of surprises. So you never know with those two."

Jaune followed after his partner and sighed. "I guess you have a point."

Pyrrha smiled and slightly nudged her partner. "But hey if we can't find them, that just means we have a day to ourselves. And I'm sure wherever Nora and Naruto are, they're keeping each other out of trouble."

Jaune snorted. "I doubt that last part."

Pyrrha took a deep breath and leaned over. "Yeah, me too."

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(With Naruto and Nora)

Laying on top of a sand dune in a prone position, Naruto was glancing down at the mine with a pair of binoculars. Nora was at his side and was eagerly awaiting his assessment of their situation.

"This is interesting." The blond teenager began.

Nora raised her eyebrow and leaned into her partner. "What do you see?"

Naruto handed the binoculars over to Nora. "Here take a look." The red eyed teen instructed, before he directed Nora where to look with his finger. "Look right over there and tell me what you see."

Nora focused in on the mine below and looked confused. "People moving carts, carrying pickaxes and other mineworker related activities. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Naruto shook his head and pointed over to a small building. "Look over there, standing on that crate."

Nora scanned the area for a moment before finding the person Naruto was talking about. "A man in a mask?" The orange haired girl replied.

"Not just any guy in a mask, that's a White Fang mask." Naruto corrected. "It seems our previous intel was good, the White Fang is involved. But this opens a whole new line of questions."

Nora looked away from the mine and to her partner. "Like what exactly?"

"Well this mine is owned by the Schnee Dust Company. Now the Schnee Dust Company is widely known for their use of cheap labor and poor mistreatment of Faunus. So normally the White Fang will attack mines like these, steal all their dust and then destroys the mine. However, as you can see that's not the case here."

Nora glanced back down to the mine with the binoculars. Doing so it allowed the girl to notice even more members of the White Fang. "There is a lot of White Fang down there, but they are not working the mine. It's almost like they are overseeing the workers."

Naruto nodded. "It appears the White Fang have changed their gameplan. They have taken this mine over and they are squeezing out all of its resources. Which makes me come to the conclusion that the White Fang have an increasing need of dust."

"Hey didn't you say your mom mentioned something about the White Fang getting involved with Salem? Could they be collecting all this dust to help her attack Beacon?" Nora asked.

Naruto frowned. "It was just a rumor that my mom heard, but it could be true. Which if that's the case we need to place a stop to the Fang and find the relic while we are here."

Nora nodded and stood to her feet. "So let's do this!"

Naruto held his hand up. "Hold on, one thing still bothers me." The blond began in a low voice. "Like you said the White Fang are overseeing the workers, so here is the million Lien question. Are the workers being forced to help the White Fang? Or are they helping on their own free will?"

Nora's face lit up at the questions. "You mean all those workers might need our help!"

Naruto stood up and scoffed at his partner's words. "No I was just thinking we may have to fight the workers too."

Nora deflated and sighed, she forgot her partner's golden rule involving never helping the weak. "We could at least try to help them if they need it."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Well I do plan to take out those White Fang members and interrogate their leader. I gotta confirm if they are working with Salem. So I guess if they do need help they will get it."

Nora took a deep breath and grabbed her weapon. "I guess that will do, so what's the plan partner?"

Naruto folded his arms and placed a hand onto his chin. "Hmmm, how about you create a large diversion with your weapon from here. Then I will portal us behind the enemy and we will get them by surprise."

Nora shifted Magnhild into its grenade launcher form and grinned like a madwoman. "One large and very destructive distraction coming up!" The girl declared before unleashing a hail of grenades down onto the mine.

Naruto smiled as he watched Nora rain down fire on the mine. Causing the workers and the White Fang members to scrambled in a confused panic.

"Well let's get started Nora!" Naruto yelled as he assembled Kitsune into its katana form and created a portal.

"Yeah!" The Winter Maiden cheered before sprinting into the portal.

Naruto shook his head and released a small laugh. "She better be careful." The blond mumbled before walking into the portal.

Coming out on the other side, Naruto and Nora stood behind dozens of White Fang members. All of whom were trying to locate where their attackers were located. Unfortunately for the Faunus extremists, they were looking in the wrong direction.

"Hey Nora." Naruto spoke in a low voice, while he pointed to the White Fang members. "Smash."

Nora grinned and leaned over slightly, her hands firmly gripping onto Magnhild. "Gladly." The girl replied before sprinting towards the unsuspecting White Fang members.

"Ahhhh!" Nora shouted loudly, while the girl took a large swing at a few grouped up White Fang members.

Turning around the unsuspecting Faunus' screamed in surprise and tried to avoid Nora. However, it was too late to do anything as the young Winter Maiden swung her hammer with an impressive display of strength. Then be using all her might, Nora sent a group of six White Fang members flying.

Watching the White Fang members fly off, Nora placed her hammer head into the sand and shielded her eyes with a free hand. "Man they are really getting some distance!" The orange haired girl giggled to herself. Though the clicking of a gun caused her to freeze.

"Heh, end of the line girly." A White Fang member snarled, while he pointed his gun to Nora's head from behind.

However, before the Faunus could even blink a sword sliced the barrel of his gun like butter.

"I don't think so." The cold voice of Naruto spoke up.

The White Fang member gasped and tried to back away, but Naruto simply elbowed the man in the mask. Shattering his mask and leaving the man dazed and confused, which gave Naruto a clear opening to finish the man off with a clean sword strike to the chest.

Nora watched the man fall over unconscious and chuckled nervously. "Thanks for the save partner."

Naruto glanced to Nora and gave her a small smile. "Anytime Nora, but try to keep on your toes."

Nora saluted the blond swordsman and giggled. "Can do!"

Naruto smirked as he noticed a large group of White Fang rushing his position. He then looked over his shoulder and noticed the workers cowering in fear. This lead Naruto to assume that the workers were not hostile.

"Alright Nora follow my lead. We are gonna hit these bastards fast and hard." Naruto informed in a low voice, while he separated Kitsune into two separate blades. "So let's try that one thing we talked about."

Nora grinned and gripped the handle of her weapon. "Team attack?" The girl asked.

Naruto chuckled and nodded. "Team attack."

With that being said, Naruto and Nora both sprinted after the remaining White Fang forces. However, once they were within a ten foot distance from their opponents Naruto jumped into the air. Nora then pulled her hammer back and prepared to swing her weapon, while Naruto pointed his feet towards Nora.

"Fox Cyclone!" The two partners shouted together, followed by Nora swinging her hammer into Naruto's feet. Then with a combination of Nora's swing and Naruto pushing off Magnhild with his feet, the blond was sent rocketing forward.

"Oh shit." One of the White Fang members screamed as he watched Naruto come his way.

"Everyone look out!" A female Faunus shouted in fear.

Naruto grinned and held his two blades out and started to spin in mid air. Turning himself into a human sized twister.

Many of the White Fang members stumbled and started to run in the opposite direction. Though this was a fruitless effort, as Naruto barreled through every single person and sent them flying.

"Too easy." Naruto scoffed after he came to a sliding stop a few feet away for the defeated White Fang members.

Nora smiled and walked over to her partner. "Good job Naruto, but are we sold on that whole Fox Cyclone name?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Well a fox is my symbol, so I like it." The boy replied. "What you have something better?"

"I was thinking about The Valkyrie Strike or maybe Hammer Blast!" Nora admitted.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. "Nah, I would settle for The Branwen Strike that's it"

Nora puffed her cheeks out and pointed at her partner. "You just wanna name it after yourself!"

"You're one to talk!" The blond replied loudly.

"Are you two serous! We are still fighting over here!" One of the recovering White Fang members shouted, while the extremist slowly struggled to stand on his feet.

Nora pointed her grenade launcher at the White Fang member and fired it without looking. Then as a loud explosion went off she huffed. "Fine, but I'm naming our next team attack!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked to the side. "Fine." The blond grumbled. "Though we should get moving."

Nora nodded and turned around, her eyes growing wide as she saw all the mine workers standing around them. "Um hey?" The girl greeted awkwardly.

"Thank you!" The collective workers thanked while taking a bow of respect.

The two partners exchanged a look amongst each other. Then by rubbing the back of their heads they looked to the workers with awkward chuckles.

"You're welcome?" Naruto replied.

One of the miners, an older looking male Faunus with wolf ears stepped forward. "Those White Fang bastards have been holding us here for weeks. They've been forcing to work non stop against our will without any end in sight."

Naruto folded his arms. "Why does the White Fang need dust that bad?"

The man shook his head. "They are not after the dust, it's just a bonus for their operation. They are after the sword in the mine."

"A sword?" Nora mumbled in surprise.

"A relic possibly." Naruto added in a low whisper, before the blond looked to the group of workers. "Explain yourself, what importance does this sword have to the White Fang!"

The wolf Faunus held his hands up. "I have no clue, but they were really focused on obtaining it. However, the sword is encased in an unbreakable mineral and no one has been able to pull it out. So these bastards have been forcing us to excavate it."

Naruto rubbed his chin and turned to Nora. "What do you think of what he says Nora?"

Nora frowned and thought to herself. "Well if the White Fang is aligned with Salem they would definitely be after this sword because it's a relic. I say we check it out, it's what we came here for in the first place."

Naruto nodded and looked to the Faunus. "Beside the ones we defeated, how many more White Fang members are there?"

"Just the one who was in charge!" The man replied in a desperate voice. "He's deep in the mine overseeing the other miners and the sword!"

Naruto nodded and looked at Nora. "I'm going into the mine. I want you to stay here and keep an eye out for any reinforcements. I don't want to be caught off guard."

"No way!" Nora replied stubbornly while planting her foot into the ground. "It could be a trap! I'm not gonna let you go alone and get hurt!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and poked Nora's forehead. "I'll be fine Nora, but I need you to stay behind. Someone has to make sure no White Fang assholes set an ambush for us while we are in the mine. So that's why you need to stay here and keep everything under control. Can you do that for me?"

Nora looked up to her partner with a scowl on her face, but after a moment she sighed and looked down. "Fine." The girl mumbled before looking back and poking her partner on the chest. "But you better be careful buster!"

Naruto grinned wide at his partner. "Don't worry Nora I'll be back, I made a promise to you after all. No matter where I go, I will always come back to you."

Nora looked down and blushed. "Yeah you better." The girl mumbled softly.

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(Two miles from the mine)

Slowly trekking through the sand at a steady pace, Salem eagerly licked her lips in excitement.

"I sense two great powers not far from here. One much larger than your average human a hundred times over, obviously the power of a Seasonal Maiden." Salem began to herself before taking a pause. "Hmmm and the second one is obviously a Relic Wielder, but this individual's power is increasing at an exponential rate. Which means the relic I am here for belongs to that individual."

A low feral growl made itself known from behind Salem. This caused the white skinned woman to look over her shoulder to the massive Grimm horde following her.

"This will be quite interesting. To kill a Maiden and a Relic Wielder who has their weapon in the same day. It must be my lucky day."

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(Inside the mine with Naruto)

With his weapon Kitsune assembled into its kanata form, Naruto kept the blade by his hip while sneaking deep into the mine. Taking each step forward slowly, the young blond moved without the slightest sound being made. While he moved his crimson eyes easily adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings of the mine shaft, considering he had done hundreds of night missions for his mother. So navigating through the darkness was a trivial challenge for Naruto.

As he inched further into the mine, the young Branwen recognized sounds of pickaxes striking rock. Signaling that Naruto was growing closer to the remaining workers, White Fang member and most importantly the relic.

"If what that man said was true, fighting one White Fang member should be easy. However, if this sword is a relic. The real challenge will be pulling the sword from the stone that holds it." Naruto spoke to himself in a low whisper. "I guess worse come to worse I can send Nora down here and she can blow the thing free."

With that being said Naruto came to an opening in the mineshaft. This opening lead into a large cavern where Naruto could spot over a dozen workers striking a large red stone.

"The unbreakable mineral the Faunus spoke of?" Naruto mused to himself, while his eyes glanced up to notice a strange sword with its blade buried into the stone. "Yeah that confirms it, but what is this?"

Naruto along with the miners who had stopped working, watched the sword glow a brilliant white light in awe. The light then quickly faded before glowing once more and repeating the process over and over.

"What in the hell is going on? And why are you worthless shits just standing around!" A loud a angry voice shouted.

Naruto looked to the voice and noticed a large male cheetah Faunus. The half man half beast had the standard White Fang captain mask, showing he was a higher rank than the grunts Naruto and Nora defeated. The man was also firmly grasping a weapon that looked like a large construction drill fashioned into a type of sword.

"Well, let's get this over with." Naruto spoke to himself before he began to sneak further into the open cavern. "I have a Relic to take after all."

"Such a greedy human you are." A loud voice mocked in a condescending tone, causing Naruto to scan the area. "All you do is steal and bring misfortune to those around you. You're a weak human who wants everything from money, power to even the love of those you hold dear. You want these things not because you need them, but your own greed demands you must have them!"

The "Who is there!" Naruto demanded to know, as he slightly raised his voice.

"Not only were you raised to be a thief, but you were born as one. After all your semblance steals the luck from others around you. That's all you do is take, take and take!"

"Fuck you coward, quit hiding and show yourself!" Naruto shouted in absolute rage.

Looking around with a scowl on his face, Naruto desperately searched for the voice that was speaking to him. However, the young Branwen couldn't find anyone. Though during his search Naruto did notice one thing, all the mine workers were looking at him. Which meant one thing, he had given away his own position.

"Shit." The blond cursed to himself.

"And just who the hell are you!" The White Fang captain snarled, while he appeared behind Naruto. His weapon already raised high in the air and ready to strike.

'Fast.' Naruto thought in surprise before he turned around and brought his sword up to guard the attacking Faunus. "Who am I?" The blond asked, while he struggled to hold the man at bay. "I'm they guy that's gonna kick your ass!"

The captain growled in a low voice and made his drill spin. Though before he could do anything, Naruto raised his right leg and kicked the man in the ribs. Causing the Faunus to go flying back and land into a pile of rubble.

Snapping his attention to the workers who were all standing in a stunned trance, a vein popped in Naruto's head. "Well don't just stand around! Get the hell out of here, all the other White Fang members are beaten!"

With Naruto's orders and the confirmation that they were safe, all the workers rushed towards the exit of the mine. Making sure to avoid Naruto and the fight that he was starting with the White Fang captain.

"Kid I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you're gonna regret interfering with the White Fang's affairs." The captain declared, before he slowly dug himself up out of the rubble.

Naruto scoffed and rested a hand on his hip, while his katana was kept lazily by his side. "And just why is the White Fang here collecting dust?" The blond began before looking up to the trapped sword and pretending to be oblivious. "That and a sword?"

"Well a few weeks ago my unit was tasked with a simple job. Steal all the dust we can and then demolish this mine. However, when my men were setting the charges we stumbled upon that sword stuck in stone. I then felt compelled to inform my leader of my discovery. That is when I received my new assignment, recover that sword at all costs." The Faunus explained before laughing to himself and shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what's so important about it, but if it helps the great White Fang. There isn't nothing I wouldn't do!"

Naruto smirked, this guy was given him a lot of information to go off of. "So tell me, what do you know about Salem?"

"Who?" The man asked, causing Naruto to frown.

"That's a bummer, it would appear you don't know much about anything." Naruto replied with a soft sigh. "Guess the only thing left to do is kick your ass."

"Like hell you will!" The Faunus yelled before rushing at Naruto.

A mad grin graced Naruto's lips as he held his sword up to block the attacking man. However, Naruto wasn't ready for the captain to disappear in an impressive burst of speed.

"Damnit! Where did he go!" Naruto shouted as he scanned the area for his opponent.

"Right here!" The captain shouted as he appeared by Naruto's side.

His eyes growing wide, Naruto raised his forearm to shield himself. Unfortunately the Faunus kicked Naruto in the stomach instead, knocking the wind out of the blond and breaking his guard in one strike.

"Arghh." Naruto grunted in pain.

"Take this!" The captain yelled as he swung his weapon at Naruto and batted the blond away like a fly.

Sailing across the jagged rock floor, Naruto's body continued to bounce and roll all the way until he collided with the walls of the cavern.

Leaning against the rock wall, Naruto glared at the White Fang member with one eye closed. "Bastards a little tougher than he looks." The blond mumbled to himself.

Rushing at Naruto the White Fang captain pointed his drill at the blond and planned to impale the young teenager. Though instead of waiting for the man to strike the blond gripped his katana and darted towards his attacker.

The two meeting each other halfway, Naruto and the Faunus engaged in a fierce trade off of weapon strikes. As they battled, it was obvious to tell that the White Fang captain was faster than Naruto. However, the blond swordsman was stronger and a better fighter in general. So the two were at a standstill, as neither could get the upper hand.

"You're pretty good kid." The masked man chuckled, his drill spinning to life as he pushed his weapon down onto Naruto.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto pushed the man's weapon back with his own. Leaving a wide opening to strike. "I'm a little more than good!" The blond shouted before attempting to strike the man.

Unfortunately for Naruto the man simply avoided the attack with his superior speed. An action which only caused Naruto's anger to rise.

"Such arrogance, too bad you can't back up your words." The voice from before mocked.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled as he started to attack the Faunus with a flurry of wild sword strikes. Though none of his strikes managed to hit their mark.

"Is that really the best you have? How do you expect to beat Salem if you can't beat one measly Faunus? Pathetic."

"Stop talking!" Naruto roared as he started to move at a faster pace. His eyes glowing a bright red, while at the same time his sword strikes grew faster and stronger.

Finding himself suddenly struggling with Naruto's attacks, the White Fang captain gritted his teeth. "Just what are you talking about!" The man screamed, as he didn't hear the voice speaking to Naruto.

"If this is all you have everyone is going to die. Your parents, your sister's, your friends and even that girl you promised to protect. They will all die by Salem's hands!"

"I said shut the fuck up!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs as he sliced the cheetah Faunus in the chest. "I'm sick of hearing your shit!"

Continuing in his rage filled onslaught, Naruto slashed and hacked his opponent without showing any signs of yielding. This continued until the point where the man fell onto his back completely unconscious, an action which finally caused Naruto to stop and take a few deep breaths.

"It's over." Naruto mumbled before he relaxed his weapon and took a deep sigh. "I really lost control of myself."

Walking past the defeated Faunus, Naruto walked over to the sword buried in the stone at a slow pace. Then by jumping onto the large red stone Naruto looked down at the blade imbedded in the rock.

"Alright, let's see if I can pull this thing free." Naruto mused while he placed one hand on the sword's handle.

"You humans are all the same, you kill and steal for what you want without earning it." The voice began before Naruto was blinded by a bright white light coming from the sword.

Closing his eyes Naruto felt a strange tingling sensation sweep over his body. So bracing himself for the absolute worse, Naruto waited patiently for whatever was going to happen. Though after a few seconds he slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"Wh-what the hell is going on!" Naruto gasped as he looked around his surroundings. Noticing he was no longer in the mine, but was instead in the middle of a giant meadow.

"That's an irrelevant question." The voice replied, but this time Naruto was able to identify the direction of the voice.

Spinning on his heel, Naruto's eyes grew wide in surprise. "That's not possible, just who the hell are you!"

"And Isn't it obvious? I'm you." Was the response of the individual identical to Naruto in every single aspect. Though the one key difference was the sword that was previously trapped in the stone was now within the imposter Naruto's hands. The sword was a curved short sword with five holes going through the blade and it's edge was pointed right at Naruto.

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(With Nora)

Standing with her arms crossed, Nora nervously tapped her foot onto the dirt. Her eyes which were filled with worry gazed at the opening of the mine.

"He better be okay." The Winter Maiden mumbled to herself.

"Excuse me Miss." An unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind.

Glancing over her shoulder, Nora noticed one of the female mine workers standing behind her. The woman was a tiger Faunus and she was staring Nora down with a look of curiosity.

"Yes what is it?" Nora replied in a plain voice.

The worker saluted the young huntress before pointing off in another direction. "All the White Fang members have been detained and will no longer be an issue."

Looking down a couple feet to a large group of mine workers, Nora saw all the defeated White Fang members tightly bound together with some rope.

"Good job." The orange haired girl complemented, before she instantly moved her attention back to the mine entrance.

"Um excuse me, but is everything alright? You seem troubled." The female Faunus pointed out.

Nora looked back to the woman and flashed her a soft smile. "It's nothing serious." The girl lied in a soft voice.

The woman laughed and placed her hands onto her hips. "That boy you came here with, he is special to you isn't he? A boyfriend perhaps?"

Nora's face turned beat red and she looked away. "He's just a friend, my best friend." She clarified.

"Oh I'm sure that's all he is to you." The woman replied sarcastically. "But regardless you're worried about him."

Nora slowly rubbed her arm and glanced off into the distance. "Naruto's a powerful huntsmen, probably the strongest I know, but he's not invincible. And when you've lost as many loved ones as I have, well you can't help yourself from worrying."

The woman grinned wide at Nora, showing off her sharp teeth. "I'm sure he is fine, he has something important to come back to after all." The woman replied with a small laugh.

"What do you mean by that?" A flustered Nora asked.

"Heh, when you two first arrived at the mine I watched you both. No matter where you went or what you did, that boy always kept himself positioned to protect you at a moment's notice." The woman explained. "It seems keeping you safe is very important to him. So by default that means you're very important to him."

Nora grinned wide and looked to the ground. "I'm important to Naruto?" The girl mumbled with joy in her voice before smiling. Though the sound of footsteps and voices caused Nora's head to shoot up. "Naruto you're back-. . ."

Looking at all the remaining mine workers leaving the mine, Nora looked disappointed and worried. As the young huntress did not see any sign of Naruto with the group of workers.

"Hey it looks like you all made it out of there!" The female Faunus by Nora spoke happily.

Another tiger Faunus who was a male stopped by the woman. "Yeah, and it's all thanks to that blond kid who showed up out of nowhere. Just who is that guy, he seems tough!"

The female smirked. "Well I don't know who they are or where they are from. But that boy and his partner both saved all of us."

The man glanced over to Nora, the latter of whom was staring the man down with wide eyes.

"Where is Naruto?" The girl demanded to know. "Is he okay!"

"Whoa, hold on little girl. If you're talking about that blond boy who saved us. Yeah he should be okay, he's taking care of their leader right now." The man explained.

The female Faunus rested her hand on Nora's shoulder and smiled. "Remember what I said, there is no need to worry. He will be fine and will come back."

Nora nodded. "Yeah, I just have to put my faith in Naruto!"

"That's the spirit!" The woman replied joyfully.

The two women exchanged large grins, but their merriment was cut short by a piercing howl. A familiar noise that anyone would recognize.

"Beowulf's." Nora gasped as she noticed several creatures of Grimm running towards their location. "You guys need to get out of here!"

The woman grinned and grabbed a pickaxe. "Like we are gonna run away and leave you alone." The female began before turning around to her fellow workers. "Everyone grab any weapon you can, we got to fight these beasts off!"

The workers gave a loud chorus of screams and battle cries, before they all charged at the approaching Grimm.

Nora watched the workers rush the Grimm and gripped her weapon. "Naruto you better move quick, because things are turning bad." The girl mumbled before she ran off to engage the monsters.

As the battle began, Nora easily started off by defeating multiple creatures of Grimm. Doing so at a much faster pace than the mine workers, showing the difference between a civilian and a huntress. Though as Nora battled the beasts, she noticed there was multiple types of Grimm from Death Stalkers to Ursa. She also noticed the monsters numbers were massive, which was unlike any grouping of Grimm she has seen before.

"There is so many." Nora gasped, while she jumped over an Ursa and landed on a Beowulf. Then as she smashed the beast's head with Magnhild, Nora looked to the workers. "I can hold my own, but they are a different story."

"Help!" A worker shouted as a Beowulf tackled him to the ground.

"There is too many!" Another shouted as Grimm started to surround the panicking worker.

"We are all gonna die!" A worker shouted in fear.

Nora gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she couldn't watch as some of the workers were killed by the horde of Grimm.

"I have to do something, but." Nora stopped speaking as the voice of her own mother echoed in her head.

'That's why you must promise me, you will never use your powers again.'

Nora tightened her fists as she heard more screams and cries for help. "I can't save them all with just Magnhild. I'm sorry mom, but I've got to break my promise." The girl mumbled, while her body was surrounded by a cold icy mist.

"Absolute Freeze." Nora spoke in a trance like state, followed by ice protruding around her body and traveling in every direction. Then as the ice connected with the various creatures of Grimm, Nora's ice froze every single one solid. Creating a winter wonderland of frozen Grimm sculptures.

Taking a deep breath, Nora leaned over and started to pant. She rarely used her Maiden powers and doing something to this extent really took a lot out of her.

"Damn." The girl mumbled as she fell onto one knee. "That really took a lot out of me, but it looks like everyone is out of danger."

Looking around the desert area that had been completely transformed into a winter wasteland. Nora took a sigh of relief, knowing the Grimm threat was over. However, what the young Maiden didn't know. Was the true battle was about to begin.

"So this is the Winter Maiden." An amused voice chuckled from behind Nora. "I'm slightly underwhelmed."

Turning around and forcing herself onto her feet, Nora looked to the strange woman with fear in her eyes. As every instinct Nora had was telling her to run away.

"Who are you!" Nora demanded to know, while the girl prepared herself for an attack.

The woman chuckled and took a slight bow. "I've gone by several names throughout the centuries. You however, may call me Salem."

Nora's eyes grew as wide as they could go and her body began to tremble. The orange haired girl took a slight step back. "W-why are you here?"

Salem grinned like a madwoman. "Well i'm here to kill you and take your powers. Then I will kill that Relic Wielder and take what is mine." The woman declared.

Nora gripped her hands around Magnhild as she heard Salem's plans. "I won't let you." Nora began in a low voice, while she thrusted her hammer foreword. Summoning a large wave of ice spikes in Salem's direction. "I won't let you take anyone else from me!"

Salem merely smirked as a black tendril grew out of her arm. Then in one clean swipe she shattered Nora's ice. "Is this all the Winter Maiden can do? I really am quite disappointed in you."

Taking a few steps back Nora began to shake. All her repressed memories of losing her parents and Ren were coming flooding back into her mind. Then as she watched the red eyed woman approach her, Nora allowed her own fear to overtake her.

"Naruto where are you? I need you Naruto!" The orange haired girl shriked in terror.

Salem laughed while several tendrils grew out of her outstretched arm and slapped Nora across the open area. "Yes that's the spirit! Scream in fear, it makes this all the more enjoyable for me!"

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(With Naruto)

Glaring at his doppelganger with a mixture of confusion and anger, Naruto lifted his sword into the air and pointed his blade at the fake copy of himself.

"What is going on!" The blond teenager demanded to know.

The fake Naruto started to laugh and shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said I am you, well I'm the version of you that you keep buried away. The one you try to repress with your drinking and cocky demeanor."

Naruto tightened his grip on Kitsune and gritted his teeth. "You don't know a damn thing about me imposter."

Laughing to himself, the fake Naruto placed a hand to his face and threw his head back. "I know everything about you, because we are one in the same idiot!"

"Liar!" Naruto shouted in anger, while he planned to charge at the man. Though a muffled and hardly audible scream grabbed his attention. At first Naruto couldn't make out who the sound originated from, but as the fake Naruto's grin grew wider. The sound of the screams became more clear.

"NARUTO! HELP ME!" Was the plea that caused Naruto's eyes to grow wide and his heart to skip a beat.

"Nora!" The blond called out, while he desperately searched the area for any sign of his partner. "Can you hear me? Where are you!"

"It's no use, she can't hear you and you won't find her." The fake Naruto declared.

His eyes being engulfed in a fiery red glow more bright than ever before, Naruto ran after his doppelganger. "What did you do to Nora!" The blond demanded to know, while he brought his sword down onto his counterpart. "If you hurt her I will kill you!"

"Oh I didn't do anything." The fake Naruto answered as he blocked Naruto's strike with the sword in his hand. "Salem on the other hand, well she's probably torturing poor Nora a little before she kills her."

"What!" The blond shouted in surprise. "Salem is here and she is with Nora! I have to help her!"

"Like you can do anything." The fake Naruto began before he raised his knee into the original Naruto's gut. "You don't have the power to fight Salem."

Gasping for air, Naruto slightly bent over and relaxed his guard. This allowed the fake Naruto to punch him square in the jaw and send him flying. Then coming to a painful landing, the original Naruto came to a stop with his face buried in the dirt.

Naruto then laid there on the ground and thought to himself for a moment. Could what his copy cat had said be true? Was he really powerless against Salem?

"Giving up already?" The fake Naruto asked in a disappointed voice. "We haven't even started yet!"

Slamming his clenched fists into the ground, Naruto pushed his body upwards. Then by standing to his feet the blond glared at the fake version of himself.

"Let's get one thing straight jack ass. I'm going to beat the shit out of you, take that relic you have and then save Nora." The real Naruto declared with conviction behind his words.

"And how do you plan to even beat me? If you didn't realize it I am you. I have your skills, your powers, hell I even think just like you!" The fake Naruto shouted with a large grin while holding out the sword in his hand. "But unlike you I have a Relic and the powers that it bestows upon me!"

The real Naruto cracked his neck and dropped into a sword stance. "I'll beat you because Nora's life is on the line. I'm fighting for her, so I can't afford to lose."

The fake Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Allow me to show you something, see this Relic amplifies our Semblance to unimaginable levels. See you can only steal the luck of others and improve your own luck. I on the other hand can steal everything!" The doppelganger declared as he held his outstretched hand towards Naruto. "Let's start by taking away some of your strength and use it to make myself stronger!"

Feeling his energy and strength leaving his body, the original Naruto started to shake. His body eventually slumping over in exhaustion forcing the young blond to plant his sword into the ground just to stand on his feet.

"Wh-what did you d-do to me?" Naruto asked.

The fake Naruto grinned ear to ear, while his muscles started to expanded and his upper body grew larger than normal. "It's just as I said, I stole your strength. Next I think I will take your sword!" The fake Naruto declared, before the original Naruto felt Kitsune begin to shake and twitch in his hands. Then in one swift movement, Kitsune was sent flying out of Naruto's grasp and straight into the hands of the imposter.

Having no weapon to lean onto for support, Naruto fell forward onto his knees. His eyes were wide open, while he looked up to his imposter holding both his own sword and the relic.

"This isn't possible." The blond gasped in shock. "This can't be happening."

The fake Naruto smiled wide and started to charge at the original. "Oh trust me, this is very real!" The fake Naruto declared, before he planted a firm kick into the original Naruto's jaw.

Being sent up into the air, Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to fight back. However, his doppelganger simple planted a strong fist into his cheek and sent the original Naruto flying back into a tree.

Gasping for air, Naruto slid down to the base of the tree and took a deep breath. Unfortunately, Naruto got no time to recover as the fake Naruto trusted Kitsune into his shoulder blade. This caused the original Naruto to growl in pain before coughing up some blood.

"Pathetic." The fake Naruto taunted with a sneer.

Looking up to the imposter with pure hate, Naruto slowly placed his hands onto Kitsune. Then with a trembling hand, he tried to remove the blade that pinned him to the tree.

"Fuck you." Naruto mumbled, while a trail of blood ran down the corner of his mouth.

The fake Naruto shook his head and laughed. "Why do you even bother trying? It's hopeless!"

Grunting in pain, Naruto continued to pull on his weapon. "Because Nora needs me." The blond declared. "I promised I would be there for her and I'm not going back on my word!"

Rolling his eyes, the fake Naruto planted his foot into the original's chest. "Oh spare me that bullshit. You claim that girl is your friend, but she doesn't even know the kind of person WE are!"

Naruto grabbed the fake Naruto's leg and tried to remove his foot, but he had no success. "Like I said asshole, you're not me."

The fake Naruto threw his head back in laughter. "Oh trust me, I am you! And I bet if little Nora or those two sisters of ours learned the kind of things we have done. Well I'm sure they would hate us."

"Fu. . ."

"Yeah, yeah fuck me, man you never notice how annoying you can be till you meet yourself." The fake Naruto began before removing his foot and bending down to meet the original at eye level. "But regardless of what you say, you know I'm right. If Nora, Yang or Ruby learned what we did before joining Beacon. Well they wouldn't ever want to see us again. After all, you already know this. That's why you've kept everything you've done to yourself!"

"They wouldn't be like that, they are my friends and family!" The original Naruto retorted.

"Do you honestly believe that? Do you expect me to believe that? When I know you can't even forgive yourself for the things you've done?" The fake Naruto began before a wild grin appeared on his face. "After all your past is why you drink so much? It's easy to hide who you really are behind a bottle isn't it?"

Naruto took a swing at his doppelganger, but his fist fell a few feet short. Then as the fake Naruto chuckled, the real Naruto dropped his arm to his side.

"What was mom's favorite saying again?" The fake Naruto began before snapping his fingers. "Oh I remember! The weak die and the strong live. . . Do you remember the first time she told us those words?"

"What are you getting at?" Naruto snapped back in response.

The fake Naruto waved his finger in the air. "Growing up in a tribe of bandits we have stolen, hurt and killed more times than we could think of." The imposter began before clapping his hands together. "But the first time mom took us on a collecting mission is when she spoke those words. See we were only five years old and she took us to a settlement being burnt to the ground."

Naruto closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Shut up." The blond ordered.

"But we still remember everything like it happened yesterday. The screams, the smell of blood and burning buildings. The snarls of the creatures of Grimm that were tearing the settlers apart. Every god awful detail was burned into our memory!" The fake Naruto yelled, while the real Naruto's senses were overtaken by the smell of fire, smoke and blood. Then as a bone chilling scream made itself known, the real Naruto opened his eyes.

"What is going on?" Naruto gasped as he was no longer pinned to a tree in the forest, but instead he was pinned to a wall in the burning settlement from his childhood.

"We asked her, mom why don't we help these people? Remember that?" The fake Naruto began as he pointed off into the distance, right to where a younger Naruto and Raven were. "And she said they were not our responsibility, because the weak die and the strong live. Then saying nothing more we stole from the settlement and ignored the people calling for our help. But that's not the worst of it, sure we were only five and couldn't do anything to help. However, how many times since then did we go on a collecting mission and ignore people who needed our help? How many people did we condemn to death by choosing to ignore their pleas for help? At first we knew the number by heart, but over the years we stopped counting. Our compassion and need to help others died out and our drinking became our escape from what we had done."

Naruto clutched his head with his hands and started to shake. "People die everyday, me saving a few people wouldn't change that."

"We could have tried to at least help the people who needed us, but we refused. We believed the needs of the tribe was our one and only priority. And that selfish greedy belief is the sin we carry." The fake Naruto declared.

Feeling defeated and exhausted, Naruto relaxed his body. While the screams and smells of his past grew even more intense. While the original Naruto started to give up, his copy cat looked down with a victorious smirk.

"A pitiful thief who steals from the weak and dead. You're better off dead yourself." The fake Naruto began, before he raised the relic in his hand high into the air. "You disgusting embodiment of greed, be gone."

Naruto looked up to the sword raised above his head, his mind telling him to move and fight back. However, instead of trying to do anything Naruto looked down in shame and accepted his fate.

"Giving up already? Did you forget Nora needs you?" An unfamiliar and calm voice asked.

Ignoring the voice, Naruto stayed motionless while his imposter brought his sword in a downward strike.

"Are you really going to let Nora down? She's lost everyone and all she has left is you! Don't get lost in the darkness, get up and fight!"

Naruto sighed and looked up to his doppelganger, who had his sword mere inches from his face.

"You're just gonna give up like that?" The voice asked with a small sigh. "You made a promise to Nora! I failed her, but you can still do something! So get up and fight Naruto!"

Closing his eyes Naruto accepted his fate and waited for the final strike to come. As nothing the voice could say could inspire him to fight back. However, there was one person whose voice could ignite a spark within the young Branwen.

"NARUTO!" Was the final cry from Nora that caused Naruto's eyes to shoot wide open.

"I can't give up!" Naruto shouted, as a sword identical to the one the fake Naruto's hands materialized in his own hand.

"What!" The fake Naruto shouted, while the real Naruto parried his sword strike.

Pulling Kitsune out of his shoulder and tossing the weapon to the side. Naruto stood to his feet and attacked his imposter.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of your shit." Naruto growled as he took a swing at the fake Naruto.

Clashing blades with Naruto, the fake Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. "Why are you fighting back? Because that girl needs you? She would abandon you the moment she realized what you really are!"

Naruto smirked as he felt his strength enter his body. "I'll admit I've done terrible things, I've lied, stolen and killed. I'm a greedy human who cares very little for the weak and helpless. I only care about myself and those few I hold close to my heart. However, you say you're me, but you don't even know Nora. She's the most kind person I've ever met and is my best friend. If anyone can forgive me for my sins, it would be her."

Being knocked back by the original Naruto and landing on his backside, the fake Naruto looked up with anger. "How can you even use that weapon? Someone like you shouldn't be able to wield it properly, let alone summon its powers!"

Naruto scoffed and examined the weapon in his hands. "You made it look pretty easy for a cheap imitation of me."

The fake Naruto growled. "So you've realized to use your relic you need to become kinder. You need to be a better person who protects everyone who needs him."

Naruto raised his eyebrow and gave the fake version of himself an odd look. "The hell are you going on about?" The blond asked while he leaned over his doppelganger. "Nora needs me, so I made a choice. Since I am a thief I'll take this power to protect her."

The fake Naruto's eye grew wide in disbelief. "You can't do such a thing! That's not how this is suppose to go!"

Naruto grinned wide and rested the sword on his shoulder. "Like I give a damn what you think. I'll take what's mine and use it to protect what I care for."

"So instead of changing yourself you're embracing your sin!" The fake Naruto shouted.

"Why be someone I'm not?" Naruto asked with humor behind his voice. "Like you said I was born and raised to be a thief. So like any thief I'll take what I want."

"You haven't earned this power! You might be the only person who can use it, but you don't deserve this relics power!" The fake Naruto shouted in anger.

His eyes narrowing and looking down at his doppelganger with a blank expression, Naruto raised his sword high into the air. "Yeah whatever." The blond replied offhandedly before striking down his imposter. "Just do me a favor and piss off."

Being sliced in half, the fake Naruto evaporated into a black smoke. Leaving only the original Naruto standing alone.

"Good job, now go save Nora." The voice ordered.

Rolling his eyes at the voice, Naruto was suddenly brought back into the cave from where he started. Taking notice that the blond had no scratches or bruises on his body, showing the battle he had just had was a mental one and not physical. Though he was now holding the relic in his hand, which now had a red fox symbol on its handle.

"Don't tell me what to do." Naruto replied to the voice. "Especially when I don't even know who or what you are."

The voice chuckled. "Think of me as a friend of a friend."

"Whatever." The blond grumbled as he started to run towards the exit. "Like I care who you are. Nora needs me so just shut up or go away."

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Chapter End!

Naruto gets his relic and is on his way to save Nora. Will he make it in time? And if he does can he stand against Salem and survive?

So I hope you liked my latest chapter, it took longer than usual due to its size and I recently lost a close family member. So that took away from my time to write.

Anyhow, a lot has happened and next chapter will be the big chapter that wraps up volume one of this story. And I hope you guys like what I did with Naruto and (dark Naruto) instead of the cliche I accept you as me. I went for the whole fuck you I'm going to do what I want route. And using the the word fuck, you may notice this story is now Rated M. This is something I've wanted to do since I wanted to add more mature themes and dialogue. And since I know I'll get this question will i do a lemon scene? The answer is I don't know, I've never wrote anything like that before, but the option isn't completely off the table.

Next thank you guys for the support, it's unreal as we are over 1k followers and this is only chapter 8! I'm blown away guys, so thank you for your support. I hope to get chapter 9 up soon along with the next chapter of my other story Jump City Assassin. Till then drop a review give me some feedback and enjoy your day!