Chapter 15. The Divide

Bending down over the unconscious form of his sister, Naruto titled his head and furrowed his brow. Currently thinking to himself as to where he was and what trouble Yang and Team RWBY were in.

"This is obviously a train car and I can feel it moving." Naruto mumbled out, while he observed everything around him. Sighing to himself, Naruto knew the best course of action was to wake Yang and get the answers from her himself. "Hey wake up idiot." Naruto ordered unsympathetically, while the blond started to slap his sister's face.

Being roughly handled by her brother, Yang started to stir awake. Though once Yang's eyes began to open, the huntress acted on instinct and sent a fast punch at Naruto's head. This of course caused Naruto to lazily move his head to the side. Resulting in Yang's punch flying by Naruto's head and a projectile from her gauntlet shooting into the roof above them.

"Well that wasn't nice." Naruto grumbled in a bored tone, while the blond placed a finger to his ear and started dig inside. "This is how people get tinnitus you know."

Finally noticing her twin was standing over her, Yang's eyes grew wide in surprise. "N-Naruto! What are you doing here?"

Huffing to himself Naruto rolled his eyes, while at the same time holding a hand out to Yang. "Saving your dumbass it would seem. Since that little half and half bitch was about to gut you."

Accepting her brother's hand, Yang was hoisted up. She didn't like the vague answer her brother gave her, as it still didn't explain much. "That's not what I meant! You shouldn't even be here this is the mission me and my team were on. How did you get here?"

"That's not important." Naruto replied stubbornly, showing he wasn't going to give Yang any answers. "Focus on the situation at hand and tell me what is going on. And don't leave out a single detail."

Gritting her teeth Yang glared at her brother, she didn't like how secretive he was being. Though he was right, they had bigger problems on their hand.

"Our team along with Dr. Oobleck was sent to the Southeast to deal with Grimm. However, we found White Fang moving weapons, dust and military grade equipment on this train. We boarded the train to stop them. Though we quickly realized their hidden agenda."

Naruto folded his arms and raised his eyebrow. "Which is?"

"They are setting off explosions inside this tunnel we are in. This is filling the tunnel with Grimm, which the White Fang is leading into the city under Beacon Academy." Yang explained with a sense of urgency in her voice. "Then there is also Roman Torchwick, who seems to be the leader of this operation."

Naruto tightened his fist in anger, but he had to think logically over this situation. "Where is your team?"

"Ruby and the Dr. are fighting White Fang above us. Then Blake and Weiss went ahead to stop the train." Yang explained, while she watched Naruto nod and twirl a weapon she had never seen before in his hand.

"I see, go join your team and stop this train." Naruto ordered, while at the same time heading to the back of the train.

"Why should I listen to you? And just where are you going!?" Yang replied back stubbornly.

Naruto shook his head and kicked open the back entrance of the train car. "I'm older, smarter and more experienced than you for starters. Second I'm placing some faith in your team to stop this train."

Yang narrowed her eyes. "And what are you going to do?"

Naruto looked back to his sister with a grin, his red eyes glowing bright red in excitement. "There is Grimm following the train correct? Well I'm going to go take care of them."

Yang's eyes snapped open in surprise. "Do you know how many Grimm are following us? That's suicide Naruto!"

Naruto scoffed. "Worry about stopping the train, I'll be fine." The older sibling replied, before leaping out of the train car and onto the top of the train. Then standing in a crouched position Naruto noticed Ruby and Dr. Oobleck fighting members of the White Fang.

Seeing the young huntress and teacher holding their own Naruto smiled and turned his attention to the back of the train. Quickly observing a majority of the train carts were missing and a horde of Grimm was in fact chasing the train.

"Oh there is a lot of them." Naruto chuckled in an excited tone, as his blood was pumping with anticipation.

"Think you can stop them?" Ren asked, earning a scoff from Naruto.

"Yeah I can, but I am curious. Is this apart of Salem's attack on Beacon? If so the attack came earlier than I expected." Naruto mumbled, while he started to leap over to the last remaining train cars.

"Hmmm, I doubt it." Ren replied, while Naruto stopped at the edge of the last train car. "The way Yang described everything it seems your sister's team forced them to move before preparations were finished. I suspect Salem's full attack is still a few weeks away to line up with the festival."

"That's a solid deduction." Naruto admitted, while the blond jumped off the train. Then as he glared down the stampeding wall of Grimm running in his direction Naruto smirked. "But we can talk later, I need to focus."

Ren chuckled in Naruto's head. "Just don't die and break your promise to Nora."

"I would never dream of it." Naruto declared before the young warrior took off at full speeds. Running straight into the mob of Grimm with his sword already coming down to strike. Then in a blink of an eye Naruto started to spin, twirl and hack his way into the Grimm.

On his first initial strike Naruto managed to cut through eight creatures of Grimm. However, this caused the massive mob to lose all interest of pursuing the train. Instead they all circled and closed in onto the blond. Giving Naruto no option to run and leaving him with nothing to do besides fight his way free. So standing in the center of the Grimm Naruto watched carefully, while each different species he could identify within the mob circled him. They all appeared to be waiting for the right time to strike the young huntsman, but at the same time Naruto was quickly formulating a plan to deal with each specific type of Grimm.

"Well you stupid fucking bastards, who is gonna die first?" Naruto asked, causing a group of Ursa and Boarbatusk to unleash loud battle cries and charge in.

Displaying his years of training and experience, Naruto quickly reacted and jumped over the first wave of Grimm. Then with precision and grace, Naruto sliced the Grimm into pieces. Causing the now dead creatures to begin to evaporate into black smoke, signaling the next group to lunge forward and attack.

Naruto who was just now landing on his feet caught a glimpse of a Beowulf pack that had a Death Stalker leading the charge coming his way. So shifting his katana into its magnum form, Naruto took a few quick shots and managed to kill a couple of Beowulf's with remarkable accuracy. Then by shifting his weapon back to his katana form, Naruto twisted his torso. Next Naruto pushed off with his feet and shot a bullet from the barrel of his weapon. However, since the barrel was currently located as the weapons hilt this tactic was used to propel Naruto at an improved speed at the ill prepared Grimm. The later of whom were slashed in half thanks to the added force of Naruto's weapon.

Though coming to a stop Naruto noticed for every Grimm he killed two more took its place, as the tunnel was completely overrun with the monsters. He also noticed that a few started to run past the crowd and head after the train, which was now a good distance away by now. However, Naruto wouldn't allow a single Grimm to make it past his location. So leaping up into the air, Naruto placed his feet onto the tunnel's ceiling. Then by pushing off and cracking the tunnel, Naruto landed in front of the escaping Grimm and started to hack and slash his way back into the mob once more. However, this time he used the gun portion of his weapon more often to increase his speed and striking power. While at the same time using the stray bullets to finish off a few lingering Grimm sneaking from behind.

Unfortunately, just as Naruto was starting to get a rhythm of well placed attacks stringed together one after another. A King Taijitu lashed out from the mob and spearheaded Naruto with an open mouth, the latter of whom reacted with enough time to block the creature's massive fangs with his weapon.

"Oh you seem angry, did I kill some of your friends?" Naruto asked in a mocking tone, while the King Taijitu released a loud roar. Causing Naruto's hair and clothes to flap wildly behind him.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto quickly jumped up and slashed upward onto the giant snake like Grimm. Slicing its head in two perfect halves before landing on the creature's body. Then by rubbing his ear the blond huntsman groaned.

"Between you and my dumbass sister I really am gonna get Tinnitus!" Naruto yelled in anger, while glaring at the clearly dead King Taijitu. Though he didn't have long to complain, as the near endless wave of Grimm continued to charge at him.

Sighing in annoyance, Naruto jumped off to the side of the tunnel and quickly landed onto the concrete wall. Then by kicking off with insane power, Naruto started to spin and slash through more and more Grimm. Only to land and kick himself off once more, using the tunnel as a way to move quickly and efficiently past all the Grimm surrounding him and attack simultaneously.

"Man this is too easy." Naruto laughed, while the blond landed onto the ground. Though the exact second his feet touched the ground an explosion sounded off. Followed by the entire tunnel shaking from the aftershock. This caused Naruto to look in the direction of where the train was, his heart slightly sinking as he could only come to one conclusion. "Did they fail?"

Naruto didn't have much time to think or even wonder if Team RWBY was okay. This was because even though he was momentarily stunned, the creatures of Grimm were a different story. As the Grimm could care less about the aftershock that rocked the tunnel. The only thing that the Grimm cared about was tearing into Naruto. So that's why as a Beowulf tackled into Naruto and sent the huntsman rolling forward. Naruto was forced to kick the beast off of him and send it flying into the ceiling. Then by quickly regaining himself, Naruto continued to fight off the Grimm horde within the tunnel.

"Don't lose focus Naruto!" Ren yelled inside of his host's mind.

Blowing out some air, Naruto pointed his blade at the remaining Grimm. "I told you to shut up and let me fight. I've got this!"

With that declaration made, Naruto unleashed a loud battle cry and charged once more into the horde of Grimm. Using every move and technique his mother had taught him to slaughter as many Grimm as possible. Regardless of their overwhelming numbers and the fact that he was starting to feel slightly fatigued.

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(With Team RWBY)

Sirens going off loudly, all four members of Team RWBY were huddled near each other and coughing out dust and dirt. All around them was discarded rubble, metal and weapons from where the train had collided with the sealed off portion of the tunnel. Luckily enough for the four young ladies, Weiss had managed to create an ice shield to protect them all from any major damage.

"Are you guys okay?" Ruby asked, while the youngest member of the team stood to her feet.

Dusting herself off, Weiss stood by her partner's side and nodded. "I'm fine."

"I'm not dead yet." Blake mumbled softly, while the girl staggered herself to a standing position.

Punching the ground Yang pushed herself up as well. "Well looks like the four of us made it out okay, but what about the professor?"

"That's Dr!" The chittery voice of Dr. Oobleck declared, while the huntsman made himself known to the group. "And I'll have you all know I've apprehended our culprit."

The four members of Team RWBY all looked towards Oobleck with wide eyes, as the rather odd huntsman had an unconscious Roman Torchwick at his side.

"Way to go Dr. Oobleck!" Ruby cheered happily.

The streets quickly clearing of civilians, Team RWBY and Dr. Oobleck started to gather together. However, they were not alone as more of their friends started to gather onto the scene. The first of which being both Neptune and Sun. Who were both working as junior detectives within the city. The four girls noticing their friends waved the boy's down to their location.

"Sun over here." Blake called out.

"Neptune!" Weiss added in cheerfully, as she was happy to see the blue haired boy.

Walking over to the girls Sun held his hands out. "What is going on here?" The monkey Faunus asked loudly. "We heard the sirens and saw smoke so we came running!"

"Long story short, the White Fang and Roman Torchwick are trying to lead Grimm into the city." Ruby explained quickly, while pointing to the large hole where the sealed tunnel used to be. "There should be a mob of Grimm coming out of there any second now."

"What are you serious!" Neptune yelled in surprise, while looking over to the currently empty tunnel.

Glancing down to the unconscious Roman, Sun's tail started to sway back and forth. "Well at least you caught Roman! That's a win so far, now we just gotta stop those Grimm."

Weiss nodded, but also titled her head in confusion. "You're right, but I don't get it. There was so many Grimm in that tunnel. The streets should be flooded by now."

"Maybe the explosions caused a portion of the tunnel to collapse and shut the Grimm off." Blake reasoned, but Yang quickly shook her head.

"Guys Naruto is in there." The blond haired twin declared, much to the shock of everyone present.

"Wait our big brother?" Ruby asked, as she did not notice the boy earlier.

Yang nodded. "Yeah."

"How was he even in the tunnel?" Blake asked quickly, as Naruto being on the train made no sense to anyone present.

Tightening her fists Yang looked down, while her eyes were starting to turn red. "I don't know, but I'm worried about him. He's strong, but he's only one person."

"We should group up and go in there." Sun quickly purposed, causing several nods of agreement.

However, before anyone present could make a move several airships started to land around the young hunters in training. Then as the ship's opened their doors hundreds of Atlas combat robots started to fill the area, placing the zone in a lock down procedure. Though the most surprising appearance was by General Ironwood himself.

"What is the situation!" One James Ironwood asked, while the hardened military man walked his way into the group. "Are we under attack?"

One of the girl's were about to step forward and answer the man, but another ship landing caught their attention. However, this ship contained the familiar faces of Taiyang, Jaune and Pyrrha all of whom looked ready for combat.

"Dad!" Yang and Ruby called out, while they watched the man run over.

"Hey girls." Taiyang greeted with a smile, happy to see they were both okay. Though his features turned serious as he looked at General Ironwood. "James what's going on here?"

Placing his hands behind his back, James looked down at Team RWBY with a serious gaze. "I was just wondering that myself. Care to explain?"

Ruby nodded and pointed down to Roman. "The White Fang and Roman Torchwick were filling that tunnel with Grimm and they were trying to set them loose in the city."

"But there is no Grimm anywhere!" Jaune pointed out. "Did you guys already take them out?"

Yang shook her head and looked down. "Naruto is in the tunnel fighting them by himself. We were about to go group up and help him."

Pyrrha seemed honestly shocked by Yang's words along with Jaune. "Wait is Nora with him?" The red head warrior asked quickly. "Are they already done with their mission involving your mother?"

This time it was Yang's turn to be absolutely shocked, as she had no knowledge of Naruto being in contact with their mother. Let along Nora being involved as well.

"What are you talking about?" Yang asked, as she placed the current situation behind them. "Were Naruto and Nora with my mom!"

Stepping into the conversation James held his hand out. "None of this is important. We need to focus and retrieve Naruto. Then reseal this tunnel before any Grimm do make it into the city!"

Everyone nodding their head in confirmation beside Yang started to gather up. Preparing themselves to enter the tunnel and help Naruto. However, they were not prepared for the slow shadow making its way into view within the tunnel.

"Uh, guys!" Jaune began, while he pointed at the tunnel. "Something is coming!"

Everyone placing their weapons at the ready looked on in anticipation. As they were all waiting to see just what would emerge from the tunnel. Though in the brief moment of waiting everyone was asking themselves, was Naruto okay? Did the Grimm get past the young warrior? Their questions was quickly answered however, as the red eyed Branwen walked out of the tunnel and stood on a pile of rubble. His entire upper torso of clothing was torn off and he was covered in sweat. Though besides his new weapon and red fox mark, Naruto appeared normal and healthy.

"What are you all standing around for?" Naruto laughed loudly, while the blond staggered his way down to the group. "Clean this shit up."

Rushing by his son's side, Taiyang started to frantically inspect Naruto's condition. Making sure his son wasn't hurt from his earlier battle.

"Naruto are you okay? Is anything broken or bleeding?" Taiyang asked, while he continued to look all over his son.

Sighing Naruto patted his father on the shoulder. "I'm fine Dad." The blond admitted with a smile, as he was happy to get this kind of parental affection for a change. "I'll probably just be a little sore in the morning."

Hearing his son, Taiyang released a loud laugh and slapped the boy's back. "Well I'm glad you're okay."

Smiling Naruto glanced away from his father, allowing the teen to see Roman. His blood boiling with excitement as he saw the unconscious criminal. Knowing that he finally had someone to squeeze answers out of regarding Salem's plans. However, before Naruto could move over to Roman, he had to deal with everyone else around them.

Jumping forward Ruby almost completely ignored her brother and kept her entire focus on the weapon Naruto was holding. In fact the young girl was drooling at the mouth and had stars in her eyes.

"Naruto where did you get that weapon!?" Ruby shouted out in a giddy voice.

Glancing down to the katana in his hand, Naruto quickly flipped the blade to be pointing at the ground, while the handle was sticking into the air. Then with little effort he tossed the weapon to Ruby, the latter of whom caught the weapon with both hands and almost fell over. As the young girl was not prepared for the weight of the weapon.

"It's my new weapon that I've been building." Naruto explained, as he watched his little sister look on in amazement at his craftsmanship. "It's a katana that can fold into a magnum. And after that little combat test I just gave it, I can now say Fox Flower is ready for the festival!"

Trying to lift the weapon up past her waist, Ruby was surprised to find out it was much heavier than Crescent Rose. "It's so heavy, how do you swing this thing around?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I've trained my body for years, so I don't even notice how heavy it is."

Ruby seemed to accept the answer and she handed the weapon back to her brother. Though as Naruto took his weapon back others started to voice themselves.

"So are you going to tell us why you were in the tunnel?" Weiss asked, while Blake also stepped forward.

"And how did you fight off so many Grimm. I saw how many there was chasing us. That was too many for a group of huntsmen, let alone one person!" Blake pointed out loudly.

Looking at the girl's, Naruto glanced over to Yang and noticed his sister appeared frustrated for some reason. Though he needed to come up with a quick excuse to explain himself. "Well to answer your first question I was training a Branwen family technique." Naruto explained, trying to think of a way to get himself out of this situation. "It's a teleportation technique and I ended up teleporting to Yang. As for the Grimm well I just simply killed them before they killed me."

"But there was hundreds of them!" Ruby pointed out fearfully, while glancing up to her brother.

Naruto laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "Two hundred and forty five, but who's counting?"

Hearing this most people present were genuinely floored by Naruto's head count of Grimm. As such a large number for one person was unthinkable and it made many people reevaluate Naruto's strength. No longer did they see him as the strongest student, but now they were starting to think he might be one of the strongest individuals alive.

Though while everyone was busy thinking over Naruto's feat. Sun looked at Naruto's fox mark with a questioning gaze.

"Hey Naruto, how long have you had that fox tattoo?" The monkey Faunus asked.

Looking down to his mark, Naruto silently cursed himself. As he has never shown many people his mark and he didn't want to explain what it actually was. Considering he himself didn't understand what it fully was.

"Ah it's just an old tattoo I got a while back. It's nothing important." Naruto lied in a plain voice, earning a nod from Sun.

Stepping forward Jaune gave Naruto a friendly wave. "Hey Naruto where is Nora?" The team leader asked, while he looked around the area.

"She's still on our mission." Naruto replied, saying nothing more on the topic.

Pyrrha grinned wide and joined in on the conversation. "So is everything going well with your mother?"

Naruto gave Pyrrha a blank gaze, while simultaneously glancing to his father. Assuming that the man had gave some excuse for where he and Nora were.

"As fine as you would expect." Naruto explained.

Hearing this Yang walked up to her brother and grabbed Naruto by the shirt. This caused everyone to be surprised, as Yang was glaring her brother down with pure anger. The latter of whom looked directly back at his sister with a blank stare. Ruby seeing the tension build between her siblings brought a hand to her mouth and kept glancing between the two.

"Yang what's wrong?" Ruby asked in a soft voice, as she could tell something was really upsetting the girl.

Ignoring Ruby, Yang started to tighten her hold on Naruto. "You were with mom?" The twin asked, her voice filled with anger and confusion.

"Yeah I was." Naruto replied offhandedly, as he could tell Yang was upset.

"And Nora went with you?" Yang asked again causing Naruto to nod and Yang's arms to tremble. "So she's still with mom?"

"Where else would she be?" Naruto shot back in a blank voice.

Hearing enough, Yang removed a hand from Naruto before punching her sibling hard in the stomach. Causing Naruto to slightly bend and grit his teeth.

"You fucking piece of shit." Yang yelled in anger, while punching Naruto in the jaw. The result of the blow sending the blond onto the ground.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted in shock, while she grabbed onto the girl and held her back from continuing her assault. Though she struggled to hold the girl back, which caused Taiyang to step in.

"That's enough Yang." Taiyang ordered, while he gripped down on the arm of his oldest daughter.

"That's enough?" Yang questioned, while she jerked away from her father. "You've got to kidding me! I've never met mom once and he gets to not only be raised by her, but see her whenever he wants. And to add salt to the wound he brings his fucking girlfriend to meet my mom before I get too? No I've had enough. You said you don't know where mom is. Yet you and Nora had no trouble finding her. The two of you are always sneaking around and keeping secrets. And you both are so arrogant to think no one has noticed you!"

Looking up to his sister Naruto pushed himself to his feet, while at the same time ignoring Yang's outburst. This of course caused Yang to get even more angry at her brother, while at the same time earn more interests on the growing conflict. People like James and Taiyang who knew the whole situation were nervous, hoping no vital information would come out of Naruto's mouth. Though individuals like Weiss, Jaune and Blake were actually moving towards Yang's side against Naruto. Then people like Ruby, Pyrrha and everyone else present just wanted the tension to die down.

"Sneaking around. That's big talk coming from you and your team." Naruto mumbled in a low voice. "You think I haven't noticed all the shit you and your team have gotten yourselves in. I know all about your previous scuffles with Roman and the White Fang. Hell this mess right here is a prime example of what happens when children try to keep secrets and handle things way out of their league."

"We are trying to help!" Blake declared loudly, as she stood by Yang's side.

"Yeah and you're one to talk about children!" Weiss yelled, while she supported her team. "You're the same age as us!"

Naruto laughed and shook his head. "Help? You don't even know who you're fighting! Typical of Ozpin though. Keeps secrets and sends inexperienced students to their demise."

"Branwen! Not another word." General Ironwood yelled firmly, surprising everyone with the interaction between the two.

"No something needs to be said." Naruto replied back, while his eyes started to burn a bright red. "You four think you've uncovered some big conspiracy with the White Fang and criminal underground, but you're not even close. Me and Nora have fought the real fight and I know from experience all you're doing is blindly walking to your death."

Yang gritted her teeth and tried to lunge at her brother, but Taiyang quickly restrained the girl back. "And what makes you and Nora so special that you know what we don't!" The enraged twin asked.

"Yang I said stop." Taiyang grunted, as he tried to keep the girl from going berserk.

"Please Yang this is too much." Ruby cried out, as she didn't like this current situation between her two siblings.

Walking forward and getting into Yang's face, Naruto glared his sister down. "This has been both mine and Nora's fight our entire lives. We haven't lived in the same blissful safe world as most of you. We have been nothing besides warriors in a fight we didn't start. With an enemy as powerful as she his unknown."

"BRANWEN!" James yelled at a tone that made everyone besides Naruto shutter. "One more word and I'll have you detained."

Glancing to James, Naruto gave the man a hostile look that would send chills down any lesser man. However, James was unmoved and remained firm. Though it wasn't James who made Naruto hold his tongue, as the desperate look of Taiyang was more than enough to keep Naruto silent.

"Please Naruto just let this go." Taiyang begged in a low voice.

Gripping his hands tightly, Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm so fucking sick of all this." The young warrior declared in a soft whisper. "I should just go back to the tribe, it's where I belong."

James walked over and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Branwen I want you to walk with me." The General instructed, while he started to lead Naruto away from the group. Though he also pointed to a few of his robot soldiers. "And you have Roman Torchwick taken prisoner and prepared for questioning."

Everyone present watched as both Naruto and Roman were taken onto an airship by James himself.

"Just what happened?" Sun asked, as he looked around the group for answers.

"More bull shit that's what." Yang declared, while she shrugged away from her father. Then turning to face the man she snarled. "And what do you know about all this?"

"Yang you gotta understand." Taiyang drawled out, as she didn't know what to tell his daughter. However, the man was luckily saved by a newcomer.

"Now why is your tone so aggressive Miss. Xiao Long?" The voice of Beacon's headmaster asked.

Everyone turning to look at the man noticed he and Glynda approaching the group. The latter of whom was using her semblance to repair the tunnel.

"Ozpin." Yang mumbled in confusion.

Stopping at the group, Ozpin looked around the area with a frown. "I do not know what is going on, but I can assume it's not very good. Taiyang and Dr. Oobleck come with me and explain what is going on here."

Slowly Taiyang and the doctor started to walk off, leaving the students alone with nothing besides their questions. This of course caused even more rage to build up inside of Yang.

"What just happened!" Yang yelled in frustration.

Blake folded her arms and sighed. "The teachers and obviously keeping something from us."

Weiss huffed. "And it looks like your brother and Nora are in on it."

Ruby looked down at her partner's observation, while Pyrrha was busy running over everything Naruto had said to the group. Thinking maybe she should try to talk with Nora about it.

"But why are they keeping secrets?" Jaune asked, speaking what everyone was thinking. "I mean Naruto was talking about some enemy and mentioned a woman I think? What was he talking about?"

"Dude I have no clue." Sun admitted.

"Well one thing is clearly evident." Yang began, while she gritted her teeth. "Naruto and Nora can't be trusted. They are up to something and we are going to find out what!"

Weiss and Blake both nodded, while Ruby and Pyrrha were not on the same page as the girl. Ruby didn't want to go against either of her siblings, while Pyrrha had a little more trust and faith in her best friend and Naruto. Though all the boys seemed to gravitate towards Yang's side, placing even move divide among the young students.

While all the students were talking amongst themselves, one Cinder Fall was smirking far in the background. Things did not go according to plan, but it appears her enemies were questioning each other and not looking for her. In fact this lack of trust and anger could be a wonderful tool for her to abuse in the coming weeks.

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(Aboard Atlas's main flagship)

Walking side by side, Naruto and James were both relatively silent. As neither individual had said much before arriving aboard the main ship in Atlas's fleet. However, that was about to change as they both stopped at an open window. One which overlooked all of Beacon Academy.

"Ozpin does a lot of good and I trust him." James began, as his gaze zoned out onto the Academy. "However, I don't trust many of his methods and you're slowly finding yourself in a place I have been for quite some time."

Naruto glanced up to James with a questioning gaze. "What are you going on about?"

"Tell me I'm wrong, but you at times question Ozpin's decisions." James declared in a matter of fact tone.

"I do." Naruto admitted.

"And why wouldn't you? He sends inexperienced teams like Team RWBY to fight threats they are not ready for. He could have denied your sister's from their mission and sent you or had me form an assault team, but he didn't." James explained before taking a long sigh. "It's frustrating."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah it is, but why are you telling me this?"

Turning to Naruto, James clenched his fist. "We know the threat that is Salem, but unlike Ozpin we know what must be done. Work with me Naruto and together we can stand a better chance. We won't send unprepared soldiers and we won't conduct half assed operations. We will do what Ozpin won't to ensure victory."

"You're wanting me to betray Ozpin?" Naruto questioned, but James shook his head.

"Not betray, but use your skills to better benefit our battle. Ozpin is wasting your potential Naruto and with you and Nora both at my side we can win this fight!" James declared with passion. "All I'm asking is that you work with me and keep me informed. And in return I'll make sure you are the one in the front line, not your sisters'."

Thinking over his options Naruto eventually nodded. "My allegiance extends to myself and those I care about. I don't care who I side with as long as they are safe. So I'll agree to that for now."

James nodded and walked over to a door and with the click of a button opened a hatch. Allowing Naruto to see an awake and imprisoned Roman.

"Then let's get started Naruto." James began, while allowing Naruto a free path straight to Roman. "I'll give you a luxury Ozpin would never have the nerve to do."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

James nodded with a grin. "Interrogate our prisoner for any information you can. No limits or restrictions whatsoever."

Grinning ear to ear Naruto stalked over to Roman. The latter of whom blew out some air and laughed.

"If it isn't the little brat that hacked up Adam! It's been awhil-. . ." Roman began, but was stopped once Naruto grabbed the man by his hair. Then with incredible force Naruto jerked the man's face down into his kneecap.

"I gotta warn you." Naruto declared in an emotionless tone, while he violently jerked Roman around and continuously kicked the man in the face. "I'm not very good at interrogations."

Blood splattering against the wall and teeth bouncing across the floor, Naruto did not stop his battery of Roman for a couple of minutes. Though as Naruto was busy beating the criminal down, James watched every blow with an unmoved expression. Though eventually Naruto stopped kicking Roman and bent down to look at the man.

"So who do you work for?" Naruto asked, while he was still holding onto Roman's hair. As if he wasn't the man wouldn't look Naruto in the eyes.

"Go to hell-. . ." Roman declared, but was quickly kicked in the face again. However this time Naruto stopped by placing his foot into Roman's mouth. Shutting the man up and knocking a few teeth out at the same time.

"Let's try that again." Naruto began, as he glared at the man with a lifeless gaze and removed his foot. "Who do you work for?"

"Eat shit." Roman spat out in anger. "If I talk I'm a dead man."

Naruto bent back and prepared himself for another strike, but James placed a hand forward to stop him.

"Let's ease up on beating the man to death." James began in a calm voice. "After all we need him to have the ability to speak. We don't however need him to have his fingernails."

Naruto grinned wide and looked down at a wide eyed Roman. "You make a good point." The blond declared, while he placed the blade of his weapon to Roman's fingernail. Though in one quick move Naruto moved his blade and sliced off Roman's entire index finger, earning a wail of pain from Roman. "Oops, sorry about that. Like I said, I'm not very good at interrogations. Let me try that again."

Roman watched with horror as Naruto placed his blade onto another one of Roman's fingers. "You're a monster!" The man yelled out in pain.

Titling his head Naruto looked at Roman with a blank expression. "Tell me your plans and I'll stop."

"I tell you anything and I'll die." Roman began in a low voice. "I don't tell you anything I'll probably die." The man added before gritting his teeth and giving Naruto a smug look. "But if I take the latter option I can die knowing you'll suffer as well."

Nodding his head, Naruto slowly moved his blade up to strike. "You make some good points." The red eyed teenager began, before moving his katana up and cutting Roman's left hand at the wrist. Completely severing his hand and forcing the man to shriek in absolute agony. "But maybe that's my fault for not being a good interrogator. However, I got a whole other hand to work with ans improve on my mistakes!"

"I might be a no good criminal, but you're a really twisted and sick bastard." Roman grunted out, while the man was slightly shaking in pain. "Torture me all you like, I've made my mind so fuck off."

Grabbing Roman by the forehead, Naruto angrily slammed the man's head into the wall behind him. Causing the metal wall behind Roman to dent inward. "You know what I'm not in a good mood, but you wanna know what I am? I'm trying to protect people I care about. And trust me when I say there is no line I wont cross to do so."

Getting nothing besides silence, Naruto growled in anger. His red eyes glowing brightly, while his hand tightened on Roman's forehead. However, after a small moment James eventually placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Branwen that's enough." James began in a monotone voice. "He's completely unconscious and unresponsive. It didn't work."

Stepping back from Roman, Naruto punched the wall to his side in anger. As the young huntsman was upset with getting nothing from Roman.

"Damnit!" Naruto mumbled in frustration.

"I'll have medics patch him up and I'll try to squeeze any intel I can from him." James explained in an exhausted voice. "In the meantime you should regroup with your partner and prepare for the festival."

Naruto nodded in response. "Yeah I should, Nora's be left alone with mom for too long."

James turned around and started to walk away. "Good and remember our talk earlier Branwen. The real battle is slowly approaching and we cannot afford mistakes. We need to work together and do what Ozpin won't."

Glancing down to the beaten and bloody Roman, Naruto released a soft sigh. "Yeah we do, but who's to say our way is any better?" Naruto asked in a soft unheard voice, before completely disappearing in a red flicker of light.

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(With Nora)

Standing beside Raven, Nora watched as the bandit leader tapped her foot in anger. Her arms were crossed and her vision was placed on a small journal laying on the ground. Currently they were outside Raven's tent and looking for Naruto, but what they found obviously didn't sit well with the older woman.

"That little bastard of mine." Raven growled in anger, while she bent down to grab the book.

"What did Naruto do?" Nora asked, while she watched Raven take extra care to insure the book in hand was in perfect condition.

"He broke one of my rules and stole a book from my private collection." Raven explained in anger, while she looked around the area for her son. "I swear when I get my hands on him."

Suddenly without warning, Naruto appeared between both Maidens in a flicker of red light. His sudden appearance caused Nora's eyes to widen, as she noticed her boyfriend was in tattered clothing and looked exhausted. Raven on the other hand paid more attention to the way in which Naruto arrived. It was a teleportation, there was no question about that. However, it was different than anything she had seen done before.

"Naruto!" Nora yelled in worry, as she quickly engulfed Naruto in a hug. "What happen to you?"

Laughing at Nora's reaction, Naruto patted the girl on the back and held her close. "I found myself surrounded by a bunch of Grimm when I was practicing my teleporting."

Stepping forward, Raven glared down at her son. "And just what kind of teleportation was that? It wasn't like the Branwen family technique that utilizes portals for transport. It was practically instantaneous."

Shrugging his shoulders at his mother, Naruto wasn't completely sure about what had happened. However, he did have a small theory.

"Well when I came into contact with my relic it mutated my semblance. I went from stealing luck to basically stealing anything I wanted. Items, physical strength and so on. Though I lost the ability to use my family techniques, but now I believe they too were mutated by my relic. Which brings us to the present." Naruto explained, earning a small nod from Raven.

"I see, but where in all of this did you decide to rummage through my private collection?" Raven asked, her voice holding a decent amount of anger.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Saying it's yours is a bold claim, as I scanned through that journal you've got in your hand there. And I found it interesting that you have something that belonged to Summer Rose."

Raven gave her son a glare. "It's in my collection now, so it belongs to me. The dead don't have any ownership."

"And yet there is better people more deserving of that journal than you." Naruto replied, his mind going to Summer's daughter Ruby. "But I'm not in the mood to argue with another member of my family. That journal helped me work towards understanding my abilities just a little bit better. So I'm going to place my focus on that."

Nora tilted her head. "Just who were you arguing with?"

Sighing to himself Naruto crossed his arms and looked down. "It's a long story, but I think I should tell you both everything that has happened. As you'll probably find out when we return to Beacon in the next couple of week things will be. . . Well to say the least it's going to be awkward."

"Explain yourself." Raven demanded.

"I ended up teleporting to Yang, while her and team RWBY were fighting off a secret White Fang attack on Beacon. The whole attack was using abandoned tunnels filled with Grimm to invade the city below Beacon Academy. However, I was able to stop the Grimm before any damage could be done. Unfortunately, Yang and her friends started to question me and we argued. I almost let some information slip and General Ironwood took me away from the situation. So once we get back to Beacon I feel relations with Team RWBY and the rest of our friends will be rocky at best."

Nora looked down in sadness. "Well at least they will be safe."

Raven rubbed her chin at the mention of General Ironwood and didn't pay much attention to anything else. "What did James want with you?" Raven asked in a blank voice, causing Naruto to sigh. "I can almost guarantee he had some alternative motive for taking you away from everyone else."

Naruto nodded in confirmation. "He asked me to work more closely with him. He expressed his feelings on Ozpin and basically said working with him over Ozpin would better benefit our fight."

"And you agreed?" Raven asked.

"I did." Naruto answered back almost instantly. "He made a good point and shared an opinion I was slowly forming for myself. He also allowed me to interrogate the mastermind behind today's assault on Beacon. I didn't get any answers, but it was more than Ozpin would have given me."

"So we are working with General Ironwood now?" Nora asked in a confused tone, while Raven huffed in annoyance.

"Like hell you are." Raven began in an angered voice. "Ozpin is a goddamn fool, but James is a fucking madman. Ozpin will slowly send you two twaords your death, but James will lead you sprinting right into your grave. I'll be damned if I let either of those fools lead you two down the same path they sent me and my team. I've kept my mouth shut long enough, since I knew you were strong enough to mostly protect yourself Naruto. However, having those two morons lead you around will only end in the death of my son and daughter. Losing you two is something I won't stand for!"

Naruto sighed and subconsciously reached out and grabbed onto Nora's hand. The latter of whom was looking up to the bandit leader with surprise. As the older Maiden who Nora had spent time together with had referred to her as something so personal. Showing that deep down Raven actually held Nora in a high regard and even approved of her. This of course filled Nora with a large amount of pride and happiness.

"Mom when I first left the tribe I wanted to meet my sister's." Naruto began, his voice lifeless and soft. "But quickly I found myself forming bonds and before I knew it I was right where you were almost two decades ago. A young warrior fighting for a cause just to protect the people who they love. However, I don't belong at Beacon and besides protecting my friends and family. I honestly don't even know why I stay there. I've even hit a point now where the only thing keeping me at Beacon is Nora, as most of my friends and sisters don't trust me all that much."

Nora leaned into Naruto and held the boy close, but she didn't interrupt him.

"Because of that I've been feeling like leaving Beacon for good, but there is things I still have to do. So for now I'm going to use Ozpin and James for my own gain. I'm going to guarantee Beacon's safety and then once the school is safe from Salem. I will leave with Nora and come back home where I belong." Naruto declared, causing a wide and smug grin to grace Raven's face. "Nora is the only thing that would keep me at Beacon. Without her I have no reason to stay behind anymore. I've played student long enough, but now I'm ready to move on. I'll continue to oppose Salem in the future, just not on the behalf of Ozpin or James. I will once again place everything I have to this tribe and it's leader. "

Walking forward Raven wrapped both her arms around Naruto and Nora. Embracing both teens in a strong hug. "Your words make me more happy than you can understand. Welcome home my children."

Nora smiled at Raven's welcome and accepted the woman's embrace. Naruto seeing this was surprised by Nora's reaction, as he feared of the girl not approving of his choice. However, it appeared that Nora had slowly formed a small bond with Raven. So because of that Naruto knew he was making the right choice, he would finally be coming home. Though he would be doing so on his terms and not anyone else's.

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Chapter end.

Well here is the next chapter and pretty much sums up the majority of Volume 2! Next chapter will most likely skip ahead to the festival and kick off Volume 3 hype! I also wanted to make a mention of Naruto's new weapon. I got the inspiration off this amazing individuals work, so check it out. It's called fandmade "charcoal" trailer by Mark on YouTube. Give it a watch, you won't be disappointed.

Anyways have a wonderful day, thank you for reading. Leave a review and I will see you beautiful people next time!