Just a quick warning, this chapter has a bit more violence than any previous chapters. Nothing too gory or descriptive, but I just wanted to warn you guys. Also, Devourer will reveal his true colors this chapter as a creep on par with Orochimaru.
Oh, and I'm not going to show the entire conversation Naruto had with Blake in this chapter.
Chapter 5:
Give Me Your Power, Nine-Tails! Team JNKS Coordinated Assault!
Blake looked up and thought about what Naruto had told her. She had been completely wrong about him and had discriminated against him for no reason. She didn't miss the irony of her, a Faunus, becoming exactly the kind of person she had always struggled against.
After hearing what he had been through all his life, Blake's respect for Naruto had grown tremendously.
He had been hated and shunned for his entire life, facing the same pain that many Faunus did, and yet he was able to look past it and work towards a future to protect the same people who were against him. Blake didn't think that she would have that level of strength.
Naruto had a demon sealed inside of him, which definitely explained what she felt around him. Yet, he didn't seem to mind.
Blake wished that she could find the man who had sealed the demon into Naruto and slap him. She couldn't understand why anyone would doom a child to that kind of life. But Naruto seemed to have a great respect for the man who had sealed the creature inside him. Now that she knew more about him, Blake actually felt like Naruto was more of an enigma than before.
"Mmm. Monkeys have my money…"
Turning onto her side, Blake saw Ruby talking in her sleep, and she smiled. She knew now that not all humans were as bad as she had once thought… And maybe one day, she could show Adam this as well. Then, things could go back to how they once were, before he became the leader of the White Fang.
The Devourer entered the abandoned warehouse, his Aura having almost finished healing his wounds from his battle with that Jiraiya man. He passed by several people on his way to the man standing at the back.
The orange haired man wore a bowler hat and a white suit. "Reed! It has been a while. Have you put on some weight?"
"Roman, I thought I've told you not to call me by name where everyone can hear you," Devourer said with an annoyed tone. "Where are my employers? I was told they would meet me here."
"Right. They're in the back, a couple of messengers. I guess they didn't want to send any of the higher ups all the way out here."
Devourer nodded, leaving Roman to boss around his grunts.
In the back room, a pair of men were sitting down and polishing their weapons. They looked up as he entered and then put away the small knives. Each of them wore a rebreather and a headband with a metal plate that was engraved with markings that looked like rain.
"So you're the Devourer?" One of them questioned with a thick accent. "You don't look like much."
"I assure you that I am strong enough for this mission." He looked down at his hands. "This body is just unflattering to my true strength."
"Do you have a plan for capturing the container of the Nine-tails?"
"Of course. According to the information that my comrades have collected, the students of Beacon will be taking a trip to the Forest of Forever Fall tomorrow. I will make my move then."
Both of the Akatsuki's messengers shared a look and stood up. "We'll be waiting for you to deliver the Nine-tails's container then, and you'll be paid as promised."
"Thank you." Devourer saw one of his subordinates enter the door and smiled. "Would you two like to stay for dinner. It is the least I can do for guests."
The two Amegakure ninja decided to accept the invitation, their empty stomachs being the main factor in the decision.
"Good. Rosaria, please take these men to the freezer to see what they'd like to eat. I'll be reviewing the reports until dinner is ready."
The woman who walked up to them looked like she was a Faunus. She had two antennae sticking out of her head, and a second pair of arms on her midsection. She wore a tank top that revealed her midriff and a pair of jeans.
They followed the women through the warehouse until they reached a large freezer. But when she opened up it up, their eyes widened in horror.
Along with things like cow and pig meat, they could see various species of Grimm frozen near the back. They were still alive but had chunks of flesh ripped out of them. But the worst part was the human bodies they saw.
Rosaria turned to them, and she smiled as if the sight inside didn't affect her at all. She asked them what they would like, and they gulped before answering.
Naruto yawned, stretching his arms in an attempt to shake his sleepiness off. Why did he choose to stay up late last night? Suddenly a blast of cold water hit him straight in the face, and his eye shot open completely.
He saw a grinning Suigetsu holding a now empty bucket. "There ya go! Now you're awake."
"Thanks," Naruto replied dryly. Suigetsu gave him a thumbs up before walking out of the room laughing. Naruto shook his head as he finished getting dressed, and he joined his team out in the hallway.
Karin handed him a towel so that he could dry off his head, which Naruto did as they began heading out of the dorms. On the way, the met up with Team JNPR. Jugo saw the small dark circles under Jaune's eyes and asked him what was wrong.
"What? Nothing." Jaune replied and rubbed his eyes. "Me and Pyrrha just stayed up late last night to train."
Naruto patted him on the back, and Jaune stumbled slightly from the force.
"So you took my advice, huh?" Naruto turned to Pyrrha. "How's he doing?"
"We've only just started training," Pyrrha answered, "but Jaune was already showing a little improvement by the end."
Naruto grinned. He knew Jaune had it in him, all he needed was a little push to get him on the right track. Naruto hoped this would also help Jaune with his problem with Cardin.
"Mr. Uzumaki," the stern voice of Professor Goodwitch rang out behind them. The group turned in unison, and what they saw was enough to make Naruto laugh, Suigetsu snicker, all of Team JNPR pale in fear, and Karin and Jugo groan.
Professor Goodwitch's hair was dyed a bright neon orange, along with traces of yellow, red, green, and pink. Her eyes were narrowed, and the
"Naruto!" Jaune shouted in a desperate panic, his voice almost cracking. "What did you do?"
Nora grabbed Naruto and began shaking him. "Are you trying to get us killed? Even I know not to mess with Professor Goodwitch!"
"What are you talking about?" The look on Naruto's face sent shivers down Jaune's spine. "You guys helped me with that prank."
Everything clicked in the heads of Team JNPR, remembering the activity they had done for Naruto the night before. They quickly ditched Team JNKS in an attempt to save their own skins from the storm of fury that was about to undoubtedly pour down on Naruto.
"We're sorry!" Pyrrha called out as they went out of view.
"Traitors," Naruto muttered before turning to Professor Goodwitch. "What's up?"
Naruto didn't cower at her glare. "Ozpin would like to see all four of you."
"But we didn't do anythi-" Suigetsu stopped when she looked at him. "Yes, ma'am."
The four followed Professor Goodwitch to Ozpin's office, each of Naruto's teammates what kind of prank he had pulled to get them all in this mess. Once there, they saw the familiar spiky white hair they all recognized.
"Ero-sennin!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"How many times have I told you to quit calling me that!" Jiraiya bopped Naruto on the head, but he had a small smile on his face.
Professor Goodwitch whispered something to Ozpin, and then she left the six of them alone. Naruto looked back at the retreating figure of their sparring instructor.
"Where's Professor Goodwitch going? She better not forget us up here."
"Naruto Uzumaki," Ozpin said, folding his hands in front of him, "you and your team will not be going to Forever Fall today."
It took all of three seconds for Naruto, Karin, and Suigetsu to react. "WHAT?!"
"If I may ask, why are we staying behind?" Jugo asked before things got hectic. He knew how much his teammates had been looking forward to this trip, and they had been super excited when it was announced that it was getting moved forward. He figured it was best to get to the reason why they weren't going as quick as possible.
Jiraiya looked over to Naruto. "The Akatsuki have sent someone to capture Naruto, and the chance that he'll attack today is almost guaranteed."
"We used the trip to Forever Fall as an excuse to get the rest of the students away from the school. I was originally going to send Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu away as well, but Jiraiya convinced me that it would be better if they were by your side if you're attacked."
Naruto wanted to complain, but he could find nothing wrong with the argument they gave. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and grumbled out an agreement.
"Stupid Akatsuki," Suigetsu muttered as the four of them began heading back to their dorm room, while Jiraiya went to keep an eye on the perimeter of the school along with the other teachers.
"We always knew it was a possibility that they could come for Naruto. Jiraiya told us before we left for Beacon, remember?" Jugo said, and Suigetsu huffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Oh well," Naruto said. "If we're stuck here, I might as well make the most of it. I'm going to practice using that jutsu without your help, Jugo!"
"Just be careful," Karin told him. "I don't want to have to reattach your arm because you made a stupid mistake."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine."
They watched Naruto run out toward the courtyard, and all three of them shared a look.
"I'll go make sure he doesn't kill himself," Jugo volunteered. Karin and Suigetsu nodded, and Jugo followed their leader outside.
"This looks like a nice tree," Yang commented. "What do you think, guys?"
The members of Team RWBY all approached the tree Yang was standing in front of. Professor Goodwitch had assigned all the students to collect the sap from the trees in Forever Fall.
Agreeing with Yang, all four began to drain sap into the containers they had been given.
"Hey, Blake," Yang said. "You weren't there last night, but I'm probably going to need your help with some of my plans for 'Operation Make Naruby Happen.'"
Blake's eyebrows raised. "Do I even want to know?"
"It's Yang's plan to help Ruby get together with Naruto," Weiss explained, topping off her jar. "I personally think it's stupid. Yang needs to let Ruby do this kind of thing on her own."
"I'm right here, you guys," Ruby exclaimed. "Don't talk like I'm not here."
Blake turned to her leader. "And how do you know that you love Naruto?"
"Uh… It's like this weird feeling in my stomach. Like I'm about to throw up, but better."
Ruby's teammates all blinked as they silently tried to comprehend her analogy. Blake sighed. "I'm not sure if I'd necessarily call that love. It sounds more like you have an infatuation with Naruto. That's not to say that you can't love him, but I think that you need to spend more time with him, to learn more about him, before you can truly call it love."
Yang snapped her fingers. "All right, you heard the Love Guru. Ruby, you need to get closer to Naruto. Let's see... We'll need a gym equipment room that can lock from the outside, an excuse to get Naruto and Ruby in there, and then something to distract Professor Goodwitch."
Blake's eyes twitched, partly at the title given to her by Yang. "I think you missed the point of what I said."
Yang and Blake began to argue about how Ruby should get to know Naruto, and Ruby laughed sheepishly.
The peace was broken when Team RWBY heard the sound of flapping wings and their Aura warned them of something dangerous nearby. They all activated their weapons and turned to face the sound.
In the air above them was a man with two bird-like wings sticking out from his back. Ruby tightened her grip on Crescent Rose, she had a bad feeling about this guy.
"You must be team RWBY. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man looked at the four girls, as if judging their strength. "I've heard you're good friends with Naruto Uzumaki, so I've decided to use you to lure him out."
"So you're after Naruto, huh?" Yang asked and loaded Ember Celica. "Well, you'll have to go through us first."
With unbelievable speed, he appeared behind Yang. "Don't worry. I plan to."
He kicked her in the back, and she went crashing through the trees
The other three members of RWBY tried to attack him, but he dodged out of the way. Something glowed under his clothes, and a powerful blast of air made it hard for them to stay standing.
"I've been gathering intel for weeks. I know all of your weaknesses." He flew over to Ruby and quickly disarmed her of Crescent Rose, throwing the Sniper-scythe far away from the girl.
"No!"
"You, for instance," the man said, "are defenseless without your weapon."
He placed a set of shackles around her wrists and ankles, trapping her in place, before turning to the others. Weiss launched herself at the man using her glyphs, but he dodged out of the way and slapped her out of the air using his wing.
Blake tried to use her semblance to surprise him, but her trick was seen through. Something began glowing under his shirt, and his fist became encased in rock. Blake managed to endure the pain in her stomach when he hit her, and she swung Gambol Stroud at the man.
His Aura defended him, and he then bit down on Blake's outstretched arm. Blake let out a shout of pain and dropped to the ground.
Holding her bleeding arm, she looked up to see the man chewing on the small portion of her skin that he had bitten off.
"Hmm, not bad. I don't think I've ever tasted anyone with a flavor as unique as yours."
"You're sick." Blake let her Aura heal her arm back up, thankful that the wound wasn't too bad.
Yang and Weiss came up to stand beside Blake, and Yang's eyes were a bright crimson. She glared at the man holding her sister.
"You're going to regret trying to fight us." Yang punched one fist into the palm of her other hand as the other two quickly readied themselves for their next strike.
Glynda Goodwitch stared at the woman in front of her. It seemed like Ozpin's efforts to protect the students had failed, as the Devourer and his subordinates had come here instead of looking for Naruto. She watched the strange woman send the several men and women around her to follow their leader further into the forest.
Professor Goodwitch glanced back at the four teens that made up Team JNPR. "Mr. Arc, take your teammates and warn Professor Ozpin of the situation here. I will deal with this woman."
"Hahahaha!" The Faunus woman laughed as bugs swarmed around her. "The old hag thinks that she can beat me? I am Master's right-hand woman, Rosaria."
Jaune didn't protest, he could tell that they wouldn't be of much help in this battle. Professor Goodwitch could take down that crazy lady quickly, the biggest problem was the man she had come with. He had headed towards the direction where Jaune had seen Team RWBY go to collect their sap.
Jaune saw Professor Goodwitch raise her riding crop and the leaves around them began swirling violently.
He turned to his teammates. "Come on, we need to find a way to contact Professor Ozpin."
As they left the battle between the two women behind, Jaune got on his Scroll and began calling Naruto. Since he was back at Beacon, he could relay the message back to Professor Ozpin.
As soon as Naruto answered, Jaune began filling him on what was happening. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren made sure to add in anything that he forgot. Naruto's eyes were unreadable, and Jaune got the feeling that he was going to end up doing something stupid.
After the screen went blank, Jaune put away his Scroll.
"AGHHH!" The sound of screaming reached their ears, and Team JNPR stopped in their tracks.
"That sounded like Team CRDL," Pyrrha noted, looking at her leader. "Jaune?"
Jaune's hands clenched as he tried to decide what to do. His mind fought between doing what was right and letting Cardin get what was coming to him. With a sigh, he faced the direction the scream had come from.
"Cardin may be a jerk, but he's still a fellow student. We can't just leave him to die."
Pyrrha smiled as the four of them changed course.
"Now we can break their legs and blame it on whatever was attacking them."
"Nora," Ren berated, "we're not going to break anyone's legs."
The pout on Nora's face would have been funny if the situation around them wasn't so dangerous. The day had transformed from a simple field trip to Forever Fall into a battle.
When they found Team CRDL, the four bullies were pinned between two super large Ursai, their weapons knocked from their hands.
Jaune looked over his shoulder.
"Nora, can you and Ren take the one on the left?" Both nodded. "Pyrrha, you and me will take the one on the right."
With another nod, all four charged into the fray. Nora let out a battle cry that was a louder and more insane version of her interpretation of what a sloth sounded like. The loud sound made both Ursai turn from their previous prey.
Ren kept their Ursa distracted by firing at it, while Nora ran up and slammed its head into the ground with Magnhild. She shot several rounds as well, driving the Ursa farther into the ground and cracking the earth around the site of impact.
"I think that was a bit of overkill," Ren muttered as he looked at the grinning Nora.
"'Overkill' isn't in my dictionary!"
Jaune and Pyrrha approached the surviving Ursa, Pyrrha firing at it using her weapon's shotgun mode. The Ursa roared and reared it's arms up to strike. Pyrrha quickly switched modes to her sword, and she cut the right arm off.
Jaune took a deep breath and held his shield up to block the other arm. A clang resounded through the clearing.
He struggled against the limb, but suddenly he felt like someone else was controlling his shield to help push against the force. Acting quickly, Jaune sliced upwards with his sword, cutting off
He struggled against the limb, but suddenly he felt like someone else was controlling his shield to help push against the force. Acting quickly, Jaune sliced upwards with his sword, cutting off the Ursa's head.
Jaune wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and rejoined his team.
"Cardin," he said, "find the other students and start getting them away from the forest."
Cardin didn't argue, his team had encountered the strange attackers, but had quickly fled. As much as he didn't want to listen to Jaune, Cardin figured that perhaps if he helped out in this situation, then he could get some sort of reward.
Jaune turned to his team, and the four of them ran off to warn the other students. Hearing the sounds of battle behind him, Jaune desperately hoped that Team RWBY was okay.
Yang panted as she looked up at the Devourer, as he had told them. He hovered above her, a smug smile showing his confidence that he would win. Yang looked down to see Weiss and Blake who had been captured just like Ruby. They were closely guarded by some men that had shown up partway in the fight, making sure that Yang couldn't free them.
No matter what they tried, all their attacks and strategies had been seen through and thwarted. And the worse part was whenever Devourer bit them, he was able to copy their semblances. He had mocked them by defeating them with their own abilities.
And the entire time, Devourer kept a tight hold onto Ruby, despite her constant fighting and kicking.
Yang was the last one standing, and she wasn't going to lose to him. Anyone who messed with her sister was looking for a butt-kicking into the next millennium.
He held tightly onto Ruby and caressed her face. She struggled and tried to get away from him, but was unable to thanks to her low Aura level. Yang's body shook as she thought of hundreds of different ways to show the man pain worse than death.
"Look at you… So young. So tender. You look absolutely delicious." He softly dragged his hand across her arm, before biting into it. Ruby tried not to let the pain get to her.
"I'm going to kill you," Yang said quietly, as she began trying to figure out how to get Ruby away from him.
"I really should thank Ozpin for accepting such an excellent specimen into his school. Your flesh will taste even more delicious once it's been combined with the others."
"Let go of her, you creep!" Yang shouted, emotions taking control as she rushed the sicko. He easily dodged out of the way and knocked her back to the ground like a fly. She let out a gasp of pain and coughed up blood.
Her Aura was gone.
Images of Beowolves and a younger Ruby in a wheelbarrow flashed through her mind, and Yang punched the ground in frustration.
"Not again," she murmured and shakily stood to her feet, her eyes red with rage. "I'm not going to fail her again. I will protect Ruby no matter what!"
Yang's semblance activated, drawing on the few drops of Aura she could muster, and flames exploded around her. She jumped up and punched Devourer straight in the jaw. But he tanked the hit and looked at her with interest.
"I guess you forgot that I copied your semblance earlier. It was a nice try, though."
Yang screamed in pain as the man drove a fire and lightning covered fist into her stomach, superpowered by the energy of all their attacks. She went flying to the ground, the smell of burnt flesh overpowering her nose.
The Devourer raised his hand up, and a ball of molten fire formed above it. Then, he threw the burning sphere right at her.
Yang braced herself. This was the end. She had failed to protect Ruby all because she wasn't strong enough... She had failed as a sister. A lone tear slipped out of her eye.
'I'm sorry, Ruby, Dad, Uncle Qrow.'
"Yang!" Ruby screamed out. She had already lost her mom, she didn't want to lose Yang too.
Suddenly, Yang felt something softly grab her shoulder and legs. She was whisked out from the path of the attack and found herself sitting on the ground.
Looking up, she saw Naruto glaring up at Devourer, and then he turned to face her with a smile.
"Sorry I'm late, but a true hero always arrives late." He glanced over his shoulder, and his teammates landed on the ground. "Karin, heal her. Suigetsu, Jugo, free the others. Do whatever you have to do. I'll get Ruby."
The three nodded and rushed to their specific tasks. Karin's hands glowed with green energy, and she began to carefully move her hands over the areas of Yang's body with the most severe injuries. Yang watched in amazement as her wounds began healing.
Suigetsu rushed at the men guarding Weiss and Blake. Suigetsu cut one in half using Kubikiribocho, and the man let out a gargled scream of pain. Blake and Weiss looked on in horror as blood splattered on Suigetsu. Suigetsu cut through a second man and saw another trying to run away. He threw Kubikiribocho, impaling the man through the chest, before ripping the blade out.
Jugo transformed his body, punching one man in the chest so hard that his ribs splintered and pierced his heart and lungs. The man fell to the ground in pain, and his death was much slower and more painful than Suigetsu's victims. He tried to cry out but was unable to because of the damage to his lungs. He choked out the broken names of his wife and children.
Jugo made quick work of the other two, decapitating one by turning his arm into an axe, and driving his fist straight through the other's chest with a jet-powered punch.
Naruto activated one of the storage seals in his pouch, and a large fuma shuriken appeared in his hand. He threw it, the spinning blade flying towards the Devourer quickly.
He dodged it, but Naruto quickly put his plan into action. He substituted with the shuriken and launched a swift kick to the Devourer's head, making him drop Ruby in the shock.
Naruto threw a kunai that had wind chakra flowing through it, and it cut through Ruby's restraints.
With her hands and legs free, Ruby used her semblance to get back to the ground safely and grab Crescent Rose.
"Ruby," Naruto called out, "get Yang and get out of here!"
"We can help, Naruto. Don-" Ruby stopped when she saw the look Naruto gave her. It was filled with so much rage, but not directed at her. His eyes had turned red, and his pupils were thin black slits. The whisker marks on his face had thickened, and he had a more animalistic appearance.
"Ruby, you and your team can't beat him because you won't allow yourselves to aim to kill." He looked away from her. "Please… I don't want any of you to see what's about to happen."
Ruby swallowed the lump in the back of her throat before helping Blake grab Yang and rushing away from the area. As they did, she felt an immense amount of hatred, anger, and negative energy flood the area.
She glanced back and saw Naruto cloaked in a weird red aura, making Naruto look like a fox with two tails.
"Be careful, Naruto," she whispered, and turned to Weiss. "Weiss, keep any Grimm away from us."
Naruto watched Team RWBY disappear into the brush and grimaced as he felt the chakra of the Nine-tails burning at his skin. They would have to make this quick. He also didn't want to risk going any higher than three tails, Karin had barely been able to suppress his chakra the last time.
Above them, the Devourer finally regained his bearings from Naruto's surprise attack.
"What's the plan?" Suigetsu questioned, using Kubikiribōchō to bat away a shard of ice that the Devourer fired at them.
"This guy isn't going to stop coming for me until he's dead." Naruto dodged out of the way of a blast of fire. "Which means that everyone else will be in danger unless we kill him."
Jugo gave him a surprised and worried look. "Naruto, are you sure. I know this isn't your first kill, but it will be the first one where you'll actually see the person as their life ends."
"Being a ninja means making tough decisions for the sake of your comrades." Naruto clenched his fists. "I'm more than willing to bear that burden if it means I can protect my friends."
At Naruto's signal, the four began their charge. Jugo leaped up, and Devourer quickly ate a bit of Ursa meat to make his arms stronger. The two began trading blows mid-air. Eventually, Jugo managed to slip past Devourer's defenses and slam his fist into Devourer's face.
The blow sent him flying to the ground, and the Devourer was forced to quickly roll out of the way of Suigetsu swinging his blade.
His tattoos glowed and a flaming zweihänder appeared in his hands, which he used to block the sword swings.
"Rasengan!"
Devourer was sent crashing through the trees when the vermillion colored Rasengan impacted with his side.
Karin jumped behind him and began swinging chakra chains at his arms, legs, and face.
From above, Jugo delivered a literal axe kick, cutting through his aura shield and separating his left arm from his shoulder.
Seeing the situation he was in, Devourer tried to fly up and get the height advantage. To stop him, Suigetsu stood beside Karin and weaved together several hand signs. Karin began flowing lightning chakra through her hand and held it ready.
Suigetsu shot out a torrent of water shaped like a dragon, and Karin added her lightning chakra to it.
"Raisuiryudan!"
The attack made contact, and the electric shock mixed with the force of the water forced Devourer back to the ground.
"NOT YET!" He shouted and slammed his hand onto the ground. The earth beneath them began to shake, and Team JNKS began to quickly dodge and destroy the spikes of earth that shot out at them.
As soon as that stopped, the Devourer pointed his hand into the air, and molten spheres of earth along with sharp ice spears began appearing around his body and flew towards them.
"I'm gonna use that! Don't let those things hit me."
Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu nodded in affirmation as they took up positions to guard their leader from the flaming rocks that were being sent at them.
As his three teammates began taking out the many projectiles being thrown at them, Naruto formed two shadow clones without the Nine-tails chakra. He could see that they were struggling not to pop due to himself being in the Nine-tails cloak. Working quickly, the came over and placed their hands above his.
A Rasengan began forming in his hand, and Naruto made sure to not let the Nine-tails chakra affect it. Doing it normally was already plenty dangerous to himself, he didn't want to think what would happen if he added the Nine-tails chakra.
Naruto couldn't just cut off the Nine-tails chakra, because he needed the extra speed to make sure Devourer didn't dodge.
The Rasengan began to grow larger, and four points appeared on it. It grew in size until he was holding a giant Rasengan that's appearance looked like that of a fuma shuriken.
Devourer saw the technique and quickly tried to make a move. His entire body glowed brightly. Earth, fire, water, lightning, ice, and steam surrounded him. He launched an all-out assault with all he had, throwing everything at Team JNKS.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted and began dashing towards Devourer. Suigetsu ran forward, cutting through many of his projectiles on his way to him.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" Suigetsu drew from the water generated by Devourer and shot out a dragon of water from his mouth. It shot toward Devourer, who was quick to try to dodge.
Suigetsu expected this and merged his body with the water of the jutsu. He jumped out and sliced off Devourer's other arm, making him shout in pain and aggravation.
With only the tattoos on his body, he couldn't make as many new projectiles now, and Jugo ran up and slammed a rocket-propelled fist into his jaw.
Using his stunned state, Karin shot several chakra chains at him, binding him in place as Naruto got closer.
Naruto got into striking distance, and Devourer's eyes widened. Naruto's jutsu slammed into his chest, and it began tearing at Devourer's body.
"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"
Devourer screamed as he felt the blades of wind rip apart his body. The attack seemed to separate him cell by cell, cutting through every part of his body without trouble.
The jutsu finished with an explosion of wind that finished Devourer off, and Naruto's eyes clenched shut as some of the tiny wind blades pierced his arms like needles. Devourer glared at Naruto.
Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of light leaving Devourer's eyes, a sight which would be forever ingrained in his memory.
Devourer's lifeless corpse collapsed to the ground, and Naruto stumbled back from the eviscerated body.
As the Nine-tails cloak around him disappeared, he collapsed to the ground. Suigetsu let out a shout of surprise, afraid that the Devourer had managed to do something in his last moments.
"Don't worry," Karin told him as she observed the level of Naruto's chakra, "It's just chakra exhaustion."
"This was a tough battle," Jugo sighed, taking deep breaths. He had lost himself a few times during the fight, but luckily his violent side wanted to kill Devourer so much that he didn't end up attacking his teammates. And he had managed to wrestle control back after Karin suppressed his chakra.
Jugo picked up Naruto and began carrying him over his shoulder. Just across the forest, Ruby suddenly passed out, and Professor Goodwitch said it was because of shock. A captive Rosaria was loudly complaining about how it should have been impossible for her to have been beaten so easily.
Professor Goodwitch looked at all the students present, and she knew that today had left a profound impact on all of them. And not necessarily in a good way for some.
Roman Torchwick was talking to one of his subordinates, wondering how on the earth they hadn't managed to get past the stupid cops in front of the dust shop he had been charged with robbing.
"-are dumb cops! It's written right there on the map. How do you mess that up?"
Before the man could say anything, his eyes went blank. Roman waved his hand in front of the man's face.
"Roman, get someone to fix me a meal," the man suddenly said, and a smug smirk found its way onto Roman's face.
"Ha, I can't believe you actually died to a bunch of brats, Reed. I thought you were better than that."
"I underestimated them. I was too confident thanks to my intel, but Uzumaki's team used techniques that weren't in my research."
"You know, I think this is your first failed mission." Roman grinned and pulled out Reed's credit card that he had swiped last night. "And you know what that means. Drinks are on you."
"Fine," Reed told him and grabbed the card. "Send the Akatsuki's messenger's back. Tell them that although I failed the mission, I made sure to do something to make Uzumaki easier to capture for them. God knows I'm not going to attempt that again."
"I'll also set up an appointment to get your tattoos back." The joy in Roman's voice at having something new to hold over Reed's head was evident.
"I swear, Roman, if you weren't my ally…"
And thus comes the end of the Devourer Arc. For those confused, here's a little explanation to his abilities:
His semblance allows him to swap the minds of people, essentially giving him immortality. However... this doesn't mean he can live forever.
His ability to copy the abilities of others, such as semblances or chakra usage, is similar to Hidan's ability to survive anything and inflict injuries on others by hurting himself. That means that it's an ability given to him by a devil/god.
Next chapter is going to be what I know a few people have been looking forward to, the conflict of ideals/morals between Huntsmen and Ninjas. Also, the introduction of Team CFVY! Wait... did I say in the last author note that they were going to be in this chapter? Oh well, I'm too lazy to go back and check now, so whatever. Next chapter for sure!