Disclaimer: The following is a fan-based parody. Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto are all owned by Masashi Kishimoto. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.

Chapter 18: Two Ronin and One Kunoichi to Go

It was upon the break of dawn did Ruby and Shirou continue their trek to the heart of Water Country now accompanied by a fully healed Pakura. As the "land" was made up of many large islands separated enough for bridge building to be impossible, most if not all normal travel within Water Country was by boat. For shinobi and those versed in the way of chakra, the need for the boat was unnecessary when the surface of the water is no different from the ground.

So it comes upon the trio literally sprinting on top of the ocean, water splashing behind them in white waves with each step. They were completely surrounded by the deep blue, and only at the farthest horizons did they see land. None of them expressed worry; in fact, they knew exactly where they were going as their eyes zeroed in on the far island directly in front of them.

It was at this island Ruby and Shirou heard the latest news of the fighting of the civil war according to the country's citizens seeking safety at the border. Hardly any foreigners attempted to help them, and it broke Ruby's heart when she saw those defenseless people lose hope as if they were counting down their remaining days. She heard children vainly hope for shinobi to save them despite it being shinobi themselves having destroyed their homes.

It angered Ruby. When it came to shinobi, it was the closest she felt actual hatred. No matter what they preach, shinobi do not care for the "common folk" - for those who can be considered mundane in comparison. Why should they? Civilians don't have strong chakra or unique bloodlines, and shinobi and their leaders cannot care for those who are simply ordinary. The shinobis of Konoha were not an exception. Hashirama and Madara wanted a village built on compassion, trust, and peace. Where is that compassion when they are letting innocent people die!?

That's why Ruby wanted to be here. War or not, people were needlessly suffering because of the unjust hate of the few - because apparently, anyone considered different was the devil. The other nations won't lift a finger - why would they care about people dying when that meant a rival was weakening itself. But Ruby cared enough to fling herself into the bloody mess and stop the civil war in its tracks. After all, it was what she has been trained to do.

Similar thoughts went through Shirou's mind upon the civil war and the bloodline genocides. The whole debacle reminded Shirou in his life as a slave and how his "masters" could be so callously cruel to children for their own satisfaction. It was the same happening in Kiri with the bloodline purges that deemed those too different to let live while those considered "normal" gained their own sick sense of satisfaction, whether it be unjust hate or a sadistic pleasure from the killing itself. He could not understand how people can harm others for those kinds of reasons. What Shirou did know was that it wasn't right to let it continue.

During the trek, Pakura had been eyeing the duo with a studious gaze. She was more than impressed with their fortitude to keep up water walking for so long and not be as tired. Only a few Jonin had the confidence enough to sprint between the islands of Water Country. Pakura herself was an exception even among Jonin; as a Ninjutsu specialist, she had more chakra to spare than most of her colleagues in order to fully utilize her Scorch Release Kekkai Genkai. Despite that Pakura could feel the drain on her reserves already trying to cross the Water Country's ocean to another island. In comparison, Ruby and Shirou have not only been trained in the ways of chakra but at such an extensive level only heard from child prodigies like Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha.

"Who trained you?" Pakura blurted out. "You call yourselves ronin, but your use of chakra is in the realm of Jonin shinobi. What are you really?"

"I don't have to be a shinobi to know how to know use chakra." Ruby replied. "Shirou and I know enough to throw out Ninjutsu if need be, but mostly we were trained to use chakra to enhance ourselves and for our own... uniqueness."

It wasn't the complete truth, but it wasn't so much to be a lie as well. Obviously, Ruby will not divulge the fact she was taught by Madara or that she is an Uchiha, nor will Shirou reveal his status as a Wood Release user. However, they had other abilities they can showcase to Pakura to sate her curiosity and quite possibly earn more of her trust instead of being held as a suspicious ally. It was in fact something they planned last night while Shirou was tending to Pakura's wounds. Ruby and Shirou locked their eyes together and a silent message was shared between them. Then they extended their hands out to the former Suna kunoichi, catching her attention with the gesture. In a brief pulse of chakra, Ruby and Shirou produced an orb of their respective Kekkai Genkai of Scorch Release and Dragon Release.

Pakura knew the instant her eyes took in the unique orbs of chakra that the two ronin were born with Kekkai Genkai like herself. While Shirou's Dragon Release caught her interest, it was Ruby's show of Scorch Release that caught all of her attention. Her calm facade broke to a look of shock, awe, and hope; the mix of emotions found in someone who finds what they would consider kin. She knew that intense glow and incredible heat from the orb of chakra Ruby held. It was the same familiar sensation Pakura throughout her whole life as a user of the Scorch Release.

"You're... like me." Pakura gasped as her eyes locked onto Ruby solely. "I... I always thought I was the last one. I'm... I'm not alone."

Behind her mask, Ruby's face softened as she looked back at Pakura with her emotions on her face. The face Pakura had and the emotions stemming from relief and joy, a small dark part of Ruby felt envy. She wanted to have that face - to feel that relief - to come across someone like her, but not in the sense of Pakura finding another with the same Kekkai Genkai. What Ruby wanted was to find more of her immediate families like the Uchiha, yet even as she hoped Ruby was reminded of the fact they were gone. They were all gone before she could ever have the chance to even see them, to say to them that she was family too. But no, there were hardly any of her family left, and with the death of Madara the thought alone haunted her.

"No... No, you aren't." Ruby said softly, her face downcast. "Not anymore."

'But... I...'

"Ru - Okami, are you alright?" Shirou said to rouse Ruby's attention, almost slipping her real name due to his concern.

Ruby automatically faced Shirou, and as soon as she saw him her mood brightened. No, Ruby will never be alone because she had alone. With Shirou everything was fine. Dare she say as long as Shirou was by her side forever, then everything in Ruby's life was perfect. All that mattered to Ruby was her precious Shirou beLONGING TO HER AND ONLY HERSELF AND NO ONE ELSE OR SHE WILL KILL ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO DARES TO STEAL HER SHIROU AWAY FROM HER!

Bless his pure soul that Shirou was unable to see the dark, deathly miasma wafting off of Ruby's body. Pakura, however, took in the sight of the ominous aura surrounding Ruby and felt its evil nature pressuring down on her. She could not resist the terror coursing through her body that screamed of death the more she looked at Ruby. This was worse than any killing intent a crazed shinobi could ever produce. The horrors of the Third Shinobi War or the prospect of facing a Tailed Beast - none of it compared to the aura of maddened evil and wrongness Ruby was producing. It didn't just promise death; it would ensure Pakura to have a slow agony till she was begging to die.

'I don't want to die.' Pakura whimpered in her head.

This aura of madness subsided after a couple of seconds and Ruby was back to normal, or as normal as anyone can have while possessing that kind of aura. It was just enough time for Pakura to regain her bearings on her chakra control to keep herself sprinting on the surface of the sea. Even so, she found herself a few paces behind Ruby and Shirou, and wondered how neither of them, especially Shirou, were impeded by that miasma of malice.

After a few more minutes sprinting over the sea, the trio of two ronin and one ex-kunoichi finally made landfall at their destined island. Pakura almost flopped onto the white sands of the island's shore in relief being half-exhausted from using quite a bit of chakra. Now the rest of the trip was in leaping sprints through the trees and land that simply took physical exertion rather than chakra use.

"Do you think the battle finished, and the war moved on elsewhere?" Ruby voiced her concern. "It would be awkward if we came all the way here for nothing."

"Possibly." Pakura said, slowing in her pace. "Let's stop for a moment to figure out our next move. Do you a map we can use? Mine was tarnished by the ANBU's ambush on me."

Ruby and Shirou exchanged looks before giving a simultaneous nod of agreement. They hid within the dense foliage and knelt down on one knee in order to avoid any unwanted attention. Shirou reached into his pack to retrieve the map of the Elemental Nations and unrolled it flat on the ground for everyone to see. Pakura appraised the map, her eyes roaming over the page till they stopped on Water Country, and then placed her index finger on the depiction of the country's central island.

"This right here is the center of Water Country where the Hidden Mist Village lies at the eastern side." Pakura spoke and then slid her finger to a smaller island near Nagi Island at the central island's southwest. "This is where we are right now. Since our soon-to-be enemies are the official sovereign of this nation, they have a greater hold on the land. We can expect they have stakes on land on the central island and those closest to the capital."

"You know," Ruby piped in, "calling it a 'Hidden Village' is incredibly redundant when anyone can find the village on any worthwhile map."

Pakura's left eyebrow twitched before continuing."Moving on. That leaves our apparent allies, the rebels, a significantly territorial disadvantage. At best, they have stable holdings on islands farthest from the capital to the south, but they are still in the minority. It's practically a lost cause in the east and northwest of Water Country for the rebels; their hold there will be weakest. At best, they can smuggle supplies from the Land of Honey, but that doesn't supply the soldiers they lose.

"When it comes to matters of attrition, the rebels are falling behind but there is still hope for a victory. It has only been recent that open warfare has started, and the rebels have the advantage of Kekkai Genkai in their ranks as well as any sympathizers joining them. The island we're on in fact is a standing point for the rebels. That's why I know they might still be here and still fighting. They can't afford to lose this island if they want to overthrow the current regime."

"So they could still be fighting here right now?" Shirou questioned.

Pakura nodded. "This island is the frontline. The Kiri loyalists are trying to destroy a rebel cell here. A big one if I were a betting girl, and one too important the rebels will simply let it go without a fight. Either way, it's going to be a very costly battle that might determine the direction of the rest of the civil war."

"Alright then, but we are overlooking one thing before we can plan for any of this." Ruby said. "How do we know who is who? And how do we get the rebels to not blast Jutsu thinking we are on the wrong side?"

Pakura grabbed her chin in thought. "One would assume the Kiri rebellion would have stitched uniforms and salvaged equipment since they don't have any reliable sources. But that's not good enough to go off of."

"Why don't we simply reveal our Kekkai Genkai?" Shirou advised, his mismatched eyes gaining a sharp glint. "It doesn't take a genius that no one with a bloodline would ever be with the Kiri loyalists, lest they get themselves exterminated. On the other hand, bloodline users are flocking to the rebellion to get rid of the loyalists and the genocidal ways brought on to them. When we get to the battle, we should use our Kekkai Genkai out in the open to let them know where we stand. Sure, we might be surrounded by Kiri loyalists on the spot, but the rebels will definitely become quick friends with us."

"That's... not a bad idea." Pakura mused, rubbing her chin. "It's a bit of a gamble, but not a bad one. Alright, then we will with your plan... er..."

"...Tetsu." Shirou gave his codename created on the spot. "Just call me Tetsu."

"I guess that means we're following your lead to look for the battle." Ruby told Pakura. "You're a veteran from the last war. Unlike us, you are the only one who knows what shinobi warfare looks like. So what can we expect?"

Pakura unexpectedly started to grimace. "Well about that..."

Her words were interrupted when the girls shook from a thunderous explosion. Ruby looked behind and not too far away saw plumes of smoke rising into the air. In fact, the commotion was so close the trio can hear the battle cries and rings of clashing steel. What sealed the deal of shinobi battling were kunai being thrown haphazardly and Jutsu especially of the water element bringing down neighboring trees. It was all the signs of open warfare as Ruby expected - of normal soldiers and samurai.

"I assume that is a shinobi battle going on." Ruby deadpanned at an exasperated Pakura. "Unless there so happen to be two feuding samurai clans on this island armed with explosive chakra sword arts."

"Yeah, that's a shinobi battle." Pakura admitted.

"But shinobi are trained in the art of stealth, to strike from the shadows, and to be the epitome of the silent assassin." Ruby continued, pointing a thumb to the ongoing battle. "The exact opposite of that. They are not fighting supposed in an open battlefield with two opposing armies from the old days yelling their lungs out in war cries."

"Y-Yeah." Pakura replied, reminded how the "importance of stealth" was metaphorically beaten into her head during her days as a young girl at the academy.

"...I can't help but feel disappointment." Ruby said in a disappointed tone that would make Madara proud.

"You're not the only one." Pakura grumbled under her breath, remembering her first battle in the Third Shinobi War that broke the "shinobi use stealth" doctrine.

"Well, at least this saves us the problem of looking out for ambushes." Ruby said as she and Shirou stood up and unsheathed their Ninchirin blades. "We can fight in our element. In open combat. Let's go, Sh - Tetsu!"

After almost slipping out her partner's real name, Shirou and Ruby sprinted off at zipping speeds. Pakura was left behind, not even giving her the chance to twitch a muscle. She could only sigh in exasperation and followed by a low chuckle. To Pakura, it was nostalgic to her days training green Genin and their hyperactive impatience. Despite the duo being more than simple ronin, Pakura had to remember "Okami" and "Tetsu" were brats.

"Alright then." Pakura mumbled to herself, leaping into the treetops. "Guess I'll just attack from the sidelines. Like a real shinobi."

If there was one motto Pakura had, it was that the moment a shinobi attacks brazenly in the open like a samurai then they are not acting like a shinobi. In her eyes, shinobi should use the weapon of the shadows to hide them and the art of stealth to deal the killing blows. And hardly anything kills better than her Scorch Release.

(Battlefield)

Her name is Mei Terumi, leader of the Kiri rebellion, wielder of both Boil and Lava Release, and, as her troops designated her, the future Godaime Mizukage. A good reason to call her as well as she possessed the highest combat ability in Ninjutsu well in the realm of Kage and had a keen intellect that allowed the rebels to exist for so long in the civil war. If one were to look at her, one would see a dashing beauty of a woman on par with the likes of Tsunade Senju. They would first notice the brunette, spiky hair reaching all the way down her back, then her voluptuous figure kept under a kimono that opened at the top to reveal a healthy amount of cleavage, to her full red lips, and dazzling green eyes.

A perfect beauty indeed, but the expression on her face contrasted into a cold countenance as should be in battle. Before her eyes, she was witnessing the death of her enemies and her own subordinates in what could be a turning point in the war. As of yesterday, the loyalists of Kiri had come to this island to eliminate the rebel cell stationed here. It was too important to simply retreat; if Mei loses this island then the rebellion will lose any foothold towards the Mist Village. Worse, this may be the end of the civil war for them.

Her rebels have erected stone walls high enough for any offensive Jutsu to never cross, not without loyalists running up it all the way to the top. Even then, they would have to deal with the defenders above ready to cut down the approaching opposition. On the ground, Mei's combat forces had taken to engage the Kiri loyalists, making the field before the wall littered in thrown Jutsu and ninjas clashing with steel while too many corpses covered the ground.

Mei herself spent her time launching sniper shots with Water Jutsu, an impressive feat considering her distance from the main battle. She wished she could do more, but Mei did not want to risk using her more volatile Jutsu while her subordinates can become casualties by her own fault. While the battle may be going steady in their favor, Mei knew it wasn't the case.

"They fight so bravely." Mei said solemnly.

"But bravery alone can't give us victory here." A grizzled masculine voice replied to Mei. "Even if we win this, we will have too many dead to launch a counteroffensive towards the loyalists. This battle might set us back three more years of this bloody war, possibly even our defeat."

Mei glanced to a male Kiri shinobi in his ripened age, possessing dark blue hair styled in a moused-up manner and a green haori with white trimmings. Around his forehead was the metal band displaying the symbol of Kirigakure, but his left eye was covered in an eyepatch. Most would easily assume the man to be half-blind, but in fact, it was a ruse to hide the implanted Byakugan eye beneath. His name was Ao, a former Hunter-nin of Kiri and one of Mei's top generals and advisors in the civil war. Yet the best advice he could give to his superior was naught.

"We need a miracle if we want to end this battle without so many losses." Ao grumbled.

Mei's eyes hardened. "I'm going down there."

"No!" Ao exclaimed, grabbing Mei's arm before she could jump off. "You can't enter a battle this hectic. Your strong, we all know that. Worthy of being Kage, but Kages have died in battlefields like these. We can't afford to lose you."

Mei snarled. "Ao, I will not stand here like a coward and let my own soldiers die lie this. If I can save them from being slaughtered with my own life, then so be it!"

"Please, you have-"

(Cue "Zenitsu Theme")

Mei and Ao paused when they felt a disturbance in the air. Even the shinobi engrossed in the current battle could not shake off the strange tingle. It was almost as if the air became electrified, and it suddenly became deathly still.

Hidde in the surrounding forest and mist at the far edge was Ruby's settled in a low stance of iaido. Red electricity sparked off her body and increased in intensity with each breath she took. Her hand gripped on the Ninchirin blade, charging the sunlit steel with her red lightning ki. Silver eyes snapped open, looking upon the bloody fight.

Inhale

Air was vacuumed into her lungs unnaturally stretched as the inner workings of her ki rewrote it to that of lightning. The electricity born from the Breath of Thunder stuck close to her form, waiting to be set loose. Her left thumb clicked out an inch of steel, for the coming blow that had one purpose: to finish this violent battle.

Exhale

When Ruby released, it was with a thunderous bang that shook the forest from her literal lightning ki. Red bolts crackled all the to the sky, dispersing Water Country's thick mist from the pressure alone. The foliage hiding Ruby has been swept away, allowing any of the Kiri shinobi to see her as an intense singularity of red light. But it was too late to even act on that observation when the thunder chose to strike.

'Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!'

A shinobi could blink and they could miss it. Even if they peeled their eyes, all they would witness was a horizontal bolt of red lightning splitting the battlefield, and at the other end was Ruby sheathing her Ninchirin blade back into its sheath with a click that was heard all around. It was so sudden, none of the shinobi hardly had any idea what happened, but they knew two important details. None of the Kiri rebels were slain, and the heads of Kiri loyalists were strewn upon the ground while their currently headless bodies bleeding out geysers of blood before falling to the ground. In one attack, the seemingly overwhelming force of Kiri loyalists wasn't so overwhelming after all.

And Ruby was not done yet. She took another inhale and exhale as lightning exploded off her body yet again. Her show of power see to snap the Kiri loyalists back to attention as well as the apparent detail that Ruby had killed their comrades. She would not give them a chance.

'Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm!'

Her Ninchirin blade was drawn at lightning speeds and slashed in powerful yet accurate waves of electricity that sliced up the Kiri loyalists in her range. Not only did her sword bite through flesh, but the red lightning given off the blade also went on to chain to more loyalists and cook them from the inside.

At that point in time, Shirou entered the frame leaping into the ranks of Kiri loyalists with his dao swords out. Only instead of holding them in his hands, the white and black blades were whirling around him as they saw through the loyalists all around him. This was achieved through the simple use of charka strings attached to each handle of the dao swords, and with some practice Shirou could use them as if he possessed Magnetic Release.

"Scorch Release: Great Steaming Explosive Blasts!"

From behind the loyalists' lines, Pakura launched her attack from the shadows in the form of a massive orb of concentrated heat glowing like a second son. She threw it down and the Kiri loyalists could only let out one scream before the orb of Scorch Release exploded at their flank. Incredible heat surpassing the harshest desert rushed throughout the battlefield, and scathing steam rose in its wake. People caught in it were incinerated to their very bones.

Ruby and Shirou had slaughtered their way to each other and a single glance was enough to tell each other to move on to the next part of their plan. First, Ruby sheathed her Ninchirin blade and switched out with Akihabara and Mizutsune while Shirou returned Karna and Rama to his hands. Scorch Release and Dragon Release respectively were flowed into the blades as Ruby and Shirou stared down the Kiri loyalists. Then with a dual overhead swing, Ruby and Shirou unleashed waves of chakra.

While Ruby's Scorch Release incinerated whatever opposition was in the way, Shirou's Dragon Release chakra completely annihilated all in its tracks and left nothing in its wake. The waves of chakra soon collapsed and dissipated into an explosion taking more of the loyalists, and Pakura was still using hit-and-run offenses with her own Scorch Release. With all this happening, the spirits of the rebels were raised at the fact that users of Kekkai Genkai were turning the tide. In renewed vigor, the rebels launched a counterattack upon an already breaking Kiri loyalists army still being harrassed by Ruby and Shirou.

Even Mei could not believe the godsend, and indeed it had to be a gift from the gods above. She knew instantly her new allies were possessors of Kekkei Genkai, two beings of the uncommonly known Scorch Release and one in possession of a completely new bloodline. It warmed her heart they came all the way here to help the rebellion, and join the fight against Kirigakure and its genocide of Kekkai Genkai. She was already sprinting across the battlefield towards Ruby and Shirou, and by the time she reached them the Kiri loyalists were in full retreat.

"While frankly, I thank you for saving my men," Mei spoke, making Shirou and Ruby turn around to face her, "who are you exactly?"

Ruby smiled behind her mask. "I like to believe that we are the answer to your victory and the end to this civil war."

Mei blinked and then started titter for two reasons. From the tone of Ruby's voice and along with her height, Mei could already pick out that she and Shirou were the same age as a fresh genin. Practical children had just saved her men and routed the enemy. The second would be the ridiculous statement of them being able to end the civil war. While the help was needed, she wasn't so hopeful two quite powerful thirteen-year-old children will actually end the war.

If Mei could see herself in the coming weeks, she would choke on her own laughter.

Scum!? Nay, call us rebel scum! Victory to the rebellion. Thus, here is Ruby, Shirou, and Pakura having met up with the Kiri rebels and prepared to take down the ninja Nazis once for all. However, Kiri Nazis are not the only threats awaiting Shirou and Ruby... nor the worst. There are darker and old dangers in Kiri ready to clash with the silver-eyed Uchiha and pure boi Shirou.

Up next is Chapter 19: Explosions for the Win!

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