A Grimm Light

by Nasha Rei-Kun

Among the darkness that was Salem's island, Summer Rose expected to find one of two things. Victory or... unfortunately, a loss so great she knew her family would never get over it. So, when the weirdest third option showed up, a single piece of light in this land of darkness, she'd been confused... and then she'd been happier than she ever imagined.

3. Time To Shine!

~NRK~

He lunged across the landscape, form enhanced by his new magic armor.

With Magna Ventus, the armor on his arm had long since changed, forming over both arms and his chest.

It seemed so light and streamlined that the group made the assumption that his spells affected his physical form which made things interesting.

-Naruto, you're getting close to Umikaen is on the approach. You remember the object we're looking for?- Came James's voice from Naruto's earpiece.

'Some kind of research stuff, right?' He replied.

-Yes. The man, one Chris Gorun, had been working there, examining the Water Dust beneath the waters due to how, very rarely, Fire Dust could be found. That Dust is said to be able to burn underwater. If we could find his research, it'd help with making hydro turbines. Possible thermal ideas will be passed around-

'Gotcha,' Naruto said as he came to a screeching halt by the location and frowned hard. 'Yo, James-ossan… this place, holy crap, it's bad.'

~NRK~

James's frowned as he and the others were in a video call, watching Naruto's progress through a camera on his chest.

And they saw exactly what he meant.

-Goodness- Glynda grimaced at the darkened areas before Naruto, the Grimm boy walking forward. -Naruto, I swear to the Brothers, if you don't find yourself out of there if it gets too much, I'll kill you-

-G-Got it, Glynda-baa-

-Hmm?-

-Nee-chan!-

-Hm, hm, hm, he's like a boy on a grocery trip- Summer giggled as Qrow chuckled nervously.

-Don't give her ideas. What if Goodie over there wants him to find lost jewelry?- He said.

-Hmmm?-

-Nothing, I'm idiot, I'm quiet now!-

-Hmph-

-Hm, hm, hm, as expected, Glynda's not changed much- Ozpin said with amusement before frowning at Naruto's feed. -... Naruto, are the buildings burned or not?-

-... They're not… Guys, I think these Kuromons… they're tainting the area they appear in- Naruto said with a grunt. -It's so brittle but it's not burned-

"... That's concerning," James said with a frown as a small robot whirled next to him.

[If such things are there, what could be causing it to stay?] Penny asked and James frowned further. [Surely, there's likely a congregation of Grimm Naruto should have found by now… right?]

And that idea set James's nerves on edge.

"Naruto-"

-I heard her and, unfortunately, this place is so tainted with negative emotions, I can't feel any Grimm- He said with a worried sigh. -This isn't good-

-... Naruto…- Glynda spoke up.

-I will, nee-chan, I promise-

Glynda sighed at that.

As it would happen, Glynda had gotten completely attached to the Grimm boy over the years.

From small things like explaining Vale's culture to lessons on the Kingdom's people, she'd spent special time teaching Naruto for a while.

And she'd grown attached to him, talking with him on his own Scroll, reading him the news articles of his 'adventures', giving him updates on Summer's pregnancy, and so on.

The woman had basically considered him her own and it showed.

~NRK~

"Glynda, he'll be fine, I'm sure," Ozpin said before sighing at her fidgeting hands. 'I guess motherhood is a lot more involved than you expected, isn't it?' He thought with a small smile.

Despite her lack of a blood-related child, Glynda's affection for Naruto was ironclad.

Anyone who dare call her out on it, though, would be put into a wall but it was obvious from just listening in when she spoke to him.

So, the woman was, at present, wrecked with concern.

"He's right, Glynda, we know Naruto. He's strong enough, and crafty enough, to get out of anything," Summer said as she rubbed her big belly, Qrow holding a pack of cleansing wipes on his belt, just in case, of course.

The woman's third child was coming along well, it'd be three more months before the young boy was born.

Yes, a young man who might very well have silver eyes. Ozpin was excited about it but him having an apprentice made him excited, something he hadn't been in a LONG time, for everything.

So as he watched Naruto's feed, the man wrote down several symbols on a piece of parchment… just in case, of course.

A little teleportation would be rough, he'd be in Vale, but it'd be safer than possibly dying.

Never before had Ozpin expected to care for a Grimm this much.

Fascinating.

~NRK~

Naruto frowned, tightening his Wizard Apprentice Scarf, as he called it, as he looked around more.

He tapped against the darkened floor, the earth and mud brittle to a small rub in his hands.

'Something about this is wrong… so wrong. It's like everything was drained of its energy or soul,' he told the others as he walked around. '... I'll just look for the stuff.'

-That'd be wise-

He rushed around before making the cross handseal.

'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!'

Ten copies sprung out of his haze before separating to look through all the other empty homes.

They searched the homes strung about in a wide half-circle towards the ocean, the shape making it easy to go down lines of houses.

After an hour of searching, the original Naruto came upon one last place, the home of the man himself, hopefully.

Going in, he sighed as he opened the black door gently and it collapsed.

'Dammit,' he grunted before looking around at the pale walls with pictures of the man, his family, notable things he'd seen, and so on. '... Hmm? I think I feel something,' Naruto said.

-Something like a Grimm?- James asked.

-Or something else?- Ozpin added.

'No, it feels like… Dust,' Naruto said in shock as he moved about the home before finding the door to the basement and going in.

When he came upon what he'd felt… his eyes widened as the others gasped at a glowing purple crystal in the basement.

It was big, the size of a man, and while it glowed purple, its body was a burning red with black marks on it.

'... G-Guys, I think this thing is making the Black Gate…' Naruto uttered in disbelief. 'And… Ugh…' He held his head as he got closer, stopping a bit away. 'I-It hurts…'

-Naruto?! What's wrong?!- Glynda asked with concern and he sighed.

'It's like my energy is falling away from me, something's hitting me in the head, something,' he said with a frown. '... I'm gonna blow it up,' he decided as he jumped back, the floor crunching beneath his feet.

He lifted his arms up, aimed at it, as his eyes burned light green.

'Magna Ventus.'

Bone spread out around his body, shooting down his arms and around his chest in a five-sided chest plate.

His gauntlets weren't big but sleek, fitting his powerful arms and forming scale-like patterns from the gauntlets to his shoulders.

The bone bits behind his head, they expanded before a fox skull formed over his noggin, slipping on like a helmet.

Green winds exploded around him before focusing in on his arms, the fists glowing green as they absorbed it all.

'Alright!' Naruto reared his fist back before throwing it forward. 'Kazeken!'

The air pressure attack slammed into the seemingly infected Dust with great effect, the area around it exploding as smoke clouded the former blonde's view.

-Did that get it?- Qrow wondered.

'... No, I don't think it-' Naruto had begun saying… only for the ground beneath his feet to rumble. 'The hell!?' He thought in shock… before his eyes widened.

---

The roof of the home exploded as a blast of wind hit it, Naruto jumping out with urgency.

Not a moment too soon as the entire thing exploded as something rose from the home's foundation.

-What the fuck!?- Qrow cursed in disbelief.

Its body was fucking huge, easily being the size of a mansion in length while its body was as thick as a small house.

Its head was serpentine and had five large fangs that clasped together in front of its mouth as numerous beady eyes littered its 'head' all around.

On the other end, the 'tail' wasn't much better, being the same as its head but with two large horns.

'G-Guys?!'

-N-No! Naruto's that's a Blastwyrm! You have to get out of there!- Summer called out.

'But what happens if I leave it?! Where will it go?!'

~NRK~

The Silver-Eyed Warrior grimaced at the thought. "I-I…" She struggled to come up with an answer. "Dammit! Oz, James?!"

"I'm thinking!" Ozpin said as he held his parchment tight in his hands, at the ready. "... I need to call Leo! Naruto, your job is to keep it busy! Lead it to the waters!"

-On it!-

~NRK~

James's hands clenched as Penny's hands clasped together in worry.

[H-He's going to be alright, right?] She asked the general who relaxed his hands.

"Yes, Penny, he will," he said with finality and she nodded. 'We couldn't plan for this, how was such a thing left alone for so long? What was it doing?' That was the question, wasn't it?

Why were Black Gates being created by the Grimm? Sure, he guessed it was to keep humans, and society, to a minimum but why not leave the Dust there?

Something about these zones got a frown out of James as Ozpin dialed another number on his DeskScroll.

~NRK~

Naruto frowned as he jumped onto the roof of another home, gaining that Grimm's attention.

'Hey, ugly!' He shouted at it and it… ignored him. 'Dammit, it's as I expected… where the fuck do you think you're going?!' Naruto cursed as the Grimm began to slither away from the town.

Not into the ocean, though, no.

It was going inland.

Naruto lunged at the Grimm before climbing its body as a set of its eyes locked on him.

He made it all the way to its head and reared his arm back.

'SIT DOWN!' The blue-eyed Grimm slammed his fist into the back of its head.

The creature shrieked as its face hit the floor with a rumble.

Naruto didn't let up, rearing his fists back and repeatedly slamming his fists into the creature's eyes, destroying them in small bursts of black ichor.

'Disgusting!' He shouted as he kept beating on its eyes only jump away and barely dodge that tail end swiping at his previous location, sadly not hitting itself. 'Too close!'

It shot out at him again and he jump up before throwing his arm to the side and releasing a burst of wind to send his body shooting sideways, dodging its head slam and follow-up.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and soon he released several bursts of wind, shooting around the creature as it unstuck its head from the ground.

He went high into the sky before rotating, bursts of wind being shot out to keep him going faster.

His missile-like attack slammed into its head and the Grimm boy bounced off its body before recovering in the air.

'Heh! Not so tough, are ya?!' He shouted at it as he sent out more bursts of winds, form vanishing. 'I can't keep this up,' Naruto thought with a frown.

Using magic like this was an amazing skill to have… but his body didn't keep it for too long, eating through the spell quickly.

Apparently that was an aspect of the Darkness element, erosion, so he was on a timer of… now!

His form returned to normal as he started falling.

-Naruto!- Glynda shouted.

'I'm good! I planned for it this time!' He responded, forming becoming encased by his bony skeleton as he crashed, taking little damage as he returned to normal. 'Right now, that thing is the priority!'

Glynda cursed over the line.

-I've informed Leo and he says he's sending many Hunters your way but it'll take hours by bullhead, Naruto!- Ozpin informed. -You've harmed it but we don't know how old this Grimm is-

'Wait, why would that-' Naruto began to say only for the sound of squelching reached his, and the others', ears. '... Oh, that's not good,' he realized in horror moments later.

The eyes that he'd crushed were pouring out that inky-looking blood… and, from that blood, came more Grimm. Like some sort of sick Blood Style: Summoning Technique!

-Dammit!- James growled. -We can't let those Grimm get away! Naruto, I'm sorry-

'No, it's fine,' the boy said as he made his favored handseal. 'I'd have done it anyway.'

His vapors spread out before numerous copies of himself took form, easily numbering in the hundreds.

~NRK~

"When…" James balked.

-For a while now, I got my control down more. If I could do it perfectly, I could have made a thousand of these- Naruto replied cheekily and the general blinked before snorting. -Time for some extermination! Get 'em, guys!-

The visual of over a hundred Beowolves made James slacken a bit.

[That's a decent amount of cavalry!] Penny cheered and he chuckled.

"Yes, it is."

~NRK~

Glynda let out a breath of relief but still frowned. "Summer…"

"It's going to use its best weapon when it gets the chance," Summer said. "Naruto, you need to keep an eye out for that. The blast of a Blastwyrm isn't some decent-sized area of effect! It'd burn down a whole village given one hit!"

-Dammit!- The boy cursed before they watched as the big Grimm came closer, Naruto running forward. -How many hours?!-

"Three!" Ozpin answered. "Two and some change if they hurry with urgency! Leo!"

A Faunus on another screen grimaced, his caramel skin, hazel eyes, and short light brown hair tilting down.

-I'm sending them as fast as I can! But… dammit, this isn't easy, Ozpin! You know that!- He said and Ozpin grit his teeth. -The council's asking how I have this information!-

Glynda hissed. "Is now the time for that?!"

-Trust me, I wish to tell them the same thing but I can't just say there's a freaking Blastwyrm in the continent and act like that's normal news!-

James cursed. -Dammit. Patch me through to them, Leo. Let's see how they like some Atlas persuasion-

~NRK~

Naruto's copies descended on the Grimm in an instant, the two sides colliding with force as he did his best to keep the opposing side's numbers under control.

'Clone! How's it going?!' He asked.

~NRK~

Back in Umikaen, three of the Naruto clones from earlier remained in a meditative stance.

'We're working on it! Our bodies keep eroding it as we gather it! We'll need more time!'

~NRK~

He cursed before dropkicking a gorilla-like Grimm.

A Bengal, right?

All the while, the real Naruto kept his eye on the, thankfully, not moving Blastwyrm.

'It's waiting,' he realized as he saw its remaining eyes looking around for him. 'It's looking for me!' Naruto balked before tearing an enemy Beowolf's throat out with a swipe of his claws. 'Guys, it's smart.'

-That's not good, still, it's occupied- Ozpin said with a sigh. -If you can kill it, do so. If not, make sure it can't move for a good while-

'Gotcha,' Naruto said as slunk back out of combat. 'Let's work on that!'

He slammed his hands together and bones began to spring out of his body in the form of large, thick, stakes. He'd be borrowing Obito's idea.

When he formed 20, he stopped and let out a few gasps.

-Naruto?- Glynda's concerned voice got a grimace out of him.

'I'm fine, promise, I've never pushed my bone making like that,' he said before breathing out and touching the bundle. 'I'm gonna try and seal it down with light-coated stakes. Obito used to do this with bijuu, I'm gonna borrow the idea.'

-If you can, that'd probably be the best way to handle this… Tsk- Ozpin cursed.

'You couldn't have planned for this, old man.'

-Yes but there should be Silver-Eyed Warriors in every continent for situations like this. I'm not blaming you, Summer, I mean it. It's just… where are they? Gah, I'm getting frustrated. Apologies-

'No problem,' Naruto said as released Lux onto his 'weapons'. 'This isn't going to last but it'll do,' he said before forming a ring for them to loop onto.

He nodded before locking in another Ventus and shooting off towards the Blastwyrm.

Many of its eyes locked onto him and its closed fangs began to spill flames.

A clone from below jumped up to his height before grabbing his arm.

Naruto was tossed out the way of a beam of eradication that not only destroyed his clone but destroyed the battlefield below it, taking out not only its own soldiers but his Shadow Clones.

'Tsk!' He threw his right arm back and used a burst of wind to toss his body onto the Blastwyrm's. 'Eat some STAKES!'

He took one off before slamming it down.

The effect was immediate and got a grin out of him as it shrieked, the area he'd punctured let out small motes of darkness.

-Light is a grand contradiction to Darkness! It'll not only harm it but destroy all forms of darkness it comes into contact with- Ozpin informed and Naruto nodded,

He jumped up before spinning, launching stakes out into the Grimm's body in random places, shrieking his results.

When he landed back on its body, it'd crumpled to the floor, twitching, as the stakes riddled its form.

He hit his knees. 'Haa… Haa… glp,' he swallowed with a grimace, body lacking all of his black vapor. 'Dammit, that spent almost all my energy,' Naruto told them as he collapsed atop the big Grimm's twitching form. 'How long?'

-An hour and a half- Naruto blinked. -Naruto, it's been almost 20 minutes-

'Wait, r-really?' The boy grimaced. 'Guys, should I go back and destroy that crystal?'

~NRK~

Ozpin grimaced. "Should he?" He asked the others who frowned.

"... I don't know," Glynda said with a frown. "If he goes back, what happens if he's attacked? He'll be defenseless… No, I think he needs to get back to safety."

"I agree, Naruto can't kill the Blastwyrm and it's still got lots of strength despite the damage he did," Summer said. "Right now, he needs to recuperate. Besides, he can't be seen by the Hunters, anyway."

"That's true," Qrow said with a grunt. "Dammit, this is one thing after another, huh?"

-We didn't expect a Grimm to be sleeping beneath the Black Gate… but now we might have vital information- Ironwood said. -There's a big chance there's Distorted Dust in all these locations which likely have a big, smart, Grimm beneath them. Add in that Naruto can feel it when it's close and we know that it'll release energy that hurts him and steals energy. This is all good info to keep in mind-

-What is going on, Ozpin? Who is this 'Naruto'? Why do you make it sound like him being seen is an issue?- Leonardo Lionheart asked with a frown. -What have you all been dealing with?-

"Haaa, where to begin?" Ozpin said with a grunt before Glynda frowned.

"Naruto is a special Grimm with a soul, his powers are mage-like and he can give great power to people. At current, he's been taught minor 'skills' and is trying to separate his reputation from that of normal Grimm," Glynda summarized in an instant and Ozpin snorted along with Qrow as Summer giggled.

-Huwah?!- Leo choked. -W-What?!-

"It's in the files I sent you."

-My f- There was a beep from his Scroll and Leo's eyebrow twitched as she grinned satisfactorily. -... Right-

Skimming what he could, he gaped at them.

-It lives?!-

"He," Ozpin corrected as James chuckled. "Naruto is his name, Summer's life was essentially guaranteed thanks to his help from the mission three some years ago."

-... Really?-

"Really," Qrow said. "The kid's been good, he's helped people in Mistral. Haven't you heard of the Blue-Eyed One?" He asked with a smirk and the Haven Headmaster choked. "Yup."

"Naruto's been helping out for as long as he's been here, Leo. He's a good kid," Summer said as Glynda nodded.

-I-I see… Then what was he doing in Mistral?-

"The Black Gates, you know of them, right?" Ozpin said and the Faunus grimaced. "Exactly. We're seeing if he couldn't help with that since Grimm, typically, ignore him. He can get to pieces of land, information, technology, we've lost to them."

-Yet, you have a Grimm with tutelage in your employ-

"He's been quite the capable student," Ozpin said with a chuckle as the other man rolled his eyes.

-Be that as it may, you realize the public will lambast you for this, right? Ozpin, I'm concerned- Leo said as his eyes softened and he leaned back in his seat, hands massaging his head. -The fact remains, this isn't some easy thing you're trying to do. A living Grimm is going to do more than just draw some speculation about who you are as a person, it's going to bring up questions about people and reasons-

"We've already handled most of the planning for that," Glynda said and Leo nodded.

-I'm sure you did but the fact remains, even if he's accepted… what happens when people realize he's breedable?-

The group grimaced at that.

-Did you consider how valuable Naruto is? This isn't just a Grimm come to life. This one has thoughts, can plan, can brave dangers we can't, can breed more of himself. I can only imagine what some of the less-upright people here would plan to do to him if they caught him- Leo groaned. -And I'll be affiliated, my standing will come into question, again, and I'll be back to square one. Ahhh…-

"Apologies, you know I don't wish to put more stress on your shoulders… but Naruto deserves a life. We've even gotten him an island and, might I say, he's made it quite the tropical getaway. You should visit sometime," Ozpin said with a chuckle.

Leo raised a brow but didn't dislike the idea. -Hmph, we'll see how things go, first. Right now, that Blastwyrm's still an issue-

That was true. Naruto, at present, was just laying down on its back, resting, but they knew the stakes wouldn't hold.

It was a fight against time and they could-

-Hm?- Naruto perked up from his rest and then chuckled. -Alright, I might be able to kill this thing- He said with a chuckle as the groups blinked.

"Naruto?" Glynda asked and the Grimm threw a thumbs-up at the screen.

-You guys remember when I told you about Sage Mode?- He asked and their eyes widened. -Whelp, my clones just finished gathering enough Natural Energy, I'm gonna go all-out on this damn worm-

~NRK~

-What are you doing, Naruto?- Penny asked him as he held his claws together. -Sage Mode?-

'It's a special skill, Penny, my special skill,' he said before closing his eyes. 'Send it guys!-

From afar, the group could see translucent towers of gold that shot up and then down on Naruto.

The Grimm's form changed completely and totally.

His body grew in height by three feet as his limbs lengthened a bit but remained well-muscled.

His claws grew longer while two thick spikes shot out of the top of both his forearms, forming tusk-like extensions over the back of them.

The fur around Naruto's neck grew thicker, and fuzzier, while his mask changed, growing sleeker and more angular, while the markings moved over his bony eyeholes like claw-marks.

They continued to form a more full symbol on his head, the shape of the sun.

"Time to go wild!" He roared out into the air and it shuddered in his wake. "Uh-oh, gotta be careful," Naruto said as he lifted the camera to see his face.

~NRK~

"You're an alpha now?" James gaped at the new features of the former blonde, Naruto showing his new form to the group by moving the camera over his body. "You can do this on command?"

-Sage Mode is gathering energy from the surroundings and mixing it with the energy in my body, making stronger energy, Sage energy, that gives me buffs. Danger perception, durability, healing, my strength and speed, and I get extended attack range- He explained, showing the group his tusk-like spikes.

Looking closer, James's eyes squinted before he saw the air around them… distorting? "What?"

-Naruto, what is that?- Ozpin asked.

-That's the film-like layer I'm covered in, its energy, Sage energy, that'll extend my reach invisibly-

The logistics! "A-And this is teachable?" James asked, hopefully.

-I mean… it is but that doesn't mean it's easy to teach-

"That's all I want to know."

-Stop it, Naru! He's contemplating again!- Qrow cried out in horror.

James rolled his eyes. "So, how is this gonna solve your problem?" He asked curiously.

-Well… I don't know if I can't just lift this thing now-

…

…

… [Apologies?] Penny said as James's pen snapped in his hands at how hard they clenched and shook in mounting excitement. [Naruto, that Grimm could easily be above 200 tons! I-I don't understand!]

-Well, I told you how strong this made me… but you don't understand how far that takes it- He said before frowning. -But I have to do this quick, my power's fading as is-

~NRK~

"Handle it now, we can look at your changes another time," Glynda said and he nodded.

-Alright, time for a fantasy-style Rasenshuriken!- He declared as he jumped.

And he kept going… and going… and soon enough Glynda's eyes widened as she began to realize exactly how much 'Sage Mode' increased the boy's capabilities as they could see the Blastwyrm in its entirety on screen?!

Ozpin's pen fell and Summer giggled madly as Qrow choked on his tongue.

"The what?! Is he SuperVav?!"

"HAhahahahah!"]

~NRK~

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Magna Lux."

Light exploded out of his chest and he crossed his arms through it before throwing them out in a full-body flex, the light energy forming over him like a white tint.

He held his arm out and the energy within, on, and around him swirled together into a ball that quickly began to be encircled by a shuriken-like ring.

The noise was loud but he paid it no mind as he took aim. "Rasen… shuriken!" He threw his S-Rank jutsu.

The skill cleared the distance between him and the Grimm in seconds.

And the sheer destruction in its wake caused James to drop out of his chair.

~NRK~

The ball of light erupted around the Blastwyrm's midsection… before enveloping the entire beast soon after, rupturing the ground, throwing up turbulent winds, and causing a shake that even Leonardo felt in the distance, even if only a mere fraction of it.

But he'd felt it.

-O-Ozpin?! What!?- He choked on his tongue as even Ozpin himself just stared at the explosion of energy, force, and wind with an open mouth.

Ozpin was left there, stunned, as the explosion faded away slowly… and, in its place… nothing.

Not a speck of the Grimm nor nearby rock structures. He was looking at a giant bowl of what could only be fine-grain sand.

Then Naruto began falling. "N-Naruto?!" He called out in worry as the weak voice of the boy came through.

-E-Energy loss- He said shakily as the camera got closer and closer to the ground. -Ugggghhhhh… V-Ventus-

He was jostled abrupt, mere feet from the floor, but he was safe.

Glynda let out a long breath of relief as Qrow wiped his brow and Summer grinned.

"Good job!"

-H-Heh, thanks- Naruto said, voice fading away to leave his thoughts to bleed into the mic. -My everything hurts. Seriously, this body is killing me with how much it limits my skillset-

~NRK~

James shakily returned to his seat, eyes wide, and mouth dropped before he swallowed. "N-Naruto… what was that?"

-The Rasenshuriken. It's the final form of a Rasengan, one given an element- The Grimm said as Penny whirled.

[You had Dust on you?] She asked and he chuckled.

-Just enough energy to throw that thing, Pens. The thing is, all of my energy fell away and I still need to deal with that stupid infected Dust-

James's mouth set in a grimace as, yes, he remembered that was to blame for all of this.

"How's your body?" He asked.

-Like I said before, it hurts but I can move. That thing needs… to go, ow- Naruto said before the screen went dark, muffled sounds reaching James's ear as he chuckled nervously. -Phew! Phew! D-Dirt in mouth-

~NRK~

He hobbled for a good bit back to Umikaen, groaning the whole way much to his friends' worry.

Still, he had to do this now or they might have to deal with another Blastwyrm-level threat from this place.

After a bit of walking, he began hopping, quickly finding himself back at that house and looking down into the hole where the Blastwyrm had come out of.

'There it is…' He said as they all saw the shine down below.

Hopping down into the decently-sized crevice, he landed in a heap before getting to his feet and walking over to the crystal.

'It's weaker now,' Naruto said and the group considered it.

-Is it possible that Grimm had an effect on it?- Leo asked. -With its defeat, the effect is lessened-

Naruto nodded before he reached out with a claw.

Grasping the item, he squeezed.

Cracks appeared all around it for a few seconds before he clenched harder, shattering the item when he did.

It released a large pulse of fire energy that lit up Naruto's form and got a long sigh out of the living Grimm.

'Ohh… that's kind of nice,' he thought as it kept pulsing, the small pieces releasing black energy that floated into the air before flowing into his body. 'Huh?!'

-What's it doing?- Glynda asked immediately. -Naruto?-

'No, it's… well, I'm relatively fine, I guess,' he said with a frown, the energy finished disappearing into his body. 'I don't feel better or worse, just normal.'

-We'll check your vitals when you get back to the mobile base- James said as he leaned back in his seat. -Gods, this whole trip became bigger than I expected-

'Well, it's over, for now,' Naruto said as he looked up into the sky. 'There are places like this all over… we have to deal with them.'

-And we will, together- Summer said with a chuckle. -For now, come back home. You deserve some rest-

'Yeah… one more thing, though-

~NRK~

Li blinked as he and the villagers continued looking at the space where that light had been, in the far distance.

"T-That's where Naruto went!" Nora said as Ren nodded. "What do you think that was?"

"Maybe he got rid of the Black Gate?" Ren suggested with a smile and Nora grinned.

Then a thud hit the ground by their house front, causing the Lie family to turned and see a familiar Grimm savior who was flat against the stone floor.

"Naruto!" The kids rushed him, lifting up his floor-placed head to open his eyes. "Are you okay?"

'Y-Yeah, yeah…' He groaned. 'My body is killing me, right now,' and then his stomach growled, surprising the family of four. 'And I'm hungry…'

---

He tossed back the five peaches before chewing and swallowing.

The Grimm threw a thumbs-up to the kids' way, Nora and Ren snickering at his look of relief.

'Thank you,' Naruto said to Li and An, the two chuckling at him. 'Oof gotta get back to home base. Take care, you guys. Might see you again, soon, maybe, I don't know yet but I'll see ya.'

"One thing, before you go," An said and he nodded. "Were you… able to fix it?" She asked, hopefully.

"An originally came from Umikaen," Li explained and Naruto nodded before grinning.

'Yup.'

She smiled widely. "Thank you!"

'No problem!'

~NRK~

As he traveled back to the Atlas bullhead, Naruto chuckled at Summer's words.

-Already out doing hero work, eh? Next, you'll have an army of admirers- She snorted over the line.

'I don't think I'd want to meet people who want a piece of what I am right now,' he said with a nervous chuckle. 'They'd probably be either the WORST or the weirdest people we'd ever meet.'

-... that's fair-

~NRK~

She frowned at the light.

"The hell is that?"

"Yo, Raven! You see that shit?!"

"Yes, Vernal… it's weird."

"Right?!"

~NRK~

As the private bullhead flew over international waters, Naruto just laid down in the back, asleep.

"Today really tired him out," James said as he leaned back in the seat next to the former blonde's place on the floor, rubbing his fur. "Hmmm."

Penny sat next to Naruto, replaying the video image of his 'Alpha form'.

[His power increased so greatly, it's had a detrimental effect.] She said and James sighed. [I-I don't think he's dying! Not that I get that! But, Naruto's muscles are clearly ripped, he's probably… not telling us.]

-That boy- Glynda said as she sighed. -I'll be coming over soon anyway. Thankfully, it's the beginning of Summer so I can spend more time with him-

"Alright, see you when you get here," James said as he considered everything that had happened. "The more we learn, things become more private. Naruto's power is now unquestionable despite the drawbacks. Should we continue with his reveal? Should we wait?" He asked the others.

-... I don't know- Ozpin said. -I don't want to send Naruto back out there like this for a long time, James. Not unless he has Summer backing him, perhaps even you and Qrow. We lucked out with his ingenuity. Had he not been able to seal it for the moment, this would be a worse situation-

-The thing is, what can we do? Hold off?- Qrow asked. -The way I see it, we can never reveal Naruto when he's injured or down, he'll be easy pickings to whatever scheme some hare brain will think up. Yet, right now, Naruto's not only retaken one of these dark zones but we've got that guy's info. The kid's got a real good head on his shoulders to remember all that while injured and having fought-

"He does," James said. "... I think… We'll need one more show of his good faith but nothing like a Black Gate again. Maybe… Ozpin, your colleague, Oobleck, was it?"

-I see what you're considering- Ozpin said with a chuckle. -Well, I guess we could frame Naruto as a Grimm who needs studying but can also help. We'll even send Qrow along as a liaison-

"Sounds good to me. Leonardo, I know you have questions and doubts about all of this."

-Of course, I do… but seeing him in action does help sway my opinion a bit- The lion Faunus admitted. -Still, Qrow's correct, Naruto has to be in tip-top shape for any form of reveal. There are likely people who'd try and take him on stage if you did it. Never mind after such an event is done-

"Yes, we'll need high-security… wait, that might be a good way to ease things," James realized with a nervous grin. "If we slowly introduced him to our organizations, that might help. It'd not only reveal him slowly but we can control who knows by that point. Anyone who'd try something, we'd know it's within a select group."

-... That's sound- Glynda said with a nod. -I'm assuming you going to reveal him to the military?-

"No, not yet. But Pietro, on the other hand," James smiled. "My top scientists would be the perfect people to tell, no? They may have other opinions on the matter."

-Sound workable-

"Then we have a plan. When I can introduce him to enough of the upper staff, I'll have Naruto send a clone your ways to introduce him as well."

-This is going to be odd, isn't it?- Ozpin asked with a chuckle.

"It will."

~NRK~

Penny's energy had Pietro humming at the idea of what the general wanted to show him.

"You seem excited more than usual, Penny," he said to her and she hummed.

[I-I was sworn to secrecy until we could reveal Naruto to the world.] Penny admitted and Pietro raised a brow.

"So, this 'Naruto' is who you've been going off to see?"

[Yes, father! He's a nice boy! We're friends!] The robot cheered happily and Pietro chuckled.

"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine," he said as they came to a stop by a door. "Isn't this one of the emergency room doors?"

[Yes, he's inside, learning more about Vale.] Penny said as she knocked thrice. [It's us!]

The door hissed to the side, opened for the general's head to pop out.

"Ah, Pietro, good to see Penny got you here in a timely manner. Come inside, meet someone of special origins," James said with a chuckle as Pietro hummed.

"This Naruto must be pretty-" Pietro began saying as he came inside and looked to his left. "... James, there's a Grimm in the middle of the room."

'Yup, nice ta meetcha gramps. Though I wouldn't call myself 'pretty'. I prefer 'handsome',' the Grimm spoke up, confusing Pietro further.

"... James."

"Let me explain."

---

Pietro's eyes were alight with wonder as he heard everything there was to know about Naruto, his potential, not the magic, and his current capabilities.

"Astounding!" The man said as Glynda chuckled. "Still, you've died before and ended up as a Grimm? How did that feel?"

'Very weird,' Naruto said and the scientist chuckled. 'Trust me, one minute I'm dying with my best friend, the next I'm in a cold place,' he said vaguely.

"I can imagine… still, you could reproduce? You live, breathe, eat, and pass waste like a human?" Pietro wondered before Naruto blushed. "You even blush!"

'Why does everyone keep bringing that up?' Naruto mumbled. 'And, well, I don't go to the bathroom, actually.'

"Your body is that efficient?" Pietro gasped at the idea.

'Eh.'

"Eloquent, I can see why Penny likes being around you," the Grimm nervously chuckled.

"Now, we were actually in the middle of something Mr. Polendina," Glynda said as Pietro chuckled. "He can talk at break time, which is in ten minutes. Come on, Naruto, the last two continents are…?"

~NRK~

A year later, Naruto ran about with bright eyes full of joy.

He leaped atop a tree before hopping off to another, fruit of all sorts, all kinds, from all over the world, filling the canopy in a colorful image.

Landing softly on one particular branch, he touched the green fruit on it before casting Anima and feeling it fill with vitality.

'These guys will be fine,' he told himself before leaping to the floor and began running. 'FREEDOM!' Naruto shouted as he breached the forest and leaped.

The sheer drop down into a larger forest had him laughing as he fell.

'Magna Ventus!'

Wind coiled around him, transforming his bones, before he threw his fist back, shooting forward over the green trees.

Naruto delighted in this form of movement and freedom before humming as his senses piqued.

'... Oh, they're here!' He said with a grin, shooting off towards the edge of the island.

He shot past the large upheaval of rock that held all the fruit types on the island and moved past waves of colors, lines of fruit trees passing him by before he saw the bullhead coming down.

---

Summer giggled as they saw Naruto waiting on the sandy beach. Wearing a white shirt, black shorts, and flip-flops, she smirked as the child in her arms looked at her curiously.

"M-Mom! There's a Grimm!" A young girl at her side shouted in horror. "W-What are we going to do?!"

Wearing a one-piece orange swimsuit under a wide sunhat and a white dress, her fair skin and purple eyes shifted in disbelief.

Her bright yellow hair, set in a pair of low pigtails, bounced before settling as Taiyang pat her head of hair. The man was wearing an orange tank top, black shorts, and a pair of brown boots.

"It's fine, Yang, we promise," he said with a chuckle, a smaller girl in his arms. "See, Ruby's fine," Tai said as the small girl pouted.

"I-I can't see it!" She complained.

Having on a red shirt, black skirt, and white booties, Ruby had several of Summer's features and really only differentiated when it came to her hair.

The short black mop on her head had red on the tips and came down to her cheeks.

"Take it easy, kiddie, you'll all see it," Qrow said with a smirk as he looked at the small boy in Summer's arms. "Even Garnie over there," he teased in a pair of gray swim trunks, a white shirt, and bare feet.

"Topaz!" She corrected.

"It can go either way," he waved her off.

Finally, the last person of their little family was the boy in Summer's arms, as mentioned before, Topaz-Garnet Xiao-Rose, the name was still a mouthful.

He had his father's fair skin and blonde hair that was in a short, smooth, clump on his head.

Silver eyes peeked up at his mother as he sucked on his thumb, wearing a pair of blue shorts and a shirt.

The soon to-be-1-year-old made small incoherent noises as their bullhead came in for a landing.

Once the hall depressed down, Tai grinned as they stood up.

"Come on, let's go and see Naruto," Summer said with a grin.

"Who's 'Naruto'?" Yang asked as the side haul door opened before she shrieked as that Grimm trotted up to them. "No! I'm too young and pretty!"

His face went flat and he snorted.

"E-Excuse me?! What's that supposed to mean?!" Yang seemed to switch her flip, going from scared to angry as she stomped up to Naruto and grabbed his snout. "You're not so tough! I bet Rubes could beat you!"

'Why would your younger sister be the threat here?'

"Because she's got super eyes~" Yang replied with creepy-crawly gestures as Tai, Summer, and Qrow laughed. "... Wait, hold on! Something's fishy here!" She realized in shock as Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes! That's rude!"

"It's a lot of other things besides rude but that's for when you're older," Qrow said with no tact as Naruto went bright red before grunting at him.

'Seriously?! She's a kid!' The Grimm huffed as Yang tilted her head in confusion.

"Wazzat mean?"

'It means your uncle's a perv.'

"I knew that!" Yang said and Tai nearly broke down in laughter as Summer snickered. "Dad and mom tell me all the time, 'your uncle's bad with his words', 'he's one bad experience away from the coo-coo hut', 'don't let him see you in a bar', I can figure all that out on my own."

Naruto started laughing. 'Yes, that's perfect,' he said as Qrow looked fake offended. 'Stuff it, ya drama queen, she's got you read like a book.'

"I'm not even a booky guy!" Qrow defended.

'Yeah, more like the nutritions label on a bottle of booze,' Naruto shot back as Yang giggled. 'Oh, wait.'

Qrow held his heart in defeat when the sound of a caw from above got the group's attention.

'Oh, Kachi's here,' Naruto said with a chuckle as the group blinked. 'Oh, right, you guys don't know. A whole bunch of weird birds came here recently.'

Then the creature came down and Qrow blinked as he looked up five inches to see the thing's eyes.

'Guys, meet Kachi, I think he's some kind of stork.'

"Shoe-bill… stork," Tai said as he hid behind Summer with Ruby. "Yeah, no, that thing's terrifying!"

'What? Kachi's harmless, Glynda-onee-chan loves him,' Naruto said as the bird made a sound like an automatic rifle. 'See, he's like you guys!'

Summer smiled but it sat on a paler than pale face as Topaz blinked at the bird.

"Y-Yeah, l-look, it's h-harmless!" She said but the stutter gave her away. "Why is it so TALL?"

'Hmm, well, I guess I'm just used to big animals, sorry, guys,' Naruto said, rubbing his head before whistling, gaining the stork's attention.

He sent out several different whistles before it nodded and flew off.

"Y-You can talk to animals now?" Tai asked, relaxed, as Ruby came out of his arms to walk up to the Beowolf. "Oh, my heart."

"That thing looks like it'd take a Wicked West," Qrow said as he drank from a flask. "Ahh, liquid courage. I think I can make friends with it now."

"Aren't you lucky?" Summer teased. "So, are we the only ones?"

Right then, from above, Summer chuckled as they turned to see an Atlas-native bullhead come down.

When it landed, with little sound, its side haul opened for them to see a familiar set of men, a robot, and women who were usually at Beacon or bedridden.

James, Glynda, Fria, and Pietro hadn't changed much, with the first now having a little gray hair at the back of his head and the last having some gray hair himself.

James chuckled in a blue diver's suit, customized for his metallic parts while Glynda was wearing a green bikini with a pair of black tights over her legs and a small white hoodie over her shoulders, her hair was in its usual bun style but her bangs had gotten shorter and straighter. Fria, meanwhile, had been wearing her hair in a straight style on her head.

Penny, though… she'd changed.

With the advent of Naruto's ability to form excess bones and fur… Pietro and James had managed to make some kind of weird wiring kits with them!

As it turned out, being a medium for elements wasn't just for the magic side. It was capable of handling electricity well and could channel Dust. Never before had Pietro looked as fascinated with something besides Penny.

So, with his generous donations to the Penny Project, the girl's form had been given a major upgrade.

Now… Penny looked almost like a real girl.

Of course, she didn't have much skin besides what could be called her 'face' but otherwise, she looked like a girl in a skin-tight bodysuit.

She was about 5'3, in height, and had chin-length orange hair that curled at the sides in thick curls with short bangs by her forehead.

Her facial skin was peach-colored and covered in freckles as her innocent green eyes closed as she smiled at him.

Her body, though, was seemingly covered by a dark green bodysuit with thin, light green, pinstripes that went down it vertically.

Her feet were basically dark green boots and her hands were covered by gauntlet-like gloves.

On her, shapely-fitted to her 'age', body's chest was her emblem, a green circle outline with a black background.

"Friend Naruto!" She grinned and Naruto barely prepared himself before she tackled him.

'Hoooof!' He grunted as she took him to the ground. 'Penny! Penny! The need the breathe! The need. To. Breathe!' Naruto choked, reaching for the others. 'Help me.'

Bleh.

"Oh no!"

Qrow nearly died of laughter.

~NRK~

Naruto groaned as they sat in his wooden home… something he'd built himself with some direction and instruction from James and Pietro.

It was a big wooden thing built a bit further into the forest of fruit that Naruto had to beg Summer to let him build himself.

The woman never let him hear the end of it half a year back.

"Man, Naruto, you never know when you'll need a pole slide."

"Whoa, Lil Naru, what if Yang and Ruby stay over and they want a good internet space."

"Naru-Naru, what if you have kids one day?! Where will they rest?!"

He'd had some relief when Topaz the Garnet Xiao-Rose was born but he had to be careful around her lest she do some work when he wasn't looking.

"Oh, you added an extension like I said!" Summer preened as Naruto sweatdropped nervously, Glynda smiling shakily as Summer looked at the big square room he'd added into the easily 100-foot home, in horizontal length. "See! You love it, don't you?!"

"Summer, I'm getting concerned," Tai said as Qrow paled. "D-Don't need to be so energetic… please. I'm still remembering when we built our own home," the blonde man shivered.

His wife was lovely, really she was, but her need to work in the dirt could be a blessing and a big curse.

His fingers still trembled at the thought of his house's walls.

"Hmph, I'm just glad Naruto understands construction to a decent extent," Glynda said as the Grimm nodded, his Apprentice Scarf on the wall of his home. "That's a good place to put that."

'Hehe. I guess Old Man Oz couldn't come?' Naruto asked and she nodded.

"Ozpin has the Vytal Festival to hold in the coming year. He's got paperwork to handle," James said as Glynda smirked and Naruto chuckled.

'Can't he make, like, a cloning technique?'

"I mean if it could work," Pietro said with a chuckle.

Yes, the scientist was in on the whole magic deal after a year of showing good growth with their ideas. Not only had Pietro been a good head to have in the group, one that James could consult with without a need for encryption of a call, the man's skill made more ideas plausible.

That was why Penny, who was also in on this, was now partly composed of magic hardware, so to speak. With Naruto's pieces and parts, she could conduct magic and normal elements.

With how Penny was made… she could potentially use magic, maybe, if Naruto's body parts grew more powerful as he did.

For now, their inner circle had grown but James found himself perfectly fine with this, especially with the inclusion of so many skill sets.

Speaking of… "Glynda, Summer, you two don't know if Ozpin was able to speak with Oobleck yet, would you?" James asked, minding the children who were currently being amused with Naruto's body.

"He's been explaining to him about Naruto's value as a partner for history," Summer said. "Oobleck's more taken with the idea of a friendly Grimm, though. He wants to meet him."

"Well, at least he's open-minded."

"You're so weird," Ruby said to Naruto's literal face as she touched his mask, feeling it with interest. "It's so warm," she said before touching his fur.

The Grimm was currently holding Topaz up, pretending the baby boy could walk by letting his feet touch the floor and so Topaz could try to put one foot in front of the other.

Yang, at current, was messing with the fur on Naruto's head, sitting on his neck and handling his medium-length fur with skill.

Lastly, Penny was peering over the Grimm boy's shoulder, eyes shining with wonder at the small child.

Qrow snorted as he crouched next to them, poking the baby boy in the stomach.

Topaz giggled and the men melted.

'He's so tiny… I don't think I ever held a baby before,' Naruto said and Qrow wore a sad smile.

"I can't say the same, in a fortunate, unfortunate, way… you get what I mean, right?" Qrow asked.

"Really, Naruto?" Penny asked and he smiled.

'Yeah. And I do get it, Qrow, don't worry. Life's just weird like that.'

"Don't I know it. Now, which fruit shall I make into a cocktail today?" Qrow asked sagely as Naruto, Taiyang, and Pietro laughed.

"Alcohol isn't good around human children," the android said as Qrow chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna go snooping."

He jumped out a window and the sound of his cackles and running reached their ears.

'Glad he likes this place,' Naruto said as Topaz gurgled, the boy using his baby strength to walk forward before Ruby giggled and squatted to his level.

"Sup, baby bro-bro," she said as the baby eyes lit up.

Naruto gently released him into her and Ruby giggled as she held her sibling.

"There, finished!" Yang said with a grin as she slid off his neck, using his bones as mini-ladders. "I've got the magic fingers!" She said.

Penny giggled as she held his head before tilting it to the side, allowing her to see the mane of black braids Yang had done.

"It's a little hard to see but it's good work, Yang!" She grinned as Yang threw the android a thumbs-up.

"And I'm only eleven! Imagine how good I'll be when I grow up!"

'Huh… I really should check on Ren and Nora one of these days… maybe even those blonde kids,' Naruto said out loud. 'I haven't seen them in a while and I just want to check if that other group isn't in any trouble.'

"You can sense them through your sleep, right?" Penny said and Yang gaped. "Yes, Naruto's quite peculiar when it comes to his skill set. There are a vast amount of things he can do that can help people when he sleeps."

"Yup," Tai said as he kneeled down. "Do you guys remember when we saw the news about that town in Mistral a year back?" He asked and his kids nodded. "That was Naruto over here."

The boy looked proud as the two gawked.

"No way! Y-You use weapons?!" Ruby's eyes widened and she squeed in such a manner, Naruto was left… disturbed as Yang and Tai looked nervously. "What kind?!" She said, up in his face.

'W-Whoa, easy there-'

"TELL ME!"

"Alright, dial it back, dial it back," Yang said, lifting the girl off her feet, Ruby's legs kicking for friction. "Now, don't just jump in people's faces like that, it's rude."

"Mmmmmmm!" Ruby tried and her sister sighed as she put her down before pinching her nose. "Mnnnnoooo, my nmnoossseee."

Taiyang snorted as he took his son from his daughter. "Honestly, it's concerning how much she cares about her weapons," he whispered to Naruto who nodded.

'Is this that Specialty thing with Silver-Eyed people?' He asked and Tai shrugged.

"We're assuming but we don't know yet. Ruby's only nine, after all."

'Talk about an early-bloomer.'

"But she's so short!" Yang declared.

"I-I am not short! I'm just young! I drink milk all the time!" Ruby balked.

"Hmm, milk, containing lots of Vitamin D which does promote bone growth and sturdiness," Penny added as she crossed her arms in thought as Ruby preened. "Well… growing is also affected by genes and DNA."

The sixth turned to look at Summer.

Tai stood up, checked his height to hers, getting a squawk out of his wife, and then crouching back down.

"Yea, you're out of luck."

"Hey!" Mother and daughter shouted in unison.

Pietro chuckled.

~NRK~

Naruto sighed as he floated on the water, bones grown out on his back to act as a fin as Yang and Ruby paddled with plastic oars.

"Stroke!" Yang called out as Naruto pushed forward with his hands while she and Ruby did as she said. "Stroke!"

Summer snorted from beside them as Tai circled the group with sharp movements. "Of course, he's a boat, honeys!"

"He's so floaty!" Yang declared as Ironwood swam by with a raised brow.

"Clearly…! He's buoyant!" He said as he breaststroked his way past.

"You looking for a race?" Tai smirked.

"Why, I'd love to."

The two shot off in a direction as Glynda floated over on a water ring, moving some sunglasses off her eyes.

"Men."

"I know," Summer said with a giggle.

From the shoreline, Qrow grinned as he held onto a rope and put on a snowboard, Penny attached to the other end.

"I'm ready!" He declared, goggles on. "Hit it!"

"I'm not hitting anything," Penny said, confused, as Fria and Pietro started cackling. "... Oh! This is that word, euphemisms!"

"Wait, no it's not-" Qrow began saying only to be dragged out to sea. "YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!"

~NRK~

Jaune Arc was eleven years old.

He was bigger, stronger, and slightly cool, as his mom said, compared to four years ago.

So, here he was, in his backyard with his family, sitting at a big picnic table with his seven sisters.

Yeah, he guessed the stork came one more time since he was 7 but why didn't he get any brothers?!

"Hey, Jaune, you remember when we came back from that extended trip?" Cera said to him, his oldest sister. "The day that our house got broken into? I don't remember it right but didn't you say there was a talking Grimm?"

"There was," Sarcelle said, the glasses on her face shining. "Sister, you don't understand, this Grimm wasn't normal."

"It wasn't!" Came the twins shouted. "Seriously, it wasn't!"

"... I can't believe it," Cera said, head on her hand. "Unless that so-called Grimm comes out of the forest, I wouldn't believe-"

'Oh, you guys are alright, that's cool,' came a voice from behind her, and Cera Arc stopped as her siblings stared, eyes widening, at what was behind her. '... I guess this isn't exactly a nice sight, hahaha… Ah, please don't kill me.'

Nicholas balked at the Beowolf sitting by his family's picnic table, mouth dropped as he dropped his burgers.

'Uh, ya dropped those,' Naruto said but the man, and his wife who just entered the yard, just stood there, frozen. '... Sup?'

"You're back!" Jaune, Sarcelle, and the twins shouted in joy, getting up and crowding him. "Where'd you go?!"

'Whoa, hold on!' He held up his hands. 'Easy there, I was just checking to see if you guys were alright after everything.'

"Hold on!" Jun shouted, sliding in front of her children with a slipper raised. "Back away, foul beast!"

'... Is she alright?'

"... And… you're this supposed Grimm my kids… spoke about…?" Nicholas asked, inching closer with his spatula raised. "Know this, I can kill Beowolf with a spatula, trust me on this."

'O-Okay, chill, I don't hurt people!' Naruto defended. 'Like, I'm not staying, I was just checking-'

"Wait, what, no!" Jaune shouted. "Mom! Dad! He saved our lives!"

Nicholas grimaced at that rather scary truth. "Yes… well…" What was he supposed to say?

What if it waited to eat them when they grew up? That's literally not how Grimm work! Nicholas, morbidly, should be lacking children right now!

So, what the hell is going on?!

"... You're not going to eat my kids?" Jun asked.

'Why would I do that? Wait, do Grimm do that?!' Naruto uttered with widening eyes. 'No, wonder she said they don't eat pleasantly, freaking hell, man.'

"Uph, uph, uph, no bad language!" Jun declared he leaned back with widening eyes. "... You have eyes."

'... Yes.'

"They look normal."

'... Yes.'

"... What are you?"

'A living Grimm, kinda,' Naruto said, rubbing his head. 'Like, it won't be long before the world knows but I just kind of ended up like this four years ago. Got found by the government, made some friends, solved some stuff, and now getting ready to be revealed to kingdoms.'

"... What?" Cera Arc balked, gaped, choked, and spoke all in one sentence. "W-What!? The government did this?!"

'I literally never said that,' Naruto said, eyes flat. 'I was found by the government. In that time, we figured stuff out about me.'

"No dissection?" Sarcelle asked and the Grimm paled. "... Ah, of course," she said, cheeks red as she adjusted her glasses. "Apologies."

'Don't remind me of that scary stuff, it might still happen!'

"Wait, so the Big G might still dissect you?" Came Charlie Arc, Jaune's fourth-oldest sister. "Dude, you're screwed!"

"Charlie!"

"Sorry, mom!"

'No, like, it's not the government… but people who might try and kidnap me after it's revealed,' Naruto frowned. 'We're planning ways to deal with that but it's gonna be a hell of a life to deal with when that news hits.'

"... Be that as it may, you don't surely expect the people to just trust a Grimm, right?" Nicholas asked, standing by the table, spatula in hand. 'I'm literally talking to a Grimm. What is going on in my life right now?'

'No, we don't but that's why I'm doing everything in my power to gain that trust,' Naruto said before he blinked. 'Actually, in that same kind of thought, have you guys heard of something called a Black Area, Gate, whatever?'

"What's that?" Asked Blanc.

'It's an area that's been infected, I guess? I went to one last year and cleaned it up, there was a Blastwyrm there and we had to deal with that.'

"W-Wait! No! I am not willing to believe that!" Nicholas said, pointing at the blinking Grimm. "A Blastwyrm is not a joke!"

'It wasn't,' Naruto said with a grimace, rubbing his neck. 'That thing… if I hadn't had the right tools, I'd have been dead and then it'd have gone on and hurt somebody.'

"... You killed it?"

'Yeah, due to my skill set,' Naruto said, holding up a hand.

Vapor poured off his form before forming into a rotating ball of darkness.

'This is my Rasengan, I used the next level of it to-Don't touch it!' Naruto explained before pulling it away from the kids. 'This thing is dangerous. I'm condensing energy on a super small level and rotating it in every direction, touching it is not a good idea.'

"B-But it's so cool!" Jaune said as the twins, Charlie, and Sarcelle nodded. "C-Can I do that?!"

"Jaune, no, it's probably a Grimm thing," Nicholas said, confused.

'What? No, it's not,' Naruto said and Nicholas's eyebrow twitched. '... Oh, crap, I'm sorry, I didn't think that was a parent thing,' he said nervously. 'A-Anyway, since I already said it, the Rasengan is formed by using perfect shape manipulation.'

"... What that?"

He sweat. 'Ummm.'

"Alright, let's not, please?" Jun asked. "The idea of the kids trying something like that isn't… pleasant."

'Gotcha. Well, besides that, when I defeated it, I destroyed this infected Dust thing which caused the Black Gate I went to in Mistral to go back to normal.'

"Black Gate?" Nicholas frowned at the term. '... Wait…' His eyes widened. "I-I might know about something like that."

Naruto frowned. 'What happened?'

"I don't know, not really. I was going out on a trip last week to heal a client. He told me about a Black Area in lower Vacuo."

'... That's worrying,' Naruto said with a sigh. 'I'm gonna have to tell the others. We might be able to destroy this one more easily this time.'

"You're still saying you killed the Blastwyrm?" Nicholas balked as Naruto's eyebrow twitched this time.

'Dude, I keep telling you, yes! I did it! Come on, you're not that old are you?' Naruto snarked before his mouth puckered inward the raised spatula. 'What? You don't look a day over twenty! I could call you a teenager!' He said quickly, saving his bacon as the Arc kids snickered.

Jun hummed. "... I'd like to think I'm young…" She said with intent as Nicholas's eyebrow raised.

'... You're young.'

"Hmm~" She preened, her husband's flat look not deflating her in the slightest.

"Right… ignoring my wife has never sounded so perfect right now," he said. "So, you're going to be revealed."

'Supposed to be. One of the reasons I go places and solve things is to raise my rep. I even have a statue in a village in Mistral,' Naruto said and Nicholas choked while Jaune's eyes shined.

"Y-You do?!" He asked in awe.

'Yeah, it was a whole thing. You know how you saw 'me' four years ago?' Naruto said and the group nodded. 'Well, that wasn't me 'me'. Whenever I sleep, I see portals to places of negativity, your mom's worry opened that gate.'

"I-It did?!" Jun realized in horror as Nicholas winced. "I-I…"

'No, there's nothing wrong with being worried. It's a damn good thing that you were,' Naruto clarified, curse unrepentant as she grimaced with a nod. 'Haa, the only reason I was able to save your kids was because you were worried. Sometimes, good things come from bad things… relatively small chances but it happens.'

"Haa, you were saying?" She said with a shaky smile.

'Right, I can split my soul apart-Yes, I have a soul,' Naruto began saying before he nodded to their wide eyes. 'I told you I was a living Grimm… but I mean living Grimm. I have lungs, a heart, muscles, a brain. I'm literally alive.'

Nicholas held onto the table as he looked at the boy in disbelief.

"Wait, I thought Grimm were animals?" Sarcelle said, confused. "They're not?"

'They're not. Most Grimm are beasts of darkness that have no emotions or feelings, they're actual monsters and you need to remember there's no other one like me in the world,' Naruto impressed upon them with a frown. 'So, unless this Grimm has saved your life, I mean it, don't trust it.'

"... A-Alright," Jaune said with a frown.

'Haa, look, I know how this might seem hopeful, right? There might be good Grimm sounds amazing but it's simply not the case. My situation is so unlikely to happen, I'd sooner find gold in your backyard before seeing another Grimm like me,' Naruto said with a nod. 'Back on track, I can send my soul into pieces to these portals of darkness and negativity. I guess that's why they're able to talk? I can't talk besides with my head.'

"R-Right, you've got telepathy," Saphron Arc, second-oldest of eight, said with a weird look. "Can you, like, send images over that?"

'Yeah. Let me show this island I've got to myself,' Naruto said as he closed his eyes.

The image of a vast forest full of fruit on an island hit the family and they gasped at the sight before jumping at the sight of Kachi.

"The heck is that?!" Jun screamed.

'Oh, that's Kachi, he's a stork!'

"That's no stork that's a monster!" Nicholas said, pale.

'No, seriously, he's a living bird and he likes people. His race actually almost got hunted to extinction because of that so a whole flock of 'em live on my island. They came around the past year and they've been growing in number, it's kind of cool to watch.'

"R-Right!" Cera said, sweating badly. "Don't bring that outside your island please, I'd rather you come here." And that was saying something.

"W-Wait, you have an island all to yourself?!" Sarcelle noted with awe as Naruto nodded.

'Well, I can't just be in a small room. I like to stretch my legs and the others have been kind to me. So, when I'm there, they visit often and I even built a bunch of homes to handle them.'

The imagery of the homes came through and Jun's eyes widened as she gasped in awe.

"You made that?!"

'Yup, it took some time and work but I can make clones, getting the number of workers was easy and we all think the same,' Naruto said with a grin. 'I even built a sewage system even if I don't use it.'

"Wait, I thought you said you had organs?" Nicholas asked and Naruto nodded before blushing.

'While I have all the… ahem, necessary equipment, I don't go to the bathroom,' he explained and Nicholas's eyes squinted at the idea. 'But we think I can… ya know and that's another reason we have to be careful. We don't know what people would do to me if they knew that,' Naruto frowned.

"... Oh," Jun realized with some horror. "Oh no."

"... I don't want to think about it," Nicholas said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 'But they would, wouldn't they?' The idea came unbidden to his mind. "A quick question, do Grimm attack you on purpose?"

'No.'

"Haaa, yeah, unfortunately, I see exactly what you mean," he said with a grimace. 'Scratch that, they'd fight over him,' Nicholas realized.

Such a valuable skill wouldn't be avoided and was breedable? You bet some sick bastard would try something.

"... Ugh," Cera grimaced before grunting. "No offense but ew."

'None taken.'

"So, you'll be seeing the feds and then the masses? Sounds rough," Charlie said and Naruto shrugged. "So, what'll ya do when you're revealed?"

'... I don't know,' Naruto said with a blink. 'I guess then we'll be able to make bigger moves to try to break down these dark zones.'

"Hopefully," Nicholas said. "I can only imagine what they'll put you through when these… shades, was it? When that becomes public knowledge but then you have to also be careful," the Grimm blinked.

'What do you mean?'

Nicholas, Cera, and Jun grimaced. 'He didn't consider that someone might… FORCE him to appear…' What an innocent being.

It was good that this was brought up before it was too late.

"What happens if someone is expecting you to show up?" Nicholas asked and the Grimm frowned.

'I don't understand, I'd go, of course.'

"Exactly," Cera said as her siblings looked at her. "You'll just show up… but what if someone's waiting for you, too?" His eyes widened. "When things get out, your whole situation is gonna go to heck in a handbasket. People'll know almost everything about you, right?"

'W-Well, I mean, I'm already pretty fast and strong, I can handle myself,' Naruto defended and she shrugged.

"Just saying, humans can, horribly enough, be more dangerous than Grimm sometimes."

"Wait, why?" Sarcelle asked with confusion, a frown on her face as her sibling grinned.

"Because they're not Grimm."

"... I don't understand."

"That's what I want to hear," Cera said with a chuckle. "Now, I'm hungry and dad already threw away some burgers."

Nicholas cursed under his breath before running into the house. "I'll be back!"

'Alright, take it-' Naruto tried to leave only to be boxed in by kids. 'Why is this the second time this has happened this week. Will this happen even when it's Ren and Nora?' He whined as Jaune raised his hand. 'Sup?'

"Who are Ren and Nora?"

'They're kids from when I saved their village three years back,' Naruto answered and most of the Arc children quickly surrounded him. 'What is this some kind of ritual?!' He uttered in horror as he looked around. 'Why do they all look so similar?!'

Jun chuckled nervously. "W-Well, you know how things go with people with strong genes, yeah?"

'... Is it weird that I know exactly what you're talking about?'

"If you do then no!" Jun said with a grin.

'Right.'

---

Naruto groaned on his back, Jaune, Charlie, the twins, and Sarcelle laying on his chest as he let out a sigh of relief.

'Was that food? That was crazy good!' Naruto uttered with a thumbs-up.

"Hmph, with eight kids you find ways," Nicholas said as he laid his head down on the table, Jun patting his shoulder. "I think I'm more terrified to think my daughters eat more than you."

"D-Dad?!" Cera blushed bright red as Naruto snickered from his flat-on-his-back position. "No! No giggling!"

'Hey now, hold on, I don't giggle,' he said flatly. 'I chuckle like a man.'

"Is that what it sounds like to you?"

'... Yes.'

"Gods."

Jun snickered and Nicholas rolled his eyes.

Talk about weirdly Grimm circumstances.

~NRK~

They sat in a meditative stance, the three of the men breathing in and out as they held their solid posture.

"And… Release," Li Ren said as he, Naruto, and Ren opened their eyes. "Meditation is always important."

'Yup, yup.'

"It's weirdly comforting," Ren said as the two other men chuckled. "Naruto, when is your reveal?"

'Next week,' Naruto said as a shiver went up his spine and Li chuckled. 'And I'm nervous.'

"It's to be expected. Four years of living a life you could call private… and soon, it won't be," Li said as the Grimm nodded, breathing in before releasing a long hissing breath that caused his shoulders to slump completely, seeming to deflate. "Are Grimm balloons?"

"Whoa…" Ren said and Naruto snorted before breathing in and returning to normal shape. "D-Do it again!"

The two older males chuckled before Nora came into the room, a grin on her face.

"We're done cooking!" She declared as the three nodded, getting up. "Come on! We can go and fly after!" Nora said, pulling on Naruto's claw.

'Coming, coming. Still… things might become kind of problematic for you guys, are you sure you all are alright with this?' Naruto asked.

"Yes. Saving our lives is kind of a lot," Li said with a smirk as Naruto snorted before nodding.

'Alright, thanks for always not minding.'

"Thanks for being here!" Ren said with a grin as Nora did as well.

~NRK~

They burst through the air, three Narutos moved about with bursts of wind from his gauntlets above the small village of Kuroyuri.

"I-Isn't this too fast?!" An screamed for dear life, tucked into a bone crevice Naruto made on his back for the group to fit into.

Li was in one himself while Ren and Nora were together in one.

'Want me to slow down?' The Naruto she was riding asked and her watery eyes got a sweatdrop out of him. 'Uh, okay, slowing down,' he said as his bursts came out more slowly, looking more like 'hops' in the air compared to his rapid movement.

"Thank youuuuuu!" An cried and he chuckled nervously.

Li snorted from atop another Naruto, the two of them laughing as they passed by.

Ren and Nora screamed in joy as they flew above the populace, their voices, giggles, and laughter reaching the other children who called out to them.

'Let's hit a landing!' Naruto said with a chuckle as they spun into a burst of wind shooting high into the sky before coming down in a sharp fall. 'Hold on tight!'

"YES!" Nora screamed with bright eyes as Ren tucked in next to her, eyes full of wonder.

Five meters away from the ground, a burst from his gauntlets caused them to slow down into a slow rotation before they landed.

Ren and Nora peeked out of the 'bone backpack' with their hair tossed out in crazy styles.

"LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" The girl cheered as more kids rushed over and hounded the Grimm. "Hey, get your own!" Nora ordered, standing atop Naruto's shoulder like royalty. "Your queen commands you!"

"Down with the queen!"

"I want to fly!"

"Bring down our oppressors!"

Naruto was quickly mobbed by children. The Grimm had receded every spiky bit of bone he had on him as he was devoured by the waves.

'Childdreeeennnnnn!'

---

He laid down flat on his front, Ren covering his face with a wet sheet that Naruto threw a thumbs-up for.

'Who knew the day would come where children are my defeat? I'm proud of the life I lived,' he monologued to an amused Ren.

"Hmm," Ren smiled as he sat down next to him. "Naruto, what are you going to do when you're out in the open?"

'Hm?' The Grimm's head lifted but the small cloth stayed on, getting a small snicker out of Ren. 'Well, nothing's really gonna change. I'll train like always, visit like always, probably help out people a bit more, and so on. It's just gonna be WAY more obvious from now on.'

"Hmph," the boy hummed. "... Do you have a dream, Naruto?" Ren asked and the Grimm perked up.

'... A dream, huh?' Naruto considered it. 'Being honest, all I've been focusing on for the past 4 years is just… making those around me proud. I don't want them to regret the kindness they gave to me. Besides that? I guess I want to explore the world,' he said, Ren smiling. 'I'm able to go places where others can't. I want to see what else is out there and maybe we'll even learn some old stuff if I find it.'

"Hm, hm."

'What about you? Any dreams?'

"... I want to make my dad proud," Ren said. "He's always so relaxed with me but we almost died," he gripped his knees tightly. "If we had people who had Aura, we might have been able to do something but we didn't. And your shade died to help us. I don't want to watch something like that almost happen again. I can't…"

'That's fine, you know. It's probably the best motivator to learn how to fight,' Naruto said as he sat up. 'To protect your precious people, Ren, that's some of the most important things to do. Don't forget that.'

"Precious people?"

'It's my way of speaking of the people I care about.'

"... Yeah, I like it!" Ren grinned as Naruto chuckled. "Still… Dad said he's going to awaken our Aura soon," the Grimm nodded. "I don't even know where to start when it comes to fighting, either."

'Hmm… Do you have a weapon you want to use?' Naruto asked curiously.

"Well… My dad has this knife," Ren said with a chuckle. "He told me it was something his dad gave him, from back in the old days. It's so cool, Naruto!" He said with a grin and Naruto smiled.

He then sat up and Ren blinked as he thickened the bone on his right arm.

'A knife's a quick weapon,' he said as he gripped a long bone and pulled. 'It's light, sharp, and has much to do with quick moves and sleight of hand,' Naruto continued as he shaped the handle in his palm. 'But knowing how to protect those in your own way is a good thing as well,' he said as it pulled out its sharpened point.

Naruto flipped it in his hand, holding the bladed side, before holding it out to Ren whose eyes widened.

"M-Me?!" He said in shock as Naruto nodded, the boy swallowing as he grasped the handle before taking the weapon and observing it.

It was a foot-long blade on a half a foot long handle, both white.

Ren guessed Naruto had some sort of control as he saw that the blue color remained mostly on the hilt of it with a thick line along the edge of the single-sided blade. The color making a powerful Hamon line that Ren marveled at.

'You know what Nora likes?'

Ten minutes later, Nora ran over to Ren as she saw Naruto leave.

"Awww, I wanted a hug!" She whined and Ren chuckled before tapping her nose. "?"

He then moved to the side and showed her something that her eyes widened at.

It was about five feet long with a thick head in the shape of a thick cylinder that was white with blue symbols all over its sides.

The shaft was white with grip-like grooves all down it.

"BEST PRESENT EVER!"

~NRK~

A week seemed to come in an instant, leaving Naruto feeling anxious in a way that he didn't like.

They were doing this video style, thankfully, more for his benefit than the audience. Which was…yup, numbering in the HUNDRED THOUSANDS NOW?!

'Oh, I'm not built for this,' Naruto said in horror as he looked at all the cameras around him, Glynda sitting right outside of the view of them, nodding to him. 'R-Right.'

"Steady breaths," she said as she moved something on her Scroll without a thought. 'This will be how they see how human you are,' Glynda said to herself as she turned on the 'LIVE' button without Naruto knowing. "Remember, the cameras aren't on yet. Take deep breaths, in and out. Here's an idea, a little exercise. Try talking about yourself to me, make something simple."

'Okay, I got it… I got it… I think,' Naruto said before breathing in. 'Alright, so, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, a living, breathing, talking Grimm. Oh, wait, should I make sure they knew it's real? How do I even do that?' He asked her and Glynda smiled.

"We'll send files out about you, video evidence, logs, medical observations from Atlas doctors, and so on. Continue."

'Alright, so, uh, I'm what's called a Beowolf but that's not really the limit to what I can do,' he said, growing the bones on his arms and thicker and thinner. 'See, uh, I'm kind of different from other Grimm and stuff due to how I handle things. Like, this vapor stuff,' Naruto said as he pointed to his body, releasing some energy. 'That's my energy. I mess with it and stuff.'

~NRK~

"She lied to him, didn't she?" Qrow asked with a snort as they watched the live feed. "Gods if it wasn't necessary. I know I'd look dumb trying to say this to cameras I thought were rolling."

"He's doing good!" Ruby said as she held her little brother. "Isn't that right, Garnet?~"

"Ba!" The boy giggled as he saw Naruto onscreen.

"Still, the numbers have, good lords, we've hit the millions!" Tai had begun saying before he choked as what was a respectable 230,000 jumped thrice over! "Oh, Brothers, he's gonna freak when he figures out he's being filmed."

"Hmmm… I-I'm worried what'll happen when he does," Summer said nervously.

~NRK~

"EGADS! There he is!" One Bartholomew Oobleck said in shock, awe, and fascination as his summer class choked at the sight of Naruto onscreen. "A future possibility is before us, my students!"

"There's a freaking GRIMM on stage and we're giving it airtime?!" One of them yelled.

"It can talk?!"

"Am I high right now?!"

Oobleck smiled, understanding their reactions as he focused on the screen. "Glynda was smart in not telling him that he's live. Brothers knows what'd happen if he froze up."

"Grimm do that?!"

"Haha! No, but this one does!"

~NRK~

He spat out his coffee and gaped along with his wife at the sight of a walking-talking GRIMM on a live feed, talking about his life?!

"G-G-Ghira?!" His wife shouted in complete disbelief, grabbing his coat. "I-I feel faint."

Ghira wasn't much better.

~NRK~

"The hell is this?!" She shouted in disbelief at the TV as the Grimm bumbled on about Mistral or some shit. "What the crap?!"

"U-Um, t-this isn't… normal, is it?" A dog Faunus boy at her side said in disbelief as his, along with the students of Atlas Academy's, mouth dropped as it did hand gestures.

It shrugged, it crossed its arms, it sneezed, it chattered, went on diatribes, and more human-like things that were completely destroying their worldview.

"...?!"

"Guys! W-Winter Schnee just fainted!"

No one could find it in them to care at that moment.

~NRK~

Raven blinked.

She stared, she balked, she gaped, her mouth dropped, and her eye began to twitch in such a way, Vernal looked concerned.

"THIS HAS TO BE HIS FAULT!"

She wouldn't accept the alternative!

~NRK~

He choked at what he was seeing even as he hissed, legs recently wrapped.

"W-What hell?" He uttered before jumping as the door to the house slammed shut. "G-Good, the old man's gone," he relaxed but his attention was taken too much.

What the hell was the outside world like if this was going on in Atlas?!

~NRK~

She choked along with many in the Mantle streets, the screen's showing of this 'Naruto' Grimm causing her recently nonexistent eyes to twitch painfully.

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten to tell you, Maria," Pietro said from beside her with a chuckle and the woman's 'gaze' went his way.

"Y-You knew about this!?"

"About a year ago," he said. "He's a fascinating boy. Why you'd be surprised about everything I've learned about him. He's probably more 'odd' than you are."

Maria Calavera wouldn't believe that.

~NRK~

He stared in horror as that bumbling Grimm went on and on!

"What is this nonsense?!" He nearly cursed but that was unfitting of a man of his station. "James is giving a Grimm airtime?!" His eyes couldn't widen any further than when the thing grew and shrunk its bones before explaining something… ridiculous to them.

-So, uh, since I'm, like, real, I've got fur and bones, on the outside, and stuff. I've actually donated a ton of this stuff to Atlas because, apparently, it's a good medium for elements. It's pretty cool-

His hands creaked as they gripped his recliner's armrests.

"WHAT?!" He shouted and the door to his study opened to show his trembling daughter. "W-Weiss?!"

"F-Father, t-there's a Grimm in Atlas," she said, horrified, and he grimaced, knowing exactly how she felt.

Couldn't show it. "Hmm, James has clearly been hiding something from us," he said, composure barely retained. "But you heard it, didn't you? His materials conduct Dust."

"I-I thought it was just elements," Weiss whispered.

"Yes but that means he can handle Dust…" Jacques Schnee's eyes narrowed as he sat up. "And he better not plan something I don't like."

~NRK~

-And, well, here I am. In Atlas… Man, that was good. I'm prepared for-

-And we're done- Came a female's voice from off to the side.

The way the Grimm's head turned in confusion got a laugh out of the Arc family.

"He had no idea," Nicholas stared in disbelief as his kids laughed. "S-She really just let him talk for thirty minutes without stopping! Don't do that to him!"

"H-Honey! It was probably the only way," Jun said with a barely restrained smile but her mouth set into a grin that told him just how much she was enjoying Naruto's blunder.

-What do you mean 'we're done'? You mean the practice?-

-No, I mean we're finished with the livestream-

-... What?!- Naruto froze on stage and paled like black washing off his body. -I-I was what?!-

"Yep! Totally clueless," Cera said with a smirk as the Grimm rolled off-screen. "Oh, Gods!"

They laughed some more at Naruto's clear panic.

He was just that good at making silly acts.

~NRK~

Nora giggled as Ren laughed, the two of them watching on Scrolls that Naruto had gotten for them as birthday presents.

"He's so silly!" She said as Ren chuckled.

"He also has stage fright, I think," he said as they sat on her bed. "Still, he showed them a lot… these are the Comments things he told us-"

What the hell is this?! It's clearly a robot!

I want proof! Cut off his arm!

What the heck is Atlas doing?!

He frowned at the words, scrolling through them with Nora, the girl's eyes narrowing.

"Why are they being so mean?!"

"Well… it's still hard to believe, I guess," he answered but his eyes narrowed as well.

Then things changed at a set of comments.

It's kind of weird, though. Didn't know Grimm were good conductors

You guys are idiots, why the hell would Atlas of all places prank someone? Maybe this is some sort of Grimm lab thing

What if it's actually some kind of super-rare Grimm?! Dude, we could meet a Grimm that doesn't want to eat my face off!

Think they allow him to do visits? I kind of want to feel Grimm fur

The two blinked at the weird lines before chuckling at them.

Well, that was kind of positive.

~NRK~

Naruto's mouth simply stayed dropped as Glynda chuckled, managing his live feed, sending the files to that cloud repository for the world to look at.

Of course, with some of Naruto's experiences over the past week, they altered them enough to keep what he'd been suggested a secret.

Still, the calls she'd gotten in the past ten minutes had been rather large in number.

"Hmph, that's a lot of people," she said as she called Ozpin. "Have you gotten your calls?"

-Yes, to no end. They keep calling back when I finish one!-

She smirked, James and Penny walking into the room with chuckles and smiles galore.

"So, you really did it," James said with a snort at Naruto's catatonic state. "How long has he been like this?"

"Give or take ten minutes."

"Ah."

Penny smiled as she massaged Naruto's cheeks, the Grimm's face going back to normal like it was silly putty.

'Why?' He got out and Glynda nodded.

"You'd never speak normally if you knew you were on camera, so we circumvented everything. You just needed to be you, that's all. And your adoring fans are asking for a meet-and-greet," the woman said with a shake of the head. "People really are amazing when it comes to adapting to surprises."

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Penny asked him and the Grimm's face went flat. "Hmm!" She grinned, hugging his head.

'I'm fine, Penny, just betrayed and embarrassed. That last one especially,' he said as James chuckled.

"Well, with this, it's out of the way. All your worrying is done with," he said and Naruto pouted.

'I know… It's just a bit demeaning.'

"You've been doing those puzzle sites I suggested!" Penny gasped in joy as he blushed.

'Y-Yeah, I ha-Too TIGHT?!' Naruto muttered before blushing like a tomato. 'I'm glad, I really am! Still need breath!'

"Hmph, now, I wonder when-" James began only for his Scroll to ring and he nodded. "There it is," he answered it, holding it up to his ear.

-James?! What is all of this?!-

"Councilwoman Camilla, how are you?"

-James! What. Is. Going. On?! Why is there a talking Grimm in Atlas, on live TV?!-

"It's been something we've been meaning to reveal for years now, we just never found the time to show how much good Naruto could do… but now, we have," he grinned. "Have you checked the file repositories that had been linked online?"

-W-Why?-

"You'll see evidence of why things are going the way they are. That, I promise."

There was rapid button pressing on her side of the call and Glynda hummed before picking up her Scroll.

"Yes?"

-Glynda Goodwitch! What is all of this?!-

"Councilman Roselin, how are you?" Glynda asked.

-That's not… mmm, what is this? Why is there a talking Grimm in Atlas?-

'They're like clones,' both Glynda and James thought in unison.

"We've been meaning to handle his reveal sooner but we couldn't find the right time until recently," she said. "There are several files you need to see before you make any rash decisions."

-Excuse me?!-

"Sir."

-...- There was the kiss of teeth on the other end of the line before rapid typing.

When five minutes passed, both Council members shouted in unison.

-He's cleared a Black ZONE?!-

'So they knew about them?' The four thought in unison.

"When did they know?" Penny whispered to Naruto who frowned.

'I don't know…'

"Ma'am, I'm confused, we've not been calling that Black Zones," James said and Camilla grimaced over the line before sighing.

-Because there was nothing that could be done about them, from the old files- she admitted and James blinked.

"Old files?"

"Sir, what do you mean? Black Zones? Why is that different from what we wrote?" Glynda asked heatedly, eyes narrowed.

-... The Black Zones aren't new information, Goodwitch, they're older than I am-

"What?"

-Not now, I'll speak with Ozpin- The man said, ending the call.

"What is going on?" She said in confusion as James's own call ended. "The same words, I suppose?"

"Yes but with me involved," he said with a frown as Naruto did as well, Penny combing her fingers through his fur. "This… the Black Gate you purified, Naruto… that was from ten years ago… and the way they make it sound…"

"Like these are older,' Naruto and Penny said in unison with twin frowns. "That's not good.'

It wasn't.

What the hell were the councils hiding?

~NRK~

That's a WRAP!

So, a lot of stuff we got to see here.

Naruto's island, for one, him finding the Black Zones as is suspiciously called by the council, fighting a decently old Blastwyrm, big-time Grimm, his body is becoming more important in the story, he can transform via Sage Mode into what I thought were called Wolves but apparently, they were just Beowolf Alphas in V1 to 3.

… Being honest, those ones were WAY cooler and so I used that design to show another difference between Naruto and normal Grimm.

Next up, we visited our favorite families, we met Topaz-Garnet, the name's a pending joke but they call him either. Jaune's got his seventh sister and the Arcs finally meet Naruto face-to-face. And their reactions are to be expected.

To be fair to Nicholas, a spatula's still a better weapon than a good few of the ones we saw in the show.

And Naruto came out to Kuroyuri before anyone else. He's got a statue and everything, a known quantity who probably has rumors and myths about him already in Mistral. Wonder who that'll attract.

Also, Pietro is not in the Ozzy Team's group, giving them technical advantages, theoretically, compared to in the show. They're bigger now.

Oh and Jacques is a special sort of pissed, can't wait to see what comes of that.

Glad to get this out in record time. Take it easy, you guys.

Ciao.

Words: 16.2k+

~NRK Out~