These two are brief looks at projects I have in place as part of Operation March Madness.
Basically Operation March Madness will have me compiling 4 different short stories, plus completing the newest chapters to each of my key stories. That means Roaring Sun is coming back, with The Cook Is A Ninja?!, and maybe...just maybe Broken Moon.

So to recap

Season 2: Roaring Sun.
Act 2: Broken Moon.
New Chapter(s): The Cook is ninja?!

That's right, it's truly madness!

Go support RWV3N, and Zagger. Both write amazing stories, and also help me keep track of my madness!

{Fox Upon The Hilltop}
(Future Three Shot Project.)
March 17th 2023

[Naruby]

A deer was running through the forest as fast it's hoofs would carry it! It ducked under branches of low hanging deadwood, scattering past the heartier brush that maintained a semblance of green during winter. October saw an early winter hit harder than normal, game was not as plentiful as it should've been. Yet, in these woods, this mighty buck was running fast from a predator.

An apex, even amongst the living things in the world. For the skies might eagles, and the oceans sperm whales. On the lands, many got it wrong. It wasn't the bear, it wasn't the wolf, not the tiger, nor the lions. It was the very small yellow fox keeping pace. Never losing an inch, never gaining. It kept running intent to follow the noble beast through thicket and wood alike.

Leaping over a dead log, a popping of smoke made a blonde boy appear in the place of the fox. His ears flowing back with his hair as he draws his bowstring back. Aiming down the energy arrow, he loosed it, only to watch the large Valian Deer veer left at the last second. Cursing at his luck, just before he hit the ground, he returns to the fox form into another cloud of smoke.

Running faster to regain the loss distance, he quickly maneuvers throughout the forest floor below. Leaping over thorny branches, scraps of torn bark, and dashing under old deadwood oaks. Leaping up, he forward his arch with his leap. Though his height wasn't impressive, the distance in trade was. For the ten feet verticality, he gained fifty feet in his jump horizontally.

Kicking off the tree he almost slammed into, the fox ended up landing right in front of the deer. Transforming in a puff of smoke, Naruto withdraws the emergency knife as the deer lowered its antlers. At the last second before impact, he sidestepped whilst twisting his body to add momentum. His knife slamming right into the carotid artery of the deer.

The deer's momentum ensured that it would tear open itself. Blood sprayed upon the forest floor, and with Naruto having hunted like this before, had the wherewithal to stand clear of the literal splash zone. The crimson liquid stains the snow scarlet, and slowly the deer stumbled. Gagging, coughing, it fell to its knees, and tumbled over.

He held the bloody knife aloft before slinging it to the side. Staining blood flew off and spattered against the snow. It created a macabre image of red speckles. The young hunter didn't need to deliver a killing blow, his knife had done that when it tore open the very side of the noble beast's neck. Slowly walking over, sapphire eyes met the dead, beady, black eyes of the buck. Crouching down next to it, placing a hand on the beast's side, the blonde placed his forehead on it.

"Far winds, fair travels, may your journey to the after be met with laughter and no trials." He prayed over the kill before slinking the knife into the beast's collarbone. "I release you from this world, onto the next, as the guardian of the forests and woods."

Slowly, but surely, a blue specter appeared in the vision of the sapphire eyes. It took the form of the buck, staring at him momentarily before nodding its head. It acknowledged that though he led a good chase, the victor would claim his carcass, but it would not go to waste. For his flesh would give rise to fungi, fungi to fertile soil, and then grass for reach young fawns would feast upon.

The cycle forever continuing, from moment a fawn bleats its first cry from the womb of the doe, until it's felled by a force greater than its own…

Field dressing the carcass was easy, he had done it dozens of times. The knife slipped easily, gliding over the bones. Making sure to miss the internal organs, Naruto splits it open. It was then he lifted it up, allowing the looser organs to spill forth onto the ground. These would be the first thing ate by the fungi, the root cause of decay in the body.

The spoiled meat that his grandfather taught him to avoid unless desperate. Save for the heart, and liver, he left all the remaining organs on the ground. It a brutal, but daily example, nature cared not for which the predator ate. Consuming the liver, raw, Naruto took in healthy bites while dragging the deer's body over his shoulders. Making sure to keep open side faced up, lest he be drenched in blood.

This buck weighed around one hundred pounds, but with the organs gone, it may now only weigh around sixty pounds. He was getting better at harvesting the meat, everything on the deer was now usable save for the brain. Naruto didn't care much for gray meat, but supple pink and red of the liver filling his gullet right now savored his cravings.

Kitsune, what his grandfather called him, often needed a daily fresh meal to maintain their strength. Fresh, meaning freshly killed. He ripped apart the liver, his eyes turning red with canines growing. His true kitsune form, which wasn't the fox form he assumed to run about in disguise, was that when he had his tail out. His ears would be longer, and replace his human ones which were all apart of the illusion.

Ripping the rest of the liver apart, Naruto swallowed it down before munching down on the heart. The tough muscle proving much more resistant. However, it gave way to his strong jaws and teeth, and his belly would be filled long before he cooked his human grandfather some dinner with the fresh meat of the deer.

He looked beyond the trees in front of him, taking in a deep breath.

{Not So Different.}
(Long One Shot.)

March 17th 2023

Narwin (Naruto x Winter.)

To say that fate had a funny way of putting things into motion would be an understatement. War had found Remnant again, but not in the way people may have thought. One hundred years ago, during The Great War, a group of people ended up coming through a rift to save themselves from monsters. Those same people had been attacked by Atlassian Forces.

The wounds never really healed, and why would they? Now, in the modern era, The Shinobi Alliance and Atlas found themselves in a conflict. A war, luckily, just limited to them. Atlassian forces quickly found themselves without allies, as they were being the aggressors. James Ironwood having been long fearing that the Atlassian Council would force his hand.

Their current leader, Minato Namikaze, tried to be diplomatic. Hell, Ozpin himself seconded him, but it didn't matter. James Ironwood had his marching orders. He had dispatched Winter Schnee, his top lieutenant. The plan was simple, invade the Triplet Islands to the south of Mistral via overwhelming air superiority.

It all had gone according to plan! They had breached past Mistralian airspace with no resistance. The Shinobi Alliance may have wielded strange magic they called Ninjutsu, but it didn't matter. The plan itself was going off without hitch, and as they rounded the mountain ranges over one of the more isolated islets. Robotic soldiers were getting prepped for air drops, intent to snuff out resistance via taser rounds.

The Shinobi Alliance's settlements of New Konoha, Akashi, and Nami would be swiftly taken. Minato Namikaze would be forced to sue for peace, and that would be the end of it. What they didn't count on was the giant Nine-Tailed Fox posting itself up on a mountain! It's maw opened, made of fiery gold, the blast it unleashed missed the fleet…and exploded overhead with enough force to knock them downwards!

Winter Schnee felt her ship rip in half. With her falling out of it as they crash downward toward the islet. No doubt most of the robotic soldiers inside would be destroyed. They weren't the issue, her human and faunus crew were desperately scrambling for the life pods! Pods that were out of her reach! She fell down towards the ground, barely having enough time to correct herself and bring up her aura!

Crashing into the trees below, the small island bared the first part of her ship crashing into it. The other half crashing into the waters closer to the main continental shoreline! She could've sworn that she saw several lights flickering about as the other ships crashed down well!

Upon hitting rock, she felt her left arm snap along the forearm. It elicited a yelp from her as the limb hanged uselessly! She got up, struggling to her feet before quickly reaching down with her right hand to grip the broken limb. Whimpering slightly, Winter Schnee made her way across the frozen forest as flames danced across the sky from the massive explosion from earlier.

Her ice blue eyes stared ahead as her white hair was still tied into it's military bun. Shifting her weight at each step, she thought of Weiss. Her little sister would be currently attending Beacon Academy, getting ready for Vytal later on this year. The Shinobi forces had uncovered a plot by Salem's forces secretly not too long ago, it was a miracle that Ozpin kept them from exposing Salem openly.

She thought of what her sister might think of a news headline. 'Winter Schnee, former heiress to The Schnee Dust Company, has been killed in action.' Would her sister foolishly go for revenge, it wouldn't be like her, but grief makes people do insane things. Winter currently saw no sign of her men, nor any Atlassian Knights. She growled whilst shifting her broken left arm, getting her saber out when she heard the growls.

Beowolves.

Grimm wolflike demons, they were the scavengers of the world. They hunted weakened prey, never taking anyone in a fair fight. She used her semblance to summon forth her own group of beowolves, just in case they cam for her! Winter Schnee would not be taken down without some kind of fight. Indeed, the fight came to her!

A dozen beowolves exploded out of the forest, heading right for her! She growled, readying herself, with her busted left arm she might be able to pull off a win. Her aura on the fritz whilst trying to heal her meant she was vulnerable. As they got closer, she heard a distinct ringing in her ears. It came to become louder and louder, until it was screech!

"Rasenshuriken!"

The blue ball with blades flew overhead, impacting the group of Grimm, exploding into a sphere of death. She saw them getting shredded to pieces as a Shinobi landed in front of her. Her eyes widened at his appearance. He wore a red haori coat with black flames painted on the bottom. His golden blonde hair flowed into the wind as a headband strap flew in the wind behind him.

His clothing consisted dark gray cargo pants, with pouches around the beltline. Some type of boot that was dark blue in color. She saw how the jacket fluttered from the wind off the sphere. It created the appearance of a hero standing admis the storm in front. He turned around, revealing cerulean blue eyes.

Those eyes looked very familiar to her, and she knew where they were from!

Was this…Minato Namikaze himself?!