It's been a LONG ass time since I've returned to this story, a large amount of time which I can only say 'real life' had things going in another direction.
Whether I like to admit to it or not, fanfiction IS still just a hobby. I do want to keep up with these stories of mine but there are still more important things that take precedence no matter who cares.
Not me nor my reviewers. The only thing I can say is that I DO appreciate the continued reads and Views.
So, with that out of the way, I'm gonna impart something curious: Battle Inspiration.
It's something that I'm always thinking about, how I want to frame battles. Whether it's a Negima, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Fire Force, or even Jojo 'style' of battle, I'm always thinking about how to write scenes in those 'ways'.
So, that's why this oughta be a curious inspiration. If anyone's intrigued, I HIGHLY suggest you go and watch it.
Lego Monkey Kid Season 4 brought this fight TO LIFE.
~NRK~
The 'starting shot' had to have been the moment those stony pillars had been shattered from the ground up by bone spikes and fell down like rain.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as Dae Won grinned.
The next second, those falling pieces shot at the unbothered Grimm before repelled by a wave of electrified green.
Penny hissed before kicking out at the jumping Norma, the barbaric-looking woman blocking it with ease only to lock her left axe with a charging Kali whose eyes narrowed darkly.
They fell against the hardened bone floor before the ships released roars aplenty from foot soldiers and flying projectiles.
Arrows, Dust, Semblances, and more shot up in an arc before coming down.
Only to be repelled by heavy winds of white that carried a torrent of water into a typhoon.
"Oh, this is grand!" Petra grinned, blade releasing a windy-looking haze.
Thetis just laughed as her body & gauntlet glowed a powerful blue before she slashed out with her weapon.
The typhoon condensed before slamming into one of the large ships, damaging the haul and carving through the side of it.
There, one of them was now not sea-worthy-
An army of ninjas made of flames rushed out from one of the ships and spread out.
"Here comes the Fire Champion and the Tamer's Myths," the redheaded woman said as Petra's eyes narrowed as the floor rumbled and a pair of roaring astral beasts carved into the side of the platform.
Adam hissed as he jumped atop one of those spirit dragons with Vernal before they rushed down them.
As they did, the red twin of the two curled up and came down on the gold serpent.
Jumping off, the two grimaced as the spiritual beasts seemed to mix on contact and split with just as much ease.
Landing, they were a pair of glowing blurs that reached their opponents.
"Approaching our Liege-!"
"Bothering our Grace-!"
"HOW DARE YOU?!" The pair roared.
Being a similar-heighted pair, a man & woman, they shared their long dark blue hair and feminine white-skinned looks as one sported red eyes and the other sported gold. Wearing shin-length white qipaos, black pants, and flats, the two raised their hands towards the teenage pair where the two large bangles on their wrists glowed white.
Adam's blade left its sheath and diced apart a rushing earth mound while Vernal jumped over another and came down on the two.
They dodged apart and she rushed the male with her chakrams slashing every which way before he kneed one of her wrists, knocking her left weapon out of her hand.
Only to wince as it came around towards his face!
He barely crossed his arms to block it before his eyes widened at the sight of a bleeding line on his right forearm, the male twin jumping back to dodge another slash.
Vernal grinned as she called back that Aura String and grabbed her weapon. "What? Ya think you're the only guys who train like hell?" She asked smugly.
Adam, on the other hand, deflected any and every one of the female twin's attacks with her stone-covered hands with great success.
"You filthy animal!" She hissed as his eyes narrowed behind his mask, a red haze falling off his form as a series of red rose-like tattoos formed along his body.
"Woman, I'm going to ENJOY ripping your arms off," he hissed.
~NRK~
It was being televised on all screens, networks, and signals.
The dubbed 'War of the Unknown Isle'.
Roman Torchwick looked at it in a club, one dubbed 'The Club', while nursing a drink.
"Geez," he winced at the amount of power being thrown around on all sides. "How the hell does he know so many damn powerful people?!" Roman couldn't help it.
This was a scary amount of powerful people who were fighting each other with one side holding the legendary Grimm man.
His partner looked on in interest as damn near everyone in The Club was watching it on the big screens, their Scrolls, or even the few who'd brought LapScrolls to a club like nerds.
It was truly a crazy situation with all forms of appeal… All forms of 'appeal'.
"Do you think tops are gonna go?" Someone asked.
"Totally, there's no way NOTHING gets ripped," someone answered perversely.
Neo sipped her drink while raising a brow at 'that corner' of the club. 'Geez,' she thought. 'There's horny and then there's this,' she shook her head as Roman raised a brow.
All she needed to do was point in that direction and give him four seconds.
"By the gods, these people are thirsty," he said in horror as Junior, the owner, snorted.
"That so? Usually, they're a lot worse," he smirked as the carrot top looked terrified.
Being a bear of a man at a height of seven feet, he had white skin, short black hair, a black beard-mustache combo, and black eyes, he had on a bartender's uniform and was currently looking at the proceedings as well.
"This whole thing is gonna be big," he said.
"Who are you telling? They've got one of the most powerful people in the world in that battle alongside the ten others all recognized from Mistral," Roman said. "The Farum Society aside, who knows how many this is gonna make wanna go off the deep end and challenge him," he shook his head and downed his rum and coke. "... Haaa… This is gonna get crazy when he wins."
"Who?"
"... The Grimm guy," Roman considered everything he knew of the bastard now. "There's no way he's gonna lose, you saw that shit from earlier? He has clones, Junior, he's got pull, he's clearly also got money. But ignoring all of that shit? He's got power in spades," he leaned forward as Junior blinked. "He took down two of the biggest gangs on his own without even trying. His wifie did in Frank's crew," the bartender/owner's eyes widened. "And they got another one, I guess that's their adopted kid. A KID destroyed another one on his OWN."
"N-No foolin'?" Junior said nervously. "But why? They're not going around and doing that, are they?"
"Nah, it's cuz of Frank's former slave-scout. She convinced 'em to help her, I guess, and I guess that just made them feel 'ambitious'. That said, we know how Frank ran things, he was one of the worst but he was the top. You're just outside that 'ring'."
"Shit… We'll see how things play out, in the end, I don't even do most of that shit. Drugs ain't gonna help me out, people pay for my people on confidentiality charges, and I'm honestly fine with just being a 'big head' in this world of ours. Keep that low? I'm good," Junior considered.
"You're the smartest of them, that's not a small compliment, Junior."
"I won't say otherwise."
~NRK~
Qrow and Summer dodged in and out of that impossible gunfire.
'This is that guy, right, Almon,' the former thought as the sharpshooter held a sniper rifle in one hand and a submachine gun in the other. "A dual-wielding fanatic?!" He taunted as he got in close.
Almon, or Almon Herrier, was a tall man with caramel-colored skin, a sole visible gray eye, and swept-back black hair. Wearing some red-themed camo pants that lead down into gladiator sandals that wrapped their strands around the man's heels and shin, his upper half was bare save for a white sash across his chest and a set of bandages around his waist. He finished off his look with a white headband around his forehead and a mini sash around his right eye where the edges of a scar could be seen.
"Hey now, doubling the guns DOUBLES the fun!" The one-eyed man declared.
His SMG carved across the air and let loose small white energy bullets.
Each one that got near had Qrow slicing through them or blocking what he could while Summer just kept running.
The shooter had jumped back but one blurring silver trail had the woman behind him like her namesake.
"What?!" The man's eyes widened as Summer's foot found his shoulder.
Her kick sent him careening towards an at-the-ready Qrow who slashed at the man's chest… And hit nothing?
"What the-?!" The Branwen almost cursed before his nose twitched.
He'd barely turned in time to block an unseen blade while Almon landed behind him, the sound of a cracking whip reaching his ears before Summer's form appeared in front of her teammate.
"... Jade," Qrow frowned as he brandished his sword at the space beside the relieved Almon.
"Sorry, hon," he told the distorting space. "Couldn't plan for her."
"Yes, well, that was a close call," Jade's disembodied voice said, echoing on all sides.
Summer's eyes narrowed. "Call this off, no one needs to get hurt over someone's privacy," she offered.
"Can't do that, Mistral ain't exactly uninterested in your Grimm monster friend," Almon shrugged with a grin. "He's also really interesting, can't just let that get past me."
The Silver-Eyed one scoffed before she spun her weapon around her finger.
"Honestly," the sound of shifting wood and clanking steel filled her ears as she gripped her blade's thicker shaft. "You're making me quite angry," the mother of 'three' declared as she held it over her shoulder.
With the scythe blade clicking down against the shaft and sprouting more metal along its sides to extend the edge, the shaft had thickened via a bit of magical know-how and made it only a four-foot-long weapon, two feet shorter than its scythe form.
Her cloak flapped before forming around her like an open hoodie as she beckoned the two with a twitching hand.
"I'm not sorry about this."
"Here comes 'Super Sums'," Qrow grinned as his blade's serrated form popped out before curving, the handle extending with the additional metal within its guard so he could hold it in both hands. "And here comes 'The Bloody Crow'," he declared as his transformed scythe's edge flickered with a Tempered red Aura.
Raven and Glynda had seen fit to attack the ships to destroy them.
Having gone after the third, the headmistress unleashed a series of slashing bursts of telekinesis. Each of those powerfully potent strokes crunching into the ship's hull and puncturing the wood even from a distance of 50 yards.
With Raven's Maiden-enhanced slashes, they'd already wrecked it before trying to move on to the next only to notice the fire ninja army.
"Annoying," the hidden woman sheathed her blade before her form was encased by a swirling red haze. "!"
She skipped forward before unleashing a wave of ice and lightning that tore into the ranks and carved them apart, the aftermath leaving behind a swirling ice 'sculpture'.
"Gods, I'm not used to this," she muttered as Glynda frowned.
"Actually… Raven-"
"Look, before you take any kind of 'stance' on me, no I didn't kill the woman I got these from. She died, in my care, and now I'm lumped with this shit."
The bespectacled woman's frown grew deeper before she grimaced.
"... For what it's worth, I seriously didn't want anything to do with this," Raven admitted. "It's bullshit I could have easily lived without, even with the Grimm Boy Scout over there."
"Tsk… Just treat her memory well, Leo's going to be destroyed because of this," Glynda sighed as Raven's hands tightened a bit.
"Yeah, I know."
Then, there was a rampage as three large beasts erupted from the third ship.
"Oh, fuck me."
The sky colored gray around the port.
"Fuck my life HARDER."
"Hey, Dae-boya, let's have a match for old time's sake!" Jiraiya roared as he rushed Dae-Won while more stone pillars shot out of the bone platform.
They shot at him and the Toad Sage grinned as his body burned white.
He shifted in and out of them while slicing those three-foot-wide pillars into pieces as he reached the Earth-user.
His sword swung and was deflected by a bangle of metal on Dae-Won's ankle, the purple-haired man jumping back to dodge a floor-shattering Naruto's drop point.
"Sensei!"
"Yeah!"
They reared back before releasing a pair of crossing energy waves that Dae-Won dodged by going high into the sky.
Just in time for Penny to appear behind him, greatsword already mid-swing.
Then, it snapped down and missed him by a mile as he unnaturally 'flowed' around her within the caress of violet spirit energy.
He kicked and sent the armored woman down towards the platform before Penny recovered, landing in a kneel.
"What in the world?" She looked up to see Dae-Won floating in the air like a leaf. "How… Your control is that fine?"
"Hmmm, you picked an intelligent woman, Grimm man," Dae-Won smirked. "Yes, of course, my ability is Soul Earth as I'm sure you know!" He shot towards Naruto like a cannon as the Grimm man's eyes narrowed.
He swung out and unleashed a volley of bone spikes that Dae-Won simply flew through, his Aura glinting on his skin.
'He's likely using it so close to his skin it's like metal,' but that didn't add up regardless.
His bones could dent iron and were easily as dense so why was he shrugging them off so easily?
"His powers aren't mere control over the earth he puts his soul into!" Jiraiya shouted as he inhaled. 'Senpo:-!' He released a heavy Aura-enhanced breath.
The air distorted in front of the surprised Dae-Won before forming a large astral toad warrior with a thick two-pronged club and shield.
'-Kuchiyose no Kaze!'
The toad swung around and the flying man blocked it before being sent into the bony floor, cracking its surface.
"His Semblance even before it had evolved allowed him a bit more control over the concepts of 'earth'," the sage explained as Penny nodded while Naruto's eyes widened.
"Likely, he was capable of using a sort of miniature geomagnetic field to repel himself atop it like he's flying," she theorized as Jiraiya nodded. "If anything, I have to assume there's more. The composition of those bangles are pure, they're unalloyed steel."
"Hmm!" The on-his-back warrior pushed off it with seemingly nothing but his back muscles, Dae-Won landing on his feet. "Yes, yes, I do make some good work," he smirked as his bangles glowed with lavender inscriptions. "Like this," the Farum head lifted his arm. "My Grand Guardian."
The bangles resonated, Penny's sensors going haywire. "They're pulling something here!" She warned the other two as they lunged at Dae-Won. "The resonance frequency is LARGE, likely, it's going to come from the ocean!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed before closing. 'Kyokuko,' he thought as his Summon's mind filled his. "... Alright, he's almost here!" He declared before vanishing and reappearing behind a grinning Mistralian.
Dae-Won's right arm swung back as Naruto's chopping left did.
They met in the middle before the Grimm grabbed his arm and stomped down on his foot.
Dae-Won's eyes widened as Jiraiya & Penny's blades were already swinging for his chest.
All of which resulted in nothing as the three jumped back, Naruto atop the water, as a roaring winged beast curled around Dae-Won's grinning form.
"Oh, Akari got her pets out," the Farum Head laughed as that Chimera, dead ass a chimera, hissed in defense of him while three other impossible beasts shot out and caused their own mayhem. "Oh, the number advantage is in our favor now," he said with a jolly smile at Naruto.
And then the Grimm man smirked as he pointed up. "You got numbers but you don't have the better fighters," he declared as Dae-Won's eyes snapped up. "KYOKUKO!"
The air thrummed before releasing impossibly harsh winds that dispelled the forming storm above and replaced it with an impossible blue hurricane that colored the port.
There was a powerful bellow from above as the powerful form of Kokyuko descended from above before his 'luggage' shot out towards the ocean.
The next second, a wide electrified green barrier formed from 100 meters out to the port/bone land.
"What?" Dae-Won didn't look scared, just confused. "What what what?"
"You're not the only Summoner around here, Dick-Won," Naruto grinned as Kokyuko landed around him before growling at the chimera that… Stepped back. "No time to be a scaredy-cat, man, I gotta punch your face."
Penny's head snapped to the side before she shot away like a crackle of lightning.
~NRK~
"Yes, It's Koko!" Nora said with a relieved smile while Mercury cupped his chin.
"Yep, he's gonna be a big change to all of this but this isn't over," he said as Emerald looked over his shoulder at his Penny Plate in disbelief. "Right now, Dae-Won ain't down, he's got something coming, and the others are still fighting."
"Hmm, despite how it seems, I think their chances are higher than you believe," Olivier smiled as Mercury raised a brow.
"Hey, I'm not saying I don't think they're gonna ruin all their faces but I mean that there's still danger afoot."
"Aye, a good mindset. That said, I think you're all forgetting something. Your guardian hasn't even used his clones yet."
The classroom went silent before jaws dropped as the old Goodwitch cackled.
~NRK~
"What. The. Fuck?" Roman gawked along with the other patrons at… That was a 'Grimm', right? "The hell did he do?! Is that his Grimm? Can he make Grimm? When?!"
"I… I don't have something for this," Junior said nervously as Neo's eyes were glued to her phone, her eyes trailing over Kokyuko's 'demonstration' in disbelief. "What the hell has this guy been doing when no one's looking? How could he make something like that thing? We know he could do all his other bullshit because of that website."
"It makes sense, though. Think about all the chaos that thing would cause if he brought it out for anything besides this."
"I get that but people are still dumb as hell, there's gonna be some kinda crazy fuck who's gonna get weird ideas. The last thing I need to think about is a crazy person with something like that in his possession."
~NRK~
-... Ozpin?- Rouge asked in disbelief, the Headmaster and the others plus their Councils watching the proceedings after he'd hurried to his office.
"I've known, everything Naruto Uzumaki can do is something I've known every step of the way," he declared as he watched the clearing skies. "The thing is, with his Summons which there are four of in total," he explained. "They've grown stronger like he did with each Gate he's defeated and learn what he's learned, at the time of creation. He can dictate their traits upon creation but can't alter what comes afterward, at least, we haven't checked."
There was silence from the Councils as the other Headmasters nodded.
-The Guardians of Uzu are unique in their existences- James said, confusing them.
-Uzu?- Sleet asked.
-That is the name of his isle, the Guardian Island, Uzu-
-You really seem to know- Camilla said with a thoughtful frown. -And he can make these en masse?-
-We've never tried- James shrugged. -As far as we know, he can only make one at a time-
-That's quite odd- Futo said. -I mean, he has been busy as of late but surely he'd test it out-
-In all honesty? He doesn't- Leonardo said. -Naruto Uzumaki made one Guardian, a toad-based one, over… I believe four years ago?- He explained, surprising them. -Hmm, yes, he made the next one at his daughter's behest- He chuckled as Ozpin smirked while James's smile was completely entertained.
-D-Daughter?!- Rouge burned. -W-Who?!-
-Ah, apologies, adopted daughter- The lion smiled as the woman cleared her throat, the others still looking intrigued. -Yes, Nora Valkyrie? She has a favored animal and since he desired to make another one under observation in Atlas, he made it in the shape of said animal. Between that creation and the other, it was at least a good amount of months between them and we were partially-responsible for the next two's creation as we wished for him to demonstrate-
-I… I see- Sleet said while rubbing his chin. -Is there some sort of requirement?-
-It depended on the Gate, the Blastwyrm from the first Gate had a more defined summoning skill- James explained.
"Yes, we believe that's how it works," Ozpin continued. "The Grimm he defeats at the Gate's most prominent skill is what he gains alongside an increase in his reserves. The bone creation was from the one in Gormhen, his summon from Umikaen, and his more human form from Kuroko."
They mulled that over. -That's actually rather fascinating- Futo said.
~NRK~
Velvet's jaw dropped along with the other students at Pharos. "T-That's ridiculous!" She said in shock. "... I-Is it a tiger?"
"That looks like a zebra."
"Total dragon."
"Cheetah?"
"It's still mostly a tiger."
"Ehh, bat, maybe? What do you think?"
The rabbit girl tilted her head as she tried to place it while the girl at her side tilted her shades.
"What else does he have in his hat?" She asked with a whistle. "And can he make those things in kitty cat form? Because I'd pay big bucks for it!"
And that sent a round of 'Pet Grimm' around the classroom.
Velvet sweatdropped. "My class is so weird."
~NRK~
"Damn him," Roselin cursed, body covered by a cloak with the hood up as the proceedings were shown on the large screens of Vale and her LapScroll. "That filthy Grimm is ruining their minds!"
"At ease, Councilwoman," Cinder told her, wearing a similar state of attire. "The time will come where that one gets his due," she declared. "Right now, he's too powerful and I doubt that warrior from Mistral will beat him so it'd be for the best to bide our time."
"I know, Ashes."
"Cinder."
"Is a codename not your focus?"
"We're not being watched, I own this warehouse, and I brought you here without another soul around."
Roselin scoffed while Cinder's eyebrow trembled.
~NRK~
The tide changed again as Kokyuko's wings released a powerful blue glow.
Tornadoes fell like comets onto the battlefield, a controlled cataclysm that shattered bone, stone, wood, and metal on contact.
A drip of sweat fell down Raven's cheek as those rushing beasts' ranks were shattered or torn-apart alongside the ships, the foot soldiers, and even one of the Farum Heads.
"Uhhhhhhh," she stared as Glynda adjusted her glasses with a raised brow.
"He did say that Kokyuko had his best affinity but I'm honestly surprised by the amount of damage he can cause," she said calmly.
"H-How the hell are you, of ALL people, so calm about this?"
"... I know the person who masters him rather well, he is my stepbrother."
"... Wait, crap, what?"
"You were there, Raven," Glynda said with a raised brow.
"... I forgot," Raven admitted flatly.
"What the who?" Almon gawked at the destruction before dodging away from a windy comet that was a slashing wind blast before being back-to-back with Jade. "Hey, uh, hon."
"This isn't good," Jade hissed while flickering in and out of existence before the two parted to dodge Summer's falling axe.
The flash of white that erupted from its strike split the bony earth and carved out into a spiral that had the two Mistralians wincing as they dodged more only to for Qrow's blade to slash across Almon's chest.
The man's red Aura crackled as he bounced against their platform while Jade snarled at Qrow before finding something bending her body with a heavy blossom of pain.
Summer sent the woman careening towards her husband before the two cratered the floor in a dual heap.
Coming over had the 'spiritually related' pair bumping knuckles at their unconscious opponents.
Adam glared down the hissing female twin, her arms full of red cuts while her eyes glared at him as she hit her knees.
The moment her eyes glowed, he jumped back as her Aura expanded before releasing a roaring gold dragon, the astral serpent coiling around in the sky with the woman within it.
"Fucking whore!" He shouted at her before Vernal's back found his own. "What's happening?" Adam asked.
Grinning while her opponent did the same as Adam's, Vernal rolled a formerly dislocated shoulder. "I got him looking different but he ran from me, looks like yours did the same," she said as they looked up at those Aura Dragons curving around tornadoes and flashes of light. "It's like the gods shot down onto Remnant," she said with bright eyes.
Adam considered her words, observing the world around him in confusion as a feeling settled in his heart.
He liked this. Fighting, that is, fighting besides her, facing these tough opponents.
The Bull Faunus realized he was actually having fun with HUMANS, what the hell.
"Huh, it is kind of fun," he admitted as those dragons coiled together while his body released a torrent of red energy, the collection within his Semblance released in full.
Every bit of it coloring the ground them and causing that to glow with red light.
"This should do it," Adam declared, holding his weapon out in front of him as that ten-meter-long circle of red spirit energy coiled together into his sheath while the twins dragons' Semblances coiled together into a large winged serpent that released a horrid roar.
"Ready for this?" He asked Vernal with a smirk.
"Oh YEAH." she grinned.
They jumped at the beast as one, Adam's coiling red accelerating around his thrumming blade.
"It's the best one meant for you!" Ruby grinned as he looked down at that beautiful work of a blade.
Adam's eyes, even hidden behind his mask, were unable to hide how amazing he found it.
"I-I know mom always says I make weapons that people like the most but I think it's even more different than that," the short girl wore an embarrassed, bashful, grin. "I think I make weapons that match your soul, m-maybe!"
'Little Ruby,' Adam felt his body resonate with his weapon before Vernal's form curled around to his feet.
"If you were in love with me, you should just say it," she grinned as his jaw dropped.
Vernal's feet jut out.
Adam's form went flying like a cannon towards that golden beast the size of the biggest bullheads.
"I know way too MANY!"
His body reinforced itself to its limits with his Semblance.
"-WEIRD-!"
His core erupted into as much Aura as he could muster.
"-DAMN LOVABLE HUMANS!"
Adam found his body feeling lighter, faster, stronger than it ever had before.
He was released of things such as pain, suffering, hatred, all of it.
He'd reached his enlightened point, his mind was clear.
That's why he'd named it just like that man did his own techniques.
"How I name 'em?" Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Adam? I just use what WORKS. I don't think too much about it, mostly, all of 'em have some 'Rasengan' in them," he sweatdropped as Adam snorted.
He swung with the strength of so many that it almost felt like he was given too much.
"ENLIGHTENED MIND!"
His healed eye spread a powerful surge throughout his body.
And then the sky flashed a powerful red, a contrast that turned all else black besides he who owned it.
And then it ended, the Faunus falling past the bisected serpent that fell apart like brittle clay.
He grinned while flipping them off. "Fuck off," Adam laughed as he was caught by a swirl of wind.
He landed beside a grinning Vernal who laughed while patting him on the back.
"Fucking good job."
Adam Tauros grinned like he never had before.
Kali's weapon carved into the stony pillars that sprouted all over to reach the grinning Norma who dashed in and out of them like a boar, her form lunging at the feline woman to lock one of her axes with her blade before the other swung around for the mother's neck only for a shadowy arm to lunge out of Kali's back and grab it.
The next second, she turned their clash down before stepping past Norma to bring up her katana's edge towards the Valhallan's temple.
It found its target and sent the larger woman off her feet before Kali hissed at a heavy slash that shot past her side.
Norma rolled against the ground before landing on her feet and charging the Faunus woman.
Her weapons slammed down in one stroke that Kali dodged, their blazing blue slashes shattering the bony floor before tossing up a dusty cloud that obscured Kali's vision.
'She's hiding herself,' she thought as her ear twitched. "I've really not kept up with this," sadly, she'd only gotten back into the flow of things recently.
With Naruto getting her arm back to normal within the past two years, it was rough if not fun trying to regain her former glory.
So, when Norma came around from behind her with a chopping axe, Kali made a mistake of blocking it.
Her feet shattered the floor beneath her as she struggled against Norma's one axe with a two-handed grip, the awkward angle leaving her side open to the woman's other weapon.
"Mom!" Blake shouted through Kali's PM Plate.
Only for a streak of lightning to slam into Norma's side and send the larger carrot top flying away through a set of stone pillars.
"Kali," Penny nodded as the puma woman sighed in relief before groaning.
"I've been too out of the loop," the feline mother grimaced.
"That's not your fault," Ghira said from her Plate, Kali's eyes softening at his voice. "Sadly, life hasn't been nice to you, not one bit, but you're stronger now. You can move how you wish and that's not to be underestimated with your Semblance."
Kali looked at her healed hand, flexing the limb and feeling the strength within it.
Her blade thrummed in her hand as her black Aura fell over it before the woman's eyes widened at the sight of her scar, that old white line, throbbing in resonance with the blade.
'... I see,' she'd not been one to not think about it but she had a feeling she'd been right.
Naruto's flesh-giving powers added an 'effect' of sorts to it, of course it did, the man himself was already a marvel of strength that he always said came from his body being a medium for his powers.
Penny's sensors flickered and gauged Kali… And then her arm. 'Wait,' her eyes widened behind her mask, the cyborg locking eyes with Kali.
The puma woman smiled. "I get it," she told her as her sword flickered dark. "It only made sense, ya know? Grimm wonder that he is, this was still a part of him," Kali told the armored-up Penny as she raised her healed arm.
Black magic formed down it like cloth before dispelling to reveal the wrapped-up limb.
Seeing those white symbols on the covering, Kali nodded as she held her sword out and they trailed over it before the edged darkened incredibly.
"I'll need to ask you both for lessons," the sheepish puma grinned.
Considering everything that'd just happened, Penny chuckled as she allowed a single eye to show through her mask.
"Yes, there's a LOT to talk about, Kali. Important things," she said before there was a roar of excitement from behind them. "Obviously for later but there is a lot to talk to you about."
"Hey, I'm all-ears after this," the older woman said, standing beside Penny as they faced Norma's charging form. "So, like, is this like his fusion thing?" She asked as she tapped her blade to Penny's own.
The two pulsed in resonance.
"Resonance is a different kind of skill," Penny said with a thumbs-up. "Just let the power flow through you and our bodies will follow."
A shadowy tail formed on the puma's rear as a Darkness-element enhancement wrapped around her eyes.
"Okay, yeah, I get it."
The moment the Valhallan was halfway, they vanished in a spark of black.
"What-?" Norma's nose twitched, her ears trembled, and her tongue tasted ozone.
The next second she barely blocked a pair of blades coming for her neck, the blows sending her off her feet before another feeling of danger settled against her skin.
Kali grinned as she landed on her chest with a black glow settling over Norma that slammed her into the earth below, four large black claws holding her down as Penny dropped from above with her raised blade.
It came down like a falling bullhead.
~NRK~
The kids jumped at the tower-high explosion of dust, electricity, and dark energy.
"W-What's up with mom?" Blake asked, relieved, awed, and yet oh so confused. "Dad?"
Ghira's focused gaze turned to her. "... I believe I understand," he admitted, gaining the room's attention. "Tell me, Mercury, Nora, your father's flesh does hold more power in it than one would think, yes?"
Nora & Mercury considered the answer… Before nodding. "Yes, there's a whole buncha stuff about pops we haven't told you guys about yet," they admitted.
"I'm not that surprised, even Kali had a hunch that her healed arm would be different, of course it would," he said with a smile. "Naruto's powers are life-giving but they emulate his nature regardless of how they look, they emulate the power in him that subjected most of you children to your enhanced abilities."
"Wait, so it's like us?" Sarcelle asked as Jun considered the idea.
"Perhaps it's similar," Nicholas said as Jaune tilted his head. "But it's like a prosthesis, I guess, or really an implant of his power," he realized. "So, likely, it slowly grew with time and reaches a 'maturity' of sorts."
"Most likely and it shows that it enhanced her Semblance, I assume?" Olivier asked the nodding Ghira.
"Yes, Kali's Semblance is very similar to Blake's but it's not as long-ranged, her ability gives her the power to form 'shadows' off her skin. Limbs, weapons, armor, and more, she can 'cast' and 'mold' her Aura into odd shapes. Likely, Blake's Semblance is the absolute extreme of hers but with the addendum of her clones being the only thing she can create."
His daughter looked at her hands before calling upon that surging strength within her.
Her shadowed fingers clenched.
~NRK~
Ozpin wore a thoughtful expression as he listened in on the hotel's observation room from another Plate Monitor.
'So, this is another aspect,' Naruto was gifting magic back to the world in slow ways that they'd never expected.
And now they knew, likely in years' time, perhaps with training, or even with just affinity, that those on Remnant would be capable of using magically-enhanced Semblances.
-It's quite amazing, Ozpin- James said knowingly, their eyes meeting before going back to the news. -That Naruto can truly bring together such powerful people to fight alongside him-
Adam's own showing of strength made them realize that things were going to get crazy in time.
-Who are all these people, Ozpin?- Rouge asked. -I don't understand. Sure, a few of them we're all aware of like Qrow Branwen, Glynda Goodwitch, and Summer Rose but those others are just so powerful that it's odd we've never heard of them-
-Has he trained them as well?- Futo asked.
-Well, he's aided all of those people with him at one point- Leonardo smiled. -Each of them have been saved, aided, restored to full efficiency as we've recently seen in the streets of our kingdoms, or were simply changed for the better by Naruto Uzumaki. He has a power, you all, one that brings together people of all walks of life and makes them want to help him-
Ozpin wore a soft smile.
-It is likely the greatest ability within his arsenal-
~NRK~
Kali hopped out of the dust cloud to land beside a landing Penny.
They watched the cloud for a moment before hopping apart to dodge a large Aura Slice that carved into their platform.
They touched ground before charging the weak-footed woman who crossed her arms before unleashing a crossing slash that the two dodged the wave attacks of.
Kali going low had slammed into Norma, pushing her back, before kicking back and around the axe-user's chop. Her foot found Norma's chin only for the blow to be repelled by powerful blue Aura only for Penny's baseball swing of her blade to repel any possible counterattack.
Norma's retreat was brought to a halt by a flash of static, Penny holding out her hand towards her as one of her metal sentries flashed green.
A beam of electricity shot down onto Norma before sending her tearing across the platform into one of the ships, the blast carving through a third of it.
"Do you think that did it?" Kali asked.
"Probably not," Penny replied as she held out her sword with both hands before bracing it to the side, the entirety of it flashing with green lightning that was fed by the sentries all over.
She brought it up and then down.
"Magneta."
The lightning vanished from the blade, not even flying anywhere.
Yet, an explosion of green light tore apart Norma's location and sent a tower into the sky.
"Ooh, transmission, right?" Kali asked with interest as a claw left her back and scratched her head. "That looks fun."
"Ma, what the heck?!" Nora asked.
"Ah, well, I just made Norma the conductor by electrifying her," Penny explained simply. "Electromagnetism is part of my skill set, after all, so by hyper-magnetizing her with a sentry, I made her the target of all my attacks."
"T-That's so freaking broken," Mercury said in disbelief.
"It's definitely effective," Kali said as they hurried towards Norma's, likely, unconscious body. "Today ended up so odd."
Glynda restricted that eight-headed serpent within a telekinetic hold before Raven cut off all the heads with a flash of lightning.
"God, this is annoying," the Maiden cursed as Glynda let the decapitated beast drop. "There's way too many of these things but most of them being dead already helps," she said as they looked at the unconscious woman within the destroyed wreckage of a ship. "And having her take a nap is great, still, who's left?"
Glynda placed two fingers against her noggin as her weapon glowed.
Surveilling the Auras on the battlefield had her looking pleased.
"Almon, another beside him, the Twin Dragons, Norma Valhallan, The Raging Storm, and Akari are defeated. That leaves Dae-Won and the Fire Champion," Glynda declared. "And the latter's not doing so great against Petra & Thetis-Correction, all that's left is Dae-Won."
"That's nice but you can feel that thing, right?" Raven asked as they turned to the ocean. "Something big is coming and it ain't small fry."
"For sure but Naruto's power is not to be underestimated & Penny's no different," the blonde woman smiled, confusing Raven. "... Ah, yes, you've never seen those two before."
"Seen what?"
~NRK~
Roman's eyes were left locked on the plasma screen TV within the bar, a fact that was replicated throughout The Club.
The fact that Naruto Uzumaki's group was winning was crazy alone but the acts of strength on display were just as breathtaking.
"What the hell is the guy feeding these people?" Junior asked in disbelief as the tide went so far in the Uzu Protection Group's direction that it was like they ruled the waters. "Damn it all, these guys are freaks of nature!"
Neo nodded, looking at it all in confusion & concern even as she did enjoy the displays of power on a primal level.
It was just so damn cool, how could she say otherwise?
"I… He didn't even pull out his clones, what in the world makes these people so different?" Roman asked in shock. "Next thing you know, he's going to come up with a warship full of people like them!"
"You think he's hiring?" Junior asked mindlessly. "I mean, never mixed on a ship before," he shrugged.
What else could he do? Beg? Who?
The Grimm bastard's group was clearly above the rest.
~NRK~
-Fascinating, they've gotten a lot stronger- Leo noted, replaying Adam & Vernal's victories. -And Adam seems to have garnered more control over his Semblance, he's never been so focused before-
"It's clear he's reached a turning point, I believe," Ozpin smiled. "Not just him, either, though. Kali Belladonna's clearly gone through a change in power of her own while Penny Polendina is showing a clear mastery of her Semblance's aspects. Likely, she, Naruto, Summer Rose, or even Jiraiya could have turned the tides on the Farum Society Group in seconds on their own."
-T-That's ridiculous- Camilla said in disbelief. -People like these could clear out potential islands of Grimm- She said specifically.
-It's true, likely, it's about scheduling- James smiled as Sleet cupped his chin.
-Hmm, to be fair, Naruto Uzumaki has shown that his sheer versatility is to be admired, Ozpin- The Atlas Councilman said. -Compared to the others, his power truly stays within his numerous skills-
"Oh, no, you're mistaken," Ozpin smiled, confusing them. "In almost every aspect, Naruto Uzumaki is the most powerful person on that battlefield. He just hasn't had time to charge up one of his greatest techniques."
-W-What?-
-Yes, that sounds… Ozpin, you put in applications for people to come and protect his shipments- Rouge said in some disbelief as he chuckled. -F-From what?-
"No, no, no, those are more of a show of good faith and to give the students a few more things push their training. Getting to see his island has been a hot topic amongst all our years and we've gotten word from the combat schools in Vale about having one 'trip' for their students."
-Ah- She looked intrigued. -That sounds rather affable-
"It is," he smiled. "But they have to get the best showings in their new month-end exams," Ozpin said, intriguing the others. "I'm sure I put that in but I guess it hasn't reached you all yet. Since the students have shown such interest, we've considered doing it once a month for those who have the best grades and scores."
They all murmured with ideas.
And then Dae-Won's 'guardian' left the waters.
Jaws dropped while Ozpin blinked thrice over.
"Oh, that's… That's new," he said as James leaned forward in confusion while Leonardo yelped.
Theodore laughed as he finally got his screen working. -That looks great!-
Ozpin sweatdropped.
~NRK~
Cinder's hands clenched at the sight of such victories.
Of such strength, such skill, such POWER!
It was infuriating.
Roselin was of a similar mind, her eyes glaring at the live feed of the battle taking place.
It showed such a painful advantage in Naruto Uzumaki's favor that she felt concern fill her being until the screen showed something coming out of the water.
"What on earth…?" The scientist's eyes widened at the sight of the ocean's surface bubbling up as Cinder's eyes trembled.
At that behemoth of metal and stone.
~NRK~
Looking at the screens were downright blood-pumping for the class at Pharos Academy.
Velvet was awed by all the different shows of strength and ability while her class gushed over it.
"T-This is so wicked!" The girl beside her cheered at Raven & Glynda's destruction of the beasts. "Dude, this is wild!"
"Right?! Is that how strong a Hunter is?!" Someone else asked.
More calls rang out around the class before their eyes snapped to their teacher.
She blushed while looking sheepish.
"U-Um, well, not all of us are like that," she said.
And then there was a giant stone-metal-golem mech thing that popped out of the ocean.
~NRK~
Obito's eyes narrowed at that large 'Guardian' as it left the waters outside of Penny's barrier.
It was a large hulking thing, a thick-armed giant golem with a puppet-like body that was covered in metallic-looking plates and armor that covered its just-as-sturdy-looking chest, thick limbs, and clawed hands & feet.
It was a BIG, like, that was maybe 1.3x Gamakichi's final height during the Fourth Shinobi War.
'That's no rhino,' he thought with crossed arms as Kokyuko's growl echoed at his side before Naruto pet his head. "Kokyu, it's fine," he told his summon as Jiraiya cupped his chin.
"I wondered, ya know? I wondered how well you got it," the Toad Sage said, a large cart-sized toad done holding its hands together in prayer, its form releasing a shining glow that moved along its body.
Naruto grinned as a beam of golden light shot into the sky from behind the behemoth while Dae-Won's eyes snapped to it.
"What is it this time?" He asked curiously. "Surely, you don't think you can beat my Grand Guardian," Dae-Won said.
"Nah," teacher and student cracked their knuckles as Penny & Summer landed behind them. "WE have got this, it's not so tough."
Jiraiya laughed as his astral summon flowed into him while Naruto's gold-covered form began to transform.
A pair of toad-like eyes peered up at the beast, a PAIR of perfect sages grinning as the women prepped their blades.
"Oh, ya got it, too, aye, sensei?" Naruto grinned.
Bearing a new three-meters-tall height, the Grimm man's attire gaining a golden color while elongating his top into a shin-length coat & made the edges of his pants flare out in a tattered style.
Bearing a familiar seal on his stomach but in gold, his horns lengthened by a foot while his mask settled around his head like a clasped-shut skull with his eyes glowing within their depths.
His nine tails flared out with golden symbols along their lengths while he held out his hand.
There was a screaming force as his axe slammed into his palm with a torrent of wind causing their hair to shoot back.
"Alright," he grinned, widening his stance with his axe held over his shoulder.
"Time to see what some sages can do," Jiraiya smirked as he coped his stance with a held-out hand, his sword glowing with a white tint. "... First one to take off a limb?"
"I'll take that bet!" Summer grinned.
"I believe I can do it," Penny said, her swords in hand before they slowly shorted within a flash of green, her Semblance turning them from greatswords into a pair of broad one-sided blades with a thick handle. "But we have to do it away from here."
The Grand Guardian reared back its first while Dae-Won jumped back before floating in the air.
"Struggle, would you?!" He called out.
The fist came down.
Only to be deflected by axe and sword, Naruto and Jiraiya looking unbothered before looking at one another.
Penny giggled as Summer grinned.
"Let's bust it up!" She cheered.
And the very next second had the four vanishing in explosions of wind & static.
Dae-Won hadn't seen it coming, who could have seen it coming?
Especially when his creation lost its arms, bore several molten craters in its armor, and was kicked into a kneel within one second.
For the first time, Dae-Won Farum looked incredibly nervous.
And then it erupted into a tower of silver and green lightning that split the sky and cratered the ocean itself.
When it ended, there was a hole in the water with his golem on its knees within it, the four falling down from above with grins on their faces.
His jaw dropped.
~NRK~
Those in the classroom weren't much better.
"W-W-What the HELL is this?!" Velvet yelped in disbelief as those four, four people, brought that behemoth to its knees and showed the ocean floor.
"H-Hey, uh, teach? T-That's not normal, right?" Her seatmate said nervously as silence reigned in their classroom. "Holy SHIT."
~NRK~
"... I know he said he could lift the Blastwyrm," Ozpin said slowly as he put down his cup. "But I didn't think his strength grew this rapidly."
-And the Toad Sage… He's keeping up- James said while leaning back in his seat and sliding down a bit. -By the gods-
Leonardo cleared his throat as he wheezed at the sight of power on display.
Theodore looked pleased as punch so that wasn't unusual.
The Councils, though, were very quiet.
~NRK~
"... Oh," Mercury uttered in complete and total denial. "T-That ain't… Oh my god, is THAT Sage Mode?" He whispered in awe.
The parents & students were of a similar mind, eyes wide, jaws dropped, and their blood going cold at the four descending onto the golem.
And picking it apart like it was made of plastic.
The Arc children, well, half of them had fainted while the other half barely looked a step ahead of that.
"Oooooh nooooo," Cera said while shaking her head. "No… No, I refuse to believe this is a… This is a thing."
Sarcelle's glasses cracked at the idea of any of that being directed at a person.
Jaune was slackjawed in awe while Nicholas held onto a bony desk for support that a man his size sorely needed, his wife faceplanting into his side in disbelief.
Sun & Neptune had cheered like eternal fans while the Schnee family looked paler than any of their skin tones.
Winter's eyebrow trembled something fierce at the four slashing off metal, steel, stone, or protection from the golem with ease. It was almost like looking at a ravenous pack of wild dogs tearing apart prey.
Jacques Schnee had never been more glad that he knew a person, much less a lot of people, than he did in that moment.
Willow downed a bottle of wine she'd brought for the occasion in worry.
Now, she downed it in wonder of if she was sober or not.
Weiss & Whitley's eyes went white at the idea.
"YYYYEEEESSSS!" Yang cheered like a damn apostle. "THAT! I WANT THAT!"
Ruby choked on some milk while Ghira found his seat on the floor in disbelief, the Katt family having fainted midway through the first devastating blows.
Pyrrha's eyes had never been bigger, had never been shinier, had never been more EXCITED!
This was her most favorite world times infinity!
~NRK~
The Club hit a very long silent stride as those… T-Those damn warriors ate that behemoth alive with grins on their faces from what the cameras could get.
Roman's cup slipped out of his hands.
Junior was washing his hand with a rag without a thought in his head.
And Neo's fingers involuntarily released several NSFW curses that shouldn't have seen the light of day on a forum.
It was like life had officially said 'fuck you' to their ways of living and showed their potential opposition.
"Nope… Nope, nope, nope," Roman said quickly, weakly, and nervously, body shaking like a leaf. "Just fuck ALL of that."
~NRK~
Cinder's heat, anger, and annoyance melted away like snow on a hot day.
Every bit of her planning, her ideas, and even her potential ambushes found themselves grinding to a horrid halt as she was shown power that she… T-That she couldn't beat.
Such overwhelming strength and vigor that made her body throb in pain.
Grand speed that made her eyes hurt.
And overwhelming magical power that threatened to overtake her entire way of life.
This. S-She didn't have a plan for this, not him, not his girlfriend, not his supporters.
Not the Toad Sage, not those suspiciously powerful teens around her ages, not Summer FUCKING Rose.
NONE OF THEM! Cinder had nothing for ANY of these ones!
'What do I do?' She thought weakly, body growing cold as the final nail in the proverbial coffin was hammered in.
Naruto & Jiraiya swung down on the Golem's head as one.
And it split all the way through, that building-sized noggin that tumbled to the ocean floor, the exposed ocean floor.
~NRK~
Argus's port, its people, its military presence, and more stared at the landing quartet as they dropped from Kokyuko's back.
Landing on the bone platform, Naruto crossed his arms with a grin at Dae-Won's suddenly pale grin.
"So," the Grimm man snickered as Jiraiya grinned.
Penny giggled as Summer beamed.
"What did you were gonna do to OUR home?"
Dae-Won realized he was surrounded not a moment later.
"I… I-I see," the man cleared his throat. "You have bested my people, forces, and family quite readil-"
THWACK.
"Nah," Raven's sheath returned to her waist as Dae-Won's unconscious form spasmed with electricity. "I swear to the gods, you guys are WAY too nice about this and letting him do some bullshit desperation move."
Naruto looked sheepish before bullheads landed alongside their camera crews.
Crowded by nosy reporters, he had guessed this was his fault.
Best to own that shit.
"Alright, you get me?" Naruto told them, their microphones and cameras trained on him. "This isn't a 'discussion', this isn't a 'talk', he wanted a FIGHT and he lost. I'm fine with questions, I'm fine with compromises, but the moment you try to push in on MY home, we have a problem. There were already so many pieces in play to open up about my place, the little bit of the world that's mine, but you guys REALLY let your motivational speaker over here do you a bad service."
Jiraiya laughed as Qrow snorted.
"So, here's MY compromise," the former blonde said with a grunt. "Any more of this crap and I'm putting you in the middle of Grimm-infested waters and, no," Kokyuko sat just outside of the crowd who looked at him with nervous smiles. "They won't be as nice as Kokyuko. Get me? Good, I'm going back to teach my class. Someone get this idiot out of my sight."
The crowds of Argus cheered and clapped at the group as Naruto released a long relieved sigh, Penny patting his shoulder with a smile as her helmet receded.
"We've defended our home," she said, delighted, as Naruto nodded.
"This was so sick," Vernal said with a grin as Adam nodded.
"I've never felt more alive," he admitted as Jiraiya grinned.
"Damn right, we're in the big leagues, people. We are the ones people don't mess with, now," the Toad Sage declared.
~NRK~
Returning to Vale had never been so welcoming.
The crowds cheering in the streets, the people waving at them, and every passing Hunter's bow or nod of approval were downright euphoric.
The arriving champions looked sheepish, bashful, or soaked it all in without care.
"Old man!"
"Ma!"
Naruto and Penny looked up with smiles as Mercury, Nora, and the rest of their class alongside the families hurried up to them.
Nora hugged Penny's side with a big bright grin while Naruto ruffled Mercury's hair.
"We're back," they said.
"Yeah!" Those two, their little worlds, responded in kind.
Naruto & Penny beamed brightly.
~NRK~
Getting specially-seated within a restaurant on Naruto's dime, they'd barely had time to open their mouths before people hurried in to try and see them, a familiar Headmaster at the front.
"Your triumph has truly surged throughout the kingdoms," Ozpin chuckled as he came in unmolested, getting seated besides Glynda. "Honestly, this is going to be a big shift one way or another, who knows what will follow."
"We'll be ready," Naruto said. "Besides, things are gonna get crazy with the End-Of-Month Scores, aren't they?"
"Very true, the amount of students who will likely plead for better grades is going to skyrocket," Glynda said with a shake of the head as Peter and Bart hurried over. "Peter, Bartholomew, enjoy the show?"
"I've never had more excitement in my life besides today," Peter said with a long breathy sigh of wonder and awe. "You all did something truly incredible this day, haha! It'll be one to go down in the history books, aye, Bart?"
"Oh, without question, you all went beyond public expectation and trounced Mistral's best," Bartholomew chuckled. "Oh, history is being made and I know the figures involved," he said, amused.
They chatted, ordered, and ate with fire in their bellies.
"Sage Mode? That was Sage Mode?" Nicholas asked for confirmation as Naruto and Jiraiya nodded. "... B-By the gods, it's teachable?!" He yelped quietly.
"Me and the kid are like two great minds, we get good ideas," Jiraiya chuckled. "Besides, we're kinda weirdos, my Semblances allows the transfer of energy from them to come back to me."
"And I'm not even remotely normal," Naruto chimed in.
"Yes, well… I suppose that's that," Ghira tried to find more to say but came up short. "I can't imagine what that type of power feels like, for any of you," he said while looking at Jiraiya, Naruto, Penny, and Summer. "You four were nothing short of impossibilities."
"He's got a point," Kali said, arm back to normal save for a new black brace-like parade of symbols on her bicep. "You guys are normally ridiculous but that? That put you on MORE than just 'the map'."
"True, we're big figures now," Penny considered. "All things considered, it was bound to happen, regardless," she smiled. "Life's too weird for anything less to happen."
"Ain't that the truth," Naruto chuckled. "Still, now that the sentries are up and functional, we're good to go for a bit," he said. "Time to finish that submarine, heal more folks, and learn more about our students."
His girlfriend nodded.
~NRK~
Ed couldn't believe it all, the young man able to see all the craziness on passing blimps or larger-than-life billboards.
"You're ridiculous," he said to the Naruto clone who chuckled. "T-That was so damn COOL!"
~NRK~
The following day, the Narutos at work in the kingdoms sweatdropped at the news covering them.
Watching it all from his usual bone restaurants, Taiyang shook his head. "These people are something else," he said to Raven as they knocked bottles of Sweet Bear. "Brothers above."
"Yeah, no, they're crazy," she said, wearing a decorative mask & kimono with her hair up in a big bun. "Would you believe the amount of weirdos who hit on me in this get-up?"
Tai's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Summer giggled while Raven smirked.
"That's clearly Raven," Ozpin said flatly to the sheepish Glynda. "I know you told me, really you did… But is that outfit hiding her at all?"
"To be fair, no one really knows her," the blonde teacher said. "All things considered, well, life went too weird in too many ways," Glynda said with a somber smile as Ozpin sighed.
"It did, I didn't expect Raven to say what you told me but if it's true… Who hurt her?"
"We don't know, all we know is that something was hunting Destina at the time and Raven fended it off."
They locked eyes.
"I can imagine…"
"It's only one possibility."
There was another Gate of odd power around that was in the Mistral Outbacks.
"This time, I'd like to send Naruto on a team composed of her, Taiyang, Penny, and Kali," he explained, surprising her. "Kali's been open about wanting to get more experience, no? Raven would likely prefer to be away from me and Taiyang's antsy," Ozpin rolled his eyes as Glynda blushed. "With Summer ever-so surprisingly unbothered."
With the others…
"So, like, your Semblance can do more stuff," Vernal said to Adam as they clinked their beers. "Considering more ideas?"
"You're down?" He asked her with a smirk.
"You're fucking right, I am."
Penny smiled at the kids as she detached one of the Inari's giant blades and showed the kids their altered states the same from the day before.
"My Semblance lets me adjust them on the fly," she explained as the weapons shrunk, widened, elongated, or thinned with flecks of electricity. "It's a lot smoother than I expected."
"That's so fascinating," Weiss said with a cupped chin, her Semblance rotating beneath her feet while Whitley sat on one of his Glyphs that raised him to Penny's eye-level.
"This whole situation is odd, Ms. Polendina," he told the giggling woman.
"Yes, well, with Naruto around life's always full of surprises and wonders," she said as he nodded sagely.
Meanwhile, with the real Grimm man, he came over with two large boxes of food while Mercury & Nora carried boxes of their own.
"Yo, food's up!" He said to the group as they perked up.
The Grimm grinned as his friends, family, and Precious People came in close.
Penny ate a 'hoagie' with eyes full of wonder.
Emerald ate voraciously, much to Mercury's disapproval and then instant shying away as Emerald bowed to him.
And Nora beamed with a sandwich atop his shoulders. "Yo, pops, since ya brought out Kokyu, you should bring Oso!" She said excitedly.
"Easy, Nora," Penny said as she pat her back, the short teen beaming brightly as Naruto tapped her nose while patting Mercury & Emerald's shoulders with a pair of bony claws.
"Sup?" The former assassin's child raised a brow. "Here to save me from her?"
"Um, I didn't fail that modesty thing again, did I?" Emerald pouted as Mercury struggled to look at her without blushing. "I-I'm wearing clothes!"
"Oh my god, STOP talking about that!"
"But you were being weird!"
Naruto sweatdropped as Penny colored a bit. "Um… What?" He asked.
His lover began to sweat. "U-Uuuhhhh… Ignore it!" Penny said immediately.
The Grimm's eyebrow rose before he smirked at Penny.
She squealed in his suddenly-there extra arms which got Mercury's attention where he ran from Emerald atop the Grimm man's shoulders.
"Stay away from me, eat your food!" He ordered 'defiantly' as she pouted with those BIG RED EYES- "I-I think I need to see a doctor, I'm not feeling too hot when it comes to her," Mercury whispered conspiratorially to Naruto as Emerald ate her third of three sandwiches with a pout. "God, I don't get girls."
Naruto chuckled. "They're a different breed sometimes, Penny never fails to find ways to make me think, at least," he said
"Ugh, thinking."
"Yeah."
~NRK Out~