A/N: Hey, guys! First of all, I'M SORRY I'VE KEPT YOU ALL WAITING FOR SO LONG! THERE WAS FAMILY PROJECTS, BIRTHDAYS, CRAZY STUFF HAPPENING AT WORK AND MY LAPTOP KEPT GLITCHING, BUT I KNOW THAT'S NO EXCUSE TO KEEP YOU WAITING, HUH?! AGAIN I'M SOORRRRYYYY!

Secondly, everything seems much calmer now, so I will continue to make updates when I can. I've also started playing Elden Ring (oh God help me) and certain aspects of the game have given me some ideas. Of course there are other games that inspire me (i.e. Anthem, Gods Eater, CODE VEIN, Call of Duty WWII, Mortal 11 Kombat, Outriders, etc.) as well as some other sources (Castlevania, Hellsing, Hellboy, Attack on Titan, etc.) but for now I leave you with this chapter as I get to work on the latest of The Hunter: Warden of Vytal.

Ciao for now!

Testing, testing, 1,2,3…..Hello, is this thing on?

Note: I. OWN. NOTHING….well, except for my imagination!

Hello, my freaky darlings! Welcome to the sixth chapter of…..

-The-Hunter:-Warden-of-Vytal-

Chapter Six: The Beast Within

"HOLD STILL, DAMN IT!"

"GGRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRGHHH!"

The "Man-Beast", for all its unsightly worth, kept dodging every one of Naruto's attacks. If on the of chance it couldn't evade, the creature would use one of its tendrils to protect itself from the whiskered blond. No matter how many times he tried, the former shinobi couldn't catch the monster off guard. It was almost as if it knew what he was doing.

"Goddam it, you're really starting to piss me off." Naruto muttered under his breath as he prepared to lunge once more. "Y'know, I've face down packs of Worgs with less trouble than this!"

"GGRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRGHHH!"

"SHADDUP!" He pounced, Silver Talons at the ready to cut its face in two. A single tendril smacked into his side, sending the blond Hunter careening through a building. The whiskered teen was barely allowed any time to breathe before having to dodge the creature's attacks in turn. He was able to parry three of its tendrils coming at his sides before a fourth wrapped itself around his waist, picked him up, and proceeded to thrash him about like a ragdoll. Gritting his teeth from the pain, Naruto contemplated in just how many ways to kill the "Man-Beast". He was already starting to feel drops of blood in his mouth as the monster continued to rampage across town, smashing him into nearby buildings.

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

Though the walls.

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

The ceilings.

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

The windows.

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

'I want nothing more than to tie those things into a knot, rip them off its back, grab it by the head, and just smash it repeatedly into the ground...IF IT WOULD FUCKING LET ME!'

*THWOOMP!* *CRASH!*

Finally, it had relented for mere moments, but it was enough for Naruto to use his hidden blades to cut himself free from the creature's hold. It shrieked in pain, tendrils writhing about in the air. Putting some distance between the two, Naruto was able to quickly gauge that they were some distance from the town square; just about nearing the city entrance. Standing up, he could see the creature coming back to its senses. The Hunter quickly spat out blood from his mouth.

"Fucking hell," the whiskered blond muttered under his breath, "what's it gonna take to bring you down?"

"GGRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRGHHH!"

The monster bellowed in rage as it lowered itself to charge at the young man, tendrils at the ready. Naruto crouched, prepared to meet him, when suddenly sharp spikes formed from the tendril tips before firing at him. Cursing under his breath, the former shinobi bobbed and weaved through what he could and used his Silver Talons to block what he couldn't.

"Of course you'd do that..." he muttered before jumping to the nearest building, bouncing off the wall, and quickly-

*SLASH!* "GGRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRGHHH!"

...cutting out its left eye. It roared once more in pain as limbs and tendrils lashed about in the air.

"HA! How's that feel, ya tough bastard?!" the whiskered blond laughed out at slightly crippling his target's sight. A thought suddenly came to him out of the blue. "I wonder how Ozzy and June-bug are doing? Eh, they've got Kurama with them, so they should be fine."

Ozma and Juniper were not fine.

Kurama, on the other hand...

"So, were you two sharing the same bed while dressed like that? Ozzy, you lucky man!"

*CLANG!* "...Still worth it..."

"GGRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRGHHH!"

"Fuck, here we go again..."

*THWACK!*

Suddenly, there was a whoop, and then Frodo came barging in whilst hitting the beast dead in the eyes with a smooth-stone launched from his slingshot. Not wasting any time, the short-statured bard quickly loaded three more stones into the sling before firing again in succesion. The creature screamed in pain before launching forth spikes from its tendrils at him; Naruto was able to get in front and deflect the spikes from coming any closer with his blades.

"What ho, my friend!" the humble bard cried, to which the whiskered blond grinned in reply.

"Nice shot, Frodo!"

"Thank you! Now, catch!" he threw something at the blond Hunter. Upon catching it, Naruto saw that it was the Morning Star. Extending it to its whip-like form, the former shinobi gave a feral grin of excitement before rushing at the Man-Beast with renewed vigor. With a quick swipe of his arm, the blade-end of the Morning Star cut diagonally across the face and neck of the monstrous creature with a loud crack, earning a roar of pain from its mouth. Rearing back its head, the monster's throat seemed to...glow?

*FWOOOSH!*

"AH SHIT!" the whiskered blond was able to jump back, avoiding one giant fireball while using Morning Star to disperse of the others in swift fashion. With quick and nimble steps, he was able to grab ahold of Frodo before taking cover behind a broken wall so as not to be roasted within the creature's flames. Reaching into his pouch, the whiskered blond was able to pull out a makeshift bomb and a wooden match. Soon after lighting the fuse, the blond quickly peaked over the ruined wall before tossing the bomb over the Creature's head; the resulting blast striking it point-blank at the back of its head. Once the psuedo-Grimm was momentarily distracted, Naruto and Frodo were able to use the opportunity to commence their attack; the latter swiftly scaling up an intact building for which to cover his companion from afar.

Thus the battle raged on...

Meanwhile, Juniper was steadily healing a wounded girl with a fractured leg using her magic. The poor thing was unfortunate to have been hit by a few pieces of broken wall; though was lucky enough not to be paralyzed.

'Not if I have anything to say about it!' the blond sorceress thought to herself as she was able to mend the last broken bone in the child's leg. Juniper smiled as she reached out to wipe a tear away from the young girl's cheek with her thumb while speaking softly. "It's alright, little one. You can walk again."

"Th-thank you, milady..." the young girl stuttered, managing to get up and run to hug her father who gave a thankful nod to Juniper in turn. Standing up, the young woman goes on to find others in need of healing. In the distance she could see Ozma gathering the local mages in preparing a barrier spell to ward off any incoming Grimm. Who knows how long the Creature had been living inside the kingdom.

A morbid thought came to her mind, and so Juniper turned to he only other companion aside from the Emerald Knight. "Kurama," she began in a low voice not wanting for others to overhear, "what happens if...if Naruto isn't able to slay such a Creature?"

"Don't worry. He'll kill it, plus he's got the short one the help him out if need be."

Juniper couldn't help but blink at such a straightforward response. 'Does he have that much trust in his partner?'

"Besides, who else am I gonna mooch off of for the hell of it?"

'Aaaaand there it is...' the blonde sorceress thought with a deadpanned expression.

"In all seriousness," Kurama jumped to a nearby post so that he could be eye level with her. "I've known the stupid brat for a long time. We've had our differences and at times even came to blows over them. But one thing's for certain: I've never known him to simply give up."

At that Juniper finally relented with a sigh, resorting to trust the fox's words as she found and elderly couple sitting by a clothing stand, with the man holding his bruised hand. Apparently they had been trying to get to a nearby shelter when the fight broke out only for the wife to trip over her feet. Her husband attempted to prevent her from falling only to injure his hand in the process. "Sir, if you could allow me to have a look."

The elderly couple gave her a look before the man complied allowing her to use her magic to heal his hand. "Beggin' yer pardon, milady, but I'm no Ser."

To which Juniper's response was an easygoing smile. "Nonetheless you still protected your wife from danger, did you not?"

An embarrassed blush washed over the man's face as his wife tittered in mirth. "Aye, that he did milady. My hero!"

"Aw, shucks Evelyn! You're embarassin' me!"

"Oh hush now, Bob! You know I mean every word of it!"

As the elderly couple continued to bicker on, Juniper could only listen in mild amusement. Vaguely, she could imagine herself in such a scenario involving a certain emerald wizard. Yes, she could see it now: the years they spent, the adventures, the many, many child-

"Oi, princess."

Wrenched out of Oum-knows-where her mind had drifted off to, Juniper could only blink in surprise. "E-eh?"

The nine-tailed fox narrowed its eyes before giving her an all-knowing smirk. "You need something to wipe that drool off your face?"

*CLAAAANG!* "...Ooooooowww..."

The fair blond harrumphed, managing to compose herself as she quickly put away the Frying Pan of Doom (patent yet pending). Once she had done so, Juniper noticed that the couple had ceased squabbling and were now looking at her and Kurama, who was currently on the floor nursing a lump on the top of his head, in bewilderment.

*Ahem!* "I apologize for my familiar's boldness," the young maiden began, earning a one-fingered salute from the downed kitsune, "he has an abhorrent tendency to leap first without looking ahead."

"Oh, that's quite alright, dear!" the woman, Evelyn responded, "My Bob tends to share that sort of boldness himself, though he denies it."

"Evelyn!" Here both ladies shared a laugh together before the elder of the two continued. "But thank you for your help. I don't know what we would have done without you."

"Please, do not mention it, dear Evelyn. We are simply doing what we can in this time of need." Juniper replied with an easygoing smile.

*BOOOOOMM!* In the distance, the three of them could see a giant cloud of dust about two stories high shoot up towards the sky.

Bob whistled before turning towards Juniper and Kurama. "Well, I hope you folks won't mind helping rebuild the kingdom, because it sounds like that damned thing is putting up a helluva fight!"

"COME ON, YOU UGLY MOTHERFUCKER!" Naruto roared out as he cracked the blade of the Morning Star against the chest of the Creature standing atop a ruined building, which then growled in pain at the newest scar that littered its now cut-up body. The Creature then tried to brace itself to attack, only for the structure to finally give way beneath it. As it fell, the former shinobi saw his chance. Rushing fowards, Naruto collapsed his weapon into kunai form again before channeling wind chakra into the blade to increase its cutting power.

Then, he struck. And Frodo Baggins, humble bard of the Shire, bore witness.

In what could only be best described as a fleeting leaf, Naruto sprang forth and past the Creature, cutting deep into its neck. Not wasting a second, the whiskered blond landed onto a nearby window before just as quickly leaping off of it to cut the Creature again; this time unto the small of its back. Again he struck at the back of its knees. Then the shoulders. Then the chest. Until it was as though the Hunter seemed to surround the Creature at all sides, just hacking away until it nearly resembled a bleeding, unrecognizable mass of flesh and tar. Only when Naruto was directly above his prey did time seem to hold still for a brief respite before, as though he were a bolt of lightning, the whiskered young man plummeted to the ground in one fell swoop. The Creature mdid not even have time to make a sound before it started disintegrate in midair, leaving behind the broken, mangled mess of the man it once was.

And by some miracle, he was alive. Though not for much longer.

Frodo could scarcely believe what he had just witnessed. Granted, he had heard the tales of the whiskered blonde's exploits, but to see it for himself! Words could not even to begin what had just happened. Blinking, the humble bard could see Naruto walking towards what had once been the Creature.

*cough* *cough*

"Easy now," the whiskered blond spoke, soothing the startled dying man, "It's alright. Care to tell me what happened."

*cough* "Y-you don't understand! They-they made me do it! They were going to kill her-" *cough* *wheeze*

"So make me understand then," Naruto spoke, careful not to raise his voice, "tell me the reason for all of this."

And so the dying man did just that. With each ragged breath he told the former shinobi of how armed sellswords broke into his home, raped and mutilated his wife, and took himself and his only daughter hostage. There was to be a ritual of sorts; so they threatened that if he were to ever refuse, they would simply use his daughter instead.

"T-that's all I remember, I swear! T-that's all, I swear!" the middle-aged man cried as blood began to pool around his person. "I d-didn't want them to hurt my little girl! Please, you must rescue her!"

"Tell me your daughter's name then."

And with his dying breath he did so, the light leaving his eyes at last.

Sometime Later...

"WAAUGH!" *SHLUCK*

"EURGH!" *CRUNCH*

"No, no please NO-" *SQUELCH*

Naruto said nothing as he pushed the newly-disemboweled corpse off his Silver Talons. It wasn't hard, really, finding their hideout. After explaining the situation to the others, the whiskered blond took with him only Kurama; Juniper especially being the most distraught at the decision.

-Flashback-

"Why?" she begged, being held by by the efforts of Ozma and Frodo, "Why do you not take us with you?! We can help too, Naruto! We can help you get that girl to safety!"

The former shinobi sighed at her words. He knew the young woman meant well, but... "It's because these people here need you guys the most right now. That creature caused a whole lot of damage to the village itself, and chances are there'll be lots of negativity to attract any kind of Grimm. They're afraid." the whiskered blond gave a reassuring smile at Juniper. "Right now, Kurama and I are counting on you all to keep them safe. Can you do that for me?"

"Trust me, Juniper." Kurama growled, "Where we'll be going, you'll see things you'd rather not see."

Reluctantly, she nodded her head. And so, wishing the former shinobi and bijuu of them luck, Ozma, Frodo and Juniper left to attend to the locals.

-End-Flashback-

"DIE, YOU BASTARD!" a nearby mercenary leapt from cover, rusty knife in his hand intending to plunge it into Naruto's neck. Instead the whiskered blond grabbed him in midair, dislocated his arm at all three joints, dug his thumbs into the man's eyes before ripping his skull in two, the geyser of blood quickly coating his face. Not even bothering to stop, Naruto jumped towards his next victim, managing to decapitate the unfortunate soul with a clothesline before punching another in the chest hard enough to impale the heart. He could hear Kurama cackling in the distance as the fox used tail, tooth and claw to kill and dismember whoever stood in his way, only bothering to hope it was only the sellswords whose blood-curling screams were being made.

Finally stepping into the biggest tent in the sellsword war camp, he saw who he assumed was the leader using a blindfolded little girl hostage with a large hunting knife, the rusty chipped blade nearly cutting the skin of her neck.

"S-STAY BACK!" he yelled trying to sound confident, "I-I'M WARNING YOU, ONE MORE STEP AND THE GIRL DIES! DID THAT WEAK-ASS FATHER OF HERS SEND YOU HERE?!"

Naruto raised a curious eyebrow, seemingly indifferent to the girl's life. "Hmm? Really? Come on now, I'm starting to think you kiss your own mother with that mouth.

"SHUT UP!" the giant leader drew the blade closer to the child's neck, causing her to squirm in fright. "Y-YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT! JUST SOME WANNABE HERO LOOKING TO GET LUCKY WITH SOME TAVERN WHORE! WE WANTED TO MAKE OURSELVES KNOWN! THAT WE, THE BLACK DOGS, DON'T TAKE SHIT FROM ANYONE!" a crazed look appeared on the man's face as he bantered on with a wide, frothing grin. "WE WILL KILL AND FUCK AND TAKE WHAT WE WANT, WHEN WE WANT! AND THERE AIN'T SHIT THAT YOU CAN DO TO STOP US!" Then, he reached over to lick the side of the girl's cheek, making her cry out in fear. "Least of all with this fine piece of meat here in my hands...maybe if you let us go, me an' the boys can share her with you. Wouldn't that be nice?"

For a moment, Naruto said nothing; just stood there looking at them. And then...

"Kurama. Eat."

The would-be pedophile scrunched his eyebrows in frustration...

Then...blackness...

*CRUUUNCH!*

...And then he knew no more...

-End-Chapter-