Chapter Twenty-Five: A Fox In The Wind.

"I can't control the wind, but I can adjust the sail."
-Ricky Skaggs.

{Belladonna Estate.}
[Two Months After Naruto's Fifteenth Birthday. 5:00pm.]

"Where Naru?"

That question came from a wildly haired little boy. He was wearing an orange jumpy in the shape of a little fire lizard. He had been exploring around the house all day, his twin sister the other half where he didn't. As best they could, anyhow, dang adults wouldn't let them upstairs.

Kali, his mama, was currently reaching down for him. She picked him up, no doubt that dada was already grabbing sissy. The veteran mother just took it in stride, the question was innocent after all. Naruto had been a constant part of their lives for two years.

Even babysitting them on occasion with her currently wayward daughter. Meanwhile Ghira was always so busy, busy with foreign dignitaries and domestic issues. It was insane how much his workload increased. Still, he found time to be with family, always on Saturdays.

Winter was settling in on Kuo Kuana now. Cold air blistered those who would face the winds. Between the last two years, and the massive projects that all of Menagerie contributed. Things were looking up, and up, for the New Kingdom on Remnant.

High Chieftain was just an antiquated term for King, and Ghira commanded all but the military in such ways. His word was established as final for approval. His stroke of a pen had dozens of groups across Menagerie working on projects. Modern projects that put Menagerie closer to equals to the main continents of the world of Remnant.

When you had a highly motivated group, some help from outworlders, and one of which could make hundreds of himself at a whim. You tended to get things needed done much faster. Rivers were dug, manmade estuaries built on the coastlines in the north. New, fertile, farmlands. New settlements far from The East Wall slowly coming together.

Still, all of these things, swirled in Kali's head whilst holding her son. She walked him into the main room, where Ghira was sitting by the fireplace, Fresh wood feeding the fire in the family room. On the wall hung pictures of them all together, one of them even had the newly turned fourteen-year-old Naruto with bruises with Jiraiya and him pretending to fight.

Kali and Ghira felt a slight pang having to let Naruto go with Jiraiya all of the time. Then again, it was for the best, and Naruto was always around them. However, Naruto's views in some ways conflicted with Ghira, especially when he had found out Naruto was one who began to fill Blake's head with ideas of just going off to become a Huntress.

Her mother didn't mind the idea, but her father hated it. Not because he disliked Huntsmen, but because he hated the fact she'd serve a different country at their leisure. It irritated him, because she could be his successor, like she was meant to be. Instead, the more Ghira pushed for this, the more she pulled away.

He had hoped Naruto would've talked sense into her!

The sore disappointment when Naruto instead affirmed her goals was something they argued over a little. Arguing until the day Naruto had to leave, two years of small arguments. Ghira was there to see him off, firm handshake and all. Though it was clear that the two weren't seeing eye to eye when it came to Blake.

"He keeps asking for Naruto." Kali said whilst sitting on the floor in front of her husband, who was playing with their youngest daughter Noir. "It's been two months, and already we miss him too."

"I do agree, but still, I'm not exactly thrilled that he's been seeing Blake in private so much." Ghira replied whilst grabbing a stuffed toy of the floor, an orange, running it at Noir playfully. "Whispers, and rumors, especially those stirred in The White Fang from Blake's previous time there."

"Especially ones caused by Adam."

"Adam isn't a factor anymore, hasn't been for nearly two years. I'm just saying Ghira, though, Naruto training her on the promise of letting her join him was a bit out of his call." Kali figured whilst she placed Sable down, and began to get a stuffed elephant. "Naruto should've never promised Blake something, knowing full well, it wasn't his promise to keep."

"Especially now that she's considered a princess almost amongst our people."

"That's precisely why I worry. Now that we're a nation, those who would see us casted to the wayside would target our precious children first. No different than The HFIL Incursion. Perhaps more successful, given that she'd be in a foreign land…amongst foreign people who could care less about our people." Her husbanded rambled slightly with a bit of grumpiness. "While I'm not mad at him for training her, to continue stating that he'd help to follow her dreams no matter what is a little disrespectful towards us since at the end of the day, Blake is our daughter."

Kali frowns at that, and takes a moment to compose herself with a smile. "Dear love, I know you're tired of these political machination, but lest we forget, without Naruto we wouldn't be here right now. Still, I get the scorn of him having Blake openly defy what we have made for her." She agreed to a degree, but then shrugged. "She's our daughter, stubborn and hardheaded sometimes."

"I personally blame you for that."

"Heh, I'm not that hardheaded, love." Ghira cracked a smile whilst using his large hands to play fight with Noir. Father and daughter focused on each other as he spoke. "You do know that I still love that boy, like my own, but it just hurts me that doesn't see the dangers in it like I do."

"Some could say he's idealistic somewhat." She agreed before sighing. "Still, minus all of the issues with currently going on with that, the next time we see him it's gotta be filled with love."

"And it will be." Ghira stated whilst looking over at her. "Believe it, or not, I've been drawing up paperwork to give him some bit of land near Kuo Kuana from one of the recent terraform projects. Nice little ten-acre parcel, not too far from the city, full of new trees imported from Mistral."

"A perfect place for him to do the things he needs to do. Train, hunt, relax, and then one day find some girl to settle down with." Ghira then chuckled a little bit at that. "I thought Tangerine, the little girl of Aurum, would've been a good match."

"Me too, but Aurum moving away from Kuo Kuana kind of ruined that little ship we had sailing, eh?" Kali teased her husband before thinking of possible others. "Could you imagine if he somehow wooed a Schnee girl?"

"It'd depend on the Schnee in question." Ghira replied whilst wrestling with Noir a little bit, lifting her gently before lightly laying on the ground with an exaggerated silent scream. "No, but seriously, some of the Schnee isn't bad. Kalt Schnee is an activist whose been to many rallies, doesn't he have three daughters around Naruto's age?"

"The triplets, yeah, now that you mention it. Though, I think the only reason he's not blind by the glitz and glamour is because he's pretty much a social outcast to his own family." Kali then thought about it, seeing an adult Naruto in her head with a Schnee girl on his hip, and shaking her head slightly. "Nah, can't see him being super proper at all."

"True, very true, if there is one thing that I could never imagine Naruto in is a black-tie suit. Laughed Kali whilst she still charged at Sable with the elephant, and then giggled when the toddler gave a blubbering laugh in response to the elephant tackling him. "Any girl Naruto brings over is surely going to either be bombastic like him, or silent, there won't exactly be an in-between."

Ghira smirked, looking at the fire, and then thought about the silent one. He stared into the fire, and then for some strange reason balled his fists up. "For the strangest reasons, Kali, and this just a question. Given that Blake and he are so close together…no, never mind, it's stupid." He stopped himself short before turning back to see both of their toddlers wrestling. "Kali what is that look in your eye, that look usually spells a devious plot going on in your brain."

"Oh, sweet husband, whatever do you mean?" Kali teasingly asked whilst rolling her eyes a little bit. "I'm certainly not imagining what you were hinting at, not at all…but would it be so bad? ~"

"Gods no, I've sown the seeds of plots in my own kingdom." Ghira groaned playfully before looking at her. "You do realize that him, and Blake, are mostly like siblings at this point?"

"Are you so sure, Ghira? Plenty of times I've seen her get more into cooking when he's came back into from the month long stretches of training with Jiraiya. Plenty more times she's dropped everything to go train with him, promise, or not. I'm telling you, under a mother's intuition, something's there~" She continued teasing her husband before suddenly springing up a little, and then laughed. "It'd be awkward probably for us at first, but hey, to be fair to Naruto…wouldn't he be the worse choice?"

"No, but I'd have to get used to it. Besides, you don't know for sure if that's even the case. Doesn't mean I'm still not at the boy for telling me how I should let go after everything has happened." Ghira huffed slightly before then smiling whilst looking at his twin toddlers. "Then again, all of this moment is owed to him and his friends."

"We practically made the boy one of our own."

"He even declared it too, but Ghira, Naruto's his own type of person. Free spirited, and ever loving, if I had to hedge a bet. He'd never choose anyone over anyone, I think he has a few truly precious people, but at the end of the day he's more than willing to throw himself into the fire for anyone. Not because it's love, but because this is his home now, and he's avowed by his own words to defend it to the last breath." Kali stated whilst thinking of the days Naruto was first got his foothold into Kuo Kuana. "That boy, though, he still trains himself too roughly."

"Plenty of times I've seen him pass out whilst eating with Blake, and the others."

"Naruto must be getting put through hell." The High Chieftain commented before watching one of his twins slowly close their eyes and fall asleep on the floor. "Next time he comes back here, I'll be a little bit softer in me telling him no for the umptieth time."

"What will you do once Blake is grown?" Kali asked seriously whilst cuddling the other, still barely awake toddler. "Can't expect her to stay here forever. Once she's of age, she'll seek her own."

"As we both did."

"I distinctly remember Blake coming into the picture, wailing, around a year after that." Ghira slyly reminded Kali, making her blush. "We had our own way, of course, pretty much everywhere we could get away with it."

"So many times, we almost got caught…"

"You perverted old cat, I thought we were passed that point?" She laughed before seeing the other baby, Noir, fall asleep in her arms. "I would say let's work on baby number four, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through all of that again so soon."

"I still get bouts of weakness."

"I'm content with three, two lovely daughters, and a soon to be strong son!" Ghira chortled before picking up said son. He smiled at him, and gently held him closer to his chest. "Early winter means a longer spring."

"That it does my love, that it does." Kali stated before getting up off the floor with Noir, and walked out of the room with Ghira. "I wonder if Naruto has made it to Atlas, long travel times and all? Considering that he was meant to arrive there during Winter Semester."

"Not the exact year Ozpin was talking about, but it makes some sense. Naruto has proven himself more than enough combat wise. I shutter to think of what he must be capable of now." Ghira pondered before smiling, and then looking off in the distance as he passed a window. Dark clouds in the skies gathering for a rainstorm. "Truly, I wonder, what he'll do with the whole world being open to him?"

"Because I can't fathom what could've been accomplished if he had stayed here."

{Near Argus City.}
[Around The Same Time, 6:34am]

BANG!
BANG!
BANG!

"On the floor, now!"

Those four words sent a panic amongst the train. Everyone diving for the floor as fast as they could. All of them save two people. A boy with long, spiky yellow hair, minus the red bands on his front bangs. He sat there, still with a straight face, and sipping on his tea. The man across from him, with long white, spiky, hair. Sat across from him, commenting on the menu in front of them.

"So…their tea here isn't as good as Blake's." The blonde stated whilst slowly sipping on it some more. He was hearing the screaming men drawing closer to them. "Say, Pervy Sage, should we do our usual thing?"

"I mean, I'm game, but if you think we need to do this together then I'm ready to move."

"Nah, I think our usual game is fine." Jiraiya stated whilst monitoring the air for more gunshots. "No wounded yet, all of this is a show of force, I bet they don't even have enough bullets to hold the train."

"Wow, that's…pathetic." The teenager commented on that tidbit of information before hearing the door slide open just behind him. "Well, that certainly sucks, I was hoping to get my game strategy going. Well, want to start off?"

Jiraiya held his right hand out, and smiled. "Sure, Naruto, let's go."

"Rock!"
"Paper!"
"Scissors!"

"Shoot!" Both exclaimed much to the annoyance of the bandit who made it to their table.

"Okay, look here old man, good thing for letting your little idiot brat win. Because if you don't get on the ground in five seconds, he'll have a hole in his head!" The bandit exclaimed only for both Naruto, and Jiraiya to look at each other. "What?!"

"I call BS Pervy Sage! I had you on paper, you switched at the last second!" Naruto childishly yelled whilst Jiraiya rolled his eyes and shrugged with a grin plastered across his face. "You know what, do over! I call do over!"

"I said get on the ground!" The bandit interjected, only for Naruto's right palm to suddenly slam in the chest gently. The bandit attempted to squeeze the trigger, only for kanji writing to manifest across his body. "What the hell?!"

"Are you hunters?!"

"Nah, well sort of, we're something else much worse for you guys." Naruto commented before giving his sensei the side eye of the century. "Oh, and by the way, this sealing jutsu lasts until I say. So…yeah…sorry my man, you're probably going to be like that for a minute."

"Hope you ate a lot of bananas, because your joints are going to lock up."

"What the hell do you me-ah!" The bandit yelped whilst feeling his joints lock tight, and finally he was gently pushed backwards, and sent tumbling to the floor. "Ow…"

"Told you so, okay, so I count seven of your wannabes left." The teenage shinobi took a moment to reach down, and grab a kunai he had hidden on his beltline. "Pervy Sage, I'm off, start the timer!"

"Right, right…starting…now." Jiraiya set the timer on his scroll, and no sooner than he did then the boy disappeared in a blur of orange speed. He looked down at the bandit, shrugging. "Here you go, kid, have a bite on the house."

He tossed a bagel right onto the man's mouth. Watching as he failed to close it down, and simply smirked. The man's whining became apparent when the poor bastard couldn't even chew down on the bagel, much less get his mouth.

"Yeah, he might be a little too good at that jutsu."

He looked on just as a bandit came flying down the hall of cart, the doors left open as Naruto went through. He got up, just in time to see the train pass over a river. Jiraiya wanted to see this, and so he merely propped the window open on the train, and transformed into a rat to sneak out whilst using chakra to grip the side of the train.

The toad sage scurried up the edge, re-transforming back to normal before seeing a bandit suddenly get thrown through the roof. A very tiny spiraling ball focused centrally on his gut. This man got followed by a fourth, who was sent flying by a similar technique. Not letting them fly off the train, Jiraiya caught them, and sealed them onto the ground as if he was catching lazily thrown baseballs from a child across from him.

Just then, the last three bandits were similarly thrown out, but this time by three Narutos simply kicking through the rooftop of the train. Jiraiya saw these bandits managing to stick their landings, and then he saw a glint coming from behind him.

He noted the flowing chakra coming from a mark on the man's stomach he held in his left arm.

"So, you weren't letting them go over the edge?" He playfully observed whilst Naruto similarly just sidestepped out from behind him, and smirked whilst twirling his modified version of his father's kunai. "You might just be scarier than both your father and mother combined, you know that?"

"Heh, well, I am their son." Naruto commented before merely throwing the kunai with an underhanded toss. He then appeared in a flash just behind the bandits as they dodged it. "So, guys, which is it? I have to ask this, because if you guys are just hungry I'll give you some food and you can leave right now."

"Fuck you, and die!" The leader screamed whilst aiming his automatic rifle toward Naruto. "You little freak!"

"Really…man, what a sorry excuse for brave words." Naruto dryly commented whilst easily getting under the man's guard, and then driving a fist right into his chin. Essentially pushing the man's "off" button as a result, making him pass out midflight. "Why does everyone want to say screw you, can't we all just get along?"

"Die!" The other bandit with a sword charged, only for the young master shinobi to merely bring his kunai up and easily block the slashes. "Just die, die, die!"

"Blah-blah-blah, I already hate hearing your voice." The young shinobi jeered before suddenly palm striking the man in the chest, and throwing him onto the floor as the bandit's body locked up from kanji trailing across his body. "Okay, last one, so…any more words to make me sorely disappointed?"

"Ah…ah…" The man backed away slowly, and then watched as Naruto stepped forward. "Why are you such a cunt, you damn bitch!"

Everything stopped, and the blonde stood there. He looked at Jiraiya, and then he looked back at the bandit. The teenager took a deep breath, slowly comprehending, but surely he had heard the man in front of him wrong.

"Did…did you just call me a cunt and a bitch?" Naruto asked whilst slowly crossing his arms. "I never been called that before, wow, now that I have it feels like an achievement."

"So, thanks."

"Do I win a prize?" The bandit asked nervously before Naruto suddenly flash stepped behind him. "Eh?!"

"You win a nap, goodnight." Naruto kicked the man in the back of the head, sending through the hole in the roof of the train. He stood there. his arms crossed before getting his leg back to stand upright properly. "So, do I look like a girl, Pervy Sage?"

"Not really, but you do have some feminine hair." He honestly replied, making the blonde blow tuft of errand hair out of his face. "It's not a bad thing, I'm just a shocked that the idiot thought you were a girl."

"Then again, you do have a sort of high pitch in your tone sometimes."

"Screw you, Pervy Sage, that was a shot across the bow!" Naruto childishly whined whilst moving his arms up and down rapidly, a tick mark forming on his head with flames in his eyes. "You, and me, sparring after all of this is set and done!"

"Heh, you'll lose still. You're still not at my level kid, but yeah, sure. It's about that time to gauge where you're at." Jiraiya laughed before stopping all of sudden. Him and Naruto both stared at each other, and then looked upward. "You already sensed too, didn't you?"

"So, all of those people are scared down there. Plus were in the middle of a train ride in between cities. Guess whose coming, and are about to make an appearance." Naruto slowly stepped forward before weaving several hand seals. "Incoming Grimm, flying type, probably twin Nevermore."

"No, definitely twin Nevermore, hunting pair, alphas."

"You got all of that based on sensing them?" Jiraiya almost beamed with the question. "Not too shabby kid."

Naruto turned to where they'd breach the clouds. Watching with nary a look of worry. He saw them flap around high above, obviously scoping out their potential prey. Weighing in if it was even worth it. Naruto of course knew that they'd sense him the moment they'd came close.

All Grimm did, and all Grimm homed in on him like a beacon of sorts. Compliments to the giant ball of negative energy in his gut.

"You know, Pervy Sage, those documents you made me study last year whilst practicing my sealing arts. The Uzumaki Clan theorized that Yokai, err, Grimm all were born of spirits rattled with suffering. Especially the spirits of animals cruelly slaughtered and not paid proper respects." Naruto took a moment to flex his left hand, and soon a seal marking appeared on it. "I think that's partially correct, because, Grimm are interconnect with nature around them. So, what do you think?"

"I think they're a response system, but that implies the world at large is a living entity." Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he saw the leading demon bird start a dive. "Well, here they come, Naruto when you learn to speak Grimm you can ask them all sorts of questions."

"Heh, that's messed up, ya know." Naruto was starting to weave hand seals as they dove toward a lower cloud, entering it. "Not bad tactics, but they're thinking were both an old man and a young student."

"That was a shot across the bow." Jiraiya chided him while glancing at him with a side eye. "You better make this quick, after all, you have been training under me for the past two years."

The massive wings of the thirty-foot beast broke the low clouds overhead. Naruto merely generated flames in his mouth as he finished the last hand sign. Lurching back before billowing a wall of flames forward as they caught the projectile feathers midflight. They were swiftly burnt to ash, and whilst Jiraiya was busy getting all the captured bandits into the train, he merely stretched whilst feeling the train shake.

One of the massive demon birds landed behind him.

He turned back toward it, his acute energy sensory abilities detecting the negativity rolling off from it. It's twin was also heavily full of negative energy. Still, minus the six bandits on the train, and what should've been fear minus the one frankly impassioned signature that was Jiraiya. He found amongst them one more that was full of negative emotions.

Still, that would have to wait, the twin demon births were slowly encroaching toward him. No doubt if he didn't stop them, this train was trashed at best. Jiraiya wouldn't let anyone die, but he doubted any of them wanted to walk in powder snow up their knees.

He knew for a fact he didn't.

"You know back in my land, you all had different names. They call you guys Nevermore hear, but we called you Shikarasu. You were also sleeker in appearance. Well, then again, my clan's scrolls exaggerated many things." Naruto finished stretching, and smiled devilishly when the other bird landed on the train in front of him. "Say, I wonder if any of you guys ever talk? I mean, ancient writings said some of you did, but maybe my clansmen were just a little out there."

"I know I am."

He had finished weaving hand seals during the time, quickly establishing a small wind barrier around him as the beasts launched themselves forward. Maws wide open, threatening to devour him whole. Instead, their beaks were slightly shredded when they met the rapidly spinning wind around him. Naruto smirked whilst giving them a wink.

"Can't eat me that easily, besides, I hope you can keep up." Naruto started to take a deep breath, and concentrate fully on the area around him. He smiled coyly before sitting on the ground, cross-legged "This is something I'm new at, so please, be patient with me. Besides, I'm needing to test it out, see where I'm at and all, ya know."

He wasn't able to focus long as the people screaming from below him knocked him out of his concentration. Blowing an errant hair away from his lips, he suddenly deactivated the barrier of spinning wind. The beasties screaming, calling something from the distance that he could sense. Feeling all of the energy that had moved toward him stop, Naruto opened his eyes to see one of the beasts looking right into the open car with a look befitting one looking in an open sardine can.

He opted to get their attention by simply throwing an explosive kunai up. It exploded with a small explosion!

He heard passengers screaming from below him. Rolling his eyes, he knew that Pervy Sage wasn't doing much to alleviate people's nerves. In fact, knowing the lazy toad sage, he'd be drinking some semi-hot tea. Naruto popped his neck a little before getting out a second kunai, tossing it into the train.

"Let's take this somewhere else, shall we?" He beckoned the beasts mockingly before somersaulting off the train whilst they lounged for him. Colliding with each other, beak to beak. He recoiled slightly. "Oof, I heard diving in for it, but sheesh you two get a room."

He landed on the gravel at the end of the bridge before quickly righting himself. He did so just in time to dodge a large volume of feathers flying towards him. He smirked whilst backflipping into the trees, and easily maneuvering through them.

Sensing everything around him, flowing from to tree to tree like water. Naruto's clothing fluttered loosely in the wind. He didn't even need to look behind him as he sensed everything around him. He angled his body to avoid tree limbs, watching as the beasties quickly gave chase to him when he briefly made his eyes turn scarlet red.

Running backwards, launching from tree to tree without looking, easily avoiding branches as he went. He heard the screeching of the demons above him. Obviously they were attracted by him ever so lightly leaking out The Nine Tail's chakra. It was an old bait tactic he figured out. The Grimm couldn't resist it, and as he weaved through the second set of flying feathers from the other one, he smirked when he successfully found a clearing deeper into the woods.

Naruto slid to a stop whilst both giant ravenlike Grimm moved higher into the air. Circling each other, almost in a courting dance. The shinobi simply placed a hand on his hip before depositing his kunai into his beltline. He brought both hands back out forward, weaving them quickly together as the birds closed in.

They came within thirty feet before both launched feathers at him. He simply stood there, moving his body side-to-side to avoid them. Having the coolness, and collective mind, not to panic at the sheer volume of poorly aimed feather darts.

He snatched one of them out of the air with ease, using it block the others heading his way.

He smirked as winds gathered around him. Slowly, but surely, he formed the land hand seals for the jutsu. "Wind Style: Turbulent Whirlwind." He softly spoke as the snow and tree limbs that were loose flew into a circle around him. Directing itself into two different funnels that impacted the massive Grimm.

They both shrieked in the air as the turbulent wind tunnels fell downward. Twin slams accompanied them whilst Naruto saw the massive birds twitch, and then laid still, massive chunks missing from their chests. He put a hand on his hip, and then sighed.

"As much as I want to say that was fun. It wasn't, now my tea is cold. All of this because seven poorly armed bandits tried to rob a train, good grief." He complained before turning around, and seeing what his senses had already picked up. "I guess you guys were coming too, I sensed you on the way over here. Your negativity senses must be on my level, it's something I do think we share in common…we're both drawn to toxicity."

"Toxic emotions, rage, anger, sadness, but unlike me…you seek to destroy. I merely seek to comfort, and give peace to those emotions whenever I truly feel a person is in despair." Naruto raised his right hand up, pointing at the alpha Beowolf, smirking whilst standing sideways from the massive werewolf Grimm. They began to all circle each other, with Naruto's intimidating presence making even Grimm hesitate. "You can sense him, can you guys, yeah, I know you do."

"Bring it."

No sooner than he said those words did the beowolves all charged at once. Naruto didn't even move until the last second. Instead of letting them have any free shots in, he merely took a deep breath as smoke emerged from his left palm. He had reached over with his right hand, gripping the hilt of Thunder God, and smiled confidently as he pulled the sword out of it's scabbard.

He easily deflected the first claw swipe whilst seemingly dancing on his feet. Going low whilst spinning on his knees, he splits the first beowolf to reach him in half at the waist. Rolling forwards, and hopping upright, Naruto gives a feral smile as he stepped forward. Slicing the head off another demonic wolf and afterward spinning the short sword in his hand until it was held in reverse.

Thrusting backwards without looking, he catches the next beowolf in the chest. Backstepping, he used the impaled beowolf as a battering ram on two others. As soon as they were caught off balance, Naruto flipped backwards, ripping his sword out along the way. He twisted his body midair, slicing both of the off balanced beowolves heads off!

More beasties showed up as he looked at the alpha coming after him. He easily avoided the claws, merely dancing around them. Naruto then suddenly crashed his off hand into the beast's gut, smirking when a small shockwave emerged from the back. The beast's red eyes widened as Naruto suddenly formed a small rasengan in the same hand currently laying at it's stomach.

The demon was blasted backwards, smashing into a tree, felling it on top of another unfortunate beowolf. Naruto took a deep breath whilst seeing the remaining ten beowolves hesitate. He took the chance to simply challenge each one of them.

"Demons of the night, that's what they call you guys on this continent mostly." Naruto causally taunted whilst spinning his blade playfully in his hands, switching every so often. "I have to say, I thought you guys would be harder than the Grimm back home."

"Imagine my disappointment when I first took care of a large pack in Vale without much effort."

The beasties all growled, barking, and snarling whilst snapping at him. Naruto knew to some degree they understood they were getting insulted. Gaslighting them was slowly becoming an interesting little topic, because technically all of the people still thought of Grimm as mindless beasts hellbent on destruction.

There was some intelligence behind those red eyes of theirs. Basic intelligence, basic instinct, like any other animal Save that their flight or fight actions heavily leaned to the latter. Still, when Naruto took a small step forward, they all jumped back. He took another step forward with them also jumping backward.

"So, since I'm not some helpless person, or seemingly weak Hunter, you're going to run from me?" Naruto commented on as suddenly gained a feral smirk on his face. His killing intent felt by all of beowolf Grimm around him, making them seemingly pause in their next step. "That's why I'm going to kill every single one of you before going back to train, because every single less of you is one person that gets to see a new day."

He bright his hands together whilst still holding his short sword. Focusing chakra, he took a deep breath as he made it start to form two elements in his body. Winds picked up around him, swirling the snow around him whilst flames suddenly lapped around him, spiraling into the wind. They suddenly collapsed down into the sword, which glowed white hot, and causing torrents of steam to rise off it from the moist air around them.

His body enhanced by chakra, moved smoothly through the snow. He twirled, spun, and leapt at each beast. In the span of two seconds, not even for any of the beasts having time to drop, Naruto clicked the sword back into place in it's scabbard. Some of them didn't even hit the ground when he finished, and he smiled whilst knowing what came next.

WHOOSH!

He turned around as the air ignited, a flaming trail following the path of his sword. Each beast screaming from the burning, and shearing, of their blackened flesh. Naruto made the sword disappear in another puff of smoke in his left hand. He saw the beasts all fall down, dissolving into black powder.

"I call that one Naruto Uzumaki Style: Whirlwind Flame Dance." Naruto inwardly commented before smiling brightly as the area was filled with light in his senses. It was rather funny, the more he trained his senses, the more he noted how nature reacted to Grimm. "This area seems purer than before since I took those Grimm out, always strange how that works. An ebbing and flowing of natural energy disrupted by these monsters, it's as if they feed on life itself to some degree."

"Pervy Sage has it right when he described them while he was in Sage Mode. Man, I cannot wait to start training for that." Naruto's mirth was interrupted by him remembering something. He suddenly gripped his head and yelled. "Damn it I'm way over my time limit, crap! I should've just took them out without talking too much."

"It's still a bad habit of mine, ya know!"

His only reply came from the whistling wind from the woods. Like many times before, he had forgotten the one crucial detail. His sparring partner, and somewhat of his own student, Blake wasn't there. He sighed before taking a deep breath.

"Maybe I should've just stayed in Menagerie, because I miss them terribly…welp time to get onto the train!"

Naruto's right hand found one of his special kunai. Tightly gripping it, focusing, he took a deep breath when he found the train. It has already sped away by about ten miles. He wanted to chastise himself a little more, but as he focused around thirty percent of his chakra, Naruto activated his jutsu.

"Flying Thunder God…" Naruto flashed away in orange flash whilst becoming a seemingly streak of light as his kunai he held homed in on the kunai Jiraiya always kept on him. He suddenly appeared right besides the perverted sage in a flash of orange light. "Level One…"

The train's passengers all gasped when he appeared. Jiraiya was crossing his arms, sighing, whilst looking at the watch on his wrist. He had to admit, it was something he rather enjoyed. A gift from Naruto one day whilst in Menagerie.

Slightly stumbling a little bit after appearing, with blurred version. Naruto took a deep breath to correct himself immediately whilst greeting everyone with a casual wave. One eye open cheekily, at least he played it off as so, in fact he was super exhausted from the usage of the technique like he just did.

"Yo, everyone, sorry about that." He apologized to them, watching as some were afraid to move. "I think the bad guys are all taken down, please relax."

He saw everyone looking at him. "I need to sit down, I don't know how dad ever used that technique constantly, it just eats chakra like crazy, let alone from such a distance." Naruto thought to himself whilst motioning with his hands for everyone to simmer down.

"He was truly amazing…"

"Rest easy everyone, I got you, unfortunately it's rather early. So, I think we need to move out of the dining cart." Naruto instructed them softly, and only stopped one more person by placing a hand on her shoulder. "You there, miss, were just trying to free that bandit over there?"

"What, me, no! I was just checking to make sure he was still breathing. You two Hunters are extraordinary! I mean, I never seen a hunter use dust like you!" She praised him, stroking his ego whilst getting closer. She smiled when it seemingly had an effect. "Young man, are you by chance busy? I work for the news back in Argus, I would love to have an interview with you."

"Heh, if that's what you call it. Still, something's bugging me just a slight bit." Naruto rubbed his chin, and thought for a moment. "This attack was perfectly timed, when the train would've been at it's most vulnerable going over the bridge. No way did these mooks just randomly come along…nah, they had to be given some sort of insider information."

"What are you getting at, sir? I've been sitting in here, heck, one of them waved a gun in my face!" She protested, but then he smiled. "What's so funny."

"You act offended, but man, you really wanna jab that knife hidden in your back pocket into my stomach." Naruto commented, and then easily deflected the jab with the blade as it came. She was fast, very fast under normal standard, but normal fast was just plain slow to Naruto. "What in the-?!"

He easily wrapped her arm under his, hopping over her shoulders before yanking back. An audible pop filled the air as he dislocated her shoulders all in one motion. No remorse, no hesitation, and definitely with no visible sign of disgust on his face.

In fact, it never lost that seemingly friendly smile!

"Damn it, I heard the stories, never believed them." She tried to hold both of her hands up, and just sighed. Violet hair laying messily across her face and lavender colored eyes looking defeated. "I'm not even going to try, just don't kill me."

"Why would I ever kill someone who is surrendering." Naruto patted her shoulder before her eyes widened as kanji spread through her body rapidly. She couldn't move, and struggled to speak. "I'm more, or less, better at sealing people nowadays. By the way, when hiring people to rob a train, even they usually broadcast themselves as loud they're usually hoping for little resistance."

"Sorry, but you merely had the incredible misfortune of running into me."

"S-screw you, kid." She grumbled out before getting pushed next to a fallen bandit. "Gah, what is this, why can't I move."

"Secret ninja stuff, top secret." Naruto jokingly stated before looking at Jiraiya as he walked in. "I know my time is bad, super bad, but to be fair I just took down a small group of Grimm that was following The Nevermore Pair."

"No excuses. Your time was five minutes, and seventeen seconds. Crappy, you scored better against that horde in Vacuo during our train ride into Vale. I mean, seriously, your getting a little too relaxed in combat." The toad sage lectured before walking up to Naruto, and then crossing his arms. "I had my money on the conductor."

"Crappy bets, Pervy Sage, pay up." Naruto held out his hand, and smiled when Jiraiya grumbled and handed a few paper notes. "Sweet, now I'm going to get some hot te-and you're already gone, sheesh…guess I get first watch."

"You guys knew?!" The female bandit insider nearly screamed from the floor. "How, we were so secretive, this is just nuts, what are you Atlassian Ace Ops?!"

"Nah, just your crappy luck. Well, that, and I felt your bad intentions day one on the train. Only growing stronger when we got near here. You really just stink of wickedness. Still, too bad, so sad. By the way, question for you, have you been to Atlas? Is it super cold like here, or warmer?" Naruto mocked her continuously whilst sitting on the floor. Cross-legged, and resting his face on his right fist. "I'm just asking, in case I want to meet people there, I don't exactly do well in the cold."

"Gives me the need to sleep too much."

"I'm not telling you a damn thing, freak." She commented, sneering almost, as if it meant anything. "Now I know who you are, and I have to say…death to The Belladonnas."

"Ooh, trying to get a rise out of me?" Naruto questioned her, leaning forward a little bit, his eyes slowly turning red. "You better choose your words carefully, or I might think you're a part of HFIL."

"Trust me when I say this, you don't want that."

{Argus City}
[Three Hours Later, 9:50am]

Seven bandits, plus a woman, were walking away in handcuffs. Naruto Uzumaki was standing off to the side. Red wraps on his bangs again, having put them on during the time they took getting the train going back at full speed. Half messy welds on top of the train secured any breaches in the hull. He was already hearing the words, magic, hero, and cool thrown into air.

Still, it never felt good to hear them. Naruto took a moment to drink the hot cup of coco in his hand. He breathed in the steam, and then thought of her. He sighed, and took a minute to get out his scroll. Naruto was on the front of it, hanging upside down with Blake next to him.

A training exercise both of them did to get both blood, and energy, flowing. Those two years of finding himself being thrusted into both master and student was interesting. He never felt so close to someone before, save for Jiraiya, and yet here he felt so alone without her.

He didn't know why, but his heart broke ever so slightly when he thought of home in Menagerie.

"You know, staring at it like that is going to have people assuming your watching some A-rated action." Jiraiya interrupted Naruto's thoughts, making him jump slightly. The older shinobi held out another cup of hot coco to him. "I kind of figured you were running low, so here I am, giving you ammo as the kids say in this land."

"Some of their turn of phrases are funny, that one just sucks." Naruto bluntly admitted before finishing the previous one off, and throwing it into the trashcan across from them. "So, what do we take next, another train?"

"Nope, now we take another ship." The Toad Sage laughed, making his student slightly turn green. "Funny part of all this, your father hated boats too…and your mother."

"If I ever should come to rule anything, I'm banning boats, torture devices the lot of them." Naruto joked under his breath, and took a moment to sense the area around them. "Isn't it a little weird that Granny has been sending more people to this world lately?"

"A little bit, but, it's mostly so Konoha can learn more about this place. I mean, think of what it means to a lot of people back home. A whole entirely different existence, and it's literally kind of next door to us almost." The Sage stated whilst he thought about something, and then voiced it aloud. "Do you think that we were created first, or was this place?"

"That's…actually something I've been thinking about." Naruto admitted surprisingly before humming a little bit. "We both shared similar monsters, similar cultures, and the only real difference between us is technology. We stuck to more basic tech, focusing inwards, whilst they focused outwards…and it may not have always been the case."

"Fairytales, even from our homeland, were born from kernels of truth as they say."

"So…speaking of fairytales, I've noticed you've been looking on one of the older scrolls I found time from time. The big one." Jiraiya stated whilst looking off toward the clear blue sky. "What did you call it?"

"The Uzumaki Clan History Scroll. It's a little weird that they stitched new layers on every generation or so. Even weirder is technically me, and Granny, are cousins." Naruto answered whilst taking a deep breath, and then sighed. "My clan kept extensive records, I'll give them that, up until they were wiped out."

"The fact that right before Ashina Uzumaki, they had a small, but devastating civil war was something I was surprised about." Naruto told him before taking a moment to sip his hot coco. "Still, I'm just tracing to see how far back my clan went."

"Plus, I'm also going through the books too…but one name keeps popping out me. A name that's been in almost every other Uzumaki fairytale." The young shinobi shivered on the coincidence of it all. Especially when the dreams restarted and became a little bit more frequent than normal. "Ashura, but that's the weird thing, he's just called Ashura."

"The very same Ashura you dream about. We've been over this, but what's weird is the fact that every single tale you've read, you've had a dream about it." Jiraiya pointed out casually before taking a sip of his coco. Noting the serious look on his student's face. "It's nothing to worry about, heck I have dreams of me and Tsuande in a public bath…yet they never happened."

"Probably because she'd kill you." Naruto replied with a small smirk. He sighed though, and thought about someone back home. "I wonder how everyone is doing back home."

"We could sit here, for the next five years, and debate it without ever getting an inch closer to being wrong or right. Still, Naruto, are you okay? You seem a little sad, kid." He leaned forward, giggling a little bit. "Don't worry, I'm sure your girlfriend back home is still holding firm in her dreams to be a huntress."

"Gah, when you say it like that, it's weird!" Naruto gasped whilst blushing a little bit. He crossed his arms, and took a deep breath while looking up. "Blake isn't my girlfriend either, you know that, jerk besides I just miss her cooking…damn it I miss that crab ramen she made, Gods above it was better than Ichiraku, and I consider that a sin to say."

"You're in love, and you don't even know it." Jiraiya smiled whilst looking at him continuing to ramble on a little bit. He stopped thinking to himself, and just smiled. "You don't have to explain anything to me kid, and as for her cooking, it is truly great…still her mother wins out."

"Of course, she does, but I'm telling you, there'll be a day student surpasses master. Heck, I'm not too far from you now that I think about it." He compared whilst creating a more cartoony version of everyone in head, with Blake and her mother competing in a cookoff whilst he and Jiraiya got ready to box in a ring. "Say, Pervy Sage, when did dad surpass you?"

"That's debatable, but let's go ahead and say that he was just a little bit older than you. Your father's greatest strength laid inside of Time-Space Ninjutsu." He answered whilst thinking for a minute, rubbing his chin. "Your version of The Flying Thunder God is also lacking in one key thing."

"Chakra control."

"Yeah, I know, dad could use his like he was breathing. Me, I got to be thinking about when and how. It's not the same, but also, there's the fact I don't even know how he had so much spare chakra to use. It's nuts, I mean, I used it to get back on the train and it drained me a little bit." The younger shinobi leaned on railing, sipping on his new coco again before sighing and exhaling the steam before patting his stomach. "However, there is also most of my chakra constantly holding this guy inside of me."

"Excuses, excuses, everyone has one." Jiraiya teased him, and then watching as Naruto finished the coco. "Somethings got you stirred up a little bit, something up?"

"I heard Atlas is an entire floating city! A city that floats! Of course, I'm excited, because could you imagine something the size of Konoha just floating in the sky?!" Naruto pumped his fist, and then gave a beaming smile. "So many things to do, so many things to see. Man, I cannot wait to finally just be settling into a nice comfy bed that doesn't involve a ship, or a train, for the next six months!"

"Then I can start sending photos of that place back home. I mean, Kali has never been to Atlas, neither has Blake. Ghira has, but that was a long time ago in his own words. Back when it's sister city, Mantle, was still the capital of Atlas." Naruto then rubbed his chin upon saying that, and then tilted his head to the side. "Wait a minute, wouldn't that technically mean that that at one point Atlas wasn't Atlas, but just The Kingdom of Mantle?"

Naruto and Jiraiya both looked at each other, just resorting shrugging it. Sometimes some questions aren't worth the time to think about. Technicalities belong to the land of bureaucrats and the hell that was bureaucracy.

"Attention all pass holders. All pass holders going to Atlas please report to Argus Bay Pier seven! Your flight will be departing in four hours!"

"Wait, flight, I thought you said it was a boat." Naruto looked over at Jiraiya curiously before smacking himself on the side of the head. "Oh, yeah, floating city duh."

"There it is, it's nice to see kid Naruto come out to play once in a good minute." Jiraiya teased him before the blonde just stuck his tongue at him. "Love you too, brat."

"Yeah-yeah, gramps, c'mon. We better get a move on before your hip gives out. You'd cry yourself to sleep if you couldn't use it anymore." Naruto shot back with a foxlike grin plastered across his face, walking backwards only to accidentally bump into someone and started turning around. "Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see ya there!"

"Oh, hi, now I'm really sorry."

The woman he bumped into was standing with several soldiers by her side. Jiraiya sighed, and noted their uniforms. They were Atlassian alright, at least from what he read on the guide that Ozpin sent them. The woman was a looker though, ice cold blue eyes ands snowlike hair. Her hair tied into a bun, fully business demeanor, with both arms behind her back.

She took a moment to glance at him, and then to the man accompany him. Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath.

"My name is Winter Schnee. I am a Lieutenant under the direct command of General James Ironwood. I've been sent on this venture as a means to provide you with a crash course of laws, regulations, and documentation so that you'd be able to use the systems provided to all citizens of Atlas." She then held out her hand, shaking a befuddled Naruto's, and then Jiraiya's. "It is a pleasure to meet you both, I've many accounts of your capabilities."

"Oh, why thank you, so what's with the armed guard?" Naruto asked.

"They're my personal escort. They're more for me, then you, after all there has been a local chapter of White Fang in Mistral that has been…going off the reservation so to speak." The woman gauged his reaction, noting he didn't react harshly to that. "Are you ready to fly to Atlas?"

"Yeah, sure, in about four hours." Naruto stated whilst holding up his boarding pass. "Want a hot chocolate while we wait, I mean, I wouldn't mind buying it."

"Whilst I'm flattered by offer, Mr. Uzumaki. I have to say no. As for the four-hour wait, that is also unacceptable. You've been slow getting into Atlas, with some doubts that you would show, getting cold feet." Winter took his boarding pass, along with Jiraiya's, and quickly tore them in half before throwing them into the trash bin. "You will be getting a flight with me. Bear in mind, you can't wonder on it unattended, after all it's an Atlassian Military Aeroship."

"Atlassian Aeroship, wait a minute, you mean those cool looking spaceship looking things?!" Naruto beamed whilst looking at her. Stars in his eyes almost. "I always wondered what it must be like on them, I've rode on a Mistralian airship, and it was alright…but man it must feel different in those things you guys have!"

"It is very much different, colder. For the record, Mr. Uzumaki, why did it take you so long to get into Argus?" She asked him whilst they were starting their walk-in earnest. "You were expected here a couple weeks ago."

"Oh, I ran into several hiccups along the way. By the way, did you know that there's a huge number of Nevermore Grimm in Mistral? I didn't, and boy, let me tell you. I don't usually like fighting flying enemies, but some of them were gigantic in size!" Naruto smiled brightly, and thought about how to continue his answer. "So, along the way, me and Pervy Sage just kind of helped out people here and there…which lead to us missing that one boat."

"That was in Vacuo." Jiraiya added in.

"Then we ran into an old friend, Qrow was his name. Was supposed to meet him, and his friend Taiyang for lunch at Taiyang's place, but ended up having to skip it because Mr. Stomach Issues over here got super sick and had to get checked out by a hospital." Naruto added in, and noted the side eye Jiraiya gave him. "It was funny watching hit on nurses, and him dealing with stomach cramps at the same time."

Jiraiya gave a cocky smile, and crossed his arms. "Still succeeded in many things whilst there." He stated before making the blonde blush a little bit.

"Y-yeah, let's get off that, right now. Anyway, Ms. Schnee, sorry about being late." Naruto attempted to apologize, only for Winter to raise a closed fist up, stopping all movement. She turned around, and merely gave him a curt nod. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Lieutenant Schnee, or Lieutenant Winter, either or. Never call me miss, or missus. With that being said, in Atlas, you'll be held to a standard whilst in the academy. Please do your best to abide to it. Your not required to take combat classes, but I doubt anyone would fault you for attending some lectures." She then turned back to where they were marching off too. "Let's get going, time waits for no one."

{Kuo Kuana: Near Lake Uzumaki Settlement.]
[Around The Same Time. 8:15pm in Menagerie]

Jackals scream as they were charging toward a helpless young girl who fell outside of the gates. She was bringing her hands up, but knew it was futile. All seemed lost, and it was because of her reaching for her little red ball. The fall wasn't even that far, about twenty feet, and she had done major damage.

Her ankle was twisted, possibly cracked. Still, it would've been okay if only she hadn't had the misfortune of landing in front of a Jackal hunting group! She was barely touching on her tenth winter being alive. Having slipped on the ice on the gate, which now possibly sealed her fate.

"Mommy, help me!" She screamed whilst covering herself, and got into the fetal position. "I don't wanna get eaten by monsters!"

The Alpha Jackal reached her first. His head came down, and then fell off promptly afterward. The girl felt it drop next to her, and looked up to see a much older girl standing in front of her. She wore black sleeveless vest with armbands stretching up to her elbow. For warmth, she had a bright white coat on with dark blue sweats. She hadn't came out here to save the girl having just got done with training.

She quickly scooped the girl up in one fluid turn of motion. Using some sort of method to make sure she stuck to her back. The young woman stepped forward afterwards, and then flash stepped in front of the first Jackal she could reach. In a swift twist of her body, it's head went flying off!

Quickly flash stepping over to two of the monsters standing together, she appeared above them! Upside down, whilst twisting her body and delivering two more slashes that saw their heads come off! Landing in the snow, with the young girl on her back grunt from the rough landing.

The young woman spun her sword around, a katana. Rapidly spinning and then smirking before sheathing into the scabbard on her left flank. The energy that had kept her connected to the girl stopped, letting her gently sit the girl down into the snow.

"Are you okay?" She asked the young girl. "You seem a little lost, little kids can't go beyond on this point."

"I wasn't trying to! I slipped and fell!" The girl protested, and slowly the young woman reached out. Her hand was began to glow a greenish color, and soon her ankle felt better. "Miss, what are you doing? That feels better!"

"It's something a friend taught me. Amongst a couple of other things." She admitted before the girl got some recognition and then she smiled. "You better hang on to me, when we get going, I'm not stopping until we reach Kuo Kuana Hospital."

"You're Blake Belladonna!" She exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "I've heard of you, you and Mr. Uzumaki are the guys that saved Kuo Kuana City a few years ago, right!"

"Not exactly how it went, but that was mostly Naruto." She giggled a little bit before picking the girl up. "Well, c'mon on then, let's go."

Without much movement, Blake Belladonna simply seemingly disappeared in a blur of speed. Using her newly acquired flash stepping technique to quickly leave the air. Not even leaving many signs in the snow, save wide spaced footprints here and there.

Soon enough she was running up the settlement's wall. Flipping forward when she cleared the edge, and landing with a solid thud of her footfalls. She stood up on the wall stakes, and looked at the small flourishing community just right outside of Kuo Kuana.

Over the last two years more and more faunus from the other continents had moved to Menagerie. United, all settlements followed civic laws passed in Kuo Kuana. With things like a united code of law, and focused projects for improvement of the continent at large. Kuo Kuana also had grown, but she was more or less a steppingstone.

This town, near Uzumaki Lake, ended up being called Uzumaki Town. It wasn't because Naruto wanted, Gods no, he had lamented the fact that they named a town after his last name. Then again, some part of him relished in it, and she knew it.

It made her smile though, especially as lanterns were starting to be lit around the streets. Hopping down, she lightly jogged towards the clinic. It didn't take long for a familiar face to recognize her coming. Dr. Vista, having opened his own clinic after training doctors in Kuo Kuana's hospital for the last couple of years, was currently jogging over to meet her.

"Grimm attack?" He asked her, easily scooping the girl from her hands. "Hey there sweetheart, you are doing okay?"

"I'm fine, just my ankle, Blake saved me!" The little girl stated before looking over at her. "Thank you, Ms. Belladonna!"

"No problem…and Dr. Vista, she was about to get pounced on. I got there in time, but her ankle may be broke." Blake told him whilst watching activate his semblance, confirming with a nod. "You got her from here?"

"Sure do, by the way, tell Naruto the next time you talk that I said hello." He stated while walking away quickly, and then then turned to the little. "Alright little lady, let's go get your ankle…"

He went out of hearing range as Blake smiled, taking a sigh of relief. She checked the time on her scroll, noting that it was around eight-thirty. She had better start getting home, and soon took off running that direction. Easily enhancing her body with the basics, she was taught, and quickly she found herself nearing Kuo Kuana's mountain pass. Not even using the stairs anymore, she ran up the wall leaping past the edge, and going forwards onto the flatter surface of the passage. She remembered the massive fight they had with the giant monster here. How close they all had came to dying, and then started a walk down memory lane.

All the while she practiced hand seals, not even weaving them to form anything, just to increase the focus of her little bit of chakra she's cultivated over the years. She found one that she liked to use to focus more on, something that she noted that resonated with her somewhat.

She held her hands in the tiger hand seal. Focusing as she walked, trying to get her energies to mix together some more. She never understood how Jiraiya, and Naruto, could have so much of this energy. They had to have been cultivating it for years upon years, but to be fair, she had only recently started.

"I have to get stronger, because I won't allow you to be only pillar holding my homeland up." She mentally focused as she channeled both spiritual and physical energy together, mixing them. "Because that's what we do for people we cherish most."

"We share the burden, and never allow one singular person to carry it."

{Unknown Location On Remnant Near Mistral.}
[Around The Same Time.]

To say that this world was strange would put it mildly. Still, they weren't here for that. Their time was drawing near. Torune Aburame, and Fu Yamanaka, had snuck into this world nearly one year ago. They were assigned this special task simply for the betterment of Konoha. By any means possible. Back home, their true Hokage, Danzo had began his moves.

It was difficult to comprehend what the plan was. However, there was a working theory that Naruto Uzumaki was willingly chose to stay here instead of answering the reverse summoning jutsu. That made him a traitor, no matter how popular!

Traitors that were Jinchuuriki were even worse.

"Are we ready, Torune?" Fu asked while he began weaving hand seals. "We did this seal right; I've been over the scroll several times."

"Yes, we're ready, Fu." Torune answered before both of them placed their palms at opposite ends of the sealing pattern that was in the shape of a spiral. "Let us begin."

The spiral of kanji swirled, crackling with power, as both top rank shinobi gritted their teeth. Their noses bleed profusely within seconds. However, slowly, but surely the time-space seal they had placed down began to take form.

A black, inklike, void laid at their feet. Out of that inklike void stepped several more similarly dressed shinobi. All of them bearing a Konoha headband. Though, to be fair, the leaf was encircled on it. A symbol of Danzo's policy to focus on Konoha and Konoha only!

"Welcome brothers, and sisters, of The Root." Fu greeted them whilst slowly standing up, wiping the blood off his face. "As you might be aware, Lord Danzo is currently making moves in Konoha proper. Soon enough we'll have our hands back on The Nine Tailed Fox. That traitor Naruto Uzumaki refuses his summons home, and thusly, he is classified as such."

"We are to capture extract, and reclaim The Nine Tailed Fox at all costs."

"Yes, understood, Captain Fu!" The group chanted whilst standing straight and upright. All of them except Torune. "We serve the true Hokage of Konoha!"

"You were all chosen because we each hold abilities that would effectively work against Lord Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki. Unfortunately, no witnesses can be allowed, and knowing Jiraiya, he'll step in. Thusly, for the greater good, he is to be eliminated as well." Fu stated whilst putting both hands behind his back, his yellow hair tied back in a ponytail. "Naruto's current location is in a place called Haven in this land called Mistral."

"We are to wait for the perfect moment to strike."

"How do you know he's there?" A female operative asked. She had violet hair, and was hidden behind a snake's mask. "You two been following him?"

"We've contacted a faction in this world. A faction that has been eager to learn more about us too." Fu answered whilst looking at the woman. He nodded his head, and smiled. "He might be a little crazy, but every bit of information he's given us so far has been profoundly accurate."

"Sir, what if Menagerie gets involved? Our agreements with them has been a large boon for a while now." One of the masked shinobi asked, everyone turned to him. "It would be horrible to have our forces denied access to the technology we've gained from them."

"Which is why if we do our job correctly, Menagerie will not know. The only thing that they would be aware of is that Naruto Uzumaki died in a fight." Torune spoke up whilst looking at them all, and setting his gaze upon one familiar looking man in a mask. "It's hard to believe that you joined our ranks, but thanks to you, Kosuke was eliminated without detection. Still always taking the duty to Konoha seriously as ever, eh?"

"After all, you always did say those who betray their friends are worse than scum…"

The man removed his porcelain mask. He has white hair, and navy-blue mask covering his mouth just below the nose. He had one dark gray eye in his right socket. However, on his left past a scar, was a sharingan eye that swirled to life. It spun rapidly as he stood tall, without much emotion in those eyes. Eyes that have seen the countless horrors of war, and bloodshed.

"Kakashi Hatake."

Trivia.

No trivia this week, been super tired. Been sicker than a dog lately, working two jobs and going to school. I'm tired as well, been working nonstop ever since my last trip to the hospital for my stomach issues.

Wish me luck everyone, and I'll see you next time.

Also…how was that shocker ending? Eh. I figured that if I'm going to make Arc 3 better than arc 2, I better start it off with a BANG! So, guess what people, we're moving into Pre-Rwby Proper. I know, right, we're nearing it.

So…the question remains…when will the time come for them to strike? Also, do you actually think Kakashi is a traitor?

Find out next time…on Dragon Ball…wait…wrong anime. Next time, on Primroses and Nightshade.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Welcome To Atlas.