AN: So, here's chapter 4. It's been around a month, and I managed to get it done finally. Things in my life have been piling up, so I haven't had much time to give this. Here is where I would usually address questions and criticisms from the last chapter. Surprisingly though, there wasn't much. The only one I got was over my comments about making Naruto an underdog again. To address that I suppose I will just say using the word "underdog" to describe Naruto's position in this story was just a poor choice of words. The "nerf" was not to make him an underdog again, it was just to let there be somewhat of a plot.
You see, if I had Naruto keep his power, then this story would have the same problem the Boruto anime has. In the Boruto series, both Naruto and Sasuke are legit demigods who are wildly more powerful than everyone else in the world. Because of that, all the "villains" feel so contrived and pointless. In the first arc, when the big bad creature arrives, Naruto shows up on the battlefield and states he can take it out in a single shot, which we all know he could very much do. However, Kakashi tells him not to. Do we get a good reason? Absolutely not. The only reason Kakashi told him to stop, is because otherwise Boruto would have nothing to do. The same thing applies here. If Naruto still had his power, then Ruby and everyone else would have no use in the story because Naruto could just decimate everyone. The only way Ruby and the others could do something is if I purposely made Naruto just sit back and let them handle it all, which is something Naruto would never do. So, no, Naruto is not an Underdog in this story. Even though he doesn't have his old power, he still has more training and battle experience than everyone in his class. The actual underdog here is Jaune, which I desperately hope is something most of you know. Well, now that I'm done yammering, onto the chapter.
Chapter 4 – Forest Initiation
Naruto was awake and sitting on the balcony of the ballroom brushing his teeth. He needs to keep that assuring smile clean. He sat there wondering what challenge Ozpin had for him and the others. Whatever it was, Naruto just hoped it was exciting. Naruto then turned around and seen that many of his fellow students were still asleep. The gears then began turning in Naruto's head. "So many prime targets, I can't resist the urge!" He thought as he then began to contemplate how he was going to rudely awaken the room. So many possibilities. He could knock over something large enough to make a decent impact. He could set off a little explosion since that seemed to be his thing at this point. He could spread some powder in the room to make them start coughing or sneezing.
Even Kurama got in on the conversation. "Shame your body can't handle us sharing Chakra right now. You could hide and then let out a roar."
"Oh god, that would be so good…" Naruto said out loud thinking of the absolute fright that would befall his fellow student's faces at the sound of a Nine Tails roar. Unfortunately for Naruto, his fantasies were quelled when the other students finally started waking up one by one. "Dammit!" Naruto said internally.
"I'm honestly surprised. I thought you were done with pranks. After all, when's the last time you actually did one?" Kurama asked his partner.
"It's not like I stopped liking pranks." Naruto said to the fox. "It's just that ever since I got back to the Leaf with Pervy Sage, it's just been one long continuous series of events since I got back. First the bell test, then rescuing Garra, searching for Sasuke, training for a group of guys that wanted to capture us, and that was all before I went to Mount Myaboku! I haven't really had the time to relax and plan some pranks. But…" Naruto then gained a mischievous grin. "Now I'm in a new world where we're not at war and I'm not being hunted! I'm just a student again, which means it's time to show this school what Naruto Uzumaki's all about! Ya know!"
Kurama had not thought about it like that. It was true though. Upon his initial return to the Leaf, every time Naruto would finish one adventure, another one would quickly start. Naruto has not really had any down time in over a year. Even when he got to Remnant, he was forced to fight Grimm and then entered the work force for two months upon getting to Vale. "So basically, because of the craziness that was your life, any opportunity to be the kid that you are has been repressed. But now that you're in a calmer environment, you can let loose again."
Naruto nodded confirming it to the fox. Naruto still felt a little sour though. His prime opportunity had left him. "I guess I'll have to pick and choose who I prank instead of going for everyone at once." Naruto thought. Naruto then went to get dressed. He and the others then went to the locker room.
Then students were now in the locker room and Naruto, who is now in his usual clothes and jacket, had to wonder to himself. "Why would I need a locker? My weapon can be small enough to carry on me at all times."
"Perhaps there will be times you aren't permitted to carry your weapon here. It is a school after all." Kurama added.
"But it's a combat school! That's stupid!" Naruto thought indignantly.
Kurama then rolled his eyes before he spoke. "Right, because I'm sure the teachers here would love the idea of trying to control a bunch of emotionally charged teenagers during class who are equipped with dangerous weapons."
"…I hate it when you're right." Naruto responded to the fox in a defeated tone.
Kurama proceeded to laugh accordingly. "You really need to get over that, because I'm right far more often than I'm not."
"Oi!" Naruto responded indignantly. He wanted to call the fox out, but unfortunately Kurama actually was right most of the time. Naruto's conversation with the fox was broken when he heard the sound of a girl that kept talking with almost no breaks. He looked over and seen a girl who was talking the ear off a boy who looked like he was used to it.
The girl has short orange hair and turquoise eyes. In terms of clothing, she has a collage of different color schemes. She wears a collared black vest that ends at her waist. Her emblem, which looks like a hammer with a lightning bolt, is on the back. Under the vest are two layers of clothing. One was red and the other light-blue. Along with that she wears a white sleeveless top. There are also white detached sleeves on each arm of said top. She wears matching fingerless gloves on each hand. She then wears a pink skirt and her shoes are a mix of pink and white with pink laces, displaying her emblem on their soles. She too is one of the few girls with some armor.
The boy has long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back. He has a pink, or possibly magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes match said streak. In terms of clothing, he wears a dark green long-sleeved tailcoat with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. His emblem appears to be a lotus flower. He wears a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit, and light-tan pants with black shoes.
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal. Like a distress signal." The girl in the collage of colors and styles said before she gasped as she got an idea and she keeps hopping to a different spot unable to keep still. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest. Can you imitate a sloth?" The girl said pointing to her friend.
"Nora…" The boy in green said.
The girl, now revealed to be Nora, zipped to the other side of the boy and said, "Yes, Ren?"
The now revealed Ren somehow made his weapons, which were two green machine pistols that appeared to have an almost ax-like blade under the barrel, slip into his sleeves. He then said, "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
Nora's eyes then look around for a second before she's back to talking again. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together."
Ren then smiles as he closes his locker. "Come on Nora, let's go."
"But not together, together." Nora added before she giggled and followed her friend.
Naruto, after his head cleared from finding out that someone can talk that much so fast, began to sweat. "P-partners…I never knew about partners…"
Kurama laughed at his friend's predicament. "Let's hope you don't screw up introductions with them too." Naruto just groaned at his friend's teasing as he then sat down and thought of what he was going to do.
Meanwhile, not far from Naruto was Ruby and her sister Yang getting ready. "Wonder what those two were so worked up about?" Ruby asked, referring to Ren and Nora.
"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning." Yang commented to her sister.
Ruby smiled. "Yup! No more awkward small talk or getting-to-know-you stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby says while stroking her weapon like it was a cat.
"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only not the only one going through initiation." Yang said breaking her sister out of her odd state. "If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."
Ruby's face became one of irritation. "Ugh, you sound like dad! Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk." Ruby said with a minor attempt at sass. Ruby then heard some snickering and looked to see it was Naruto. "What are you laughing at?"
"Oh nothing…" Naruto said trying to contain his laughter. Ruby gave him a suspicious look before Naruto says, "Good luck, milk warrior." Naruto then grinned.
Yang chuckled at Ruby's temporary nickname which she brought upon herself. "Seriously Ruby, what about when we form teams?"
"Oh, I don't know. I…" Ruby said a little stumped. "I'll just be a part of your team or something…"
Naruto was once again concerned about the team situation. Sure, Naruto has always been pretty good at working with people when he needs to. However, Naruto still felt uneasy about teams. He has not forgotten how his last one fell apart, with his former teammate and best friend trying to kill him multiple times. In fact, the whole reason he was here was because the two of them almost succeeded in killing each other. Naruto simply hoped there would be a rule he could exploit to deal with the situation.
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team…" Yang said stroking her hair nervously due to what she assumed her sister's reaction would be to the comment.
"My dear sister Yang…" Ruby got up close before pointing her finger in her sister's face. "Are you implying you do not wish to be on the same team as me?!" Ruby said in an accusatory tone.
"What? No, of course I do." Yang said defensively, trying to wave her off. "I just thought, I don't know, maybe it would help you break out of your shell?"
Ruby proceeded to make sounds indicating how wrong she thought her sister was. "I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely—"
"Ridiculous!" Jaune said interrupting Ruby. He was trying to desperately find his locker. In doing so, he passes by Weiss and the red-headed armored girl from yesterday.
"So, Pyrrha. Have you given any thought on who's team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself." Weiss asked uncharacteristically nicely.
"Hmm…" The now revealed Pyrrha let out. "I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well, I was thinking we could be on a team together." Weiss commented.
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha responded.
"Great!" Weiss said before she began to think menacingly, "This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class. Together we'll be unstoppable. I can see it now, we'll be popular, we'll be celebrities, we'll get the perfect grades! Nothing will come between us now!" Weiss, whose true intentions had been revealed, was broken from her thoughts by Jaune introducing himself to the conversation.
"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." Jaune said with lots of confidence. Naruto, who had been by the exit got a sudden feeling that another Weiss chastising session was about to occur.
"You again?" Weiss said with contempt.
Pyrrha then slid in so she could be a part of the conversation. "Nice to meet you, Jaune."
Jaune then got Pyrrha to go back to her spot with his arm as he got closer to Weiss. "Yeah yeah. So, Weiss. Couldn't help but hear your fondness of me the other day." He said flexing his bicep making Weiss hold her head again.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Weiss said, unable to fathom that this is happening.
"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed. So, been hearing rumors about teams. I was thinking you and me would make a good one, what do you say?"
"Actually, I believe the teams are comprised of four students each, so…" Pyrrha interjected.
"You don't say?" Jaune responded before he stepped over to Pyrrha. "Well hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you can join up with the winning team."
Naruto was watching this and could not help but think to himself, "Is this really the same guy who was puking his guts out yesterday?"
"It's clearly put on" Kurama commented to Naruto.
Weiss quickly got between Jaune and Pyrrha. "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?
"Not in the slightest snow angel." Jaune responded.
"This, is Pyrrha." Weiss informed him.
"Hello again." Pyrrha said as she waved.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss said to further hype up Pyrrha.
"Never heard of it." Jaune informed her.
Annoyed at Jaune's ignorance, Weiss continued. "She won the Mistral Regional Tournaments four years in a row. A new record."
"The what?" Jaune responded indignantly.
Weiss got more annoyed as she flailed her arms about. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"
Jaune audibly gasped, now finally recognizing her. "That's you?! They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah." Pyrrha then said bashfully. "It was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask—" Weiss was abruptly cut off by a paper ball to the head. Unlike last night, she did not have to look to know who the culprit was. "Naruto!"
Naruto's voice came through the hallway as he ran down it. "You can't prove anything!"
Weiss was now trying to calm down as Pyrrha went up to Jaune. "I would be more than happy to be a part of your team."
Jaune grinned before he went back to Weiss. "Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick. Now I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could find a place for you? Pull some strings? What do you say?" Jaune ended the last question very close to Weiss' face.
"Alright, that's a bit too close. Pyrrha, a little help please?" Weiss requested, which was quickly followed by Jaune getting pinned to the wall through his clothes by Pyrrha's spear.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said to Jaune as then Glynda made an announcement for all first years to report to the cliff. Pyrrha then took her spear and left with Weiss as Ruby and Yang approached Jaune.
"Having some trouble there, lady killer?" Yang said to her fellow blonde in a teasing fashion. Ruby held her hand out to supported Jaune.
"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?" Jaune asked the last question in whiny and defeated tone.
"Snow Angel probably wasn't the best start." Yang informed him as she left.
Ruby helped Jaune walk out of the locker room. "Come on Jaune, let's go."
The students were all gathered on some stone platforms by the side of a cliff. In front of the students is the Headmaster himself, Professor Ozpin. Next to him is one of the teachers and seemingly Ozpin's assistant, Glynda. To their backs was a large forest in which the initiation was to take place.
Naruto looked out to the forest. "Ah forest, it seems I can never escape you." Naruto thought to himself. This was going to make this test easier for him by giving him home field advantage.
"Perhaps in this environment you can figure out a way to avoid the team situation." Kurama noted.
"I sure hope so." Naruto thought, responding to the fox.
Ozpin then finally spoke up. "For years you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Glynda, holding her scroll, then began to speak. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today."
"What? Aw." Ruby let out before making an awkward noise of concern.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin added. "So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." This caused Ruby to let out another noise of concern. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years."
It was at this point that Ruby's world fell apart as she shouted, "What?!"
Naruto had the opposite reaction. "I can so work around that!"
"That's a shame. I was hoping to see you squirm at the thought of being stuck with someone." Kurama mocked.
"Oi! You sadist fox!" Naruto indignantly replied.
Nora, meanwhile, placed her hand on Ren's shoulder. "See? I told you."
Ozpin then continued. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."
"Now those are my kind of rules!" Naruto shouted out, gaining him a glare from Glynda. "I think you were right Kurama, she's not one to mess with." Naruto thought, now a little nervous.
"Like I said, I'm right far more often than I'm not." The fox reiterated.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation." Ozpin informed them. "But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um sir—" Jaune tried to get out before he was cut off.
"Good! Now take your positions." Ozpin instructed.
Everyone seemed to be readying while Naruto stood there relaxed. "What's everyone tensed up for?" He wondered. Jaune attempts to ask another question when Weiss gets launched. "Whoa! That's how we're going? This school is awesome!" Naruto shouted out loud, getting a lot of odd looks from the other students.
"So, this landing strategy thing, uh, what is it? You're like, dropping us off or something?" Jaune nervously asked.
"No, you will be falling." Ozpin informed Jaune.
"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked nervously.
"No, you will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin answered indifferently.
The next three launched were Naruto, Yang, whom had just put on sunglasses, and Ruby. Naruto was thrilled. "This is how you start a semester!" he yelled.
"So, what exactly is a landing strat—" Jaune tried to finish but he was then launched screaming.
Naruto was falling through the air. He was enjoying the breeze while he began to formulate a plan. "Okay, he said the first person we make eye contact with, right?"
"After you land, yes." Kurama confirmed.
"So, if I can just avoid eye contact, then I don't have to get assigned a partner…" Naruto thought.
"I know things with your last team went sour, but I don't think you should actively be trying to avoid a team." Kurama knew how Naruto felt, but he didn't like the idea of Naruto trying to avoid people. It is a dangerous slope before you end up a lonely child like Naruto used to be.
"It's not like I'm trying to avoid having friends, I'm just not ready to be a part of a team again is all." Naruto informed the fox as he approached the trees. He began flipping to slow his decent as he then hopped off multiple trees before landing on the ground and quickly got back into the trees.
"Seriously, how you got so lucky for this to be in a forest is beyond me." Kurama commented.
"I know!" Naruto responded in astonishment as well. "Not gonna complain though!" He then began tree hopping, which made him start gaining more ground than the others. As he was traversing, he could hear the sounds of his fellow classmates engaging Grimm. He could even hear Yang sounding like she was going berserk. "Huh, wonder what set her off?" He said out loud now that he knew he would not be heard. All of a sudden, the tree Naruto was about to hop off of shook making him lose balance and he fell out of the tree. "What in the…?!" He shouted in surprise. He then looked to see a couple boar like Grimm called Boarbatusks. "Okay you dumb little pigs, you wanna go?!" Naruto shouted indignantly as he got out Orange Spark. "Come on!"
Glynda walks up to Ozpin watching her scroll. "One of our last pairs have been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Ms. Nikos." She then switches feeds to Pyrrha who is teamed with Jaune.
"Hmm…" was all Ozpin said.
"I don't care what his transcript says, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." Glynda commented. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. On the other hand, there is Mr. Uzumaki." She says bringing up a feed of Naruto beating down the two Boarbatusks. "He had no transcripts whatsoever."
Ozpin then retorted with, "Yet his ability is very much real. You saw the skill in which he eliminated those Beowolves, same as I did." He then watched Naruto finish off the last Boarbatusk.
"Regardless…" Glynda said. "At their current pace they should reach the temple in a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use for relics this year?" There was no response. "Professor Ozpin?"
Ozpin merely let out a "Hmm…" as he watched Ruby and Weiss' feed.
Naruto finally made it to the temple. "That is the temple, right?" Naruto asked his fox companion.
"The old ruins sure make it seem so." The fox commented.
Naruto hopped off the hill towards the temple. He seen the relics which were black and gold chess pieces. There were two of each type. It seemed he was the first one there as there were no missing relics. "So, I just take one?" Naruto asked.
Kurama, after taking in all the information, came to a conclusion. "The red-head that Schnee was talking to said that the teams would be made up of four people…"
"So, how does that help us?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"There's two of each type." Kurama reiterated. "And Ozpin said that each pair was only to take one relic."
Naruto's eyes widened as he figured it out. "The two pairs with the same artifact become a team…"
"Exactly, which means if you want to not have a team, you're gonna have to take two and cost another pair" Kurama informed him.
Naruto was now not sure what to do. Should he really cost another pair just so he didn't have to face his insecurities about being on another team? He spent a few minutes mulling it over before he came to a decision to prolong the choice. "Okay, I'll grab two relics and wait here for a bit. If no one else comes for a while, then I can assume they got lost and will have to try again. Right?" He asked hoping for reinforcement from his friend.
"It seems like it could work." The fox agreed.
Naruto then went and grabbed both black king pieces remembering his old friend Shikamaru. He then hopped on top of the ruins to wait and watch people arrive. A few pairs had arrived but no one Naruto knew. Naruto of course became bored and started watching the sky. A few minutes later, Yang, who was paired up with Blake showed up. Naruto did not notice them at first though due to him not paying attention.
"Some of them are missing. I guess we weren't the first ones here." Yang commented to her partner.
"H-huh?" Naruto was woken from his state and looked down to see the two. "Hey Yang! And…I don't actually know your name…"
"Blake." Was all that Blake said.
"Whiskers? What are you doing up there?" Yang asked curiously.
"Oh, you know! Just wanting to see the odd combos that got made!" Naruto answered.
"Odd combos? What do you mean?" Yang asked.
Naruto thought of how to explain it. "Well, like you two! You got Blake, the quiet and reserved bookworm." Blake's eyes narrowed at him. "Oi, relax! That's not an insult!" Naruto looks at Yang. "Then you got fun but loud Yang!"
Yang took no insult from that. She knew how boisterous she was. "Huh, guess that makes sense. So, where's your partner?"
Naruto didn't respond quickly. He didn't think anyone would bother asking so early. "I, uh, I don't have one."
Blake was the one to ask a question now. "You didn't run into anyone on the way here? How did you manage that?"
"Tree hopping." Naruto said as if that were a normal thing to say.
"Tree hopping?" Blake asked thinking she understood but wanted clarification.
"Yeah. Hopping from one branch of a tree to another. It's something I learned to do as a kid since I was always surrounded by forest." Naruto said giving a half-truth.
"That's a pretty cool way to get around. But you should have known you'd avoid people, right?" Yang asked.
Naruto paused before answering. "I was trying to avoid people…"
"Oh no, don't tell me you need to break out of your shell too!" Yang said with extra drama. "I thought you'd be more fun than that!"
"Oi! I don't need to break out of my shell! I just don't wanna be on a team again!" Naruto said realizing the 'again' part slipped out.
Blake raised a brow. "Again?" she asked.
"N-nothing…" Naruto said trying to get away from the topic. "So, are you two gonna pick out a relic or what?"
"You got one?" Yang asked in which Naruto showed her one of his Black Kings. "Oh, okay." She looks around before she picks up a golden knight. "How about a cute little pony?" She says asking Blake.
"Sure." Blake says rolling her eyes with a smile.
As the two girls began chatting, Naruto all of a sudden heard a high-pitched scream. "What the hell was…?" Naruto questioned.
"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang exclaimed. "Guys, did you hear that?"
"I heard it, not sure where it came from though." Naruto responded.
"Guys, what should we do?" Yang asked her partner who was staring at something in the air.
Naruto then decided to also look in the air. He did not expect what he saw. "Is, is that…?" He said before he could confirm that it was indeed Ruby falling out of the air.
"Heads uuuup!" Ruby shouted. She was then taken out of the air as Jaune crashed into her.
"Wha-what?" Naruto said, confused as to what just happened.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked just as astonished as Naruto.
"I…" Was all Yang could get out before the sounds of Grimm could be heard coming from the trees.
A bear-like Grimm known as an Ursa came flailing out as a pink explosion occurred behind him. Nora was riding him shouting, "Yeehaw!" The Grimm then fell over assumingly dead. "Aw, it's broken." Nora said sadly. She then steps up on top of the downed Grimm. "Ewww…"
Ren ran in and started catching his breath. "Nora? Please, don't ever do that again…" He then stood up shocked as Nora was gone.
"Ooooh…" Nora said looking at a golden rook before picking it up and then singing, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"
"NORA!" Ren then shouted to ring her back in.
"Coming Ren!" Nora then shouted as she headed back to Ren.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.
"I…" Yang was once again interrupted. This time by Pyrrha running from a large scorpion Grimm known as a Death Stalker.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled to her partner who was hanging from a tree.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled back.
"Whoa…" Ruby responded upon seeing the Death Stalker. She then jumped out of the tree.
"Ruby!" Jaune said, distraught that she left him hanging there.
"Ruby!" Yang said upon seeing her sister.
"Yang!" Ruby responded as her and her sister were about to embrace.
"Nora!" Nora said popping up in between them, making both of them shocked as to what she just did.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked.
Yang then blows her stat and grunts. "I can't take it anymore!" As her irritation explodes, she literally explodes with fire behind her as her eyes turn red. "Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"
"Huh, note to self. Don't push Yang too far." Naruto commented.
"That's a type of notice you've never been able to uphold to." Kurama said referring to Naruto's incidents with Sakura.
Exactly two seconds passes before Ruby taps Yang's arm. "Um, Yang…" This caused Yang to just slump over in defeat.
What Ruby seen was Weiss, who was tangling from a giant bird Grimm known as a Nevermore. "How could you leave me?!" The heiress cried out.
"I definitely came to the right school…" Naruto said upon seeing all of this.
"I said jump!" Ruby responded to Weiss.
"She's gonna fall." Blake commented.
"She'll be fine." Ruby stated.
Not even a second later, Weiss started falling. "She's falling." Ren stated. Jaune seen Weiss falling and ran out in an attempt to catch her.
Naruto simply thought. "Oh, this'll be good." He was correct as Jaune caught Weiss.
"Just dropping in?" Jaune said with all the cheese only for them to plummet to the ground, Weiss landing on Jaune.
Weiss then said in pure apathy. "My hero…"
Naruto then decided to join the rest of the group. "Well this is fun, isn't it?"
"That's one way to put." Blake commented.
"It's not boring, I'll say that!" Yang added. Then Pyrrha gets sent flying to the group's feet. "Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!" she said jokingly.
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Kid, I'm getting vibes of little you." Kurama said, not in a good way.
"Uh oh…" Naruto said, knowing how he used to be. Ruby then rushed right at the Death Stalker.
"Ruby wait!" Yang shouted, but it was too late. The Death Stalker smacked Ruby back with its claw.
Ruby was staggered from the hit but managed to get up. "D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby then shot the Death Stalker to no effect, and she then began running towards the group.
"RUBY!" Yang yelled towards her sister as she ran towards her. The Nevermore than flew back in and launched a barrage of giant feathers managing to pin Ruby down by her cloak and block off Yang. "Ruby, get out of there!"
"I'm trying!" Ruby yelled trying to pull herself free. The Death Stalker then readied its stinger.
"NO!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards them.
"RUBY!" Yang shouted terrified for her sister. It was then that a white blur rushed past Yang and Naruto and froze the Death Stalker to stop its movements.
"You are so childish." Weiss said as Ruby opened her eyes to see her.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked, shocked to still be alive.
"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Weiss continued.
"Seriously, now?" Naruto thought to himself.
"And I suppose, I can be a bit…" Weiss paused to use the right word. "difficult. But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off, I'll be…" She paused again. "Nicer."
"I'm not trying to show off." Ruby responded. "I want you to know I can do this."
"You're fine." Weiss said as she walked towards the group.
Ruby then smiled in relief. Naruto also had a giant grin on his face seeing that these two were on the same page.
Yang ran up to Ruby and embraced her. "So happy you're okay!" They then heard the sound of the Nevermore.
"Guys, that thing's circling back. What are we gonna do?" Jaune asked the group.
"Well, I mean we co—" Naruto was then interrupted by Weiss for once.
"Look, there's no sense in dill-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss noted.
"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs." Ruby said gaining a smile and nod of approval from Weiss. "There's no point in fighting these things."
"Huh, and here I thought it was gonna be a monster brawl." Naruto thought to himself.
"Looks like the young one has a better head on her shoulders than you." Kurama retorted.
"Oi…" Naruto responded to him.
"Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind." Jaune said before he and Ruby went and grabbed their respective pair's relics. Jaune grabbing a golden rook and Ruby a golden knight.
Naruto thought to himself. "Well, with these two huge Grimm here, there's no way other teams are gonna show up. So, I don't have to worry about another team needing the other black king."
"Looks like chaos saves your dumb ass again." Kurama noted.
As the Death Stalker started to pull itself free, Ren again stated the obvious. "Time we left."
"Right, let's go." Ruby said as she and some of the others started running, Naruto included. Yang stood there for a second looking at her sister with a proud look on her face.
"What is it?" Blake asked her partner.
"Nothing…" Yang said as she followed the others. They started running to some ruins at the base of the cliffs. The group started splitting off and hiding as the Nevermore landed on top of the ruins. Naruto joined Ruby's and Yang's hiding spot because he might as well. "Well that's great!" Yang stated.
Jaune then looked behind them and saw the Death Stalker approaching. "Oh man, run!" to which they all did.
"Nora, distract it!" Ren told Nora referring to the Nevermore. Nora then dodged the incoming feathers before she took out her grenade launcher weapon and fired several shots at the Nevermore. As the Death Stalker went to attack Nora, Blake and Ren distracted it and Weiss came in and helped Nora escape with her glyph.
Pyrrha noticed the Death Stalker gaining on them so she turned around. "Go, go!" She said before she configured her weapon, Miló, into its rifle state and fired some shots. She is then joined by Ren who adds suppression fire. Upon seeing this, Naruto also configured his Orange Spark into rifle mode and took some shots. This did little more than annoy the beast. As the teens kept running, the Nevermore smashed into the bridge, separating the teens. On one side with the Death Stalker was Blake, Ren, Pyrrha, and Naruto while the others were on the other side. Pyrrha and Ren were firing suppression shots while Blake hacked at it with her blade and Naruto tried to shove it back by jamming it with his staff. Blake gets knocked back, but Naruto manages to duck the claw.
"Man, we gotta get over there! They need help!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Let's do this!" Nora yelled.
"Yeah, but uh, I can't make that jump." Jaune said nervously. Nora then giggled before she knocked Jaune back and configured her grenade launcher into a massive war hammer. "Oh wait!" Jaune said with fear as Nora smashed part of the bridge at an angle that it sent Jaune flying to the other side of it. "No no no no!"
Nora then used an explosion to send herself over. "Weeee!" She exclaimed as she flew. She then approached the Death Stalker. "Ah, smash!" She shouted as she hit the Death Stalker with her hammer. Although even a hit with that hammer hardly phased the Death Stalker. Nora then let off another pink explosion slightly disorienting the beast and sending her back and away from the Death Stalker, accidently running into Blake and sending her off the bridge. Blake then uses her weapon's ribbon to throw her sword into a piece of the ruins and swings herself onto the Nevermore and slashes it multiple times before she joins Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. The girls then start unloading their firepower on the Nevermore.
Back over with the Death Stalker, it slams its stinger into the bridge breaking it. Naruto then jumps on the Death Stalker and knocks its tail down. "Lousy stinger…"
Jaune, upon seeing the state of the bridge says, "We gotta move!" The others agree and start moving. Pyrrha blocks the claw with her shield, Akoúo̱, and then strikes it with Miló in spear form. Jaune then blocks the next claw with his own shield before Pyrrah stabs it with her spear. Naruto in the meantime is doing his best to keep the stinger pinned. Nora and Ren get to the other side of the Death Stalker now. Pyrrha quickly throws her spear into the Death Stalker's eyes before she and Jaune cross too. "Thanks, Naruto, that stinger would have been a huge problem." Jaune stated in gratitude.
Naruto was struggling to keep the stinger pinned. Upon seeing the other 4 made it to the other side he let it go. "I do what I can! Ya know?" The Death Stalker then turns around to face them. "Hey Jaune, if you had time, you think you could come up with a plan to take that thing out?"
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe?" Jaune said, not knowing where this was going.
"Then here's how this is gonna go! Your team provides some covering fire and I'll hold that thing off! While I do, you figure out how to beat that thing." Naruto told Jaune.
"By yourself?! Are you nuts?!" As soon as Jaune asked that Naruto has already rushed the thing. "Well, I guess that answers that."
"Why does he get to have all the fun?!" Nora shouted as she began to pout.
Ren then informed her, "He did say to keep shooting it." Nora slightly perked up and she changed her hammer back into a grenade launcher and fired a few.
Naruto on the other hand was up close and personal with the Death Stalker. He swiftly dodged each time the Death Stalker would attack with its stinger and then smack it with his staff. Naruto added lightning Dust to his staff so each hit to the stinger resulted in the stinger getting shocked which resulted in slower movements due to the electricity's numbing effect. Naruto then gets hit by the right claw. His defensive Aura reduced the impact, but not enough to keep him on his feet. Before Naruto could get up, the Death Stalker's left claw caught Naruto's right arm.
"Naruto!" Jaune said now very concerned for his new friend. "Guys, we gotta get it off of him!"
"Right!" Pyrrha shouted before she ran in drawing the Death Stalker's attention. Ren kept firing from his selected spot while Nora took to the air and smashed the Death Stalker with her hammer staggering it for a second making it let Naruto go. The Death Stalker caused enough damage to Naruto's arm that the others were able to see it was mechanical. The others were shocked, but they didn't have time to think about it now. The Death Stalker struck Naruto right on the head while he had his defense Aura turned off which made him bleed as he was sent flying into a tree.
Jaune runs up to Naruto and checks up on him. "What the hell were you thinking taking it on alone?!"
"I'm not taking it on alone, I'm buying time. We don't need all of you guys wasting your Auras to stall for time while you come up with a plan." Naruto told Jaune. Jaune better understood Naruto's mentality about this. He didn't quite agree with it, but he understood. "So, you got one yet?"
Jaune shook his head. "Give me a little more time." Naruto stood back up making Jaune concerned. "You can't go back and fight like tha—"
Naruto just put his finger up to his mouth in a shooshing gesture telling Jaune to shut up for a second. He then reaches into his back pouch for something. He then walks towards the Death Stalker. "Get back you guys! You'll need all the energy you can spare for Jaune's plan!" Pyrrha and Ren thought he was nuts. But they saw the look in his eyes, it was a look of pure unstoppable will. They backed away from the Death Stalker. Nora was again upset at Naruto getting the fun part.
Pyrrha noticed what was in Naruto's hand. It was a headband of sorts with a metal forehead protector bearing a symbol she didn't recognize. "What is that?" She asked.
"My Shinobi pride…" Naruto said as he put the Leaf Village Headband on and tied it tight which kept more blood from going into his eyes. "Okay ugly, now you have Naruto Uzumaki's full attention, ya know!" He yelled as ran forward again. This time he dodges all of the Death Stalker's hits and got on the other side of it. Naruto then filled his Dust compartment full of wind Dust. As the Death Stalker turned around again, Naruto jumped over the Death Stalker and upon landing, slammed his staff on the ground sending out a wind shockwave tripping up some of the Death Stalker's legs making it stumble. Naruto then rushed in before hammering the Death Stalker from behind with punches. It spun around and sent Naruto flying back again, but this time he landed on his feet. He threw the last of his Dust, which happened to be lightning Dust, into the Dust compartment. Naruto then configured Orange Spark into rifle mode. Naruto then emptied the clip into the Death Stalker. Each shot seemingly doing nothing, but after all of them hit, the beast's movements are notably slowed a bit.
Naruto then rushes forward as fast as he can before putting away Orange Spark and taking out his kunai into his mechanical arm. Naruto dodges the stinger by going left, he then rolls under the right claw, and then he cracks the Death Stalker with his infamous left uppercut making its head fly up giving Naruto the opportunity to stab the Death Stalker in its unarmored flesh. It flails in pain and hits Naruto again, this time breaking his Aura. Naruto then gets back to his feet and rushes in one last time. He slid under the incoming claw and grabbed his kunai before stabbing it three more times and then he put his kunai away. Naruto then side rolls away from the right claw and does a leaping spinning ax kick right between the Death Stalker's eyes. The Death Stalker is disoriented but it still managed to smack Naruto into another tree with the blunt side of its stinger. "Okay, guys. I hope you have a plan, 'cause this is getting annoying…" Naruto said on one knee, clearly not in great shape.
Even though Naruto didn't too last long, the others were shocked that he lasted as long as he did. Even Pyrrha wasn't sure she could last that long in combat with a Death Stalker alone. Jaune could tell that the Death Stalker was clearly staggered from the damage Naruto dealt. He then made the others snap out of it. "Don't worry Naruto, we got this! Pyrrha, now!"
"Right!" Pyrrha acknowledged. She then tossed her shield and it cut off the stinger of the Death Stalker and it landed right on top of it.
"Nora, nail it!" Jaune ordered.
"Heads up!" Nora yelled as she used an explosion in tandem with Pyrrha boosting her with her shield to soar high into the air. She giggled in the air as she let off another shot to send her plummeting back down in which she starts to spin and then hammered the stinger even further into the Death Stalker's head. Pyrrha then took out the Death Stalker's other eye with her spear. It was then that she and Jaune pushed the unbalanced Grimm back with their shields causing it to fall into the valley.
"Whoa…" Naruto said amazed. "That was insane you guys!" Naruto then noticed Ren out of breath right before he collapsed. "Did you even do anything?" Naruto asked Ren who just laid there practically asleep. The group's attention was then turned to the other battle taking place in which Yang was launching shots at the Nevermore from a pillar. The Nevermore then flies at her in which Yang jumps to it and grabs it by its upper jaw and uses her foot to keep the lower part of the mouth open.
"I! Hope! You're! Hung-ry!" She shouted each part while shooting her projectiles into the Grimm's mouth. She then jumps off making the Nevermore crash into the cliff. Yang then runs back to the other girls while Weiss rushes forward and uses the Dust in her rapier to freeze the Nevermore's tail to the ground. As Weiss then retreats, Blake grabs her weapon and fires her gun-blade so the other end flies far enough to reach Yang, who catches it. Her and Yang then pull the ribbon between two pillars as tight as they can before Ruby hops onto it. Weiss then uses her glyph to manipulate gravity forcing the ribbon to stretch back and ready to slingshot Ruby at the Nevermore.
"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss commented.
"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked her.
"Hmph. Can I?" Weiss says with confidence and sarcasm.
However, Ruby, who is apparently completely inept when it comes to sarcasm, asks in a concerned tone. "Can-"
Weiss interrupts her irritated. "Of course I can!" Weiss then launches Ruby forward who uses the recoil of her sniper to keep her going as she manages to catch the Nevermore's throat with her scythe. Weiss then makes glyph's all the way up the cliff in order to allow Ruby to run up said cliff. Ruby then does so continuing to use the recoil of her sniper shots to keep her momentum while dragging the Nevermore with her. As she reached the top, she completely decapitates the Nevermore, leaving its body to fall.
"Wow…" Was all Jaune could say at that sight.
"Well, that was a thing." Yang said to sum it all up. She then heard the cheers of her fellow blonde behind her.
"Wooo! That was insane! You four are awesome, ya know!" Naruto yelled with pure praise as he was being held up by Jaune.
Ruby yelled from the top of the cliff, so he could hear her. "Naruto! What happened to you?!"
"I tried being awesome! But I wasn't so awesome!" Naruto yelled back as his group was approaching Ruby's.
"Are you kidding?! You took on a Death Stalker by yourself and started winning for a bit! That was so awesome!" Nora said complimenting Naruto. Ren simply nodded in agreement.
"I have to agree with Nora. That was incredible Naruto." Pyrrha added.
"So, taking on a giant Grimm yourself? Gutsy, but kinda shows why you need a team, huh Whiskers?" Yang said teasing her friend.
"Uh, actually Naruto did that, so the others and I could figure out how to beat the thing. He was sticking his neck out for us." Jaune said, correcting Yang's assessment.
"Well, I suppose even you have to have some noble qualities." Weiss commented. Naruto grinned at the first comment he ever got from Weiss.
"Aww, Whiskers does care about helping others. That's adorable!" Yang said, taking another stab at Naruto.
"Oi!" Naruto shouted indignantly. "Keep it up and you're my first pranking victim!" Everyone around started to laugh as they made their way to the cliffs.
The students were all once again gathered in the room Ozpin made his first speech in. Like Kurama had guessed, the teams were made from pairs who had the same type of piece. The names of the teams were anagrams made from the initials of the members' first or last names. The team name also was named after a color. Naruto was standing behind Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss who have yet to be called up.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team CRDL (Cardinal). Lead by, Cardin Winchester." Ozpin had informed the team.
While the room clapped, Naruto leaned towards Ruby's team and said, "I can literally smell the jackass coming off them." Yang and Ruby started snickering and even Blake got a slight chuckle out of it. Weiss just looked disgusted though.
"When did you get so witty? Usually, you just get angry and have no comebacks. Now you're able to initiate the insults." Kurama asked his friend.
"Training!" Naruto mentally responded to Kurama, making him raise a brow.
"Training? For insults and retorts? What?" Kurama questioned.
"I've been doing it for years!" Naruto responded. "It started with Sasuke, which was pretty low level because we were little kids. But then Sai came along, and he massacred me in the department. Then finally I've been dealing with the snarky remarks from you! After getting trashed by you all for so long, I've finally started being able to do it myself!" Kurama just started laughing at the absurdity of what he just heard, even though it did make sense to him.
"Jaune Arc. Nora Valkyrie. Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as, team JNPR (Juniper)." Nora then hugged Ren and giggles at hearing this. "Lead by, Jaune Arc." Ozpin announced.
"Huh? L-lead by?" Jaune said in complete surprise.
"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin stated to Jaune. Pyrrha then gave a friendly jab to the shoulder to Jaune. Unfortunately, this sent Jaune right off his feet.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as, team RWBY (Ruby). Lead by, Ruby Rose." Weiss looked shocked while Ruby was excited. Naruto could also be heard audibly cheering them on.
Yang then hugged her sister. "I'm so proud of you!"
Ozpin then continues. "Finally, we have our oddity. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto walked up to the stage. "You, and you alone retrieved the black king pieces. As such, you do not seem to have a team. And due to the multiple large Grimm that attacked the temple, there were no students after that to team you up with. This would of course lead to you having to try again next year." The color then started to leave Naruto's face. He didn't think his plan would backfire like this. The voices of Team RWBY and JNPR could be heard audibly freaking out. Naruto was their friend, they didn't want him to leave. "However." Ozpin continued. "Due not just to your abilities as an individual, but even more so your ability to work with another team, we are going to try something new."
Naruto felt a little relieved, at least he had a shot. That would especially suck because he had nowhere to go since Hesta was in Atlas. "What's this new idea then?" He asked.
"You will be an add in." Ozpin informed him.
"Add in?" Naruto asked quite confused.
Ozpin nodded. "Yes. You will be added to teams that may need an extra person on a mission. Of course, this will not come into play until later in your school career."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "So, I get to stay?" Ozpin nodded in which Naruto jumped in celebration. "Hey, if I'm not on a team, does that mean I get my own room?" Naruto asked innocently.
Ozpin thought about it. "Hmm…I suppose it would."
Naruto grinned as he thought "Score!" He then went to stand with his friends.
Ozpin then said to himself, "Looks like things are shaping up to be an, interesting year."
As the students were leaving the hall and heading towards the dorms, Naruto was still with Team's RWBY and JNPR. "So, I guess I'll be teaming up with all you guys again at some point." Naruto commented.
"I was kinda scared there." Ruby commented. "I thought they were really kicking you out."
"Yeah, it would have been a lot more boring here without you, Whiskers." Yang added.
"It certainly is an interesting position you're in, Naruto." Pyrrha stated.
"At some point. But you heard Ozpin, we don't do missions or anything like that until later on. So, for a while we're all just students." Naruto then grins. "Difference is that I get my own room, ya know."
"That is such an injustice!" Weiss yelled out.
"I dunno, it'll probably get lonely." Yang pointed out.
"I'll manage somehow." Naruto stated. "Also, I'm not going crazy right? Those chess pieces were definitely gold and not white, weren't they?"
"They definitely were gold. I'm not sure why he called them white." Blake added.
"Maybe he's colorblind?" Ruby asked. The group then collectively shared 'who knows' looks with each other.
"As long as I'm not seeing things I don't care if he is or not. Oh! Jaune! Ruby! Stand over there!" Naruto pointed to a place in the light.
"Uh, why?" Jaune asked.
"Because, we need a picture of the two new team captains!" Naruto said with a grin.
"Oooh! He's right!" Yang exclaims as she gets out her scroll. Naruto makes Jaune and Ruby get into the right spot. "Smile!" Yang says before she takes the picture. She then turns and shows it Naruto. "What do you think? Their smiles seemed too forced if you ask me."
"Yeah, but it's the best we're probably gonna get. They're not very photogenic." Naruto answered. The rest of the teams watched Naruto and Yang talk as if they knew each other for years.
"How long have they known each other?" Pyrrha asked.
"They met yesterday." Ruby answered.
"Really? Seems like they've known each other for a while." Jaune added.
"It's weird, right?" Ruby asked the others, who all agreed with her. It's like they were watching similar people from different universes or something.
Yang then let out a yawn. "Okay guys, I think it's time we finally get to our dorms."
Ren, who was carrying an already asleep Nora, simply said, "I couldn't agree more." They headed to the dorms and each entered their respective rooms before they went to sleep.
Chapter End.
AN: And that was the chapter. I'm sure some of you are already mad at me that I didn't give Naruto a team. Sorry I guess. To put him in an existing team means I would have to force someone else out, and also find another place for them. I'd rather not. If I made a team for him, then I would have to make 3 other OC's that I would have to flesh out and make sure to address each chapter, and hell no to that. Any OC's I make for this story, with the possible exception of Hesta, will be throw away characters meant to suit the situation. As for why I have Naruto hesitant about being on a team, I figured it would just make sense. Naruto's last team was dysfunctional times 1000. Yet, even with all that he still gave his everything to bring it back together. At the end, Sasuke had to die, and that dream was never realized. So, it is a bit too soon for him to be comfortable being assigned to another team, so I had him do what he could to avoid it. I also had Naruto give the big standout performance of the initiation, so Ozpin would see Naruto's potential as a fighter, but more importantly how well he can work with anyone. As for the headband thing, it is not a power up. It is just a way for Naruto to put all his focus and fire into it.
As for the future release of chapters, that's uncertain. Let me just make this very clear, I am not quitting this. I do not know how much time I will be able to dedicate to this. It may be a long time before I finish the next chapter. If you all feel that it is not worth the wait, I understand and apologize. And for those wondering why I am still going to continue writing this even though I don't know if I will even get out another chapter for a long time, the answer is simple. I enjoy writing this. Even if I quit posting, which is not my intention, I will still keep writing this simply because I truly enjoy it. So, I hope to be able to give you more sometime in the future. Until then, I encourage all of you to write your own stories as well. Who knows? I will probably end up reading it myself. I look forward to seeing what all of you come up with. Until next time everyone, take care.