AN: Something pretty stark in comparison to every other chapter just about. Or so, I'd say. Hopefully, you enjoy the chapter and are ready for the next! That said simple reminder and disclaimer that I do not own RWBY or Naruto. Sorry these have been so short lately, but I'll take what I can get.

"Hello again, Naruto."

The boy in question blinked, his nose wrinkling as confusion glimmered in his ocean-blue eyes. He was being so quiet, too. How-

"-Did I find you?" Ozpin prompted easily, a wry smile hovering over his lips.

"You can read my mind!" Naruto accused as his hands flew up to either side of his head, his eerily slit-slat gaze narrowing over the ancient Wizard.

"Only because your face gives you away, Naruto. It isn't too hard to decipher such open emotion." He admitted after a pause, eyes dancing all the while, "All the more given the way you're hiding in that tree."

And just like that Naruto was on the ground within the span of a blink, leaves encircling his feet and trailing after his sudden descent. Relief bloomed in his chest now that he was sure that the old Headmaster hadn't somehow probed his mind. The idea made him uncomfortable, and yet the inner parts of his other-side whispered about the ridiculousness behind the idea.

His mental space hadn't been breached since he'd existed, and even before; or so said the Other.

It was starting to grate on him, sharing his mind with his... Inner? Older? Alternate? Why the clone hadn't dispelled himself he'd never know, but Naruto wasn't going to push the issue. He'd have to fly across the continents to get to him, and he'd rather stay with mom and dad, and his uncle and his cousins, and even Ozpi-

Right.

"How'd you know I was up there?" He asked near-urgently, whiskered marks furrowing the slightest bit across his puffed-up cheeks.

Ozpin merely chuckled and, of course, indulged the young Sage, "Truly? Yours is a strength that few have the capacity to feel, and I am thankfully at least one of them."

The ten-tailed faunus frowned at that, unsatisfied as he folded his arms and met the man's bright brown gaze.

"It means while others can only feel your latent power when it manifests, I can feel the weight of your aura, Naruto. Almost at all times. Regardless of how inexplicably tied to the world your existence seems to be, there will be an impeccable few who can and will separate your signature from that of nature's, and frankly, there's little for you to do about it."

Ozpin smiled when the words left him, his cane stamping against the stone path before peered down and deeply at the blonde.

It only served to unnerve the poor lad; at least, until the gray-haired Huntsman chuckled good-naturedly and perked a brow at him.

"Ramen, huh?"

Oh. Right... Naruto did leave the house in his ramen onesie, didn't he?

He grumbled to himself but otherwise continued to keep his posture. Naruto was many things, unflappable one of them. Obviously. "But, how? How can you tell me apart from-"

"-the rest of Remnant." Ozpin asked first, once more stealing the words right before he was just about to get them out, "It's a fair question. Well, a good one really. You've been startlingly perceptive from the onset though, haven't you?" Wistfully, the man eyed the shattered moon, mildly entranced by the gleaming stars filling out the night sky.

"Well?" Naruto pushed impatiently, glaring with all the annoyance he could muster.

"It's not easy. Especially now, but the world feels... Different when you're around, Naruto. Nature surrounds us at every corner, so it isn't as prevalent now, but back at Beacon, with Vale so close I could look around and almost wonder why there was so much technology everywhere. It's almost like you amplify every aspect of the world itself. From the sweeping sea-breeze running across the ocean down to the fine blades of grass bending under every heel, I feel more aware of it."

Again, Ozpin paused, signifying that he was thinking.

Naruto merely blinked, trying to comprehend what the man was even saying. He couldn't even fathom what the world would be like without feeling intuitively all these various systems running through the planet beneath his feet. It was part of the reason why, beyond his capacity to feel and know ill-intent, the boy could sense nearly every single person on the face of Remnant. Sure, it wasn't easy picking up on any single signature, but he could do it.

With time.

"Things feel intimately more real and alive. It's a strange, wonderous sensation, one that I haven't felt in a long, long time." The man was reminiscing, his eyes practically vacant before his attention restoring itself and slowly redirecting back towards Naruto. Those brown eyes were vivid again, a current of hope within them that Naruto could easily pick out. He didn't understand the why of it, even as something deep within the recesses of his brain tingled with familiarity.

Naruto pressed beyond it, infinitely more pressing questions bulged in his head, but the one that mattered most flew from his mouth first.

"Why do you keep making dad hurt mom?"

That must have been the right question to ask, too, because Ozpin's smile practically fractured, lips straining as his eyes narrowed over the little blonde. The man was angry at him for some reason, and it made Naruto all the more nervous until Ozpin sighed and relaxed, his gaze falling dormant in resignation.

"It's another good question, Naruto. One you deserve an answer too. Just as much as they do." Ozpin frowned after that, his brows furrowing. He was thinking, the little blonde could tell that much, even when the man began to walk past him and onwards. Naruto couldn't help but mirror Oz's expression, the clicking of the Huntsman's heels against the smooth stones paving the path an irritating annoyance that underlined the fact that if Naruto didn't stop him now, then he wasn't getting the answers.

So, he did just that. He reached out and grabbed him by the shin of his trousers, urging him to meet his stubborn, whisker marked face. Of course, Ozpin did just that, only to sigh once more and resign himself, his gaze shooting up to wistfully stare towards the shattered moon hanging amidst the stars in the night sky.

Finally, he spoke, "Apologies. It was never my intention to have Qrow hurt Glynda. It was never my intention to hurt either of them, let alone you, Naruto. Both of them are two of the brightest, most loyal students to have ever come out of my school, and I'm so inexplicably proud of them for how far they've come despite the challenges that were put ahead of them. More than that though, they are both my very best, dearest friends, and they've stood by me through everything. Trust me, Naruto, I do none of this because I want to."

He paused there, briefly eyeing the boy once more, "The issue is you, unfortunately. Beyond Beacon, Vale, Signal, and Patch lies a world that your very existence threatens, Naruto. Once you step outside these borders everything changes. The pieces keeping the precarious balance between the Kingdoms begin to move, and the scales will tip. This way or that, it hardly matters, because regardless, at the center lies you and every last person you're connected to. From Qrow to Glynda, down to your cousins and your uncle, even down to me and every last friend you've ever made."

"Why?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, voice shaking the slightest bit.

"Because, Naruto, your potential is vast, and your options narrow. You will either be Humanity's savior and reclaimer, or its downfall and harbinger, and I'm sorry to say it, but you won't have a choice. Your hands will be forced."

The horned, ten-tailed faunus couldn't help but shrink into himself at the prospect. He wanted to be a precious few things, and those were none of them: the best son, a better cousin, and the number one Huntsman-Shinobi Sage to have ever lived.

Mildly, the supreme overlord and patron-saint of Ramen.

But, not the savior of the world- well, unless it was on the way- and certainly not its end.

The thought unsettled him, but it was a fleeting sensation that was swept away by the gentle nudge of Ozpin's cane against his own shin. He dipped his head, acknowledging the man when he started to continue his trek down the winding path with Naruto at his heels.

"Fortunately for us, it is you who wields all that power in that little body, and I for one trust you not to abuse such strength. Unfortunately, you lack the experience and the control to wield it, both of which are issues I feel will be taken care of in time. But, there lies the crux of the issue..." Ozpin trailed off and turned, stepping into the dark depths of the thick forests surrounding the path.

Naruto followed every footfall, hanging onto every word like they were a lifeline, "What do you mean?"

"The forces at play will not lie dormant, Naruto." Ozpin replied, voice brisk, practically clipped even, "They know where we are, where you are, and we will luckily know when- not if- they find us. But, once they do, this peace will not last. First, the raven will arrive, then the White Fang. Next, the Kingdoms, and chasing after them the Grimm, spearheaded by Salem herself."

Naruto's heart was already hammering in his chest, practically drowning out the natural ambiance of the area; anxious and uncomfortable heat knitting through his gut just to make him sick, and yet it was nothing compared to the way Ozpin's next words, utterly cold and harsh made him tremble.

"You can't hide forever, Uzumaki Naruto. You'll have to reveal yourself. Remnant won't survive the next Great War otherwise."

His throat constricted, and he couldn't breathe. His sight practically smeared, inky blotted spots forming amidst his vision while he tried to sort through the hushed, growing whispers trying to pour out of his inner-depths. The Other was there, holding them back, but it was a losing battle. Barely, he could make out the clearing they stopped in, near absently noting the terrifying gouge that had split the earth here in the wake of his sudden lack of control only so long ago.

"I know of only one person who wields such Light, and I've read exactly one tale about the Eyes of Samsara, but I could scarcely believe it. I pushed myself instead, thinking that it was aura projected to as of yet unheard of limits when you destroyed that training facility. Perhaps even an especially developed semblance," Still, Ozpin's words cut deep, each as cold and damning as an avalanche, "Glynda suggested that you could have been simply trained, and then sent on your way, merrily. It was ludicrous, but she treated me to some simple forgotten insight. There are just some people out there who want to watch the world burn. A lesson I've learned a long, long time ago, but still forget in favor of hope. It's ironic then that the one woman defending you, constantly trying to once again remind me that you are just a boy was the push I needed to keep investigating the old threads of legend. I poured over countless books, deployed, and headed several teams through old ruins and excavations sites to retrace the history I watched fall against the tide of darkness because I refused to take the simplest answer. The one I came to nearly immediately. Do you know what I found?"

"There was a Sage before there were Brothers, the Second God of Four. He ascended after he defeated his mother, the first and last to fall. There's little between the how and why, but he saved the world and spread his power, teaching peace before his departure. In his wake turmoil brewed, and it wasn't long before war broke out across the land. Shinobi rose and fell through the decades, the Goddess of the Moon biding her time all the while before she finally returned. The Brothers, Descendants of the Sage, each inheriting one half of the whole, defeated her only to clash in the aftermath. The world was torn asunder in their wake, naught but ashes before they settled and gathered its fleeting embers into something new. Just as the planet was reforged, so too were they: one of Light, the other of Darkness, Gods of Remnant."

Ozma's grip tightened audibly around the haft of his cane, his brown eyes sharp as they stared Naruto's shaking form down, his voice harsh and cold, "All the more ironic that the one who cursed me with this unending cycle of rebirth decided to indulge in it himself. You, however, are not the God you once were, are you? You're weak, barely capable of manifesting your potential without ripping yourself and Remnant apart by the seams."

The Lost Fable closed his eyes, indulging in silent temperance. His hand trembled, tight against his chosen weapon, even as he planted it firm against the ground beneath him and stilled as best he could.

Finally, his mind restored itself and his sight rekindled, only to find the horned, ten-tailed child shaking before him. He was disgusted by the vindication he felt and crushed the vile sensation of it spreading through his chest before he finally spoke, voice soft, "Hear me God of Light. It was a mistake to let Qrow test you. Tonight, I will be your opponent, and I will make sure you are prepared for what's to come."

"You will not abandon us again. You will save every."

"Last."

"One."

"Of us."