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Chapter 1

Perhaps he should've known things wouldn't be so easy. Hell, he should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

The chirping noise was what saved his life; had he not heard them, he most likely would've been stabbed in the heart from behind and killed. With the warning, however, he had managed to substitute himself with one of the rocks that littered the scarred earth. The sound of the rock being sliced apart let him know that he had nearly been stabbed with a sword.

Stumbling backwards, his chakra still feeling buggy and slippery, he nevertheless steadied himself and leveled a glare at the culprit.

The young man that stood before him was someone he had once called 'brother'. Even now, as his eyes shone with hatred and his blade shrouded with deadly lightning, there was still that ache within him at how low his teammate had fallen. He had thought, hoped that he had returned to the person he once was during the course of the war.

And, like all dreams, he could say that he knew it was too good to be true.

"Sasuke…" His voice was low, yet heavy with resignation. Once again, he bitterly acknowledged that the others were right; he had been too idealistic, too optimistic about Sasuke's return. The others had been wary of the traitor, bar Sakura and himself, but they had needed all the help they could get to overcome the Uchiha.

It didn't help that he had arrived with Orochimaru, the Leaf's greatest traitor and murderer of the Sandaime.

Sasuke said nothing, though he closed his left eye. There was a lull in the moment, an extended period where they stared into each other's eyes. In that instant, Naruto understood everything.

The time for words had long since passed. Physical force was the only thing Sasuke would listen to at this point. There would be no explanation of his ideals, no attempts to reach out and try to steer him back. They had both made their choices.

Now they would have to deal with the consequences.

He winced as his chakra spiked suddenly, sending a wave of power rushing through his body. He could feel her raging inside him, her screams faintly registering in his mind, battering against the seal that kept her stuck within him.

Shit. The seal needed to be stabilized, soon. If he left it for too long, she'd just take over his body and come back.

Sasuke launched himself forward, his body streaking across the battlefield like a bullet. Naruto cursed when he saw the Uchiha cover half the distance within a moment.

"Naruto, just deal with the Uchiha as fast as you can! The others and I will try and keep her distracted!"

He grit his teeth as the chakra surge receded somewhat, just in time to meet Sasuke's charge head-on. Coating his arms with chakra, he swatted the descending slash aside and blocked the follow-up punch. Just as he threw his own punch, prepared to crush Sasuke's throat, Sasuke opened his left eye.

The Uchiha vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Naruto surprised for a moment. The next thing he knew, a large mass of chakra slammed into his back, flinging him towards the Shinju. As he careened in the air, his eyes caught the large mass of purple chakra that towered towards the heavens.

'Oh crap…'

Righting himself immediately, he barely managed to form a counter when the Susano'o fired its arrow towards him. Like lightning it sped through the air, slicing through the air as it streaked towards him.

It disappeared the moment it made contact with his defense, a large blanket of black nothingness that he had managed to bring out. Seven balls made of the same black chakra hung at his back, suspended in midair.

Hastily shifting the makeshift shield into two swords, Naruto substituted to avoid the volley of chakra shuriken that Sasuke shot at him. Explosions razed what little of the earth that remained, kicking up clouds of dirt and further scaring it.

Appearing a meter away from Sasuke, Naruto went through a sequence of hand-seals. "Kokuo, help me out a little! Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique)!"

He exhaled a cloud of corrosive mist, sending it coiling round his general direction. Even though Sasuke would more than likely remain at a distance and fire projectiles at him, the corrosive mist would at least ensure that he didn't try any surprise attacks from behind.

The surge of chakra that hit him was unlike the others. It flooded his pathways with reckless abandon, the intense pressure sending sharp stabs of pain through his arm. His muscles twitched once, then exploded in a geyser of blood as large bone protrusions speared through.

Naruto tried to hold in the scream that wanted to come out. Gripping his left arm, the one which was now wrecked, he swore as he noticed flecks of chakra gathering at the fingertips.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Naruto swore again when the Susano'o breathed a huge fireball towards him, large enough to seem like a small meteor.

"Shit! Naruto, aim it at the Uchiha! Hurry!"

With a clenched jaw, Naruto aimed the rapidly forming Bijuudama at the approaching fireball. The two attacks met for a moment, the roaring chakra of the Bijuu colliding with the intense flames of the Uchiha, only for the former to spear through the fireball like it was nothing.

The explosion that rocked the battlefield was incredible. Even from where he stood, the tremors still managed to send him stumbling about like a drunkard.

Focusing on the seal, Naruto flooded the construct with the chakra he had received from the Sage. When they had received the chakra, Hagoromo had instructed them on how to seal the Progenitor away…however, what he had left out was the fact that she would be sealed inside the descendant with the most potential to house her.

As a result, the Infinite Tsukuyomi was still in effect and he had no idea how to cancel it.

He tensed and swung his blade, which met Sasuke's and easily sliced through the lightning coated blade. Glaring at the unique Rinnegan that stared angrily at him, he bashed his head against Sasuke's.

"Naruto, she's-!"

His hair came to life, growing several times longer in the spans of an instant. It latched onto them both, tying their limbs and preventing them from escaping.

"Shit!" Naruto struggled as hard as he could, but he could feel the seal deteriorating further. It was taking all he had just to keep her locked inside him, and he still didn't know how much time he had left.

Sasuke grit his teeth, focusing chakra into his left eye. Madara had been able to do it, so it stood to reason that he could also utilize Sharingan techniques with his stronger Rinnegan. Empowering the jutsu with the chakra he had received from the Sage, he focused entirely on the person he had once called a friend. "It's over, Naruto! I've won! Amaterasu!"

As he prepared to cast the mighty eternal flames, unknown to the last shinobi in the Elemental Nations, something strange happened.

Optimistic and idealistic as he was, Hagoromo was not a fool. There was a reason he had bestowed chakra to Naruto first, as well as why he had changed the seal from encasing the Progenitor in the Chibaku Tensei to sealing it within the one with the most potential between the two.

Indra had been his pride, the son he had always envisioned having; he had inherited special eyes and chakra, took to his teachings like a fish to water and had been the one who shone brighter. Ashura had shown him that he was wrong, and impressed him enough to receive his blessing and be named his successor.

He had seen how Indra had reacted. Watched for generations as their descendants continued the mad cycle of fighting. Understood and hated how the Uchiha and the Senju had become.

So, when he appeared before the current incarnation of Indra, he had taken a few precautions this time around.

Sasuke screamed as his chakra was inexplicably sucked out of his body, travelling through the prehensile hair that held him down into Naruto. His eyes, wide and blazing, watched with horrified fascination as his body began to disappear, drifting apart as flecks of chakra that were integrated within Naruto.

"No…NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!"

Naruto screamed as the Yin chakra surged into the seal, strengthening and quickly stabilizing it. Still, even though the chakra was ultimately saving him, he felt as though he was dying; the chakra raged and lashed out within him, destroying, healing and destroying his body and chakra pathways in a never-ending cycle of regeneration and destruction.

"Naruto, try and bear with it! If you give up now, this will all be for nothing!"

Even as he howled his agony to the empty world, the screams of his traitorous teammate gradually ceased as he was absorbed by the seal. The bones that had sprouted from Naruto's arms retracted back to his flesh, which sealed itself up the second it was done. His hair receded, returning to its usual shoulder length, but was now a silver colour.

Finally, as he fell to the soft earth, darkness slowly stealing his sight away, he felt his chakra stabilize.

"This world is full of things that don't go as you wish. The longer you live the more you realize reality is just made of pain, suffering, and emptiness… Listen… In this world, whenever there is light, there are also shadows. As long as the concept of winners exist, there must also be losers. The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes wars and hatred is born to protect love."

Mismatched eyes stared at the hulking beast that lumbered towards them, taking in the strange features of the creature. With each step the beast took, the earth trembled in its wake. It was large, far larger than anything in the vicinity, and its thick black fur made it stick out even more in the dense green foliage. Large and sturdy boney spikes were present on its back and arms, and its face was obscured by a white, bone-like mask with red detailing, leaving only its jaw unprotected.

The owner of the eyes, however, felt no fear when he gazed upon the approaching beast. Cocking his head, causing whitened out, almost silver, hair to fall over his eyes, the young man watched calmly as the creature growled and quickened its pace.

"That's cute," he muttered, his words hidden and distorted by the wind. The creature paused, hunkering down at the faint words that he spoke. His lips curled upwards, twisting into a horrible parody of a smile, "thinking you're going to have your way with me."

The beast tensed, preparing to charge at the strange smelling human, when the killing intent flared up. Suddenly, inexplicably, the beast found itself frozen; its instincts blaring in its head to escape, to flee from the smaller being, but it could not bring itself to move.

Slowly rising to his feet, the young man faced the immobilized beast. The twisted smile lessened somewhat, though it remained a mockery of a smile, and he began to close the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps.

"I doubt you can understand me," the beast's struggles to run away grew more desperate the closer the man drew, "but thank you for volunteering." He stopped right before the beast and gently stroked the white mask. The desire to kill, wafting off him in waves, was now right up in the beast's face, and the creature was almost blinded by the desire to get away.

"Ningendō (Human Path)" He intoned.

As a few moments passed, with nothing happening to either the human or the creature, the smile dropped from his face. He gripped the mask firmly, trying once again to activate his ability, only for nothing to happen.

"Well…that's disappointing."

With a blinding motion, a sharpened black rod was embedded within the mask. There was an inhuman shriek from the beast as multiple rod ends erupted from within its skull, multiple branches forming as it collapsed.

Frowning slightly as he watched the decomposing creature's diminishing body, he exhaled lightly. Glancing at the sky, catching sight of the vast expanse of space, he shrugged to himself, the action causing what remained of his tattered clothing to finally fall off. Paying no attention to them, he scratched his head slightly. "I suppose a summon would be the best option right now," he muttered.

Slamming his hand to the earth, a huge cloud of smoke erupted from his position, completely engulfing his lean figure and rendering his surroundings invisible, if only for the moment.

With a flap of his summon's wings, the dust cloud parted to reveal a huge hawk; while resembling a normal hawk, the summon was much larger in terms of size to one. He was brown in colour while having darker areas along his back and wings along with his tail. There were also dark markings around his eyes as well as red ones along the sides of his beak.

"Garuda, it's good to see you again," he greeted. Hopping unto the summon's back, he braced himself as the large hawk took off into the sky with a mighty flap of its wings.

Soaring into the sky, he settled himself for a long journey and gestured towards the north. "Let's go that way and see what we can find," he instructed. Garuda screeched his assent and took off, dashing away with speeds that made the forest they had left dwindle and draw farther away until it was nothing more than a tiny speck in the distance.

Heaving a relieved sigh, he settled down and stared at the vast expanse of unfamiliar land that was stretched out before him.

He had a bad feeling that he was nowhere near the Elemental Nations…

"Hashirama's country was a shameful contradiction… Man seeks peace, yet at the same time yearning for war… Those are the two realms belonging solely to man. Thinking of peace whilst spilling blood is something only humans can do. They're two sides of the same coin. To protect something… another must be sacrificed. That is, other than that of, say a dream world."

Murmurs, whispers and strange looks were present as he walked through the settlement he had happened to come across. Garuda had dropped him at the borders of the village, which he presumed the settlement was, and he had walked through the streets on his own. He had attracted more than a few odd looks from the inhabitants, which he attributed to his eyes and current lack of attire; after all, when was the last time a half-naked person was undressed simply because he wanted to parade around the area without a shirt?

He strolled along the streets, taking in the odd signs and lights that were plastered everywhere. He heard snippets of the language spoken, and was pleased to discover that it was perfectly understandable to him. The written language, however, was stylized in a way that made it stand out and he believed it would take him a while to get used to it.

A movement caught his eyes, and he lazily glanced at the pair of teenagers who had just exited a bar of some kind. Unlike the people he had seen on the streets, these two wore armor plates over their bodies, indicating a higher status or class of some kind.

His eye narrowed as one of them pointed at his face, a disdainful sneer planted on his face. His companion turned to face him, his eyes growing just as disdainful as his friend's, and they both began making their way towards him. His eyes caught the movements of their hands to their sides, where he presumed they stored whatever weapons they carried.

He doubted this encounter would end without violence; the look in their eyes was not unlike the looks of the villagers before he saved Konoha from Nagato's attack. Withholding a sigh, he faced the approaching duo head on.

"Hello, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, surreptitiously channeling chakra to his eyes. Even if his Genjutsu failed to take hold like the Human Path on that beast, he still had to at least try and end things peacefully. If that failed, well…he'd cross that bridge soon enough.

"Hey, d'you hear that? Is there anything I can do for you?" The taller one parroted his words back in a mocking tone. His partner sneered at him, and he mentally sighed. "Look you stupid animal, you've got some nerve walking around here after what your White Fang buddies did."

'White Fang?'

His confusion must have shown on his face, and the duo's sneers deepened. "Look at this freak, acting as if he doesn't know anything we're talking about!"

Glancing at his surroundings, he frowned as he noticed the looks people were shooting at him. 'They agree with these two…' If anything broke out, he couldn't expect any kind of aid from the people.

"Hey, freak! We're talking to you!"

Growing tired of the conversation, he tried to end it with a genjutsu. However, as he locked eyes with the person screaming in his face, the usual sensation of grasping one's chakra flow never came.

A chill run down his spine. Genjutsu were no longer an option in this place…

"Forget this," he muttered. Focusing his chakra, he rose to the air as two black orbs manifested behind him. Ignoring the confused cries of the people below, Naruto took off towards the skies.

He had to get his bearings, and fast.

A/N: First off, this fic isn't my main focus, so updates will be slower than usual. I just got into RWBY, liking it so far, but I want to have Volume 2 under my belt before I start making changes. I mean, I have enough knowledge to plan an arc based on Volume 1, but I'd rather things be this way.

Secondly, there are some rules I'm going to be having: Chakra is Naruto's thing; no one else will have it. Same with Dust and Aura in Remnant; Naruto will not be getting any other abilities. No other Naruto characters will appear; if they do, it will be in Naruto's head.

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MaelstromBankai