A Carrion's Bastard

Chapter Two: Settling in

The following morning found Raven outside her tent. After rapping on the central pole, Naruto came out, wearing an odd outfit: he was garbed in a bodysuit that looked a tight full-body, unitard-like wetsuit that more resembled a racing suit that had the limbs of its wearer fixated with reinforced rubber on top of being skin-tight. Attached to the suit was a molded hard and soft shell Kevlar jacket body armor at the forearms, elbows, shoulders, and spine, with several armored pads mainly on his legs, knees and chest. Over his feet were a pair of scuba diving boots with a hard, ergonomic footbed and hard molded outsole, double-molded heel and toe caps and a velcro zipper stop to prevent unexpected opening of the zipper, and his hands were covered with fingerless gloves; And around his waist was an ash-gray utility belt with the compartments on the sides completely smoothed down.

Hmmm...seemed a bit cobbled together and worn from use, but he most likely didn't have anything else that could pass as combat gear on him. Well, whatever...it was his level of ability that was important, not his outfit. And if Raven guessed right, not only had Kushina trained him herself as a former Huntress, but he'd also trained under Rajah Khan and Ghira Belladonna, who were both war veterans from the Faunus Rights Revolution. Those facts together meant he had to be at least fairly skilled in a fight.

However, seeing the dark bags under his eyes, Raven frowned slightly, "Didn't sleep much?"

Her nephew shook his head, "Too much on my mind...everything you told me was just...insane...I mean, we have Dust, Semblances... But magic? Conspiracy groups led by a wizard that hops from body to body whenever one physical form dies and assimilates the soul of whoever he possesses waging war with some immortal Queen of the Grimm in the shadows of history? I...I'm not sure what to think...it all sounds crazy..."

The woman sighed and actually smirked, shaking her head in sympathy "I know what that's like, Naruto. Was the same way for me when I found out about it, too."

Naruto sighed, glad that was normal.

Raven studied her nephew, if she was reading his body language right... "Not to mention, you're worried about how things will go for you here."

"Well...kinda." he admitted, looking troubled.

"Then stop." She said simply, as if giving him an order.

Huh? Naruto looked up at the woman who said she was his aunt. Stop being worried about people around him regarded his being a mix of human and Faunus?!

Sighing at the expression on his face, Raven looked at him, "Didn't your mother tell you anything in regard to why you shouldn't worry so much about you being a hybrid?" she asked.

"...Yeah..." he admitted, tone hollow as he remembered his mother's death. "Pretty much beat it into my head. "No matter what's different on the outside, everyone bleeds the same shade of red because we're all people."...she always said that. Told me there was no way someone like me could have been born unless that was fact."

The Branwen woman nodded, that sounded like Kushina all right; sounded like Summer, too, now that she thought of it...mentally shrugging off the flash of nostalgia and sorrow at the thought of her late friend, least it ruin her mood, she walked through the camp, the fox-eared boy following. "I understand how worrying about how you're regarded due to your being a hybrid has become second nature to you so much you do it subconsciously, but the rules here with the tribe are different. Faunus, human..." Raven looked back at the young man, "...or anything in between..." she said, catching his attention, "it doesn't matter to us, just that you're strong enough to survive and help the tribe do so as well. Sort of a Vacuo-style mindset. Understand, Naruto?"

Hearing that, the young man froze, eyes wide, and after taking a moment for his mind to process things, he smiled and nodded. So his being a hybrid didn't matter here as long as he was strong and useful? He could do that!

Whenever Faunus looked at him, they saw him as a human (his mother, the Khans, and the Belladonnas being the only exceptions to that, obviously); but whenever humans looked at him, they saw him as a Faunus.

It was hard walking in both worlds, yet belonging to neither one.

That said, knowing his nature didn't mean much of anything as long as he pulled his weight with the tribe felt...liberating. Like he'd been released from an iron straight jacket he'd been wearing all his life.

"Come on...there's something we need all possible hands with. Lay down the ground rules as we go." Raven instructed, and he followed as she went into the woods a fair distance away. "Hold on..." she held an arm out, prompting him to halt.

"Before we go any further, Naruto, this is important...see that tent over there?" Raven said, pointing to one that was just inside of the very edge of the camp behind Raven's own.

He nodded.

"Off. Limits. No matter what. Never go into that one unless you're suicidal, understand?"

Naruto blinked, curious about that, but he nodded. Still...why was that tent off limits? As the two resumed their trek, he pushed that thought down, then seeing the setup of the camp, something occurred to him. "So, Raven...why are you all living out here?" He wondered, "Even a small village might be easier to maintain that a nomadic lifestyle."

The swordswoman turned to him, not surprised her nephew had questions seeing as he'd only just been introduced into the Branwen tribe, "Too risky staying in one place for long. Besides...do you know about a place called Oniyuri?"

"Never heard of it." Naruto confessed.

"You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom. Many thought it would be the future."

"What happened?" Her nephew asked.

Raven frowned, "What always happens: The Grimm. And when Oniyuri petitioned help from the Huntsmen Academies, the Councils denied their requests for aid, saying that if they wanted to establish their own kingdom, then the people of Oniyuri were going to have to defend it themselves as if they were their own kingdom...If there's any lesson from that, it's that the ones running the kingdoms are basically holding their own citizens hostage: obey our authority, or be left to the Grimm."

Naruto winced, that wasn't much of a choice. Living things were naturally comfortable with being alive, nobody in their right mind wanted to die. But what the Councils did like that...it made his skin crawl with disgust.

Seeing his face, Raven nodded, "The Branwen Tribe started out similarly: rejected the idea of living under the thumb of others and would rather do things according to their own rules. Still, world's not all sugar and rainbows. So we do what we need to in order to get by. Can't afford to be picky about the means. So if you feel like moral posturing, forget it. There's no room for faint, bleeding hearts when survival's the name of the game. If you're strong you live, and if you're weak you die. That's how it goes for us in the tribe." She finished.

Naruto shuddered, while part of him understood what she was saying, the other part didn't like that. A tribe that was willing to embrace social darwinism and he found the lack of morality compared to personal gain bothered him, even if it was for the sake of getting by with how rough the world was. Morality against survival was never a pretty thing, that was something Uncle Rajah, Aunt Sabor, Uncle Ghira and Aunt Kali had all taught him. They'd been involved in the Faunus Rights Revolutionary War, after all. Seen that kind of ugliness first-hand.

Raven sighed, knowing this part was most likely a landmine she was stepping on, but felt it needed saying, "Because of that, my brother and I went to Beacon...some enrolled in the Huntsmen Academies to try and make the world a better place. Not all of them are like that, though. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. My brother and I...we didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen, we did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen. Anti-hunters you might say if you want to call us something fancy. You see, aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce. And Qrow and I were the perfect age. I'm not going to sugar coat it: me, my brother, the tribe...we're not what most consider "good people"."

Ok...now Naruto needed something else to think about. And since Raven said she was family, yet clearly NOT a Faunus, he had a topic that was needed to be broached as well as do just that.

"Raven...if you're my aunt...what's my dad like?" Naruto asked, he'd never known his father, there hadn't been any pictures of him at home, and mom had never talked about him. For all he knew of his father, he may as well have come out of thin air. And if Raven was telling the truth about them being related, he could finally get answers.

The bandit leader felt like rolling her eyes. Oh boy...as much as she didn't like it, that was a question she'd expected, and while he did have the right to ask it, how was she going to explain that misfortune-causing drunkard that ran around playing at being a knight for a body-snatching old schemer to a fourteen-year-old boy that just wanted to know about his father? This was going to be tricky...especially since they were so estranged to one another and Raven had nothing good to say about her elder sibling after he deserted the Tribe. She took a moment to think on her answer, being as blunt as possible was a bad idea here, but she felt her nephew was owed something that could constitute as an honest answer, "...Your father, my younger brother...Qrow Branwen...well...if I had to sum him up, I'd say he's good at confrontation, bad with people..." she said at last.

Naruto frowned. Bad with people? Was that why he'd never been around? He knew the idea of the concept of a family could vary from person to person, but why was it his father had never been there? Didn't he care about mom, at least? He knew his dad was human, and humans weren't very welcome on the island kingdom (though some of the natives used the word "prison" instead) of Menagerie...so maybe that was it? He stayed away to keep from making things harder on mom? He wished he knew.

Still...Qrow Branwen...

Naruto wouldn't lie, it felt good knowing he had a name to attach to the enigma he called a father! It got him excited!

A light clearing of the throat got his attention back, "But as to the here and now, nephew...you will be expected to do things like assist in our raids, and there will be times you'll likely be forced into a position to kill in order to survive." Raven informed him, knowing that for as much as she didn't want to tell him this and he wouldn't want to hear it, there was no way to sugar coat that aspect of the Branwen Tribe's lifestyle.

Naruto stopped at that, raiding? Killing? Oh heck no! His conscience rebelled at the notion. It made him feel ill. He didn't want to do that if he didn't have...wait...didn't she say...? His eyes widened as he realized something. "Raven...you said the tribe goes by the ideal of the strong living and the weak dying. If that's the case, then if I prove myself stronger than those I face, does that mean I can decide to do whatever I wish with them, even let them go free because I don't want take their lives without reason?"

At that, the black-haired woman stopped and turned to him, an odd expression on her face, as if considering his words for a moment, "Heh..." Raven grinned at last, "That's fine. The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules. So because of that, it is the privilege of the fittest to spare a person's life."

Mentally, Naruto let out a relieved sigh. That meant he could be allowed to show mercy if he proved himself capable enough. He wasn't naive, he was well aware of the fact that when you fight, people get hurt, and casualties were always a possibility. Mindless monsters like Grimm were one thing; but people, be it human or Faunus, was another, and Naruto wasn't a "born killer", he wasn't sure if he could cross that proverbial line into the territory of L'appel Du Vide–"the call of the void."; but with what Raven pointed out, it meant he could show mercy, at least. All he had to do was prove he was stronger than anyone he could face. It was a load off his worries.

After a bit more walking, the two Branwens stopped at the impact zone of a crater. And resting within it was a hunk of rock and superheated metal. There was a reasonable

Naruto frowned. A meteor?

"Finally! What's so damn important about this lump of rock?" One of the tribe members gripped.

As soon as he said that, everyone froze and gasped while Raven turned to him sharply, eyes narrowed dangerously and gripping the hilt of her sword.

"Valuable resources are hard to come by, and you seem to have a problem when one falls into the tribe's lap. So...do you have something to say, Shay?" Raven demanded icily.

Shay paled and the other members backed away from him.

"N-n-no! Sorry Raven, I just didn't see what's so useful about this space rock, is all...!" The blond man sputtered, looking terrified. Nodding, Raven released her weapon before she noticed Naruto missing from her side as Shay gave a relieved sigh at his leader's attention shifting off of him.

Then she heard a strained grunt coming from the crater, she looked and was amused to see while everyone else had been focused on her and Shay, Naruto had taken it upon himself to slide down the slope of the crater and was trying to get the meteor out on his own. So he could take initiative when he saw there was something that needed doing...good.

"Well?! Don't just stand around, there!" the female Anti-Hunter shouted to the rest of the tribe members. "Help him out, you lazy chumps!"

After the tribe hauled the meteor out of the impact crater, they took tools and broke it up before Naruto blinked when his aunt waved someone over. It turned out to be a young woman with tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. She had a tattoo of a bird rising from flowers on her left arm. She wore a brown vest over a torn white shirt, with a collar that appeared to spike up behind her neck. Maroon-colored pants with the right side rolled up to her thigh. She also wore dark brown knee guards that went down to her brown boots.

It was that girl who'd been inspecting him the other day when he arrived.

"Vernal, take him to that village that's neighbored by Shion. They have a blacksmith there. Once he's equipped, get back here." Raven instructed.

Vernal nodded. She wasn't too fond of the idea of babysitting anyone, but she knew better than to say that aloud. Besides, this kid needed to learn that his relation to their leader didn't make him some kind of royalty. Guy needed to earn his own reputation among the tribe members. And everyone needed some way to fight back against Grimm, after all. Even most non-combat-trained civilians weren't stupid enough to go around unarmed.

Grabbing two sizable lumps of the meteoric iron, Naruto nodded and placed them in a sack and nodded. Vernal frowned and left, the male Branwen following her lead.

The samurai-esque woman frowned to herself as the pair left. First thing was first: Her first lesson that her nephew needed to get was have him understand that there was no such thing as being guiltless of something, regardless of if the guilty party were either human or Faunus. Show the grey line that lay between right and wrong, good and evil, life and death.

But how to go about teaching him that was the tricky part...

Naruto followed Vernal as the duo made their way to the village Raven had said to get Naruto a weapon made at.

In case of running into any Grimm, which was always a possibility, she had her own weapons out: two crescent shaped blades, each with a ring-shaped center. The large outer blades had hooked points that pointed back toward the grip with four smaller blades located in pairs above and below the grip, which was wrapped in red cloth and curved to form part of the middle ring. Atop the ring and below the upper blades was a pair of rectangular gun barrels reminiscent of sawed-off shotguns. Within the main ring was a smaller, thinner ring connected by a pin to the forward facing portion of the weapons, acting as a trigger for the barrels. Not bad weapons.

"...So..." Naruto began awkwardly, "...mind filling in the new guy?"

Raising a brow at him as they walked, Vernal motioned for him to continue.

"Well...last night, heard Raven talking in her sleep...sounded like she was crying, too...apologizing over and over to someone named Summer...didn't want to bring it up to her..." Naruto explained as Vernal looked at him while they walked.

"Smart call..." she said, "Raven talks about Summer in her sleep all the time. It's one of those things everyone knows about but no one brings up. She gets really nasty if you do. As in execution nasty..."

Naruto stared, then rubbed his throat nervously. Ok...no bringing up Summer, whoever they were, around Raven or reminding her of them, then.

"Also, just to let you know, you being Raven's nephew doesn't mean you get a free pass with the rest of us. Gotta earn your keep." The female bandit pointed out.

Naruto nodded, "Suits me fine, I'm not one of those Atlesian pricks, after all; I'd rather work for a living."

Vernal smirked at that. "Also...sorry if Raven seems like an uncaring hard-ass that's from Atlas with how much of a drill instructor she acts like, it's just how she is." Vernal explained, feeling the need to get that out of the way before Raven put him through Branwen style boot camp.

Naruto shrugged, "Eh...seen enough of people like that already. World-hardened. Emotions are there, but hard to see because of how they tend to act with how jaded their life experiences have made them turn out. I did grow up in Kuo Kuana on Menagerie, after all. Place is filled with people that just want to be left alone, but are plenty of world-hardened types there."

Vernal nodded. World-hardened, jaded, hard to show her actual feelings...that was Raven, all right.

"So...uneasy about this whole "bandit" thing..." Naruto confessed with a sigh.

She frowned, "Why's that?"

"Just saying people will pay through the nose to feel safe, why pillage when you can do that?" Naruto wondered.

Vernal shrugged, "I get what you're saying. But that's a Huntsmen's job; besides, easier to just cut out the middleman and take what we want. So...you at least unlock your Semblance before Raven brought you in?"

Naruto frowned, "I hate my Semblance. But I do have other moves up my sleeve. Pretty good at Tiger Claw, from the Tiger Kung Fu style and Capoeira." he said, unhappy with remembering his Corruption ability, then took a moment to recall Sienna's words about how his power wasn't a curse.

'Heh.."You think this news changes things? You think that this power you have is a curse? Your power can help us destroy the barriers that hold us back! You can break apart the defenses Humans throw up, help us charge through, and get us closer to equality"...thanks, Sienna. You knew just what I needed to hear to get me to pick myself up when bad news hits me...as usual...' he thought fondly.

"Uh...aren't you a fox, though? What, identity issues?" Vernal asked, amused as her words brought him out of his thoughts as she eyed his ears as they twitched.

Naruto shrugged, "Learned under Rajah Khan with how to fight. Take a guess what kind of Faunus he is. On top of that, Menagerie is two-thirds uninhabitable desert due to dangerous wild life. The two-thirds aren't a good place to live, but make a good place to train. What do you think I was doing day in and day out for five years straight before Raven brought me into the fold with you guys? Also wanted to mix Tiger Kung Fu's raw power and intensity with Capoeira's flexibility, speed, and unorthodox movement for my unarmed fighting style, ya know?"

The female bandit nodded. Ok...so he could handle himself in a fight. Good to know. So all he needed was weapons for what he couldn't take on with his bare hands. Reasonable.

The two kept pace until arriving in the village Raven had mentioned, only Vernal stopped short of the outskirts.

Naruto looked at her, brow raised.

Vernal shook her head, "The Branwen tribe has a reputation. I go in there with you, things'll get ugly." She explained.

Naruto sighed. Figures...He nodded and readjusted the strap of the bag of ore and went into the settlement.

It was easy finding the building he was looking for...how loud metalwork was added onto enhanced hearing SUCKED!

Entering the shop, Naruto blinked, seeing the blacksmith was a Faunus with a set of horns on his head.

Seeing the man look at him and realizing his surprise must have shown on his face, Naruto mentally kicked himself and schooled his features into a neutral expression, "...Oh...sorry, just..." he tried to explain.

"Ah, don't be. Work's good and small settlements like this have more to worry about than bothering me over my being a Faunus. So...what can I do for ya, kid?" The blacksmith said, cutting him off with a chuckle, seeing the fox ears on the young man's head.

Naruto visibly relaxed, a small relieved smile forming at that news. "Petition a weapon. Brought the ore I'm aiming to have it made from." The Uzumaki said, setting the sack he was carrying on the counter.

The Blacksmith nodded, "Can't have a Huntsman without his weapon. So, what are you looking to have made?"

Naruto described what he wanted and the blacksmith nodded, taking the sack and inspecting the ore in it critically.

"No problem. Gotta say, fine metal you brought me." He then looked the teen over critically, "Shame you don't have enough for a thing of armor, though."

Naruto shrugged, "Eh...might not be pretty to look at, but it's more or less what I'm use to fighting in. And even if it's a bit cobbled-looking, I prefer functional beauty anyways, and it got me through plenty of scrapes on the nastier two-thirds...I'm fresh from Menagerie..."

"...Ah...gotcha, kid." The smith nodded, understandingly, a frown tugging at his face. Though advanced enough in architecture and industry to house one, Menagerie lacked a CCT tower, which made communication with the rest of the world difficult, and it wasn't the most up-to-date on equipment for weapons and gear, so they made due with what they had. Most used makeshift blunt weaponry, sabers and flintlocks unless they got or made weapons from outside of the island, along with crude shields and armor. Most people across the kingdoms assumed it was a bad idea for the island to get more advanced resources on their home front after the Faunus Rights Revolutionary War...

"So how much is this going to cost me?" Naruto asked, he was more or less broke, seeing as he hadn't brought all that much lein with him.

"Most passing through these parts snuff Grimm for the smaller settlements as a tit-for-tat deal. Services in exchange for small favors like this, kiddo. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. Then there's the Mistral council and the ways they make things difficult...so most small villages and towns like this are willing to cut deals for safety. If it's not Grimm, it's bandit tribes, or other Kingdoms trying to muscle in on us...Atlas is always the worst in that regard..." the smith sighed.

Naruto nodded, "Don't need to tell me about that last one, just moved to Mistral turf myself, but was born and raised on Menagerie. Besides, heard what Atlas occupying Vacuo did to the place. I know what Atlas is..."

The smith nodded and took the ore so he could get started on Naruto's weapons.

"The Grimm that are bothering us are a pack of Ursa Major. Due east of here. Numbers are in the double digits."

Naruto whistled. He could see why that would be an issue for a small settlement like this one, "I see...be back for my order, then."

"Be careful kid..." the smith said.

The younger Faunus nodded and exited the shop, then made his way over to where Vernal was and looked up.

"Yo! Keeping from being seen?" He asked. A second later, his escort jumped down from the branches and brushed stray twigs and leaves off herself.

"Yeah. Like I told you, Branwen tribe has a reputation. Couldn't let myself get seen. Surprised you were able to find me, considering I hid after you left."

In answer to that, Naruto pointed to his ears, "Faunus have enhanced senses, remember? Could hear your breathing and heartbeat added onto where you were when I went into the village."

She nodded. Ok...newbie obviously had tracking training. Not bad. "So? Where's your stuff?" she asked, seeing the lack of armaments on him.

"Gear for Grimm deal. Ursa Major, due east." Naruto told her.

Vernal rolled her eyes, but nodded. At least she could see how her boss's nephew handled himself in a fight. Pulling out her weapons, the checked them over as she followed after him. This was way she hadn't exactly been thrilled to be babysitting this guy.

Still...she would be able to attest to his skillset to Raven so her leader could figure out the best way to utilize him. Made sense if that was Raven's idea, she liked having ways of being a step ahead of allies and enemies alike like that. So it wouldn't surprise Vernal if that was the case here.

The duo made their way in the direction indicated, while making slight adjustments to their course based of when Naruto's ears twitched at a certain sound or checking around him for clues as the two kept walking. A few hours later, they froze at the sound of a deep, churning roar and looked at where they had wandered.

They were in front of a cave, but in front of the mouth was a small hoard of at least twenty large, bear-like creatures of Grimm with black fur and bony spikes on their back and arms, as well as white, bone-like masks with red detailing, and had bony spines as well as several bony plates on their back and limbs.

Ursa Major.

The creatures of Grimm, seeing the pair, rose and roared before one rushed them. Vernal took aim, but she was surprised when Naruto acted first. He extended his arms out at shoulder height, then he turned the palms of his hands upward and curled in his fingers into a claw like position, tucking his thumbs backwards, the human/Faunus hybrid stood with his feet facing forward and spaced his shoulders width apart, with only his left leg slightly backward, while keeping both of his knees slightly bent with his back straight. Then he rushed the Ursa.

As one of the bear Grimm reared up with a claw raised, the fox-boy lashed out and got the Grimm in the neck with his hand and jerked it away instantly, the strike actually shredded flesh and nearly tore the trachea out of the throat.

The masked creature staggered and fell over, it's body dissolving. Vernal stared. What did he just do?!

Ripping a spike from the disintegrating Grimm's back, Naruto spun it like a staff and used the makeshift weapon to block the heavy claws of another engaging Ursa.

Naruto strained against the Grimm, the creature using it's size and strength to it's advantage to force the young hybrid back. Gritting his teeth, Naruto jumped up and brought his feet up in a dropkick with the soles of both feet and there was a flash of red and the Ursa had a wound like a cannonball in it's stomach and a glob of red seemed to go in that direction, visible through it. As it faded, Naruto saw the hole in the Grimm's body and he looked down, seeing the grass under his feet wither and smoke. And his feet were coated bubbling red aura, giving off a feeling of miasma, the very air around the energy distorted.

His Corruption Semblance?! But he hadn't meant to activate it!

The Grimm eyed the fox-eared boy warily, the bear-like creatures ironically circling the two intruders like wolves.

"Whoa...! Can discharge energy to fight enemies at range and fire blasts of raw corruption energy from my body...didn't know I could do that...!" Naruto gawked. Then he blinked and smirked at his current companion. "Well...since we've both got range now...bet I can off more than you!" He challenged.

"You cheat! You've already killed two!"

"Bandit tribe, remember? Take what you can, when you can; right?" The hybrid grinned.

Vernal stared, then the young woman smirked, aiming with her guns. "...True enough...you're on, then!"

With that, Vernal jumped into the air and began to fire a couple of electrical Dust blasts at two Ursa Majors evening the score.

Naruto then dashed towards a solo Ursa Major and began to use a series of kicks to knock the grim off balance and then Naruto and released a very powerful kick to the Ursa Major's throat and forcefully knocking the beast on it's left side causing the the beast to fall onto another Ursa then he saw Vernal bring down two more Ursa Majors, then seeing another Ursa Major sneak up from behind on Vernal, Naruto then quickly pulled both of his arms back and then thrusted them forward in the Ursa's direction and fired a ball of corrupted energy that hit the grim instantly killing it on contact. Venral then killed two Ursa Majors behind him and Naruto then saw Vernal smirk at him as if she was saying, "I got the lead..." Naruto then smirked and jumped to the next pair of Ursa Majors.

Their contest went on like this for as both Naruto and Vernal killed sixteen Ursa Majors with Naruto sometimes having to get up close and personal with the grim while occasionally blasting the ones that were out of his reach, but Vernal was showing that she was no slouch either and as of right now they were tied with sixteen Ursa Majors they killed in total a piece, until there were literally two Ursa Majors left and Naruto saw that Vernal had already taken aim at them both and then Naruto quickly pulled his arms back and gathered some of his Semblance and focused it into a blast able to kill both Ursa Majors and then at the same time from some unspoken signal, they both fired their respective blasts at the two Ursa Majors, when their blasts made contact with each other however... they caused a large explosion, knocking both contestants back and when the dust finally settled, both Naruto and Vernal saw the results as the remaining two Ursa Majors were no where to be seen and there was only a large crater in their place.

"Ten kills each total...damn..." Naruto said, but he was smirking.

Vernal nodded, "Not bad. You've got a lot to learn about your own power, but you can handle yourself. Have to say...this was actually kinda fun."

"Yeah...Beat you next time we have a challenge to compete with one another in, Vernal." Naruto declared.

She smirked at him, "Bring it."

The two shook on it, both grinning.

"Well..how about a race to the village my gear's at? Shall we, Vernal?"

The tribe member smirked, "Bet I get there first!"

"Oh sure...says the one who knows the area to the one that's never been here before!" The Uzumaki scowled.

"Bandit tribe, remember? Take what you can, when you can; right?" The young woman smirked, echoing him from the Grimm killing contest.

Naruto blinked, then grinned. "Vernal...I think this is gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship...if we don't come to see one another as rivals and throttle one another, first!"

The young woman actually laughed, then bolted with her leader's nephew hot on her heels.

In seemingly no time at all, at least compared to them tracking the Ursa, they arrived back at where his weapons were being made and pleased to see they were done; he met up with Vernal and they made their way back to the tribe's camp. Once they got there, Raven greeted them upon their return, "So...how did it go?"

In reply, Naruto reached over his shoulders, where a pair of hilts that were wrapped in orange cloth could be seen, held in a custom sheathe on his back that looked more like a narrow, rectangular, archery quiver.

The weapons he'd had forged were a pair of hook swords, also known as twin hooks, tigerheads, or tiger blades (gee, Raven wondered where her nephew got that from as she recalled the female, Bengal tiger-based Faunus she'd seen with him). He had decided against getting them made into the convertible, multi-form weapons that were common on Remnant. While his weapons were just simple hook swords, they were, by the nature of the weapons, still three weapons in one: A long pole with a hook at the end, an arced blade above the fist, and spearhead beneath the handle.

The hook's blades at the end of each sword allowed the two weapons to be hooked together and swung for an extended attack. It was one of the unique and classic techniques of the weapon. The hook ends were also very useful in grasping and controlling other weapons or an opponent's limbs. Following this, it was believed that the hook swords were very effective against flexible weapons like the chainwhip.

The crescent moon-shaped hand guards were made for trapping and delivering nasty penetrating punches. The dagger end was particularly dangerous not only to an opponent, but also to the user, as it can easily slash the user's inner forearm or stab into their stomach and can cause bloody injuries with how the Hook Swords have sharp points and edges everywhere except for the inner handle where it was held, so it required great care in learning how to manipulate them without causing self-injury.

The twin hook swords were an elegant yet brutally lethal bladed weapon, and the moon shaped-bladed hand guards made them an instantly recognizable and feared weapon.

They had a distinctive, non-reflective black hue because of the weapons' metal's originated composition of meteoric iron. If Raven had to guess, the unusual material would give the swords unique properties, namely exceptional durability and keenness. The swords would most likely be able to cut through thick layers of steel and other various metals with little to moderate effort. Not to mention if he channeled his Semblance through them to make them even more dangerous.

All in all, Raven found them fitting.

"Can you use them?" she asked.

Naruto looked at them then raised a brow at her, "One way to really find out...Got a sparing partner I can clash with?"

Raven gave a razor-thin smirk before drawing her sword as the rest of the Branwen tribe members stood back.

"Ok...let's see just how proficient you are, Naruto." The swordswoman that lead the tribe challenged.

Naruto felt himself pale and he gulped. Oh...this was going to end poorly!