Disclaimer- I do NOT own Naruto or RWBY. You should all know this by now.

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Ch. 32

Ruby and the others had arrived in Atlas, currently they were in the Academy waiting on Ironwood. Just as Itachi had said, there was a group of five huntsmen and some guards waiting on them.

There was a loud gasp as Ruby turned around her eyes widening when they landed on the android who she had thought had died during the fall of Beacon. "Penny?!"

Penny placed a foot forward as she crouched slightly. "Sal-u-tations!" Penny swiftly ran towards Ruby who held her hands up telling her to calm down, but Penny was so excited that she ran right into Ruby. "It is such a pleasure to see you all again!"

"Penny, I-I thought you...died..."

"My father was able to recover my core from Beacon, it took some time, but I'm as good as new! Better even! And now I'm the official protector of Mantle!" Penny stated

"This is..." Weiss began.

"...strangely wholesome." Blake said

"Sounds like Penny to me." Yang laughed.

Penny grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. "We have so many things to catch up on, I can not wait!"

Weiss smiled as her eyes finally drifted to the side where she saw Ironwood and Winter coming around the corner. "Winter?"

Winters eyes slightly widened. "Weiss."

Ironwood looked at all the faces as his eyes slightly narrowed, noticing one was missing. "Please, follow me, we have much to discuss." He said, Winter walking next to him as the others followed.

Once in his office, the doors behind them closed, the Ace ops standing guard just outside.

"As nice as it would be to catch up, we have some important information that's...confidential." Qrow said.

"Oh! Is it about the relics?" Penny asked standing on Ironwoods right side.

"Or perhaps the Winter Maiden?" Winter asked standing on Ironwoods left side.

Qrow looked somewhat shocked. "You told them?"

Ironwood chuckled, gesturing at the Relic on Ruby's waist. "Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon. With Ozpin gone I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them, the Ace Ops too." Ironwood stood from his seat. "Which is why I am glad that you are here, with the Relic of Knowledge we can figure out a way to truly turn the tide on Salem. Oz has pushed her back and has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning, stronger and stronger, unless we destroy her."

"And the Atlas relic?" Ruby asked.

"You mean the staff of creation."

"It's safe inside the vault!" Penny stated.

"And the Winter Maiden?" Qrow asked.

"She is secure, and in stable condition." Winter informed him.

"Stable condition? What does th-" Yang began to question as Qrow cut her off.

"She is not exactly a spring chicken." Qrow stated.

Some beeping from Ironwoods desk began to sound as he sighed. He pulled up a projection of Mantle, some Grimm having entered, but it seemed as they had been dealt with by someone. Reports came in about an unauthorized use of weapons by someone of unknown origin.

"Shall I go?" Penny asked.

"No." Ironwood said as he pressed a button as he communicated with those outside his office. "Clover."

We are already on it sir.

"Good." Ironwood cut communications, but keeping the projection up so he could see what was happening. "Before we continue, where is Itachi? I was told he was flying in with your group."

"Uh, he uh..." Ruby seemed slightly nervous.

"He said he had some business to take care of before coming to Atlas." Weiss said, which was not a lie yet not the whole truth.

"He did not arrive with you?" Winter questioned her younger sister and her friends.

"No." Blake said. "He wasn't with us on the ship when it landed."

"Cordovin did not inform me he would be on a separate ship." Ironwood said

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Look Jimmy, if you don't believe us, ask the guards, they inspected the ship when we got here." The doors to the office abruptly as a male scientist walked inside the office. "You just let your subordinates waltz into your office without any care for privacy?"

"You better have a good reason for coming in or I will have you arrested!" Winter warned the older man who seemed to have shrunk under her powerful glare. "So?!"

"W-we heard the boy arrived with the group today."

"What do you want with Itachi?" Jaune asked, playing as if he didn't already know. "First, General Ironwood and now some guy in a lab coat comes barging in?"

Ironwood glared at the man. "He is not here at the moment."

The mans eyes widened. "You are correct, he is not." He walked up to the projected video feed. "Because he is down in Mantle."

Everyone looked at the screens, Itachi having been spotted on it as Ironwood enlarged the feed with him on it as he looked over at the group. "I thought you said he wasn't on your ship?"

Winter looked at her younger sister. "Weiss?"

"They said he wasn't on the ship when it landed here in Atlas." Miss Calavera stated tapping her cane on the floor. "And to be specific, he is not in Atlas, but down in Mantle."

"And you are?" Winter questioned the older woman.

"Maria Calavera, but you may know me as the Grimm Reaper."

Their eyes widened as they looked over at Qrow who nodded. "It's actually her."

General, we have the target surrounded. We'll bring him in shortly.

Their eyes moved back towards the screen, seeing the Ace Ops having surrounded Itachi who looked at them all calmly.

"Just talk to him, do not act rashly."

With Itachi.

Itachi moved his head slightly, glancing around him. 'Ace Ops.' His eyes stopped on the dog Faunus from before, the one who had attempted to stop him when he had woken up inside the lab.

"You aren't getting away this time." Marrow said as he sprint at Itachi.

"Marrow wait!" Clover called out to him but was ignored

"That idiot." Harriet said.

Itachi waited calmly for Marrow to approach as he easily evaded the others attacks. Itachi had enough as he smacked his arm away, striking marrow with his palm in the stomach. Marrow leaned forward as he was elbowed in the back causing him to fall to the ground. Itachi jumped back when the semblance from the chalk white male attempted to grab him. He looked up seeing the larger of the two woman above him, her hammer held high as she swung down, but was shocked when Itachi kicked the hammer and it hit her straight in the face. Itachi grabbed her leg and threw her onto the dog Faunus.

He was using chakra to enhance his physical attacks, not enough to kill the opponents, but just the right amount to knock them out from the rest of the fight. Itachi blocked with a single hands the swift punched and kicks thrown by the other woman. He noted that this woman was faster than most, maybe even as fast as Ruby, but in the end none of them would compare to his own speed.

Harriets eyes widened when Itachi had disappeared from her line of sight. "Too slow." She heard from behind her as she swiftly turned around before moving her arms into a "X" formation as she received a powerful kick sending her crashing into the building. "You bastard..." Herriet came limping out of the rubble, her arms at her sides.

Itachi faced away from her and towards the other two as he felt Herriet about to attack, but to their surprise she slipped right through him and once she had been directly in front of him, he hit her with a chop to the back near the neck. "Go to sleep." Herriet fell to the ground as Itachi picked her up and tossed her to the pile, keeping his eyes on the two Ace Ops that were left.

"You two are not rash and do not act on impulse, unlike the others, maybe we can have an actual conversation." Itachi said in his usual calm manner before sighing. "It seems you have not had enough yet." Above him the Faunus and the larger woman were coming down on him, but everyone eyes widened, in an instant the two were sent crashing through different buildings.

"Clover."

Clover nodded. "I know." Clover rose his hands in surrender. "I apologize for their rudeness, we only wanted to talk."

Itachi nodded. "Ironwoods first mistake was sending his attack dogs at me." Itachi said pointing his arms in the direction of the two that had been sent flying. "No pun intended for the Faunus." They heard crashing coming from the buildings as two figures appeared from rubble and had been caught in Itachi's hands before he dropped their unconscious bodies on the ground. "His second mistake was thinking I would allow his little scientists to have their way with my body and power." Itachi looked towards a drone that was hovering near the top of a building as he opened his palm and the drone was pulled towards him. "He could have just asked me about it, instead of trying to use it for their own benefit." Itachi turned the drone so it was looking at him as he looked into the camera. "I've had a bad day, I am not in a good mood, I'll be seeing you very soon, and don't worry I'll bring your team back."

With Ironwood.

"A-Amazing!" The scientist shouted as he fell to his knees. "Such power! To be able to overpower and defeat the Ace Ops in such a swift fashion!" He began laughing as he jumped with excitement. "Imagine how great and powerful we can make Atlas, and even ourselves!"

"So you're the one thirsting for my power." The scientist felt a chill run down his spine as he looked behind him and out of a vortex appeared Itachi along with the Ace Ops, three whom are still sleeping, as well as Pietro Poledina, and Wendy. The scientist turned around as he fell back onto his ass as he crawled away from Itachi who was giving him the famous Uchiha glare. "My power is not for you to toy with." Itachi looked over at Ironwood. "Heed my warning, attempting to add this foreign power into someone from Remnant will only lead to their death by implosion." The space around him began to swirl once more as a woman appeared on the floor, before Itachi grabbed her by the arm and tossed her onto Ironwoods desk. "If you do not believe me, then use that one as the test subject."

Everyone looked at the woman, she looked as if she had gone through hell and back. Both her hands were cut off then they had been cauterized. "Who is she? And what happened to her?"

"Ironically the same color as her eyes and hair, Jade. Her semblance allows her to cause explosions simply by having touched an object or person. The person would implode leaving nothing left." Itachi told him as Ironwood balled his hands into fists. "To stop her from creating more victims than she already had in Argus, which I am sure you have read from Cordovins report." Ironwood nodded. "I cut off her hand and stopped her bleeding when first confronting her."

"And the other?" Winter questioned him.

"I had dislocated her fingers, broken her, yet she managed to place them back together, and at some point she had come into contact with Weiss and Blake, worried about their safety and their lives, I cut it off as well."

Winter looked over at Weiss with a sigh of relief. "Thank you for saving the life of my sister, but why exactly should this woman be used for this?"

"Granted her ability to cause explosions and implosions, her body is able to handle damage of that nature better than any others I know."

The scientist leaned forward inspecting the woman as she headbutted him and began laughing. "Go ahead, do it! Watch as I make your monstrous power mine!"

Ironwood grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the desk knocking her out. "You could've warned us she was awake."

"She wasn't earlier." Itachi stated looking at the scientist holding his broken nose. "You should be thankful she's missing her hands, or you would have probably been dead now." Itachi sighed. "When you transfer some of my foreign power into her and she implodes, are you still willing to risk the lives of others for your greed?"

Ironwood looked at the old man who slowly stood to his feet, no one bothering to help the power hungry man up. "IF she implodes, then there must be an-"

Wendy walked up to the man and punched him in the gut, before slamming his head on the desk. "Look here you greedy old fool, no power is worth sacrificing the lives of others!" Wendy though being one of the shorter members in the group had a powerful grip on the old mans hair, holding him up. "Sounding just like Watts, Pathetic." She loosened her grip and let him fall to his knees. "Have the others in attendance as well. Let them see what happens when you mess with things that should not be trifled with."

"Wendy, have some respect for the dead." Pietro said.

Wendy shook her head. "Watts isn't dead, there was no body recovered from the accident and something in my gut is twisting, telling me that he is still alive." She balled her hand into a fist, looking at the scientist on his knees. "Get out, now." She growled at the man who scurried out of the office.

"Um, who are they?" Nora asked her group.

Pietro laughed. "Sorry for not introducing ourselves, I am Pietro Poladina." He looked at Penny and smiled softly at her. "Penny's father."

"Father?" They blinked as they looked from one to the other as Penny grinned giving them a thumbs up.

"I'm Wendy, my last name is of no importance, just know that I'm the one who built all of Itachi's weapons, along with helping old man Pietro here with that arm you painted yellow." She gestured at Yangs prosthetic.

"You aren't that young yourself, Wendy." Miss Calavera stated

"How old is she?" Jaune questioned.

"She's in her high f-" Itachi began as Wendy began throwing barrage of punches at him which he easily blocked as he sighed. "Sorry, it seems I do not remember this ol-." Everyone felt the wind pressure in the room shift around Itachi and Wendy.

"Watch it, you brat." Wendy glared at him to which he chuckled.

Itachi's attention was back to Ironwood. "I'm assuming you have all spoken about..." He gestured to the Relic as Ironwood nodded. "So what plan have you come up with? And how do you plan on protecting the people of Mantle? From what I've seen and heard recently, they don't seem to be kind when your name is brought up."

Ironwood pressed a button on his desk as the floor began to move, a circular table coming out from the floor. "Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem is to do so in secret, whether that was the right choice or not, isn't for me to say, but we find ourselves in the position of needing a new approach."

"And what do you suggest?" Qrow asked Ironwood who stood across from him.

Ironwood pressed the device he held, the projection of Amity Colosseum appearing floating above the table.

"When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was out dated. Amity was built to bring the nations together and it will serve that purpose once again." Ironwood stated as a beacon tower appeared on the colosseum.

"Isn't it great! We're not going to just replace Beacon tower, building a new tower on top of Amity Colosseum will re-establish global communication." Penny said.

"By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we can create a sort of satellite, out of reach of the grimm and capable of maintaining global communications, even if we were to lose an other tower." Winter informed the group.

"If you truly wish for the grimm not to reach it, send it into space." Itachi stated as they looked at him. "There are grimm who can reach such heights, even some individuals, but sending it into space and finding a way to keep it in orbit around us would prove best and most difficult."

Wendy placed a hand on her chin. "That isn't a bad idea, but a difficult task for even us at the moment, not impossible, but it would take some time and delay having it up and running soon."

Qrow was pacing as he stopped next to Ironwood. "James, you don't need the entire military for this."

"I will for the next part, where I finally tell the people about Salem."

"You withdrew your troops to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas." Itachi said.

Ironwood nodded. "Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings grimm, but I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with its fight ahead, I'll use Amity tower to spread the message to ALL of Remnant." Ironwood sighed as he walked back to his desk. "I know Ozpin has kept this hidden from the people during his many lives, but since the fall of Beacon and without him here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgement,"

"Ozpin is here." Itachi stated as Ironwood turned to face him as he gestured at Oscar. "He is currently residing inside Oscar here, but he's locked himself away."

Ironwood looked at Oscar. "Locked himself away? What do you mean?"

Itachi watched Ironwood carefully. "Something happened, but I'll leave it at that for now." Itachi turned to walk away, but before Ironwood or anyone else could say anything, he rose his hand. "You seem on edge, so I need you to relax, and calm. This is something I'd like your Ace Ops to know about as well." Itachi was going through his scroll as Ironwoods scroll received a message from him. "I've heard her semblance allows her to tell if a person is lying or not, that being said, she would have to be informed and caught up with our mission." Itachi looked over at the Ace Ops whom were beginning to regain consciousness before he began to leave. "Penny, if you could please send me the location of the room that I will be staying in with the others. Also, I like what you did with your hair."

Penny saluted him. "You can count on me, Itachi."

"Where are you going?" Blake asked

"I need some time alone." Itachi said before exiting the doors.

Wendy crossed her arms, eyes narrowed as she watched him. "Something happened. I've never seen him act like this before." She looked towards the group who didn't say anything as she sighed. "He seems to be blaming himself for something." She looked over at the woman, Jade. "And something tells me it has to do with this filth." She grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up as she was at her level before dropping her and grabbing her by the ankle. "We have work to do old man." She dragged the unconscious woman on the ground as she stopped next to Weiss. "Tell Itachi that I'll be upgrading his weapons personally, and that I have that armor he wanted ready as well." Weiss gave her a nod, watching the short woman drag the other with ease. "Oh! And I heard about Rossa, make sure he steers clear from her, but then again word travels fast around here, especially when someone like him appears." She shook her head before exiting.

"It was nice to meet you all, but we do have work to do, I just wish there were some other way to prove we shouldn't meddle with such raw energy." Pietro said as he followed after Wendy. "Take care and I'll see you later, darling."

"Bye Father!" She waved at him.

"Will you be more careful with her!" They heard Pietro tell Wendy.

"HUH?!" They heard Wendy groan.

Miss Calavera sighed. "I swear those two are like siblings who can't stop fighting." She shook her head and followed them out. "Will you two stop it already! I may be old, but I can still-" The doors closed, not hearing what she was about to say.

Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now that we will be working together, I believe we should get those weapons of yours, up to our standards." He said eyeing Blakes broken weapon as she was slightly embarrassed.

"Remember, this is Atlas. While assisting the military we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise." Winter told the group as they cheered.

"General Ironwood, sir." Ren called for his attention. "Where is the closest bath house?"

Ironwood rose a brow. "There is one here in the Academy, Penny can show you where it is."

Jaune looked at Ren. "You think so too?" Ren nodded. "Seems like somewhere he would like to be alone, in privacy or at the very least away from some people."

Ironwood had picked up on what they were thinking. "Here." He tapped on his desk as Ren received a location on his scroll. "This should help you."

"He said he wanted to be alone." Qrow reminded them.

"True, but we are his friends and teammates." Ren stated.

"If he's going through something, he should know that we'll be there with him, that he isn't alone anymore." Jaune said as Qrow nodded.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Nora shouted.

She began marching towards the exit as Yang grabbed her by the back of her collar. "Woah there, Nora."

"Sorry Nora, but guys only." Jaune stated

Nora flailed. "But I'm part of the team too!" She watched as they walked out of the room, leaving their weapons behind. "Don't leave me!" As they disappeared from her view she huffed and crossed her arms. "I didn't think you would kill the fun." She looked at Yang.

Yang laughed and scratched her cheek. "I can't either, but let them handle him." She then motioned to Weiss and Blake. "Either way, even if you did succeed in leaving the room with them, those two would have definitely stopped you."

Bath House

Itachi was in the water as he sighed. A lot had happened today and once again, he had failed someone. He leaned back, attempted to relax his body, but their faces kept appearing in his mind. He grabbed the plate of dango he had brought in as it float on the water, grabbing a stick and biting into his favorite snack, he closed his eyes. He knew of loss, losing those important to him and losing those he could not save, but Viola and Lily's death hit him.

"They have an indoor bath house, they provide you with towels and all the essentials to enjoy it here. I can get used to this." He heard the familiar voice say.

"I'm actually kind of jealous we didn't have this at Beacon."

An other familiar voice. Itachi sighed. "I thought I said I wished to be alone." Itachi didn't open his eyes nor did he turn to the owners of the voices "Why are you here?"

"You are our friend, and friends don't let other friends brood alone." Jaune said

"I'm not brooding."

"You are feeling guilty about something, and because of what happened earlier today, you've been beating yourself up." Ren said as he attempted to grab one of the Dango, but Itachi slapped his hand away. "Are you even allowed to have food in here?"

Itachi didn't answer that question. "Talking about it may help." Jaune said as he sunk deeper into the water. "I can see why you two enjoy this."

"If you don't want to talk to us about it, at the very least speak with Weiss and Blake." Ren said, Itachi opened his eyes and glanced at Ren. "You've been acting a bit rash today, and they will worry if you continue like this. Not just them, but the rest of us as well."

"You once told me to never do things alone, to depend and lean on my friends." Jaune began as Itachi averted his eyes from Ren and looked over at Jaune. "We know you're some tough super ninja soldier from an other world, but you don't have to keep everything to yourself, you can depend, lean, and talk with us if something is going on."

Itachi chuckled. "Throwing my words right back at me..." Itachi stared up at the ceiling before letting out a small sigh. "My first run in with Jade before I even knew who she was... Reaper and Red Hood had finally made a name for themselves, that meant that we had targets painted on our back, I had a job in the city. I made a simple mistake and the price for that mistake was the lives of Violas parents."

"The woman that..." Ren said, Itachi nodded.

"Even though I saved Lily, my mistake cost those sisters their parents. I made myself and their parents a promise that day. That they would not end up without a home, food, or clothes. That I would provide them with what they needed and that I would keep them safe." Itachi looked down at the water, bringing his hands forward as if cradling something. "Half of the money I made I would place in an account for those two girls to use, if they ever needed anything, they could always contact me and I would always answer. And yet, I could not keep that promise, because of me Lily watched her older sister, the only family she had left, implode right before her eyes. The blast being strong enough to propel Lily far and hard enough to where she died from the impact of her head hitting the cold hard ground, her neck having been broken as well."

"I don't think there is anything you or anyone could have done." Ren said as Itachi slowly nodded.

"I know, and that's why I can't forgive myself. They looked at me as some type of hero, and yet because of me being in Argus, I held Lily's lifeless body in my arms, while there was nothing left of Viola to bury her next to." Ren and Jaune place a hand on his shoulders. "I know you two mean well, but please do not touch me while we are all in the water, naked."

The two reeled their hands back real quick as Jaune chuckled. "Not wanting to make light of mood, but I just noticed something."

"What is it?" Ren asked.

"Why is it that every time the three of us are together, learning about either Itachi or just being sentimental, that we are always naked?" Jaune questioned as the two guys blinked. "You see it now too, right?"

"Fanservice." Itachi said

"Fanservice?" The two questioned.

Itachi nodded. "Last time there were women on the other side of the wall, this time there are women on the other side of your scroll, who have been listening in to everything." He pointed at Jaune's scroll.

Jaune grabbed his scroll as his eyes widened. "I didn't call them?!"

"It was most likely Pennys doing. I am certain Weiss, Yang and Nora had a hand in this." Itachi stated as they heard "eeps" and "Hang up!" coming from the other line. "Also, scrolls aren't allowed in here."

A/N: It has been a LONG time! LOL I apologize for the long wait and my absence, but there's a lot going on in life right now that I needed some time to both myself and my family. Hopefully I can upload another chapter soon and I will try to get back on a roll, but it may not be so easy. Thank you all for being so patient and no I have NOT forgotten about this story.

Kage-kitsune9001- Yes, Shadow clones good. I believe he does know Talk-no-Jutsu since he did use it on Naruto during the War lol

Halofan2117- May not have been as soon as you wished but here it is.

keybladelight- Itachi truly is cursed to have fangirls in any universe he goes lol And it will go into Hiatus once this volume is done, let it wait until the new volume releases.

Adriaus Nighthunter- I'm not going to lie, I've never watched or read Gundam...

Dasgun- .-.

razmire- Yes, yes they are. And now he has one other to look out for...

gogo bananas- I think this was brought up before...and yes I did.

Mr. Haziq- Sexy Jutsu maybe? Lol

andresskorskiruiz- Thank you.

Fanofpercyjackson fanfics- YESSS!

Guest2- Sorry for the wait...

justwannareadgoodstuff- Yes lol I loved that series XD

Lord Blazer- Thank you! And there are other good ones as well you should check out. Will do!