Hello once again folks with another chapter for the story. Yes it's been forever since I updated but let's ignore that and roll on into answering a couple of questions first before we truly begin. That being said, I know I was supposed to have A Maelstrom Among Specters updated sooner than this puppy dropping, but I have rewritten chapter four of AMAS multiple times, finally making headway on it, but I really wanted to get something out so I wrapped this bad boy up. On to those Q&A's.

Q:Is Naruto the Villain in this story-A: Most definitely not, he is more manipulative and well rounded than our beloved blonde buffoon from the actual series however he does feel a little bit of guilt for manipulating others or killing others, however he is a shinobi and has been trained to be a shinobi his whole life, he saw that coming.

Q:Will the shinobi not have Jutsu, just Aura-A: They use jutsu, it has been explained already, though it would seem some didn't read that bit, that the difference between shinobi and others is that they have more or less surrendered the use of their aura and semblance in exchange for chakra. The advantages are obvious, however it can have psychological problems, thats why the majority of shinobi come from families of shinobi as they are better prepared.

Q:Why use Uzumaki-Namikaze-A: Simple in this story they are both dynasties of different Elemental Nations, and while Whirlpool is now more of a defunct vassal state of Fire Country, until only a generation ago it was only just behind some of the weaker big five in clout if not actual power. So to show connection to both thrones both names are used. In most of my ideas I just have Naruto use Uzumaki as his name for the simple fact that since in most of my stories there is no Namikaze clan Minato would likely take Kushina's last name in favor of continuing the nearly extinct noble clan. AT least that's my reasoning.

Q:Is there a pairing in this story?-A: Yep, you will likely figure out what it is pretty easily, however it will take time to develop as there is baggage surrounding it that will be an issue for everyone involved. Let's just say that the pairing I have planned is my favorite pairing for a Naruto-RWBY crossover. If ever writing other Naruto-RWBY crossovers it will probably end up being the same pairing unless I am going for something specific for the story. SOme may end up being unhappy with how I have this set to play out, but I am happy with it so I hope there will be those of you that like it too.

Q:Last one- Will Naruto become friends with team RWBY and start village relations with Beacon?-A: That is primarily something that will be found through reading the story. However I will remind you that Naruto is there on a job, that puts him into conflict with Beacon. That much has already been shown to the reader and Ozpin is aware there is more to Naruto's easy surrender in the forest than what initially appears. Both sides are just rolling the dice of playing coy with one another to try and figure the best way to get what they really want. Who will get what they want? Just read and you will eventually see.

Chapter Three: The Wrong Foot

Beacon Academy Headmaster's Tower

The girls of Team RWBY were less than thrilled about not being able to return to their dorm room after class. They were tired and sweat soaked from combat classes for the day and each were looking forward to a nice shower to get properly cleaned up. Still it was only natural that they were curious as to the reason they were being called to the headmaster's office. Understandably nervous following the very public disagreement they had in Professor Port's class the first day. Both girls involved, Ruby and Weiss, had believed the issue was handled when they had both apologized to one another for their parts in the argument.

That being said Weiss had officially conceded to the fact that Ruby was the leader of Team RWBY, not that she honestly had much choice in the matter but that was neither here nor there. With that behind them the reason for their summons to the Headmaster's office was up in the air. While she hadn't voiced it to her teammates Blake was convinced it had something to do with Naruto. She had been shocked seeing him, and even more shocked by the thought of him remaining here as a prisoner. However she doubted it had anything to do with his status politically and more to do with the fact that Team RWBY were the only ones, as far as she knew, to have come face to face with a squad of Shinobi in the forest. Gone was the boy she had known so long ago and in his place was a true shinobi. The faunus girl couldn't properly flush thoughts of him from her mind, primarily questions about how much he had changed since they met when they were kids.

Finally arriving at the office, the girls each shared a look with one another. The painfully quiet walk through the halls had driven the point home that all four of them were trying to think about what was going on. Sadly they were all too nervous about it to discuss it and actually figure out what the situation was. When the door opened to the office though they found it more filled than they expected. Both Ozpin and Dr. Oobleck were already there and with Goodwitch leading them in the room was becoming rather crowded.

As they finished filling into the office Ozpin seemed to catch their eyes each individually before finally standing and greeting them.

"Thank you for coming. Now can any of you tell me why exactly it is that you four were brought up here?" Ozpin asked.

Again the four girls shared a glance with one another. Weiss stepped forward and hesitated only a moment before clearing her throat to speak. She was fairly certain that her disrupting the teamwork of Team RWBY when she got into an argument with Ruby was the issue they were about to be lectured about. Yet as she went to open her mouth Ruby cut her off.

"If it's about the fight me and Weiss had in Professor Port's class, Weiss and I already..." Ruby began only to herself be cut off when Ozpin lifted a hand.

"While I am happy that you are all adjusting to your teammates personalities, as well as learning to resolve your own disagreements like adults, that's not what I called you all here for. I highly doubt that you have forgotten the events that occurred in the emerald forest only a few days ago." Ozpin paused as all four of the girls grimaced at that. They had all been trying rather hard to forget what had happened, but it wasn't something you just forgot, nearly all of them lacked the true experience required to properly deal with what they had seen.

"Yes, while it was awful that you all had to witness that happen, I'm afraid to say he was rightfully killed by those masked individuals. You may or may not know that those were shinobi, with the one who was killed being a fugitive known as a rogue shinobi or missing nin. From what we have gathered the man was a fugitive who deserted his post in his home military before stealing dangerous secrets with the intent of selling them to members of the White Fang." As he said that the four girls each reacted differently. Weiss was a little confused, though also happy that whatever these dangerous secrets were, never made it to the terrorist organization that terrorized her family and company. Blake couldn't help but feel a little guilty, even though this event had nothing to do with her, she couldn't help feeling agitated though as she thought about all the trouble Adam's splinter group had caused over the last few years.

"Wait." Weiss interjected. "Why would faunus be trying to stop information from getting to the White Fang? That doesn't make…" Weiss closed her mouth with a click of her teeth when Blake all but hissed at her.

"How stupid do you have to be to assume all faunus back the White Fang?" The question was all but growled at Weiss from the disguised faunus. Before Weiss could retort though Oobleck interrupted them to stop a fight.

"Indeed, it's actually arguable that the White Fang target faunus that don't support them just as much as humans, some cells more so. They hate the prospect of those they consider 'their own kind' turning against them in an attempt to live a life in peace and coexistence. It's dreadful, simply dreadful." The green haired man shook his head at the shameful acts he was talking about.

Ozpin cleared his throat to regain the attention of the room. He had some things he needed to say, and he would rather they not get sidetracked. The girls had plenty of time to debate the political circumstance of the world later.

"The people that," Here he hesitated a moment before choosing his words carefully. "Eliminated, the rogue shinobi are a team of Hunter Shinobi. From what I can tell they actually fill a similar role to our Huntsmen and Huntresses. Though it's worth mentioning they are more geared towards hunting down dangerous criminals that are a threat to their home, and really only focus on Grimm if they would be a reasonable danger to whichever of the elemental nations they are from." Ruby perked up at that bit of information. Her mind went to the girl that looked near her age if a bit younger that was a part of their team.

"As you all likely know very little is known about the elemental nations where the shinobi originate. We do know that these nations have far less natural barriers to protect them than the four kingdoms. It's primarily through their armies and their shinobi warriors that they maintain their existence. That however means they also have a large surplus of soldiers and warriors which means they are often plagued with war making the region very dangerous and hard to live in." The Headmaster informed the gathered teens.

The four girls soaked that knowledge up. Ruby was interested in that. She couldn't help but be curious about what nations that were more focused on being like Hunters than anything else were like to live in. Yang was interested too, though she felt a bit wary at the fact that the elemental nations were evidently perpetually in a state of war. Weiss on the other hand is again confused. Her education at home hadn't touched much on the elemental nations, though she knew that dust sales were remarkably low there, at least for the Schnee Company. There were not many other suppliers of dust in the world, and none that she knew of that could supply a nation's military properly. She had heard that sales had recently picked up in the Land of Water over the last few years not that she knew why. Blake unlike the others knew a decent amount about the elemental nations. Menagerie interacted with them more than it did the kingdoms so there was bound to be some information exchange whether intentional or not. She was still very curious to learn more about the mysterious countries.

"Um, Professor Ozpin, what happened to the shinobi that surrendered himself for that girl. He was her brother right? Is he a prisoner or something?" Ruby asked causing Ozpin to smile ever so slightly.

"That Ms. Rose is actually why I have called you all here today. Thanks to the unfortunate series of events that occurred the other day we have been given the once in a generation chance to make a real bond between the elemental nations and the kingdoms. You might remember that young man is around your age, I would like for you all to interact with him." This caused shocked looks from three of the girls, and an eager and curious one from Ruby.

"Since you have all witnessed a slice of what it is like for a shinobi in life, you could form a bridge of companionship that could in the long run make ties to better combat the grimm threat. That is of course the main purpose of Hunters and Beacon itself." Ozpin sounded almost like a recruitment commercial there.

Behind the girls Glynda narrowed her eyes at the headmaster as he stretched the truth. She couldn't say she was unused to him attempting to manipulate people, especially students, to advance his political agenda. That didn't mean she had to like it though. It was obvious to both her and Oobleck that he intended to make a bond of friendship or more between the 'prince' and the four huntresses in training in the hopes of making the boy open up more and possibly slip-up and reveal his mission objective to them. Or just as likely knowing Ozpin try and recruit the boy as an ally.

Weiss stammered for a moment before gathering her usual decorum. "What's the point of doing this with some random foot soldier? It's not like that will actually open up a meeting with his government will it?" The thought of a nation bending over backwards for a single soldier in a foreign land didn't really sound realistic to her. The response she got just further frustrated her as Ozpin simply sipped at his coffee and Oobleck chuckled softly.

"That might have been true if he was just a random footsoldier, but he isn't, is he?" Blake asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes, the young shinobi is actually Prince Naruto of Fire Country." Ozpin smiled slightly as three of the girls were shocked by the revelation. He and the other staff took notice of the fact Blake seemed to have expected that.

"I...I didn't realize the elemental countries were faunus nations like Menagerie." Weiss said.

"Actually," Oobleck began. "They are mixed, with a much larger ratio of faunus to human than in the kingdoms. Though they do have much smaller populations over all."

"Yes, from what the Prince has told us, Shinobi as a general rule care far more about an individual's value rather than their connections or whether or not they are human or faunus. Evidently that is also why the Crown Prince and the Princess are both members of their nation's military. You must understand that while the elemental nations are exceptionally beautiful with far more nature friendly environments than the urbanized hearts of the four kingdoms, they are much harsher living spaces. Thats why those that 'pull their own weight' as it were are highly regarded so even the son of the King must prove that he is skilled."

The girls nod along in understanding. Ruby was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet by now. She was extremely excited to meet someone who was essentially a huntsman in all but name in her eyes. Even more so that he was around their age. Yang too was interested in meeting Naruto, anyone willing to give themselves up for their sister seemed alright in her book. Weiss couldn't help but wonder if she made a good impression on him if she could win a new client for her company. No doubt her father would be thrilled from that and Winter would be extremely proud even if it was with a faunus. Blake was conflicted though. A great part of her was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Naruto again, but that also meant there was a risk of her being exposed and that thought terrified her.

Her worries didn't end there though. She couldn't imagine what Naruto's reaction to her would be. They had been friends once, sadly she had ruined that by running off with Adam and his splinter faction of the White Fang, though it was difficult to call them a splinter faction now with how large they had become in comparison to the slowly shrinking original group. She still remembered the argument she had with her parents just prior to her leaving and wondered if Naruto knew anything about what was said during that fight. It would no doubt break her heart if he had, her words had been more than cruel at that time. She had to shake the thoughts out of her head reminding herself she was at beacon and would become a huntress so that she could return home with pride and show her parents she had learned from her mistake.

"I will be counting this as the first mission for team RWBY." That alone caused Ruby to squeal in excitement. "It is imperative that you bond with the young prince and ensure that when the rest of the diplomats arrive from Fire Country that things go smoothly so that future generations of hunters and shinobi can cooperate in combating the Grimm threat together." Ozpin sounded once again like some sort of recruiter slightly irking his right hand woman.

Ruby of course was all for the plan, Weiss too was excited though more by the thought of expanding her company's reach into the elemental league. Yang actually was thinking more about the prince specifically. His sister had been good, though not near experienced enough in fighting multiple opponents allowing her and Blake to weaken the girl before the rogue shinobi laid into her. She couldn't help but want to spar with the boy to get a feel for what a shinobi with some more experience under their belt was capable of. That didn't mean she wasn't a little wary though. Unlike Ruby and Weiss who had only witnessed the tail end of the conflict with the Shinobi the other day, Yang had seen how ruthless and brutal even the supposed 'good guys' could be. She didn't want Ruby to be in danger if it came to a real fight with the shinobi warrior. Lastly Blake was still conflicted about her emotions. Hope, joy, fear, and anxiety warred in her mind as she thought about what they were being tasked with doing. She would be happy if they could open up the Hidden Leaf or even Fire Country as a whole to the kingdoms however she had met plenty of shinobi before, it was a rather slim chance of happening.

"Bartholomew if you would please retrieve Prince Naruto." Ozpin said giving the girls a few moments to soak in everything that they had been told.

At the moment Ozpin had to admit his arguably most eccentric Professor remained the best connection he had with Naruto. He fully intended to continue pushing that angle along with pressing these girls forward in the hopes of chiseling away at Naruto's impressive defenses to his schemes. Eventually Naruto arrived, surprising the girls as he was dressed in the male version of their school uniform minus the coat and tie. It wasn't like he could have just stayed in his combat armor for weeks. Though he did seem to be wearing his wire mesh undershirt below his clothes giving him at least a mild amount of protection.

"Ah, some introductions are in order. Prince Naruto, this is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. They make up Team RWBY under Ms. Rose and are first years at Beacon. I believe you may remember them from the unfortunate events in the Emerald Forest a few days ago. Girls this is Crown Prince Naruto Namikaze, also known as Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze as he is technically rightful heir to the land of Fire and Whirlpools, currently he is staying as a guest and temporary diplomat between Beacon and Vale and the Land of Fire and The Hidden Leaf." Ozpin said. It was a bit long winded, but his emphasis on what Naruto perceived once as pointless titles as a child, solidified the fact that Ozpin hoped to manipulate his home into an alliance of sorts through him.

Looking at the four girls, Naruto was quiet a moment, his surprise quickly changed to understanding visibly on his face, before it changed to confusion again before his eyes darkened and he shot a dark glare Ozpin's way. Unsettled by this change he turns his attention to Glynda as if looking for an answer only to watch as the woman's eyes suddenly widen and she too turns a dark glare onto the now extremely confused Headmaster. Clearing his throat to try and dissipate the tense atmosphere he turned his attention back to Naruto.

"Perhaps it's a good place to start a conversation by working out exactly what happened the other day in the forest. Naruto if you would please explain your point of view about what happened when our group first encountered yours." Ozpin said.

Naruto briefly held the same glare on the silver haired headmaster before he smiled slightly. A smile that Ozpin noted actually boded poorly for himself.

"Well then." Naruto began turning his attention fully to the girls in front of him. "Do you all already know what shinobi are?" He received nods from the girls.

"Ozpin said they are like hunters to an extent." Ruby commented.

"Ah I see, well actually let me give you a bit of a history lesson." Naruto began his eyes flicking toward Ozpin a moment. Beside him Oobleck seemed immediately intrigued by what the blonde was about to say.

"In our origins, Shinobi were slave soldiers who were the result of experiments committed by nobles in the area that makes up the modern elemental nations." The shocked looks on the girls and the grimace on Ozpin and Glynda's faces spurred Naruto on, he intended on making a point to Ozpin. It might be a bit of an abstract point but a point all the same.

"They didn't just do it to make us fight Grimm though, but also each other for their greed." He took on a sombre expression at that, he felt a little bad about picking on the girls by telling them such a vile bit of history moments after introduction. However the fact that he intended to make things hard on Ozpin right now and at the least remind him that he didn't appreciate the man's attempt here pushed him forward. There was also the fact that Oobleck was almost literally chomping at the bit for more information that kept him going.

"Originally the experiments weren't even allowed families, men and women were paired together for 'scientific' or political reasons." At that Naruto shot a look at Ozpin who returned a confused look until he glanced at the girls drawing Ozpin's own eyes with him. Suddenly realizing what had agitated the blonde shinobi earlier, believing the headmaster to be performing a disturbing form of bribe Ozpin shot a surprised glance at Glynda who he realized was watching his reaction like a hawk, as if deciding his fate. The fearless headmaster began to slightly sweat at the calculating stare she gave him. Subordinate she may be, but Glynda would not be merciful to him if she believed he was indeed manipulating the girls as bribes to the prince. Which he wasn't, not intentionally at least.

'Then again if it works, perhaps.' He thought briefly before the icy glare of his right hand reminded him such tactics would most definitely not be worth the trouble.

"Eventually some family lines with desirable traits emerged. So like prized show horses shinobi were bred and managed by the nobles, some even keeping record books for their 'stables'. From their childhood they were taught to fight and die and if need be kill for their masters and shinobi became excellent in all three of those things." Naruto slowly shifted to a darker tone while speaking causing the youngest in the room to shy away from him. This caused Naruto to frown, a small bite of guilt reared it's head before he continued on. The poor girl was more squeamish than he had expected. What on earth was she doing at an academy for what amounted to highly efficient soldiers.

"So eventually we of course overthrew these nobles as making an army of enslaved supersoldiers was not the best idea if you had no way to stop them from killing you except for more enslaved supersoldiers. So the Shinobi caste became the ruling body for the elemental nations however after so long, eventually shinobi became very specialized. Now we only really know how to do what we were created to do. Common citizens do the infrastructural work and the rest of the things in our nations and Shinobi protect and lead them. In most places it is similar to you huntresses, then again we are much stronger simply looking at the fact that we have much more common conflict between the most dangerous threat to world peace then hunters do." Naruto had decided to run through the last bit of his pseudo-history lesson as quickly as possible so not to continue the uncomfortable atmosphere of the room.

"What's a bigger threat than Grimm?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Humans." Blake answered only to get a vicious glare from Naruto that caused her to shrink in on herself.

"Not just humans, people, humans and faunus both." Naruto said while flicking his eyes at Blakes bow causing her to begin worrying that he would in fact reveal the truth about her being a faunus to the others.

"Most people are little better than Grimm if pushed even slightly. So, when someone breaks one of the most important laws of the shinobi of Fire Country and not only betrays their people but abandons them there is only one fate that waits for them." Naruto finished coming back around to what Ozpin had asked to begin with, his point of view of what had occurred in the forest. Justice plain and simple.

"That's barbaric. There should be some kind of court system surely." Weiss stated only to glare when Naruto scoffed at her.

"I will not have some schoolgirl lecture me on the ways of my people." He snapped at the white themed brat.

Weiss couldn't even formulate words for a moment. She was affronted by that simple statement alone.

"What makes you think you are so high and mighty, some arrogant prince of some backwater nation." Naruto smiled viciously at that comment though.

"I'm not arrogant. My beliefs that a shinobi is better than a huntsman has nothing to do with my status as a prince of a shinobi nation." This girl was going to be fun to pick at, so easy to set off.

Ruby tried to calm Weiss down, reminding her they were there to make up after what happened in the forest. That surprised Naruto a bit. However before he could focus on the other things Ruby was telling Weiss, Yang moved forward to better talk with him.

"Why was your sister there, she is even younger than Ruby is." Yang surprised Naruto yet again with her question. He hadn't really thought they would be interested in her, actually he partially hoped they wouldn't be as well. It was no secret back home how protective he was of his siblings, going so far as to bend some rules for them. With a sigh he decided to give her at least some answer.

"It was her initiation into the unit." That just confused Yang more though and she asked what he meant. Naruto sighs again and looks to Ozpin, but the man said nothing, most likely inwardly happy that Naruto was getting a bit of payback for starting off what was supposed to be a friendly discussion by immediately talking about atrocities from bygone eras.

"She is following in my footsteps. She hates living in my shadow so she pushes herself as a prodigy by trying to do everything I did but sooner. She has already far exceeded normal standards, but like a true shinobi that isn't good enough and one day she will be one of the greatest shinobi in history." He said that last sentence with a large amount of pride in his voice, something none of the others could miss.

While his obvious pride in his sister briefly showed through he quickly killed the emotion and took on an expression of boredom with the conversation though the slip was enough for even Ruby to catch. Both Glynda and Weiss felt slightly less hostile toward the blonde, though they still disliked him for their own reasons. Glynda still hated how easily he could get under her skin and Weiss simply despised his overall attitude. As if there could only be one arrogant heir on the campus.

"How can she kill someone and not feel anything?" Yang barely got the words out of her mouth before a hateful glare from Naruto caused her to flinch back.

Scoffing at the girl he turned away and walked to the door. "Don't be ridiculous. Shinobi aren't machines. We feel it, we just know what has to be done is more important than our own sense of self." Opening the door he turned to Oobleck. "Would you mind escorting me back to my room DP? I would really like some time alone right now." Oobleck twitched slightly at the name but nodded and led Naruto out.

"What was his deal, all I did was ask a question, no need to be so angry." Yang said.

"You pretty much asked him if his baby sister was some kind of emotionless kill happy monster." Blake said while glaring ever so slightly at her partner. Blake remembered the sweet little Narumi from years ago and once again guilt ridden nostalgia flooded her mind.

Yang cringed now realizing how badly she had put her foot in her mouth. Thinking back to the girl in question she remembered just how determined she had been in the fight. When she was so beat up and still her response was just to say that those that abandon the mission are trash. The bombshell felt a bit of guilt at how badly she had hurt the much younger girl, more so though she felt respect. It was amazing how hard some people could push themselves. That in itself sent her mind into questioning mode. Just what were these shinobi really like. One moment they came off as psychotic supersoldiers trained from birth, the next they were like honorable warriors from a fantasy story willing to do bad things for the right reasons. She wanted to learn more about them, they were intriguing to say the least.

Suddenly pulled from her thoughts Yang realized they had at some point returned to their dorm. Stepping into the room she listened as Weiss started mentioning she got a weird feeling from Naruto.

"It was like he had no aura, remember when we shook hands when we were introduced. There was no pull between our auras like normal. It just slid over him like he didn't have one." Weiss said.

"Maybe his aura is still locked?" Ruby asked, it made sense that was the same feeling they got from most civilians.

"His sister didn't have one either or at least it didn't protect her at all when we were fighting." Yang said.

"The same for the rogue shinobi, but then again maybe they just used theirs up." Blake joined the conversation.

"Tch, these shinobi think they are so strong when they don't even have unlocked auras." Weiss had had enough of Naruto's arrogant attitude when it came to his supposed fighting abilities.

Ruby and Yang were nodding along in thought while continuing the conversation, but Blake slunk past into the bathroom. She wanted to avoid the whole topic as much as possible. At any point the truth not only about her faunus nature but time spent with Adam's White Fang could come to light.

"Y'know even without aura though, that girl was tough. If she had no aura whatsoever and took that beating, that's saying something." Yang commented.

"She must be really strong, but I wonder what Naruto did that made her feel like she was in his shadow?" Ruby pondered.

"It's probably arrogance on his part, for all we know his sister is a prodigy and he is a failure." The Schnee heiress said. She was more or less done with the conversation and was gathering clothes together to wear after her turn in the shower.

"I don't think so, he had all those shinobi under his command." Yang said.

"He is a prince isn't he? Surely that means they have to follow him whether he is strong or not." Weiss responded and the group dropped the conversation there. However while Weiss wrote the shinobi off as a weakling, Yang and Ruby were a little more worried about the possibility of how strong he was.

Wilderness

Border of the Land of Iron and the Mistralian Frontier Territory

Qrow Branwen was travelling through the forests north of the Elemental League. Most visitors to the region were limited to the foreign districts of the elemental nations largest towns and cities. They were completely walled off and separated from the rest of the nations they were in, so to actually learn anything worthwhile about the elemental nations Qrow had realized he had to come in and out through the wilderness far from any kind of actual settlement. So, ever since Ozpin had notified him initially about the Prince of Fire Country being picked up at Beacon he had been coming and going through these rough mountain passes in his bird form every few hours.

He had honestly not had that hard of a time of it. From the rumors he had picked up at small bars and one very nice brothel in the western part of Lightning country, the nations had all placed more of the border security and patrol onto the regular military forces because the shinobi forces had been severely diminished after recent warfare. Actually slipping into one of the hidden villages was next to impossible though. The best he had managed was to transform into a bird and do a fly over. He would have landed however the moment he flew within a certain distance to the most ornate of the towers shinobi seemed to start appearing in massive numbers searching the sky and the streets for him. The simple fact they had so easily detected him had sent him scurrying back to outside the village.

Now though he was on his way home. The plan was to head to Mistral and catch a ride back to Beacon. Ozpin wanted him there when the supposed diplomats from Fire Country showed up. It was as if the man didn't trust them without Qrow around to back him up. Not surprising really. Either way that left the male half of the Branwen twins rushing to get back with what intel he had managed to scrape up. It wasn't much, a bit showing a connection between a shady organization supposedly in Mistral and small time terror groups in the elemental league. Sadly none of it really connected to the people Ozpin had deemed their enemy. So as it was flimsy possible ties between the splinter faction of the White Fang and this shadowy enemy Ozpin kept mentioning were just about all they had to run on. It was frustrating working without any concrete leads, however it did seem that possible threats multiplied daily. Over the last ten years rogue shinobi numbers had evidently been on the rise. The worrisome thought of Shinobi siding with their enemy had been bothering him lately. Even just a band of rogue shinobi combining with the White Fang spelled a massive threat. They already had the numbers with their White Fang, the expertise of shinobi wouldn't just multiply them into a threat worth noticing it would make them an army capable of making overt moves. If a faction of shinobi decided to join forces with them in some sort of alliance it would be disastrous, they would have trouble even defending Beacon, which despite its school days appearance had advanced defenses and a veritable army of huntsmen and huntresses to call on.

Qrow didn't get to ponder for long as he realized someone was in fact stalking him. They had been for a while too from what he could tell. That thought caused him to curse under his breath, was he getting old or were they just that good? Dear Oum he hoped it was the former then he could retire and spend his days wasting away on one binder after another rather than dealing with some stranger stalking him in the woods.

As he stopped and turned to confront the group Qrow was a little startled by the uniforms the figures in front of him wore. There were five of them, though only two really stood out. Three of them wore black shinobi flack vests with red headbands with a single cloud symbol imprinted on it. They each had another headband wrapped around their arms, two showing the leaf symbol for the Hidden Leaf and another showing the symbol for the hidden cloud, which unlike the marker on his forehead bore several cloud shapes. The two that stood out though wore the full robes of their organization. Long black dusters with several red clouds scattered across them. Members of the recently reorganized Akatsuki. A group of peacekeepers that he had quickly learned were both famous and infamous around the elemental nations.

Even in small villages Qrow had learned about the organization. As well as the most notable members. So standing before him were none other than two of the ten fingers that made up the Akatsuki's leadership. Sasuke Uchiha and Karin Uzumaki. The Uchiha's trademark eyes seemed be monitoring even his slightest twitch. The Uzumaki girl was likely the one who had been guiding them this entire time. It seemed he wasn't getting too old, if the rumors were true it wouldn't have mattered how alert he was, the girl could sense another's aura for ridiculous distances. She was the best of the best when it came to that sort of thing. Made sense why they promoted her to a finger position when Akatsuki reorganized a couple years ago.

To say the silent staring contest between Qrow and Sasuke was intense was just as correct as saying it was long and pointless. Both men just stared at one another, Sasuke trying to tell what kind of threat the huntsman was and Qrow idly pondering the situation he was in.

"What are you doing walking the border of an Elemental League nation? Foreigners aren't permitted to enter as they please here." Sasuke's voice remained cool and collected.

"Oh you know just out for a walk is all." Qrow drawled. What did the kid expect, an actual answer, c'mon did he ever get a straight answer to something like that? Sasuke's gritted teeth and faint grunt seemed to confirm he in fact did expect a real answer.

"In accordance with the Elemental League Treaty any and all foreigners found in the elemental nations outside of the designated zones without proper permit are to be detained and returned to the nearest hidden village for questioning." With that Sasuke's team began to fan out, Karin backing off slightly as she was less of a combat oriented shinobi than Sasuke and the three subordinates that had accompanied them.

"Is that what you intend to do then?" Qrow asked, it was time to really test what these peacekeepers were capable of.

"Will you come under your own power, or under mine?" Sasuke asked. Though he was already reaching for the sword he expected to need.

As a response Qrow simply drew his own weapon, the sword unfolding to its full extent.

"So you are set on this course then? Very well." Sasuke couldn't help the slight smirk on his face at the prospect of fighting another swordsman. With that Sasuke flickered towards his opponent almost too quickly for the man to register.

Qrow brought his sword up just in time to parry the blade Sasuke swung and was surprised to feel his hand go slightly numb as Sasuke channelled a low level lightning jutsu through his blade.

As the two men locked swords briefly the larger and stronger blade in Qrow's hand won out, shoving Sasuke back and causing the younger man to again flicker out of Qrow's sight. Qrow was simply shocked by the young man's speed, however he stepped up his own game in response. He suddenly bent backward at the waist to avoid a swipe from Sasuke's sword before coiling around and launching a stab with his own blade. The counterattack forced the Uchiha back before he once again flickered out of sight only to appear behind Qrow with a downward swing, again easily blocked by the more experienced swordsman.

"You know you really aren't going to make much progress holding out on me kid." Qrow taunted as he forced the smaller man to stumble back under their weight before surprising him with a lightning quick slice to the side. It wasn't fast enough to actually snag the shinobi however it cut a fine line through his coat.

"If I wanted you dead I would have killed you before you knew we were following you. My orders are to arrest with as limited injuries as possible, so that's what I plan on doing." Sasuke responded before spinning around Qrow, avoiding a slice and countering with a thrust of his blade only for it to be parried forcing him to dodge around a responding thrust from the huntsman.

Around them the other shinobi watched on with anticipation. They had formed a perimeter around the combat area in case the huntsman made a run for it, and Karin was cursing under her breath, her fox ears twitching in irritation. She had let loose several senbon, but everytime she seemed to have an opening some kind of accident would happen that kept her weapons from hitting their mark. Twice now she had slipped somehow and her aim had been off, twice more a bird had flown into the trajectory of her needles. What was the probability of that even happening?

"You know for a shinobi you really aren't using many tricks of the trade. I thought you people were all about sneak attacks and underhanded tactics. Something like this." Qrow said as his sword transformed suddenly and point blank blasted Sasuke in the chest with some odd type of ammunition. Less than a blink of an eye later that same round burst into dozens of flares causing all of the shinobi to flinch and protect their eyes.

By the time they had turned around Qrow had transformed into a bird and flown off. They could still see him, his wings beating hard.

"Lets give chase!" Karin began only to stop when Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder.

"No we won't catch him before he fully crosses into Mistral territory and the Akatsuki doesn't have the backing to operate outside of the elemental nations. Besides, our objective has been completed. Let's return to the hidden leaf and see your cousins, not to mention it's been too long since I saw my own family." The Uchiha spoke.

With a nod Karin followed after him. The rest of the team shortly behind them.

"He cut you. You were being arrogant." Karin sighed as she spotted the now sizeable hole on the side of Sasuke's robe.

"Hmm just my coat, but you're right I was being arrogant a bit probably. He is better than he seems though, he was holding back just like I was. I couldn't get a good read on how good he was besides the fact he was very good." Sasuke said as they continued to tree hop. Soon they would reach the higher peaks of the mountains that formed the barrier between the Land of Iron and Mistral's Frontier Territory. That meant snow and cold air which caused the fox faunus of the group to grimace at the thought. She was not looking forward to that at all.

Sasuke's mind was less focused on the terrain and more on the situation. He knew he wasn't being told the full scale of the plan that Naruto's mother had cooked up. Or he assumed it was his mother, that was where Sasuke assumed his friend got his more devious side from. Thinking about it, was it really a surprise that Naruto was as unpredictable as he was? With the brilliance of his father and the often ridiculous out of the box thinking of his mother it was no wonder he excelled in their line of work. Still Sasuke couldn't quite comprehend the full game plan of why they were going through all this trouble.

He and Karin had been asked by Kushina personally to confirm the identity of the huntsman snooping around the elemental nations. From the way she had spoke she had fully expected it to be Qrow Branwen. From what Itachi had told him later, there wasn't much on the man compared to most of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that tiptoed around the elemental nations. They knew the basics, went to beacon, works directly under Ozpin, and that his sister was the infamous Raven Branwen, a woman who had taken advantage of the chaotic state of the elemental nations two years ago to raid northern and western regions in the league.

How did that in anyway tie Naruto being at Beacon to any sort of plan. Were they planning on taking down Beacon. If so Sasuke was certain Minato would have put a stop to it by now right? Despite their skill and a possible homefield advantage, if a shinobi was even implicated in the destruction of the practically hallowed ground that was Beacon academy, heads would roll across the elemental nations. They simply couldn't compete with the numbers and technology of the kingdoms.

Whatever was going on Sasuke knew rough times were ahead. He had the same building tension in his gut that he did before Orochimaru's invasion and before the fourth shinobi war. That didn't bode well.

Village Hidden in the Sound

Hidden Laboratory #3

Former Land of Whirlpools

The last few years had been hard for the followers of the Pale Snake. His cult had made amazing advances only to be set back time and again. When he finally built up enough shinobi followers, even if few supported his dream of godhood unlike his non-shinobi supporters, he had launched his vision of taking vengeance against those fools in the Hidden Leaf. The death of his teacher had been bitter sweet. The old monkey faunus had managed to delay and injure him to the point the assault was beaten back by that blond bastard's shinobi forces. The bastard's brat had even defeated his special weapon in the form of Gaara Sabaku. Years of manipulating the Hidden Sand and Land of Wind were thrown away the moment that failed experiment switched sides.

Later when he had hoped to cultivate dissidence among the protectors of the royal family by seducing Sasuke Uchiha with dreams of power to surpass his elder brother, he was rewarded with the duck haired runt trying to murder him while he was ill. It had taken over a year to even recover from the injuries he got from that battle. While he had been laid up recovering his protege had led his forces into one blunder after another by siding with that mad man Madara. Scum like that should leave the prospect of godhood to the deserving. Men of vision like himself, not old fools obsessed with false prophecies.

Still though his greatest frustration remained Kabuto himself. The boy had indeed been like a son to him, even if he did have a legitimate daughter that despised everything about him. Ungrateful brat that she was. Kabuto had shown his genius by copying the same experiment he himself had performed, succeeding by an extent Orochimaru couldn't even achieve. That was the heart of his frustration with the medi-nin under his care. He was not supposed to ever actually surpass him.

Orochimaru had intended for Kabuto to be his most loyal lieutenant decades ago. The moment he had seen him in that orphanage and read of the skill he had controlling his chakra he had decided he would own the boy. It hadn't been hard to manipulate him and the matron of the orphanage into eventually fighting to the death. All it really took was making her believe Kabuto had grown up to look slightly different than the boy she was fighting. Then a few well placed lies framing one of the elders of the Hidden Leaf for what happened and voila perfect loyalty.

Yet now looking at the boy he barely held back the sneer that tried to push it's way onto his face. Orochimaru's dream of becoming the perfect being, of becoming a god by enhancing his body was achieved far more closely by his underling than himself. Whereas the gene modification he had subjected himself to had made him very similar to his late wife and estranged daughter by giving him the features of a snake faunus, Kabuto had taken it a step further. He had enhanced the modified genes to not only make his body accept the changes forced upon it, but also to adapt and alter the changes almost naturally. His appearance had become far more snakelike than even Orochimaru or his family. His senses such as the ability to sense body heat of others as well as his eyesight and smell had strengthened by stunning amounts.

Those things however weren't what irked him most. No, the thing that truly bothered Orochimaru about Kabuto's progress was his skill that was quickly exceeding what he had planned for him. Kabuto was becoming a well beloved figure among those that still followed them. It shouldn't have been surprising. For as vicious as Kabuto could be, he still minutely hesitated at the prospect of taking life. Unfortunately for his victims, not long enough for them to be spared, except in the case of one annoying thorn in their collective side in the shape of the Crown Prince of the Hidden Leaf. Had Kabuto simply been the dutiful and bloodthirsty peon he was supposed to be, the fox eared brat would have been six feet under before his thirteenth birthday.

Kabuto somewhere deep inside remained the small boy that had dreamed of being a doctor like the orphanage matron had wanted him to be. That was deep inside him though, the rest of Kabuto had been molded in Orochimaru's image until now, day by day he seemed closer to the godhood that Orochimaru's cult followers had originally sought for the Pale Snake himself. The boy had a kindness that was rare but still present unlike his master which oddly enough somehow convinced some of the cult's followers that Kabuto was the one they held their loyalty to.

Still such infractions against his greatness could be forgiven, Kabuto had simply been doing as Orochimaru requested of him after all. Even in altering himself like Orochimaru had, Kabuto hadn't been seeking power for power itself like the Pale Snake. No he had been simply trying to fill his master's shoes as best as possible while said master was recovering from an attempted murder.

What Orochimaru was less inclined to forgive was the boy doing things behind his back, like forging alliances with groups Orochimaru had no wish to involve himself with. Now in his throne room, the ruined former royal palace of the Land of Whirlpools, Orochimaru sat staring at the three people in front of him.

The first was Kabuto, his scaled white skin with a purplish tint reflected the light from windows to make his visage all the more eerie. His head was humanoid though slightly misshapen with his neck slightly elongated and ridges running from his adam's apple to the base of what were once ears. His eyes were slitted and almost glowed an unnatural yellow with purple scales formed around them.

Beside him stood a younger man, a true faunus, a bull it seemed. The boy hadn't stopped scowling since Orochimaru first saw him. He looked troubled by the appearances of the two, though troubled or down right hateful could be argued. The leader of the now largest White Fang faction was understandably furious to be dealing with what he considered abominations. However he kept his mouth shut as he glared.

The last person was the most intriguing one. Some random girl, an attractive one, but nonetheless random and unknown. The Pale Snake absolutely despised when he didn't know something. She was dark haired with amber eyes and as mentioned earlier struck an attractive and even seductive figure. However what truly drew Orochimaru's attention to her was the odd power emanating from her. He could sense it in the very air. A sort of heat rolled off her in waves. Invisible to the eye, and imperceptible beyond a sense of power to most. However Orochimaru was beyond most. He could tell the power she seemed to possess came unnaturally to her. Her body language spoke volumes, she was confident, and well trained but still inexperienced.

What was most interesting though was that Taurus seemed to defer to this stranger. Orochimaru had no qualms admitting that Adam Taurus was a dangerous opponent in battle, and even more so in grander fields having a literal army at his beck and call. While the faunus stood no chance against himself in a one on one fight, should their two organizations come to conflict with one another, Orochimaru had no doubt his forces would lose. They simply didn't have the numbers anymore. Nothing more than skeleton crews manned the six other complexes he had hidden away in the elemental nations, and nearly all of the forces he had left had made their new home here in what was once the home of the Hidden Leaf's closest allies. Both the first and current queens were natives of Whirlpool after all.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto began his introductions. "The guests before you are Adam Taurus, leader of the True White Fang. Beside him is Lady Cinder Fall, a leading member of the underworld of the Kingdoms. Both have been wishing for an audience with you for a while." Kabuto's smug grin plastered on his face nearly set Orochimaru off. Still, once again, he reigned it in and forced a sickening smile onto his face.

"The pleasure is mine I assure you both. Lady Cinder, what is it exactly you lead if you don't mind my asking?" Orochimaru said politely, in all honesty he would have preferred to just experiment on the girl to figure out what the odd power coming from her was and then maybe turn her into one of the drones he liked to unleash when he moved locations. The only thing stopping him was the way her compatriot acted towards her.

As Orochimaru had noticed earlier, Taurus seemed to defer to her if his body language was anything to go by. The Pale snake doubted it was simply a matter of personal power, the White Fang may be able to elude the authorities easily enough but that was because they could melt away into the populations of the kingdoms almost seamlessly. In truth if Taurus wanted he could no doubt make a play for his own throne among the minor nations of the world, as long as the four kingdoms stayed out of his way.

Now this girl, one Orochimaru had never heard of, and one who Kabuto stupidly referred to as simply 'a leading member of the underworld', seemed to worry the faunus and hold power over him. That made her a threat and Orochimaru absolutely hated unknown threats. How exactly a girl that was supposedly influential enough to gain control of the white fang slipped through his information network worried him.

"Oh, Lord Orochimaru, no it's us that must assure you that this is a rare pleasure. To meet someone on the path to godhood, it's, well really it's inspiring to meet someone with such a lofty goal as yours. I personally would never dream of striving for something like that. Then again I serve a goddess so I suppose I already know my place. Perhaps when you achieve your dream she will deem you worthy to speak to you herself." Cinder spoke casually though there was plenty of unhidden threat in her voice to make her point obvious. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and his fanged grin wavered briefly before reasserting itself and the pale snake let out an odd imitation of laugh.

"Yes perhaps, it would be nice to meet someone else with actual ambitions for a change rather than being met by lackeys time and again." Orochimaru's internal thoughts matched his outward smile when he saw the flicker of anger at his dig toward her in Cinder's eyes.

"Now being as you didn't answer my first question, maybe you will answer this one; What is it that you want." The fake smiles finally died off the lips of the gathered parties. The coy game of not-so-veiled insults was over.

"Straight to business, I do so like a man who goes after what he wants. In return for that I will be up front with what we want. It's simple we would like for you to join our little collective. I believe you realize by now what sort of resources we could offer you in exchange for your cooperation." The smile now on her face was more fitting for a predator hunting it's next meal, or perhaps a politician in a backroom deal.

Orochimaru sized Cinder up at that moment. She was a confident one that was for sure. As inexperienced as she was with whatever power she wielded, when it came to dealing with other criminals and fugitives she seemed at home and completely sure of herself. That was interesting. Orochimaru couldn't help but wonder what kind of life this girl lived. The average person in the elemental nations considered the citizens of the kingdoms as weaklings living opulent lifestyles behind impenetrable walls. Obviously that was a mix of misinformation, exaggeration, and bias. Most shinobi knew the truth, only the heart of the four kingdoms could boast easy lifestyles, and even then the cities there were large, no, when compared to the cities in the elemental nations they were megalithic in size and population. The massive population centers were rife with crime and poverty in some areas just as much as they sported unbelievable wealth in others. This girl was from that impoverished part of the kingdoms, or at least she had grown up around it. That was the only real information Orochimaru could gather about her past so far. He was truly interested in this girl who had just appeared on his doorstep and somehow had connections across the criminal world.

The more important thing that he could draw from this meeting though was that Cinder had pull in places that he needed such pull. He had no doubt she could help him in his endeavors if he agreed. However, what exactly was she demanding in return. Simply joining their...confederation, seemed far too small an achievement for access to the resources of the rest of their group. What exactly did she want in return.

"That is a very intriguing offer Miss Fall, perhaps you can elaborate for me on what exactly your collective entails? What is it your group would desire of me? Surely not just my partnership." Orochimaru kept his eyes narrowed on Cinder while Kabuto seemed to shift uncomfortably, for the first time realizing that he would likely be punished for having failed to inform his master on his invitation to these two before today.

"I'm glad you asked, Lord Orochimaru." Cinder's smile matched the Pale Snake's as the two toyed at the tension in the room. Neither a stranger to such things and easily capable of ignoring it in favor of their business. "You see, over the course of the next year, I intend to achieve a select few things, among them a weakening of the four kingdoms as a whole. That and some of the elemental nations as well."

Orochimaru's eyes widened briefly at that before he schooled his features again. What reason did she have of weakening the kingdoms, or even more so what reason did she have to weaken the elemental nations? What exactly was her game?

"Well, Miss Fall, I must say you are ambitious, though perhaps ambition without good reason is not worth the trouble hmm?" Orochimaru prodded her for an answer to his real question.

"Oh, there is plenty good reason. I'm sure you are as aware as I am of how defunct and ridiculous the current systems in place are. Why do the weak continue to rule over the strong? I know you have attempted a few times to change things here in your homeland, well I plan on doing the same in mine. I simply believe that for the coming revolution, or in your case ascendence a partnership between our groups is prudent. You scratch our back we scratch yours. You help us with some more skilled fighters, we help you with manpower. Among other things of course." Cinder smiled confidently up at the Pale Snake as she spoke, all the while motioning with her hands to try and show her passion for the plan.

Orochimaru was a genius. He had always been considered ahead of the curve when it came to things such as reading others or understanding an abstract concept. It was only because of that advantage coupled with nearly six decades of experience that he was able to see the brief instances of doubt in Cinder's small speech. Within moments his mind came to several conclusions once again. The plan was not hers. She did not fully agree with what she intended to do. She doubted its success to an extent, and whoever this individual she served was, they were a dangerous one if they intended to overthrow the entire system of the world.

"I see." Orochimaru said calmly. "I will take your offer into consideration, Kabuto will contact you when I have reached a decision. Kabuto show them out, then return here. We have much to discuss regarding this meeting and other things." Orochimaru's eyes took on a dangerous light while staring his lieutenant down at the end of his orders.

Kabuto nodded and led the two guests away. He knew he was going to be getting some sort of punishment for not informing Orochimaru earlier about the meeting, yet he wondered if the pale snake was considering the possibility of joining with Cinder's group. He could see only positives from it. They wanted the same things after all didn't they?

Surely it would be of little issue to usurp this woman Cinder answered to, when the time was right. Lord Orochimaru had proven to be nothing if not patient.

Beacon Academy

Team RWBY slowly got up and around for the day. As the fifth and final day of classes of the week the four girls had a late start with an extra hour and a half before the start of their first class of the day. They each just finished dressing when a knock at their door was heard leading Ruby to open it and take a surprised step back at the sight of the pair in front of her.

Doctor Oobleck smiled warmly at the first year girls before him before greeting them. Behind him Naruto instead leaned against the hallway wall and looked put off entirely while picking at the seams of his temporary uniform. It was very clear he disliked how the clothing felt while wearing it.

"Oh, Professor," Ruby began.

"Ahem, Doctor." Oobleck corrected getting a snort from Naruto nearby which led to a weak glare being sent his way by the older man.

"Doctor. I meant Doctor really." Ruby Stammered briefly. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

By now the other girls on her team had gathered. Weiss greeted the teacher while shooting a superior look at Naruto that sent him into chuckles, causing her to fume. Yang was still half asleep and was only partially aware of the situation, sending a lazy wave to the two men. Lastly Blake had all but ignored her Professor to repeatedly glance at Naruto then back at the floor. Something that was annoying the aforementioned boy as she was partially trained as a Shinobi.

'Honestly, I know she can mask her body language far better than this, what the hell is with her?' Naruto thought as he pointedly looked away from the ravenette. Which inadvertently caused her to stress out about what Naruto would do even more.

"I'm glad to see you all awake and prepared for class. I have come to walk with you, as Prince Naruto will be accompanying you to your classes today." Oobleck explained.

Before the girl's could properly express their opinions on the matter though they were somehow snagged by the green haired man and whisked down the hall followed by an exasperated Naruto. The blond was beginning to fear for his sanity as he had already grown to consider such an action by the eccentric teacher normal.

As the day wore on, Naruto did indeed attend classes with Team RWBY. He found the classes exceptionally boring and tedious affairs, but despite displaying himself as aloof and often times asleep during the classes, Naruto had in fact been paying attention. What better chance to study, both the education of hunters in training while also studying the various faculty of Beacon, each of which was a fully realized Hunter of especially high quality.

While the classes gave him little in the way of their strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield, it did give him insight into their personalities. As he had before with those used to interrogate him, Naruto had narrowed down the quirks and personality weaknesses of each of his imagined opponents. Without seeing them in a fight, he remained exceptionally wary of them. However his mind instinctively began crafting strategies, not just for the various teachers, but also the students and their team combinations as well.

He hadn't expected to need any of those strategies so soon though.

"You want me to what?" Naruto asked the obviously delusional silver haired man before him.

"I would like it if you and Team RWBY would spar as a demonstration of the various techniques from your neck of the woods so to speak." Ozpin reiterated between sips of his mug.

"Ah, see I had thought you were just naturally gray haired but it must really be age, because you are most definitely senile if you think I would agree to that. Did you want dead kids on your fancy arena floor?" Naruto replied with an annoyed expression as he slumped lazily back into his seat.

"Pfft, I should have known you were a coward, all talk." Weiss said as she began to turn away from their small gathering.

"Listen Snowflake, I doubt you could scare a toddler, I just don't want your pimp here breathing down my neck for smearing your pretty face up and down his newly polished floor."

"This coming from someone who hasn't even unlocked their aura? You really are delusional." The Schnee said with a superior look, as if believing she had come onto some great secret the Prince had.

Naruto paused a moment, then a small smirk broke out on his face. Slowly he stood and made his way over to the headmaster. The two spoke quietly, too quietly for even Blake to catch before Naruto stepped away and began removing his shirt.

"Alright Snowball, you girls are on. I just got the confirmation that whatever happens here happens here. So I think its time I showed you just why Shinobi trump Hunters." Naruto said in a taunting voice.

This had the expected reaction. All day, Naruto's apparent disdain for Beacon and it's residents had slowly wore on the rest of team RWBY as well. Even Blake felt annoyed by Naruto's apparent arrogance and was ready to knock him down a peg. The same could be said for Naruto though. Weiss had gone out of her way to mock the Shinobi, despite the insistence to stop from her team leader in nearly every class.

As the girls smirked and disappeared into the locker room to change into their combat attire, Naruto himself changed clothes right there before the rest of their audience, which only included the rest of the first year class. Leaving his pants on Naruto unbuttoned the shirt before tossing it to the side leaving him in a tight tank top which he also removed tossing it over with his shirt.

This exposed to his remaining viewers his uncovered upper body. Something that shocked them. It was cut to a degree that only the most dedicated of athletes could achieve, but also sported a myriad of scars and tattoos. As he retrieved the metal rod that would stand in as his weapon for the match, being that Ozpin was not ready to trust him with blades yet, Team RWBY returned, only now hesitating in their confidence to throttle the arrogant boy.

Now seeing him without a long sleeved shirt hiding much of his body, the girls recalled the terrifying warrior he had seemed to be in the Emerald Forest. The brand like tattoo on his left shoulder appearing like two waves crashing into another helped to define the surprising amount of muscle his arms bore. That combined with the scars of what appeared to be multiple near fatal injuries caused the girls to have second thoughts.

Stepping into the arena proper, Naruto spun the rod around his body with the skill of a trained fighter, further confirming their worries that they may have made a mistake. While they contemplated the difficult fight ahead, Naruto cursed at his own pride. He knew that Ozpin had purposefully orchestrated this whole thing to better gauge his combat abilities, but still he had barely put up a resistance to fighting the girls of Team RWBY when given the chance. He had to blame the Schnee, people like her always seemed to irk him in all the right places to get him to act rashly like his childhood self. It was part of why he modeled his false personality as a mirror image. It was annoying and nearly everyone wanted to fight the douchebag they thought he was.

"So are we doing this or what?" Naruto asked the girls as they tentatively stepped into the arena before him.

"I will referee this match between Team RWBY of Beacon and Prince Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze of FIre Country. This is a spar, that means no killshots, and you will cease combat upon my decree, is that understood?" Ozpin said while lowering a hand into the space between the Shinobi and Huntresses.

"Yes." The girls responded as one.

"Yes." Naruto said. Though his voice was a quiet hiss and his eyes had seemingly faded to a much colder blue. His body fell into a combat stance and suddenly it became very hard for Team RWBY to breathe.

It was as if his entire demeanor had changed. Like he had become a different person and this person was terrifying. Naruto had surrendered to the fact that Ozpin would be getting a free show of what a Shinobi was capable of, and so he flipped the switch. If the old man wanted to see what a shinobi was capable of, then Naruto would oblige him.

"Begin!" Ozpin shouted as he lifted his hand.

For a brief moment nothing happened. Then, the moment the girl's shifted to take aim with their ranged weapons and utilize their advantage, Naruto hurled the rod in his hands end over end like a sideways windmill, with incredible force and speed. RWBY barely had time to dodge out of the weapons way but were caught by the true attack that followed right behind the staff.

Landing just behind the rod as it impaled the ground, Naruto lashed out with a kick planting a foot into the chest of the surprised Ruby slamming her into an equally surprised Weiss, rocketing them both into the Arena's wall nearby causing their Aura's to flash intensely after taking excessive damage in that single blow.

The Shinobi didn't waste a moment, ripping the staff from the ground he spun it and brought it viciously down onto Blake, only for the rod to pass through the clone she had left in her wake. Widening his eyes at that, Naruto instinctively brough the staff up to block Blake's attack with her blades before spinning and slapping her away by using the rod like a bat.

He wasn't given a moment to rest as suddenly Yang was on him, hair glowing in fire and gauntlets roaring to life. Only for her charge to end prematurely as Naruto sidestepped her overextension and brought his leg up to fold her over his shin before sending her sprawling back toward her partner.

Again Naruto had to act on instinct, leaning forward at nearly ninety degrees to avoid being bisected by Ruby's scythe. He immediately countered by dropping to his hands and kicking out with both feet directly into the poor girl's jaw. The only reason it didn't shatter from his attack was because of her aura. Still the violent strike sent her flying backward, only narrowly missing the Schnee heiress as she flew past.

Turning toward the white haired girl, Naruto's blank facial expression and cold calculating eyes froze her giving him more than enough time to lash out with his staff crack her across the head. With that, Weiss Schnee was put to sleep, as her aura capped out and she was sent crashing into the floor.

"What the hell are you?" A voice cried out beside him as it's owner launched another series of frontal attacks that were easily avoided.

Yang, was heavily influenced by her semblance at the moment, but her aura was heavily depleted from just the kick he had given her, Blake likewise had suffered a severe chunk of her aura being depleted. However together the girls were finally rallying against their opponent.

Blake's sudden appearance in his peripheral vision had Naruto blocking an expected strike to his side only for the clone to disperse and a slash to his opposite side drawing blood against him for the first time.

Even with his wound though Naruto simply lashed out with an elbow that caught Blake in the throat dropping her gasping for air to the floor. Bringing his foot back around like a whip he landed another kick against his fellow blonde, this time to the side of her face sending her stumbling before a heavy spinning kick to her rear end sent the girl somersaulting forward, rolling like a ball till Ruby managed to stop her and helped her to her feet.

As Blake got back to her feet and rejoined the sisters, Naruto fell back into a ready stance and looked blankly back to his opponents. Weiss had already been removed, and taken to the infirmary. That left only three quarters of team RWBY in the arena, but, it was very clear who the victor of this fight was.

"Enough, Winner, Prince Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." Ozpin said and both sides lowered their weapons.

As Naruto plodded away from the arena to gather his clothes, it was only now that the viewers outside the faculty noticed that Naruto hadn't moved from where he had been standing since his first attack in the fight.

Ruby, Yang, and even Blake were stunned by how easily they had been taken apart by the boy. They were already considered by most to be among the strongest teams at beacon, surpassing many older teams even. Yet here was a single shinobi that had torn them to pieces. Perhaps they had underestimated him, but still he was like a completely different person when they faced him in battle.

Doing their best to shake the thought of their defeat from their heads they took off to see their comrade in the infirmary and make sure she was alright. Not that they needed to. Naruto, while being brutal and efficient when his switch was flipped, was still in control of his actions. He may have knocked the annoying brat out, but he had only put enough force behind his strike to wipe her aura and put her to sleep for a few minutes at most.

"Well, I must say I'm impressed." Ozpin spoke evenly beside him.

Naruto finished dressing and scoffed at the headmaster. That was all he had to say? Was the man a sadist like Anko or something?

"Though, I can't say I am overly pleased by what occurred." He continued.

"Oh you aren't? I was sure by you pushing me into a group with them all day long this was exactly what you wanted. Both a chance to humble them and remind them of threats stronger than they are, and to evaluate some of my skill set." Naruto said as he began walking back toward his assigned room with the grey haired man close behind.

"Hmm, perhaps this is some of that paranoid shinobi mentality I've heard of bubbling to the surface." Ozpin commented.

"If you didn't want this outcome all you had to tell them was how Shinobi gain chakra, which I know that DP told you about after I told him." Naruto said with an eye roll as the pair stepped into the elevator.

"You could have told them yourself as well." Ozpin pointed out.

"I have no credibility with them, they would have no reason to believe me. Much more believable that I was just being a braggart and arrogant prick. Though now they will be frightened of me I suppose. So much for your big plan to have us be all buddy buddy, right?" Naruto asked as they stepped into his hallway and Naruto closed his door in the elder man's face.

"Perhaps, then again, your generation continues to do the unexpected, maybe your willpower will find its match in those four." Ozpin quietly said as he turned back to the elevator.

In his room, Naruto had been able to just make out what Ozpin had said as he left. It caused him to clench his fists before trying to physically shake the thought from his head. It was decided, he was not ever doing a long term mission like this again. Especially at a damn school. His parents would just have to find someone else.

Stepping into the shower provided with his room, Naruto stopped suddenly and his eyes glazed slightly before a small grin spread across his lips.

'Oh my, what skeletons do you have locked in your closet Ozpin. Or should I say, locked in your basement? Now just to get past the security and see for myself, I bet our little miss VIP is somewhere down there.'

Well, now with that done I will hop back into my other stories and hopefully have something else up soon for them as well. Again sorry everybody for the long gap in updates, but between writer's block and a poor attention span, not to mention a few games that I have recently been playing a lot of….let's just say I have a lot of excuses lined up and move on.

Please review!