Chapter Text
"Hey, flea bag."
"What, brat?"
"Any idea where the heck we are?" Naruto asked as he stared down an unfamiliar city, which was lit up as though the sun were shinning down upon them rather than the full moon that actually was. The people down below so indulged into their own lives, they hardly noticed what was going on around them, most of whom were talking on small boxes, or pressing something onto them. There were also strange contraptions saucing up and down a black smooth surface where people crossed in a bundle ever so often. And the buildings, they rose higher than anything in Konoha, or anything he had seen in all the Elemental Nations for that matter.
"No, I don't know where we are for the millionth time! All I know is that it's a different dimension than where we're from!" Answered the Kyuubi in more than a more than annoyed tone. He just about had it with the Kit, constantly asking him questions rather than finding out answers on his own!
"No need to bite my head off!" Naruto retorted. "First things first, I need to learn the language if we stand a chance getting home." He said to his inner demon. The difference in language was among one of the first things Naruto had noticed when he woke up in the middle of an unknown alley way. To him, it sounded like gibberish, but there was clearly some sort of structure.
"Why go home? Every human here is weak, we could easily control this dimension!" Said the Kyuubi no Youko in a rather excited voice, sounding awfully unsettling as it was demonic in nature.
"When are you ever going to get it in your head that I will never set out on world domination?" Naruto retorted, completely annoyed that the Fox's 'idea' was once again brought up.
"Just rain on my parade why don't you. You're never any fun."
"Whatever, Kyu." Naruto said, rolling his eyes, "So, any idea how to learn the language fast?"
"Keh, you useless vessel. Let me handle this, just look someone in the eye."
"Uhhh, okay."
Complying to the Kyuubi's suggestion, Naruto looked a person in the eyes with slight annoyance, until pain slashed at his mind.
"AAAAHHHHRRRGG!"He screamed as his hands grasped hold oh his head in pain, staggering back a bit. "Damnit, Kyuubi! What the hell was that?!"
"Oh shut it, Kit. You now know their pathetic language." the demon scoffed at how weak his vessel was acting.
"That was worse than one of Sakura's punches!"
"When did you get so weak?"
"Forget it, Fox." Naruto said getting slightly irritated, "Now, I need money, new clothes since ANBU gear seems to stand out, and a place to crash."
"Does this mean we can break something?"
"… Possibly."
"Then get going already!"
"…"
Without another word, Naruto jumped from building to building, trying to find someplace that had something of value which he could… borrow. But a line of drying laundry caught his eye first, and was able to find clothes that fit him which were more suitable to wear than his normal clothes. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything that was orange, and had to settle for a dark blue shirt and some khaki pants (thankfully the pants had enough pockets to hold his scrolls and kunai away from sight). Once dressed in the proper clothing, it didn't take long for him to find a jewelry shop where he could 'borrow' the valuables. The security was so abysmal, he was doing them a favor by taking the merchandise before someone else would come along and take it simply to take. At least he needed it to survive in this strange new world. Out of politeness, he left a note explaining why he had taken it, and thoroughly explained some ways to have better security for future reference.
After which, he was able to pawn off in various stores - all of which a very safe distance from the jewelry store - the questions of how and where he was able to get such valuable items were easily brushed off with his impeccable lying abilities. By the time most of the stores closed, Naruto had more money than he could think of using. Seeing the night finally take hold of the bustling city, Naruto found his way to a run down apartment building; the locked doors and barred windows easily infiltrated in silence.
"We didn't break anything."
"No, but now we have money to eat and a place to stay until we can figure out a way back home." Naruto said to the rather annoyingly disappointed Kyuubi inside him, "But, before I crash..."
Quickly, Naruto did familiar hand symbols before saying in a whisper, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Out of a sudden puff of smoke stood two dozen shadow clones, ready and eager to take orders. "I need to know everything about this world, fan out and find out everything you can, then disperse by sunrise."
"Right, Boss!" The clones said in unison before disappearing in another puff of smoke. Satisfied, Naruto bounded his way toward a slightly cleaner part of the abandoned apartment room, bringing out a scroll which he unsealed to produce a futon. It was always better to be prepared for unexpected events such as this; though he never once in his life thought it possible to somehow wind up in another dimension.
"Damn that Madara…" He thought bitterly.
"Shut up and get some sleep, Kit. You're undoubtedly going to need it."
Waking up, Naruto found that all of his clones had dispersed, and thanks to them, now had a basic understanding of the dimension he was indefinitely trapped in. Apparently, this world was not as weak as he and the Kyuubi first believed. There was a group relatively powerful people who called themselves, the Justice League, that basically became an international police power that spent it's time protecting the weak and striving for peace and justice. But, they weren't the only 'Super' people on the planet. The world also brought out 'Super' villains who, much to the Kyuubi's delight, were bent on either destruction or world domination.
"Join them, Kit!"
"For the last time, NO!"
"You're no fun..."
"Deal with it, furball."
The biggest surprise of all to the seventeen year old blonde was that, in this universe, there were beings from outer-space. Aliens, as they called them. It seemed that there were only two resident aliens on Earth, known as Superman and Martian Man-Hunter, both of whom a part of this Justice League and both had unearthly powers. There were also a number of other Earthlings Justice League members with exceptional powers, some through artificial means such as this Flash character, and others born warriors such as the Amazon, Wonder Woman, and the Atlantian King, Aquaman. To say this world was strange to Naruto, was the understatement of the century.
Though, each of their abilities were limited, none even came close to the amount of experience and skill he had. He had been through hell and back, seen more than his fair share of death and destruction. Nothing that had happened to this planet came particularly close to what he had lived through.
"What do you think our first move should be?"
"It's clear that these… Leaguers, are the most powerful beings on this pitiful planet, and also probably the only ones who could help us get back. Going to them seems to be the best bet, though I still don't know why you want to leave… you could take this place with your eyes closed! Let loose once in a while!"
"Alright, the League it is." Naruto said, completely ignoring the little tidbit on world domination as he was growing tired of the constant nagging. "Now… to find them."
Apparently it was a lot harder trying to find the League than he first imagined. It wasn't hard finding their battles, as they were usually fairly large and much destruction came from it, but getting an audience with the infamous members proved to be difficult.
"Kit, these Leaguers are hardly any help. You've been trying to get to them for over a month!"
"Yeah, I'm starting to think we're better off alone."
"Finally. He realizes the obvious."
"Your such a jerk, you know that?"
"Deal with it."
With an annoyed grunt, Naruto began paving his own way in this new world. Sporting his ANBU gear and fox mask, he began to do his own 'hero' work; saving people from burning buildings, stopping heists, hindering plans for world domination, the works. At first, it was to do something since he had reached the peak of his boredom level, but once he saw the faces of the more than grateful civilians he saved, he realized how much he had missed it. Though here, there were none who knew of the demon inside him, nor any who felt any disgust or hate toward him (excluding those who he threw into prison cells), only respect and appreciation. Whenever asked for his name, Naruto gave them Fire Shadow, the English translation to Hokage. It wasn't exactly the way he had hoped to gain the title, but it worked nonetheless.
Surprisingly or not, doing this was pretty much the only way to get the good attention from the League. After a few months of his own vigilante style heroism, he was greeted by the Man of Steel himself, AKA: Superman.
To say he was surprised would have been an understatement. After all, he had been trying to get a minute with the man for well over a month not so long ago, as well as the rest of the League to no avail, and now, here he was on his own accord.
"Fire Shadow, I presume?" he said floating in front of him as Naruto himself had Chakra glued himself to the side of a skyscraper.
"Yes?" he asked in a bored tone. Inside he was feeling rather conflicted. On the one side, he was meeting Superman! This guy could pack a serious punch! And on the other, it was Superman, who had seemingly been doing everything possible to avoid the young blonde shinobi. Definitely enough to irk him into wanting to punch the man.
"I, and the rest of the League, have recognized your skill and morals and would be honored to have you join our ranks as an official member of the Justice League."
For the moment, Naruto was rather glad he had a mask (which was lined with lead paint, thus making the man of steel unable to see his actual face) since his eyes widened considerably and his jaw went a bit slack.
It was hard to believe. Really. They were offering him a spot on the Justice League!
"To join, or not to join..."
"Shut up and join, Kit. You can bring those arrogant temes down a peg or two."
"I humbly accept." 'Fire Shadow' finally said to Superman, who smiled in return.
"Then, if you could be at the Hall of Justice tomorrow by twelve p.m, we can officially indite you into the League."
"I shall be there." he said simply before watching the Man of Steel fly off, probably going to save a cat from a tree.
Cat...
"Damn, now I have those stupid memories of all those times I had to catch that damned cat Tora..."
"Don't remind me, Kit. I wanted to skin that bloody animal." Said the Kyuubi, his voice full of hatred for that little pest.
"Well, now I'm apart of the League. They better not treat me like some kid." Naruto said with a small 'humph.'
"Kit, I don't even think they know how old you really are. You're probably one, if not the, most powerful being in this pitiful place, thanks to yours truly, so I doubt they would think you're a seventeen year old, brat. Plus, your voice is muffled by the mask, so you don't even really sound seventeen."
"Who're you calling a brat, furball!? And, yeah you're probably right. I'll let them know when I'm absolutely positive they won't treat me like everyone did back home; like I was weak."
"Face it, Kit. You were weak."
"Shut up, furball." Naruto said, though knowing full well how true that statement was. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra, he was weak. He couldn't even bring Sasuke back... he nearly died defeating Pein. Hell, every major mission he nearly died! Not in one major battle was he left the standing victor... no. He was the victor always lying in a damned hospital bed for days if not weeks. "Well, nothing to do until tomorrow." he thought returning to his home.
The ceremony of his becoming an official member of the Justice League was met with a lot of media; much to Naruto's annoyance. They asked every possible question, until he firmly said that he would answer nothing about who he was, where he came from, and just what the extent of his abilities were.
To most, he seemed rather rude.
To others, he was a mystery that was just waiting to be solved. Namely to people like Lois Lane.
The other Leaguers seemed interested in the new blood, and were eager to see him in action for their very own eyes rather than just hearing about what he could do. Batman, along with a few others, Zatara among them, were weary and suspicious of this man. They knew virtually nothing about him, not even his actual name, nor what he looked like underneath his mask as he refused to take it off. All they knew was that he was a powerful 5'11" blonde whose abilities caused them to question whether or not he was actually human. J'onn J'onzz had tried to peer into his thoughts in order to find out more about him, but was forcefully kicked out thanks to his extra host. Of course, this only made them all the more cautious of their newest member.
When asked if he would take his mask off, he simply said that once Batman took his off, he would as well.
As if that were ever to happen.
And everyone knew it.
The Kyuubi was actually surprised (and a bit impressed) at how well he kept his identity a secret. Not once had he acted like the happy-go-lucky gaki he was used to. Instead, he seemed to actually be more mature. He hadn't even pranked anyone since he arrived... but, then it hit him. The only reason his Vessel had suddenly become more serious is because people here actually acknowledgedhim, unlike those fools in Konohagakure.
If they could only see him now...
Regardless, he was pleased with the change in demeanor of his Vessel. The 'I'm going to be the Hokage one day, believe it!' brat that he once used to be was long gone, and for the better.
Two years had passed and it became evident to the young Konoha shinobi that the chances of going home, were dwindling down into single digit percentiles. Whatever time/space jutsu Madara had managed to inflict upon him, was something beyond his abilities, and since there were no Chakra wielding people in this world, learning the skills needed to imitate his technique was impossible. That, and he didn't particularly want to go raving around he was from another dimension, especially after he learned that there were, theoretically, billions of dimensions...so finding his would be harder than finding a needle in a ten foot high haystack. Besides, by now, he would have been deemed killed in action and the Village would have moved on by now (the more close-minded civilians probably celebrating his death regardless of his saving them against Pein). Still, it wasn't so bad. He had become one of the strongest members of the Justice League thanks to his mastery in Tai-,Nin-, and Fuuinjutsu - of which he still refused to let anyone understand how it worked.
The one who was more persistent in his trying to figure Naruto out was none other than the Dark Knight himself. Batman had been able to figure everyone else out, but Fire Shadow had remained an enigma. Despite his attempts of finding more about the guy, Batman remained in the dark for just about everything pertaining to him. He didn't even have a clue as to what the man liked to eat! For all his detective skills, he couldn't even figure that out, let alone just how his powers worked. He knew they manifested themselves just after he completes a series of hand signs - all of which he documented - but as to where his powers originate from or the energy used to manifest them, remained a complete mystery he was more than determined to figure out. As it was, the Caped Crusader had little trust for the newest member of the League, despite his proving loyal during the various battles he had accompanied him on.
Everyone was entitled to their own little secrets after all. So what if he had a few more than the average?
After a year of being a member of the League, Naruto had confessed his true age, baffling the League. They had allowed a minor to join their ranks. A kid at seventeen had become a member of the Justice League and had been recognized as one of it's strongest members.
While the Justice League members were conflicted in their feelings about the sudden confession, their sidekicks were overjoyed to hear that such a young hero had managed to become the youngest member of the Justice League (save for Captain Marvel who was at the time only nine - not that anyone other than Batman knew).
Thankfully, they treated him only slightly different, sometimes reverting back to rather protective mentors during battles. Though after a while they all finally realized that he was stronger than most of them and could easily hold his own against an enemy, so they backed off.
The Kyuubi had, on several occasions, made an appearance. Though, luckily, it was only to his enemies rather than any of the League. He did not want to have to deal with explaining that he had a demon sealed inside him. He knew from hands on experience that people are fearful and act out on impulse when they are met with something unknown and possibly threatening. Here, he was given a chance to escape the scorn and hatred, so there was no reason to bring it up.
Though he trusted the League with his life, and returned that trust on the battlefield, Naruto, wisely or not, did not trust any of them with his identity or past.
This, of course, hurt and angered some of the League.
But they couldn't say much as they all had their own personal lives they kept hidden from the public and their peers.
Though this didn't mean he hadn't befriended some of them. He had taken to The Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman, and to some extent, Superman. There were times when he reverted back to his happy-go-lucky self, particularly when ramen became a part of a conversation. He also had that uncanny ability to see the good in everyone, and was able to sympathize with a great deal of them; he did after all live in a war torn, power hungry, world before all this.
Some were surprised at how wise the young man could be when it came to the harsh truths of life. They couldn't understand how this young man could know so much of pain and loss; and unless he changed his mind, they never would.
Even so, none confronted him about it, save for Batman who tried on several occasions to get some sort of information out of him while asking misleading questions. He thanked his ANBU training whenever Batman came to him, if he hadn't had it, then he would have most certainly told the man everything he needed to know to figure out just what he was, and possibly where he was from.
As such, he was always weary of the Caped Crusader.
So when he messaged him to speak privately, Naruto naturally kept alert.
Batman had asked the Fire Shadow to come meet him at the Hall of Justice only a few minutes earlier, stating it was of importance and he should be quick to arrive.
Which wasn't all to difficult given he was only a few miles away from the Hall, and that he had placed the seal which activated his father's Hirashin technique. It took less than two minutes to arrive in a red flash.
Walking inside, Naruto made his way to the meeting chamber, where the zeta tube was located, and looked to find the black caped man on the computer monitor.
"Fire Shadow." Batman greeted curtly.
"Batman." Naruto said in a rather bored voice, "What was it you needed to speak to me about?"
"I'm sure you've heard of the new team being put together?" he asked rhetorically. Of course Naruto had heard of the new 'shadow' team of the Justice League; Young Justice. After the abrupt fall out of Green Arrow's apprentice, Speedy, the other sidekicks of the main Leaguers had banded together and demanded to be their own team after their 'mission' at Cadmus Labs, as well as the discovery of Superman's clone.
"Of course." he said simply.
"I am offering you the position of being their Head Supervisor." Batman said, getting straight to the point.
Had Naruto not been wearing a mask, his obvious shock would have been clearly written on his face. Batman... The Batman was offering him the opportunity to be the mentor to the younger generation of heroes... his own apprentice among them. It was so outrageous it was practically laughable.
"You- You're serious." he stated more than asked. All Naruto got was a long stare, as if waiting for an answer. He thought about it for a few long moments. Head Supervisor...? That was essentially the same as a Jounin-sensei was to a new squad of Genin, as Kakashi was to Sakura, Sasuke, and he when he was younger. Maybe this was something he could do to make a real difference? No doubt these young heroes were going through some sort of turmoil. They did after all just denounce their apprenticeship/partnership with their mentors, though he was sure they were keeping close contact with them. After everything they had gone through together, thinking they would cut them completely out of their lives was preposterous. Regardless, he could make a difference.
"Alright," he began, "so long as everyone remembers that this is going to be my team, meaning I don't want anyone to interfere with how I deal with their training, ect, I accept."
Batman, ever the stoic man, showed no emotion to his condition, and simply said, "Hn, You should know that you will not be the only one to help train them." he said, "Though you may be capable, there are members that require more personalized training exercises."
"That's fine. Two teachers are better than one after all." Naruto said, "But, my voice is should be the highest authority."
"..Very well." Batman said with slight hesitation.
Nodding, Naruto followed suit as Batman walked over to the Zeta tube, the mechanic voice stating their name and League membership number before sending them to their destination: Mount Justice.
"This is going to be interesting." Naruto thought just as Batman and he emerged from the blinding Zeta-tube light.