Justice League: Fire Shadow

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Justice League so let's not get the wrong idea…

Chapter 4

Part 3

Origins…

( ): Thoughts

((" ")): Kurama's voice

In the League's new base of operations…

The new core members of the League looked at Naruto and could not help but try to grasp just what were the implications of such a statement. They all had experienced and seen some very strange and interesting things in their own times, but this was something new to them in a certain state. It was soon Superman who spoke to the blonde Shinobi.

"You're from another world? Are you an alien like me, Supergirl, and J'onn?"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"No, like I said to you and Diana when you caught me I was born between human parents. But unlike most of the humans here on Earth, my family and the rest of the people in my world, we all have the ability to use the energy you all saw me use, and some of the techniques that you all saw me use are actually common techniques in my world. I guess you could say that the people in my world as well as me are very different from the humans here."

Batman then took over. as he spoke seriously.

"So you're people are all meta-humans?"

"You know, I could never understand what that term is, but I assure you that we are human where I come from, though there ARE some exceptions to the rule. Can you at least tell me what a Meta-human is so I would at the very least know what is it you guys are talking about?"

Batman decided to fill Naruto in on the details of what exactly a Meta-human was and how they were created. Essentially meta-humans were created when people are changed through natural or artificial means to possess powers and abilities that normal people would not have. Batman explained that while a number of people who became Meta-humans used their powers for the good reasons, others used their powers for less noble reasons, and while some were misunderstood and did it only to survive, others used their powers for more cruel and evil reasons. Naruto listened in on the details and had to admit that in some ways, these people sounded like those with Kekkai Genkai back in his world. And some of them sounded to be rather interesting and he wondered if Pamela could be considered one, but he was not going to reveal to anyone that he knew her of course, especially Batman.

Having known of her files from what he had been able to gleam, he had a very accurate idea that Pamela and Batman had a less than friendly history. And revealing that he knew of her was asking for trouble from the dark Knight. He had no doubt he could take Batman on but he was not an enemy of his so he would gain nothing by doing so in the first place. So he kept that tidbit to himself and when Batman was done, he replied.

"Well I am pleased to say that I am not a meta-human though I ca say that those powers sound similar to what Kekkai Genkai do, which I think is a topic I can discuss for another time. What I can say is that many of the people in my world actually have what you could call a special circulatory system in the body that regulates chakra and it's a natural occurrence as far as I know. Chakra is a naturally occurring source of power in the lands I came from so it's natural that people can use it with a good deal of training."

Diana was intrigued by that and made it obvious as she spoke to Naruto.

"Anyone can use it or are only ninja trained in it's use?"

"Usually it's ninja who use it, but there are others in different organizations who can use chakra, the Samurai forces in one of the lands where I come do for example. But usually the Samurai there channel their chakra into their blades to increase the length and even the cutting force of their blades. And it's not just men if you are curious Diana-hime, women in my land use it too, and sometimes they have far greater power than some guys."

Diana was interested by that and it was here that she recalled the title of sorts that Naruto added to her name.

"What does hime mean by the way Hokage? You have used that term to me for a while now so I was curious why you add that to my name."

"Oh, that means Princess where I come from and like I said before, I respect the fact that you are here to help fight the enemy even if you are from a culture that does not look too well towards men. Even more so as you are a member of royalty Diana-hime so I give your name a title that befits your status, but I can bet that the people are going to be calling you by another name soon enough."

Naruto decided not to mention that he had actually been married to a Princess before, there was no reason for him to mention Koyuki-hime at any time since that was private. Maybe when he finally felt comfortable enough to tell them everything about himself, he would do so, but until he knew them a lot more, some secrets were going to remain buried. The blonde Shinobi decided to just let out the basic details about himself and keep the more sensitive stuff hidden away. Though that did not mean he was going to be too cautious and drop a few hints to make it a lot less likely that he was hiding something.

"I see, how powerful are the women ninja in your world?"

Naruto thought it over carefully as he knew that talking about other ninja was not exactly something that was considered as sound thinking. Ninja always lived in the shadows as was their name sake, but he balanced it with the fact that he had met a number of ninja were not your average ninja. And he was possibly the most obvious example of that kind of ninja since he was not the one to compromise his emotions for any reason.

"Powerful enough Diana-hime, Kunoichi in my world are very powerful people and some of them become highly regarded in both good and bad ways. Many of the Kunoichi of my world have all risen to high status in their own time and through their own methods. And some even become Kage."

Hawkgirl was curious and asked what that meant.

""What is Kage anyway? Some sort of rank?"

"Close to it, but before we get to that sort of discussion, I am going to explain some things about my world. Then we can get to the term Kage once we get some of the details done and out of the way."

The heroes listened and were surprised somewhat to learn that his world was almost the same as their own, but with a number of differences as well. There were such things as air ships, television, electricity, trains, refrigerators, everything. But that was balanced off by no cars, no computers, no air planes, no guns and a few other things that most of them with the exception of Diana took as normal. There were forms of government that sounded more like what one found in feudal societies both in Earth's past and in other worlds, and the nations were differently named. It was enough to make them picture that Naruto came from a world that was both modern and medieval. Yet there were ninja in the mix as well, along with Samurai as well as other organizations to boot.

Naruto then told them about the different nations, starting with the major ones.

"There are at least five Great Nations, the Land of Water, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Fire, where I come from. The other nation all have different names, some might sound a bit odd to you, but that's the way they are. Now each of the Elemental Nations are led by Feudal Lords and the same goes for the smaller ones as well. In each of the major Nations are Hidden Villages."

"Hidden Villages? What are those?"

Naruto directed his attention to J'onn and replied.

"Hidden Villages are the ninja villages, they are where ninja are trained and operate from, both home and base of operations as it were. I can't tell you anything too sensitive about them, but what I can say it that each Hidden Village has a symbol to them and their names are synonymous with their symbol. In my case, the village I belong to, Konhagakure, or the Hidden Village of the Leaf use this on out forehead protectors."

Naruto then pointed to his forehead protector and the heroes did see that there was a symbol that was like a leaf there. It was also here that Naruto recalled something that he thought about, and decided to ask just to see what was going to be the answer he was getting. That naturally involved Diana since he felt this should be an interesting topic of conversation.

"By the way Diana-hime, can I ask you a few questions about your people?"

"Of course, but I won't answer any questions that can be considered dangerous."

"Fair enough, first, do any of your people ever age when you leave your home?"

Diana thought it over and replied.

"We do age at a normal human rate, but when we step back on the soil of our home island, the years we spent outside in Man's world are removed and we return to the age we were in when we left. So in a sense we have some form of immortality."

"Okay, do you have children on your home?"

"Not entirely, only I and my sister were born there, but on occasion there are some of us we were adopted due to unique circumstances. That's pretty much what I can say about that for now. Men are not allowed on Themyscira by Amazon law though I do not know what it was like in the past."

The other heroes were taking that in and Naruto decided to speak as soon as he took the data in. He could not help but guess that if his perverted Godfather and sensei found out about an island filled with women, he would have really wanted to go. And no doubt would have been reminded about that time he had tried to sneak into that village.

"The reason I asked is that I was curious about the Amazons since there is a Hidden Village where I come from that seems to be somewhat similar to your home with some differences."

That got Diana's attention and she made that clear to Naruto.

"What exactly do you mean by this village being similar to my home island Hokage?"

Naruto grinned and replied.

"The Hidden Village in question is called the Nadeshiko Village, and the reason I can compare it to your homeland Diana-hime is the ninja there are all female. Kunoichi from Nadeshiko Village are considered to be among some of the most skilled, experienced, and powerful Kunoichi in their own right though they are not above praising both male and female ninja from other villages. They reside near the borders of the Land of Water and while not often seen, they are considered very capable indeed. The reason for them only having female Kunoichi is that for some reason or another, they only have female children, I never figured out on the why of that though. You could say that they are my world's version of the Amazons and they certainly know how to fight."

Diana was intrigued by that, the idea of another group of women who were like her own people was pretty interesting. And if they had the same access to the kind of power Naruto had, it would not surprise her that they were ver deadly fighters. She wondered briefly if it ever happened that one such woman of this…Nadeshiko Village came alongside Naruto, would she be able to speak to her. But she then recalled that there were some differences mentioned by the Hokage on her people and these Kunoichi from his world.

"You said there were differences between my sisters and these Kunoichi of your world, what are they?"

Naruto nodded and replied.

"For one, they don't have immortality so they age and die like most people, though they certainly live a bit longer than your average person when not fighting. That's due to the rigorous training they undergo and the need for them to be the best physically and spiritually. Next is the most telling, they take men as husbands to have children, but their method is a little bit…unique. You see, they don't just look for any man to be their husband. They look only for the strongest Shinobi who can get their interest, and then they challenge him into a fight. If the man wins, then the Kunoichi takes him to her village and he is her husband so they can have strong children afterwards. If the guy loses…well, you can pretty much bet he'll get a quick death."

THAT surprised the heck out of the League, even Batman was a bit wide eyed at that and then Hawkgirl spoke.

"Wait a minute here, are you telling us that if the guy beats her in the fight, he becomes her husband, but if he loses, she has to kill him?"

Naruto nodded and Flash commented.

"Man…that is harsh…"

Superman was soon speaking next.

"That's not too far fetched to me, I remember when I was challenged to a fight by Maxima who was a warrior queen who wanted a husband who could best her in combat. Still the part where the man gets killed if he loses to the woman is a bit extreme isn't it?"

"Yep…it was, though I do recall the law being changed somewhat over the years."

Diana then spoke next.

"That is a bit odd, I cannot understand why they would need men that much though I guess it makes some sense since they are not like us, so I will not judge them by my people's standards."

Batman then spoke next.

"How exactly do you know this much about them?'

Naruto laughed a bit and sighed.

"I had my godfather and sensei to thank for that, you see a couple of years ago, when my godfather was still younger and I was not born yet, he got himself involved with them. And let's just say that he did not exactly leave that good an impression. Though in his defense, he did not do anything too destructive or so it went. Anyway, he managed to get away from them but three days later, when he thought he could relax, he found himself facing one of them. And not just any Nadeshiko Kunoichi either, but the head of their village and the head of their entire ninja force. She was the strongest of them and despite him escaping, she tracked him down in three days with no sleep or rest."

"My godfather by the way was a very powerful ninja himself so he was challenged by her and it took another day before both of them were placed in a draw. The valley they were in at the time was torn apart by them so you can bet that the fight was intense. But eventually my godfather convinced her to stop and they came to an agreement that if they met again since my godfather was on a mission at the time, they would fight again. And if they did not meet, then a student of their respective sides would be the ones to finish the fight between them. So you can wager a guess just who got saddled with that promise."

"Anyway, I met the student in question, one named Shizuka and her retainer Tokiwa when one really annoying suitor of hers tried to fight her again. I was supposed to let the matter go since it was not my business, but Tokiwa sought me out when she learned I was a Konoha ninja, and then made the whole story clear on what happened to my godfather back then. Needless to say I was pretty much shocked out of my skin when she told me that I have to fight Shizuka-san due to the promise mentor and my godfather did. And I will admit that had things been different it would have been a shot since Shizuka-san was pretty attractive then. But I was not keen on the idea of being forced into marriage, even more so that I have to fight said woman. But I had no choice when I learned just what was exactly Shizuka-san's situation concerning the law from her retainer."

"Why is that?"

Hawkgirl asked and Naruto replied.

"Turned out that she was against the law herself and was actually in love with a merchant guy named Sagiri who was granted entrance into the village for trade, and he loved her too. But because he was not a Shinobi, their laws forbade from getting married the way the wanted, they wanted to change that law, but then he was killed, by some of the village officials as suspected by Tokiwa and Shizuka decided to train and never love anyone again. So even if she did follow the law, she was already dead inside, figuratively speaking anyway. I decided to fight her for a different reason and while she thought she had won the fight, I had used a Shadow Clone. But things kind of went down hill when that nut job suitor, named Kokuyo came back and used a technique with his machines that Shizuka destroyed to control her like a puppet. I freed her and had a chat with her about it."

Naruto smiled a bit at the memories that invoked and when he finished, he replied.

"Suffice to say, when that discussion was over, Shizuka and I parted in amicable fashion, and after a few years we met again and she was happily married and had changed the laws of her village."

The heroes were silent at that and then Superman spoke next to the blonde ninja.

"That was a pretty interesting tale, so where to from here?"

"Right, nearly forgot that I was not done yet about the Hidden Villages and Ninja, well, like I said the Hidden Villages are the homes of the ninja of my world and thus, it's also a place for getting missions. But you can't just grow up there and be considered ninja, you have to be trained for that kind of life. To that end, every village has it's own design for the forehead protector and their very own symbol as well. In each village, there's an academy that teaches children to be ninja. "

John Stewart was surprised by that and also angered as he thought that the children were actually forced into being ninja. He was not aware that he was basing his train of thought on what he had seen both in his time as Marine and as a Green Lantern.

"You mean to tell us they took you in that Academy as kids? Isn't that supposed to be wrong?"

Naruto was confused by that for a second or two until he answered it.

"Why are you getting so hot tempered? It's the decision of both the child and the parents for the child to go to the Academy, it's just like going to school here in this world or sending you kids to school. After all, if you're part of a Hidden Village, you can be just a regular person there and run a business and paid, or become a ninja. I wanted to be a ninja ever since I could walk so I joined. No one forced me to be a ninja you know, it's all up to the person if they want to be one or not and many parents in my Hidden Village wanted their children to be ninja so there was nothing against being ninja. Plus the payments were pretty nice and we did our part for the economy of the village, and you haven't let me finish."

"They don't teach you to kill or anything right away; you do that only if you are in combat and if it becomes utterly unavoidable. Most of the time, the Academy instructors teach you about history, writing, map reading, political science, and also what are the various skills of being a ninja, namely in how to use chakra for all the Jutsu we use, it's natures, the various elements and the like. There are usually three branches we focus on being ninja, that being Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu, and there are more advanced lessons in weapons usage, coupled with other skills deemed needed for the lives we live. All students are usually required to show balanced or high levels of competence in all three categories, but there are some who excel in either one only or two of those categories."

"Once you learned enough, there is a Graduation Exam where the Instructors grade you on everything you know, from the mundane to the various methods of using chakra, and of course your competency level in relation to the three. If you fail one, it usually depends on the instructors to pass you or not. If you pass, then you get to be registered as Ninja of your Village, a portrait is taken, and you get the forehead protector. You become a Genin after that, which if you want to know is a rank. I guess I should get down to the ranks next, which naturally includes what Kage means."

The heroes were ready to listen as Naruto began to explain the ranks to them as what they had been able to hear so far about Naruto's world was interesting.

"Genin is a rank that is usually reserved for graduates of the Academy, they are usually ninja who are assigned a certain number of missions of a certain rank level, and are only assigned to certain missions of a higher rank if they are possessing skills and experience that allows them to take part of said missions."

"What sort of missions would that be?"

Naruto thought it over and then replied.

"Usually light duties at first, picking up trash, cleaning up the place, helping clear out obstacles, helping take care of lost items, and animal rescue….what?"

Naruto's question was for a good reason as Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and Flash looked at him as if he had grown a second head, complete with horns, or in his case, fox ears. It took a moment or two until Batman spoke to him.

"Your people who are ninja actually do that?"

"Yes, what are you looking so surprised all of a sudden? It's not like the villages send newly graduated Genin right off to the battle field, which would be only done on very serious circumstances. It would be stupid to send rookies with no field experience and are not understanding of the need to fight and possibly kill. Besides, it's done to see how the team works well together, they usually assign the Genin into teams led by a Jonin who serves as sensei so it's usually two guys and a girl in the team with the Jonin being male or female."

"Usually, the missions Genin get are E-Rank or D-Rank missions, and these are usually non-dangerous missions and are paid from the range of five thousand to fifty thousand ryo. And ryo happens to be the currency of my world. I'll show you guys a bill later but that is usually the kind of missions we get, with C-Rank coming close to actual combat work and danger."

Superman soon spoke next as he was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of ninja being told to do gardening work. In his youth, he had seen movies that dealt with ninja and the idea of them doing gardening work and being paid for it was a bit…alien.

"You guys get paid THAT much just for gardening work? That's fairly expensive."

"You might say that, but usually gardening is not that simple, even cleaning trash means we might very well have to clean the entire sewer system of a city for example, or also cleaning out the weeds in a noble man's house. And sometimes, those kinds of missions could be converted into a cover story. We'd be hired as gardeners, only to be forced to defend our client from a sudden attack. Anyway, the rank of Genin is just a rank, it does not demonstrate the personal skills and abilities of the ninja in question. I know of one old man in his fifties named Kosuke who was called the ten thousand year Genin and he is from Konoha. "

"But the reason he remained a Genin was personal since he made a mistake in the past that got his team mates killed, so he believed that he did not deserve to be of a higher rank. But he trained like mad for many years and is actually one of the most skilled ninja I ever worked with when I was younger. Heck he was a Jonin level ninja and managed to wipe out several bands of ninja for a day or so by himself and only using his cooking gear, a hidden sword, and a blade he concealed in a compartment in his prosthetic leg. Rank does not denote skill and experience after all, it's the person himself or herself."

"Anyway, Genin have to spend a number of years doing missions until their Jonin Sensei decide that they have what it takes to take the Chuunin Exams in order to be Chuunin."

Batman was the next to speak.

"Another rank?"

"Yep, being a Chuunin is the best way to get new missions and you can take a number of specialized jobs as a ninja. But the Chuunin Exams are not for the faint of heart, you have to compete with all of the best and the most skilled Genin teams from all the other Villages, and the tests can make or break a ninja's career. You can take them twice a year and they are usually held at a different Hidden Village though it's usually limited to the five major villages."

"How tough can they be?"

Naruto looked at Flash and smirked a bit.

"I don't really know how the Chuunin Exams were handled in the other villages but I can tell you what it was like when I took the Exams in my village at thirteen like my own team did. You have to be granted first a letter or recommendation by your Jonin sensei and when you apply, the first part is a written exam, at least a hundred or so questions that can really make your brain ache unless you are a genius. The objective of that exam is to gather intelligence by any means that are needed WITHOUT getting caught by the proctors, all of whom are usually specialist Chuunin or Jonin instructors. And those said instructors are very brutal, you get caught even by an inch, you are out, and when you get kicked out, your entire team gets kicked out as well. The demands of it are pretty darn hard and it can really be difficult since all one has to do to fail it for his or her team is to quit, get caught, or break. And believe you me…when my team and I took the exam, I've seen adult and teenage Genin teams fail and drop away like flies."

"The objective back then was the need for intelligence gathering since you have to remember that the intel you get can be the difference between life and death, success or failure. If you are willing to see it to the end, then you are in. But that usually is only part of it, on the next day was the more physical aspect of the exams. The teams that survive the first part now have to carry one of two different scrolls, and you cannot open the scroll you have or you are out. And the only place to open it was in a special tower deep in the middle of a forest, which by the way you have to reach within at least six days."

Diana then replied.

"I take it that forest you speak of is not a regular forest?"

"You got that right Diana-hime, that place's official designation is unknown to me now, but we all know it by one name. The name in question is the Forest of Death, and believe you me, it lives up to the name. Anyone going there is going to be courting death at every step since it's not just the wild life you have to deal with, but the other ninjas who will try to take the scroll you have. They can't have the same scroll as you might, but if you have the other scroll, then all bets are off, and that means you have to fight them, usually injury or death as far as I recall is a certified guarantee. The only way to avoid that is to give up the scroll in question, but that does not happen often since the ones who are in it are not going to just give up the scroll, unless they are facing a really tough enemy."

Stewart was really stunned by this and yet he wanted to know just what was in this Forest that gave it such a name.

"Why do you're people call it the Forest of Death?"

Naruto began to tell them just what sort of creature and plant life inhabited the Forest of Death, and all of them were all dangerous, gigantic, poisonous, and at times, both at the same time. With a vast majority of the animals in question totally carnivorous. Added to that the danger of battles with other ninja and the battles being no holds barred fighting, even to the death. It became obvious why it was called the Forest of Death to the heroes. Needless to say all of them were silent and shocked, Batman was pretty calm, but even he was shocked by what he had just been told by the blonde ninja before him.

And it was Diana who spoke, this time her tone was a bit more serious.

"And you as well as your fellows at the same age of thirteen went in there willingly?"

"Yes, and before you react, we were also shocked by the dangers there, but that is why the Chuunin Exams are not for the faint of heart. And the Jonin Sensei in charge has to be absolutely certain that the ninja he or she leads are truly ready for that position as Chuunin. And besides, I was willing to do what I could to be a ninja, even if it meant losing my life, because that is how it is for us there in my world. You might think we're crazy or insane, but every other adult ninja did the same thing we were doing when they were our age."

Flash shook his head and replied.

"I know that we're not in your world, but damn…don't your parents even object?"

Naruto shook his head at that.

"Most Genin' parents were themselves ninja so they make sure that their children know what they are asking, and like before, it's all personal. Even if the parents of the Genin are not ninja, they know that the life of a ninja is filled with danger when they get older so they always make sure that their child knows the risks they are going to deal with if they take the Chuunin Exams. Though in this case, it's up to the Genin themselves, had either of us in our three member team chose not to take it, then the whole team was out, and we would have to wait for the next one. In my case, I was an orphan since my parents died, I did get some help getting by, but I wanted a better life for myself, and I had other reasons too, and I wanted to be a great ninja, so I took it, good and bad, and never looked back. My own Sensei passed the Chuunin Exams when he was eleven so that tells you guys something of the kind people my kin back in Konoha were like."

That made the League very silent as they soon began to understand just what kind of life Naruto had to lead. And it also began to give them an idea of what were the events that shaped their blonde comrade into who he was.. They decided to listen more as Naruto finally wrapped up his experiences in the Chuunin Exams, he told them that he had not cut it in the end, but he did not regret it at all. He had learned much about his team and himself, though he made sure that he did not tell them about the real reason why he failed the Chuunin Exams.

He then explained that Chuunin usually handled C-Rank to B Rank missions and on occasion even A Rank missions which were a lot harder and involved combat to a higher degree than the missions handed to Genin. Though A Ranked missions were only given to Chuunin with higher experience and skills, as most of the time it was Jonin who took them.

Once that was over, he then spoke about the next rank.

"The next rank is Jonin, and while I am not really sure about the process and how it's done in the other villages, I do know that in my home village that it's the more senior Jonin who vote into having any prospective Chuunin who pass the needed requirements to be Jonin. Jonin usually are the team captains and serve as higher ranked ninja and usually handle A Rank and S Rank missions, both of which are pretty dangerous with S Rank being the highest in terms of risk and terms of pay. That usually involves transporting highly valuable and sensitive documents, and assassinating VIPs who are dangerous to have around, and the pay's at least a million Ryo. Jonin are also divided into specialized teams determined by their skill and experience level as well as their specialties. Some are experts in intelligence gathering, interrogation, specialized teaching and more. They also serve as sensei to Genin teams obviously and those who are very experienced Jonin are the ones who serve in the Jonin Council."

"Jonin Council?"

"Yep, as I said it's a collection of all the known and high ranked Jonin and they handle more unique affairs in the village and form the Kage Council on occasion. They along with the Kage Council, the Fire Feudal Lord and the Feudal Lord Council vote on the next Kage of my village if the current Kage is either killed or unable to perform the duties of the office, which includes naming a successor after retirement though that only applies to my village of Konoha. There is also a special force of Jonin that make up the ANBU."

"ANBU?"

"They are the Black Ops forces of the ninja world, every village has an ANBU force and they are directly under the command of the Kage of their village. All of them are Jonin and while they do take missions like other ninja, their role is more unique and complex than regular ninja and they are called in when a situation is critical. They also serve as Kage body guards, Special Forces, elite scouts, and more. ANBU are also taught to use a special Jutsu that incinerates their bodies to ash if they are in a situation were they cannot escape and capture is certain."

The heroes were impressed a bit by that and also disturbed and Naruto decided to speak once more.

" I guess I should get to the Kage bit right?"

Superman nodded as he was curious about this.

"Does it have something to do with your own code name of Hokage?"

Naruto nodded and explained the details to the heroes. He told them that Kage meant Shadow, a fact Batman confirmed and the term was only given to the highest ranking ninja of the Village. Ninja who were considered Kage rank were the best and had to possess a wide variety of Justu in all three fields, had years of experience under their belt, and had done many things that have helped the village and it's people as a whole. The position of Kage was not hereditary and thus anyone who can meet the requirements of the Kage position can be placed there. He did point out though that a Kage must also possess a love and bond with the village, it's people, and it's beliefs so if the person does not have that bond, then he or she cannot be Kage.

Once voted into the position, the Kage had to be responsible for ever detail of the village, upkeep, salaries for the ninjas from Jonin to Genin, finances, missions to be taken to the appropriate teams, and the sort. Kind of like the President of this nation of the US. Only difference there was that the Kage was by heart and tradition a warrior and if the Village was attacked or in a dire situation, the Kage would step in to save the village and defend it's people. So Naruto phrased it well by saying that the Kage was a warrior king or queen in royalty terms and led by example in the front lines. This made the heroes a bit more than interested and both Diana and Shaeyra approved due to their warrior cultures.

The Kage could also approve of missions by all clients who can afford to pay the fees of the ninja, it did not have to be clients from their Land as well, other nobles from the other nations could hire the ninja, but this usually led to competition between villages.

He also explained there to the heroes that since there were five major lands in the Elemental Nations and the five major Hidden Villages were there, then the Kage were named after the lands as well. For the Land of Water, the Kage there was called the Mizukage or Water Shadow, the Kage in the Land of Wind was called the Kazekage or Wind Shadow, the Kage in the Land of Lightning was called the Raikage or the Lightning Shadow, the Kage of the Land of Earth was called the Tsuchikage or Earth Shadow, and lastly the Kage of the Land of Fire was called the Hokage or Fire Shadow. That made the heroes take things in slowly and Batman finally decided to speak to the blonde before him after he mentally stored away those details for further study when he had the time.

"So you carry the name Hokage as a way to honor your village and it's leaders?"

Naruto grinned and knew that his next series of words was going to really throw the League into a bit of a loop.

"That's part of it, but the other part is that I was a former Hokage myself. Like I said, the title of Hokage is earned not given on a silver platter, I lead my village myself before I retired and passed on the title of Hokage to my successor. I still carry the name as a sign of respect of the office I dreamed of holding since I was a kid."

That got their attention yet again and it was Stewart who was the first to speak.

"You lead your village? You've got to be kidding us."

"I take it the comment about me kidding you all about me being the former leader of my village is because I look like a teenager to you and the others right now? Hate to disappoint you Lantern, but age has got nothing to with rank and don't forget that I said that I was older than I looked when we met. My friend Gaara, Kami bless his soul, became Kazekage at age fifteen. And my Jonin sensei Kakashi became a Jonin at age eleven, so don't judge me by looks alone. I might not look like it, but I led my village for a number of decades before I finally retired and gave my place to my successor. If you are curious, I'm already a century or so old."

"And how do we know that for certain?"

Naruto expected that from the incredulous way Stewart was looking at him, and he directed his attention to Batman.

"You happen to have a device here on the tower that can determine the age of a person by a blood sample Batman?"

The Dark Knight nodded and took out a slide and a needle and moved to Naruto and gave it to him. Naruto pricked his own finger and placed the blood on the slide. Batman then took the slide and then headed off to the device in question. It was a portable medical scanner that scanned the exact age of a cell to determine the age of the organism that it came from. And as soon as the results were in, he placed it down and plugged in the results into a slot.

Soon a data stream came in and there were the results as Batman spoke.

"The scans show that your cells' exact age is at least that of a century…so you ARE a century old."

Naruto grinned a bit and replied as he looked at Superman.

"Give or take a few months actually, now you know why I did not like it when you called me a kid Superman, apart from J'onn and possibly Diana-hime, I'm the oldest guy here in this whole room. But don't call me an old man either, that is twice as offensive since I am still physically a young man, just call me a man who has…aged well. So if anyone here makes a crack at me being an old man, you and I are going to be meeting in the practice mat."

Diana could not help but raise her eyebrow at that and spoke once more, her interest growing even more as she was trying to wrap her mind around the idea of a man who was a century old or so, yet look like a teenager or young adult man.

"But how is that you still look so young Hokage?"

Naruto thought about it a bit more and decided to give some data on his family tree, it was not like he was ashamed of his family line. He was utterly proud of it and had high respect of his clan for their willingness to carry the burden to help others.

"That's got to do with the fact that I belong to a clan with what you can call a Kekkai Genkai. And I think now is the time I explain that since I said I would. Kekkai Genkai is a term for the genetic traits that make a person possess abilities that are above the norm of regular people. I can say that in a sense, those very same powers are similar to the powers of Meta-humans. Only difference there is that Kekkai Genkai users are unique due to the variety of their abilities."

Naruto began to explain some of the more interesting details of Kekkai Genkai, how those with Kekkai Genkai could actually fuse two chakra elemental types together to create new elements. He also explained that Kekkai Genkai also was not limited to fusing elemental chakra.

"There's a particular branch of Kekkai Genkai known as Dojutsu which has to do with techniques that involve the eyes. One such clan that has that is one of the noble houses in Konoha, and that was the Hyuuga Clan."

He explained to the team just what was it that made the Hyuuga Clan famous in Konoha and to other villages around the world where he came from, but he also made sure to mention that they had been subject to attacks by others. The attackers sought to capture the Byakugan which was the Dojutsu that made the Hyuuga Clan famous in the land. He however did not mention that he was actually the husband of the Hyuuga heiress Hinata Hyuuga. That was one bit of information that he felt they did not need to know about just yet. Once he was done with explaining some of the functions of Kekkai Genkai, he moved to his situation.

"Anyway, my Clan is the Uzumaki Clan and we were famous for several things. The first was the reason for my long life span and that of the others in my clan. The Uzumaki Clan members were all gifted with a remarkably high level of vitality and stamina, which translated to having a much longer life span than your average ninja. The vitality and stamina of my clan got to the point that the Hidden Village founded by the Clan was called the Villages of the Immortals. A bit of a stretch to be sure, but it makes some sense since my mother's people have been around for a very long time."We will eventually die but we will have a very long life before we get to that point if we are not killed first."

The heroes listened as Naruto continued.

"The second reason is that due to our very unique stamina and vitality, my mother's clan also happened to have some level of unique healing abilities. I'm not too privy to the details but one version of that unique healing ability was that by being bitten, some of our clan could transfer healing energy into another person. That might sound a bit sadistic but the method can actually be able to heal injuries that by all rights could kill normal people. There are some other healing techniques my mother's clan knew about but I do not know them all."

"The next and the last was our clan's mastery of Fuinjutsu or the ability to seal away anything. And when I mean anything, I mean anything so you can bet that my mother's clan earned quite a reputation back in the day. They used their Fuinjutsu to fight off powerful beings and to also move things through space and time on occasion. But because my mother's people were so famous for this power, other villages with the exception of Konoha who's ruling clan the Senju were allies and distant relatives of my mother's clan, feared the power they had, and destroyed our village, hunting all of us down as well as destroying the Land of Whirlpools."

That reminded Superman somewhat of the destruction of Krypton, even though the circumstances were different. That made him feel a bit more connected to the blonde Shinobi since he too had lost his homeland, though he suspected that things were different for their ally.

"Most of the clan scattered after that and my mother was allowed to reside within Konoha so it became her home afterwards. And you can guess the rest from there."

The heroes remained silent as they took in all the details until John spoke.

"So these Kekkai Genkai users were well received in the villages? I mean people with abilities like that Hyuuga Clan have must have been pretty much welcome."

Naruto then sighed as he replied.

"Not all Kekkai Genkai users were welcome though, in the Land of Water, before a good…ally of mine became Mizukage, anyone who was suspected of having Kekkai Genkai were tracked relentlessly and killed, even if they were children. It was well known the ninja and villagers would actively purge those with Kekkai Genkai and hunt them down to the death."

That shocked the heroes as they would have never ever condoned such an act. Diana was the most offended and replied.

"But why would the people in the Land of Water kill children with Kekkai Genkai? No one has the right to kill children like that for something that they cannot help but be born with!"

Naruto nodded and replied.

"I know, and I agree wholeheartedly with you Diana-hime, but there is a reason behind it. You see the Land of Water was always locked in conflict, so many people were killed in these battles, and a lot of those battles happened because of those who had Kekkai Genkai. One clan in particular known as the Kaguya Clan were famed for their lust for battle and violence, so much so that they willingly let themselves be annihilated just for the chance to fight and spill blood."

Superman was shaking his head in disbelief at the thought of a clan of people allowing themselves to be hunted down and killed just for the thrill of battle, it sounded completely wrong.

"They willingly allowed themselves to be killed?"

"Exactly Superman, and they killed many people before they were hunted down, so naturally it was enough to make many people in the Land of Water hate people with Kekkai Genkai. So as much as I don't want to say it the people who were part of those purges were not entirely wrong in their actions. "

Batman had to admit that it made some sense, a lot of people might like Meta-humans, but not everyone felt the same way. Even he did not fully trust Superman, even more so when he was taken by Darksied and brainwashed. But had Superman done it willingly without being controlled, it would make sense to be very wary.

Naruto however did not mention the details pertaining to Haku and Zabuza, which was one story he had no interest in talking about. Both of them deserved to truly rest after the War and it had made him angry at Kabuto for his part in bringing them back.

John then spoke what he felt about this discovery.

"Sounds like your people all mold you into real killers. Most people I know of here would call those people in your world criminals in letting kids into a situation like that."

Naruto snorted a bit and replied.

'Not ALL ninja in my world are assassins you know, as I said Genin are not sent into battle without them getting more used to fighting, and there are plenty of other stations ninjas take part in. One example for all villages are Medic Nin, these are ninjas who undergo intense training in healing Jutsu, human anatomy, medicine, the study of medicinal plants, and more. All of which was focused on medicine and treatment."

"Most Medic Nin are healers and therefore don't serve in the frontlines, unless they are part of a team and they are in the field, and as such, they were not allowed to fight and only fight if the situation becomes such that combat is unavoidable. That does not mean that they are entirely healers though, some of them can use their healing training and knowledge for be poison masters."

"I know of one old woman who was a Medic Nin who was named Chiyo-san who was the most skilled poison maker in the Elemental Nations. And the one who she had a rivalry with was the former Kage of my home village, that person being Tsunade Senju and who was a mother figure to me, apart from being related. If you like I can show you what she looks like and the only other female Kage I knew of when I was Hokage, the Mizukage Mei Terumi."

The heroes watched as Naruto summoned two Kage Bunshin and then the two spoke the word.

"HENGE!"

The two Kage Bunshin turned into two female Kunoichi, and drop dead gorgeous ones at that. One was a blonde Kunoichi who wore a grey kimono top, black skin tight pants, high heeled shoes, and she was a very beautiful brown eyed woman who had a mark on her head. The next woman was in deep blue clothing with blue nail polish

All in all, the transformed Kage Bunshin were now in the form of two drop dead attractive women who were also…rather well endowed. That fact made Superman actually look a bit embarrassed, Flash could not help but whistle in appreciation, John raised an eyebrow as did Diana and Shaeyra, Batman looked the same as before, while J'onn was still trying to wrap his brain around this.

Naruto then explained to them just who the people were.

He told them that Tsunade Senju, the blonde one was the foremost Medic Nin in the world and had mastered a variety of healing techniques and was known to be a fine cure specialist for various types of poisons, as well as making drugs for medicinal and interrogation purposes. And she was also considered to be one of the strongest women in the ninja world, in fact he took a bit of a feel for it and replied she would be just as strong as Diana herself.

That was something that surprised the Amazon princess and he then explained who Mei Terumi was and what she did as a Kage, though he did not tell them that he was married to the woman in question in a political marriage. Once that was done, he had the Kage Bunshin revert to normal, much to Flash's disappointment and they poofed away and he spoke about the fact that also some Medic Nin served in the science and veterinarian professions in the village though in different ways.

Once he was done, he also spoke about the Ninja couriers, or in the tongue o this world, the Ninja Postmen.

...

Flash could not help but laugh a bit at that bit of information at the idea of ninjas who delivered the mail and replied.

"Ninja Postmen? You're kidding right?"

Naruto snickered a bit and replied.

"I wish, but being in the world I came from, you do need to be extra careful. So unlike the postmen in your world who don't risk their lives, unless you consider being attacked by dogs and irate people a risk to your life, Courier Ninja are trained to fight and evade any threat. We do have ways to send messages back and forth, but Courier Ninja are just as fast and the guys who make up he Courier ninja group are pretty darn good in their work. I know because one time I tried to recover a package I accidentally sent from one of them. And boy that guy made me work for it, I was a kid then, but damn they were tough to deal with every now and then."

"Anyway, there are also the other unique ninja groups such as the Hunter Nins, or the Ninja Undertakers as we call them."

J'onn spoke next.

"And what do they do?"

"Hunter Nin are specially trained ninja who are tasked to hunt down and eliminate rogue ninja who are not of Kage rank and terminate them. They also make sure to destroy the bodies and take the head. That might sound disgusting, but the head is for proving the target is dead, and the bodies are destroyed to prevent anyone from finding out the village's secrets. Secrets that I am afraid to say cannot be revealed to any of you. I might be in a different world, but I will keep to the rules of my home. Suffice to say, they are needed on things like this."

"There's also the Cooking Ninja who are only seen as part of the Land of Lightning, don't laugh, they are named as such since they happen to be able to wipe up meals that can sustain people for days to nearly a week. But as far as I know, they are not often called in since their cooking can REALLY make people fat. I dealt with a few in the past and they can be a real hard bunch to deal with."

Naruto sighed once more and relaxed a bit until he continued.

'"Anyway, I am not all familiar with the positions taken by other ninja, but I will state that this is how it is on my world. Some of you might not like it, or outright think it's nuts or morally wrong, but that is how it is there. But we did achieve an era of peace and all the villages were working well together, I was Hokage at that era and my people were happy, safe, and enjoying the future, and so were the other villages. Sure were still some conflicts, but at least we all can be united under one flag as Shinobi when it comes to that. The real threats we have in times are renegade or missing ninja…especially those who are S-ranked ninja."

"S-Ranked Ninja?"

Naruto nodded to Shaeyra and replied.

"All ninjas who come from the Hidden Villages wear their symbols of their villages openly to show their loyalty and origins to others. Renegade or Missing Nin on the other had serve as bandits and raiders of the highest order, they sell their services to the highest bidder regardless of the missions and the risks and they have no loyalty to any village. In fact, a vast portion of them are usually written into the Bingo Book which is similar to the Most wanted here in the US. Enemy Ninja or people who have a negative history with other nations are usually registered there and have bounties on their heads to boot. S-Ranked Ninja who are criminals are also prominently figured there due to the various acts they committed and are usually banished as a result and therefore they are the ones who are listed the most in all the Bingo Books and have a high bounty on their heads. Even my village had a number of Missing Ninja in my time, and a number of them were S-ranked ninja."

"The most dangerous group of S-Ranked ninja were known as Akatsuki."

"The Red Dawn correct?"

Naruto nodded at Batman's comment and replied.

"All of them were S-ranked ninja criminals from various villages who made themselves into a Ten member group, usually with two of them working together. These guys each were highly skilled and dangerous ninja with very potent abilities at the time and they were undeniably dangerous. One such person of that group I knew of came from Konoha itself. His name…was Itachi and while there was more to his actions than most had realized before…he was accused of slaughtering his entire clan, even his parents."

"What…why would…why the heck would he do that?"

Naruto sighed and replied.

"I had no clue at the time, but I can say that there was indeed more to it, which I am not going to talk about. Suffice to say the ninja who made up most of Akatsuki were terrorists and murderers, and I personally fought some of them as well in combat. Another topic I will not speak of for reasons that are my own. It's that I don't trust you all, but like they say, we all have our own secrets and some secrets HAVE to remain buried for their own good."

Flash then spoke next.

"Okay…so can you at least tell us how you got here to our world?"

Naruto then told them what happened in the mission that he was on after he left the village when he retired from being Hokage. They listened carefully and as soon as he was done, the blonde Shinobi finished it all off with a simple message.

"I don't know how it happened or why I came here, but I am willing to make the most of it and I hope that what I said to you all can be understood."

The League were silent for a time and Superman spoke next.

"It's given a lot of things for us all to think about, and I am happy that you told us those things, and we'll respect your secrets Hokage. So, I need to ask you this, do you plan on joining us? You might not be part of this world, but you did help it out many times now so we could certainly use your help."

"That sounds about right, and truth be told, even though this League you guys mentioned kind of resembles Akatsuki in a way, I am pleased to know that it's purpose is more noble and for a greater good than most. Okay I am in."

Batman remained silent as he decided to make sure to keep tabs on the blonde Shinobi, there were still plenty of secrets there and he wanted to know those that might be dangerous. It was risky since he had already seen some of what the blonde could do in battle but he had to always keep himself at the ready for anything. However he did have one concern in his mind and he decided to voice it out.

"There is one thing we do need to know. If there is a way to send you back to your world Hokage, would you take it?"

Naruto looked at Batman and could tell that it was a serious question, one that he himself thought about a lot on occasion. He had no doubt that if by technology or by magic, there would be a way to go home, but he did know that he had already done so much there in his world. So many things had been done and the people back home were now free to do what they wanted and have peace in their time. Many of those things were accomplished by his friends as well as himself and he had lived a good life, so where did that leave him?

The blonde was silent at this and so the other heroes were waiting for the answer, they needed to hear what he had to say so at least they were sure that he did have any intention to stay here in this world of theirs. But they were also willing to help him go home if he wanted that as well, they were not going to force him to stay since he had done a lot of good things for his people and if he wanted to go back to help them then they would indeed help him.

Naruto then replied to Batman's question.

"Thanks for the offer if you could do it Batman, but I think that my time in my world is done so I will not go back. And before you ask me why, let me explain. My life in my world is complicated and it was hardly easy, there had been times I had…been pushed to the point I wanted to leave. But I never gave into those feelings and fought to make a name for myself, to prove that I can be strong for myself and others. I also met good people there, people who I cared about in life and made living a lot more beautiful."

"I had to struggle hard to reach my dreams and keep getting up no matter how many times I was beaten back, down, how many times I bled, or how many foes I had to face. My life back home was filled with happiness, sadness, victory, defeat, pain, healing, loss, gain, and more. I accomplished my dreams and helped bring a peaceful world to those who would be the kings and queens of my world after I and those of my generation were gone. So it's to those men and women back there in my world and my village that I entrusted the future, good or bad. After all, it is the duty of the ones who have the ability and power today to make a brighter future for those who will succeed them, and it is in those same people that the future is built on. That is why I retired from being Hokage, my time is over and their time is now, I have taught them all as much as I could and I have to let them decide their fate."

Naruto sighed a bit and finished it off with a grin.

"So no, I will not go back to my world, not because I hate it, but because the future I and my friends, family, and allies have fought for is now the present and the future is in the hands of the new generation. That to me is what a hero is, heroes don't do the things they do for glory, honor, fame, prestige, or for just the thrill of it, they do it for the simple reason that they can give a better future for those who will one the succeed them. That might not be what drives others or any of you, but it is my Nindo or my way of the Ninja and I have kept to that code all my life. If I can do the same for the generations here in this world, then I will do it. And I think being with you all can make that task a lot more fruitful, not easier since we're all different people with our own way of doing things, but that is was defines a team, right?"

Superman laughed a bit that as he sensed the truth there and so did the others, Flash had to comment a bit in a cheeky way as well.

"You really sound like a tired old man like that Hokage."

Naruto mock glared at Flash and replied.

"Be thankful for the fact that I like you Flash, otherwise this old man is going to give you a serious whipping for that remark."

Flash laughed and replied.

"You're on!"

It took some time before the decision was accepted and Naruto realized that he was part of a team again. It felt…nostalgic as it were but he did not mind it at all, being with a new team was certainly an experience and he had learned first hand that it all boiled down to how well they all worked together that would make or break the team. And considering who he was now going to be working with for the duration of his time here in this world, it was hardly going to be boring.

It was also here that Bruce decided to get into planning something for Naruto, namely in the sense that he would be needing a place to call his own and also consider home. His nomadic lifestyle made since to Bruce, but he wanted to give the guy a more permanent place of residence, yet was off the grid.

And he now had an idea on how to do just that and he also had a feeling that he can find the right place to set up the place in question..

In the Santa Susana Mountains…

Naruto could not help but whistle at the sight before him and he was pleased to know that it was all his, at least it was the way he was going to feel. He looked at Batman and spoke to the man he was looking at him and spoke in a very curious tone.

"You actually asked that guy Bruce Wayne to buy this parcel of land? That guy's got some serious finds I bet."

."That he does, this place will be officially listed as a plot of personal land under the Wayne Foundation which will not be exploited for any reason. This place should be a good place for you to call home, though I will need to convince him to buy it and seal the deal as it were. But the only thing I need to hear is you saying that you are all right with this place so I can help make the deal final. He's also considering letting you use of their warehouses near the city limits to be the place for you to move into the city and out of the city before you go home."

Naruto grinned at that and decided to ask again.

"Is he going to be all right with that?"

Batman gave a slight smile and nodded a bit.

"He did pay for the Watch Tower and all the technology on it so that should tell you something of his willingness to help the League. Mr. Wayne's a philanthropist and he feels that helping the League is in turn helping others in the world."

"Okay…man I got to meet this Wayne guy myself, I saw him on TV a few times when I dropped by your city but never thought he'd be willing to pay for the whole thing, especially this sweet place and the Watch tower. He deserves praise in my book, and coming from me, that's something."

Batman did not say anything as he looked at the blonde who went back to looking at the place over. He knew that it would dent his finances a bit as Bruce Wayne but compared to maintenance costs of the Watch Tower, the fleet of Javelins, the supplies and whatnot, buying this plot of land as private property was not going to be much. This place was not owned by the government and it was private land and well away from the city so to give the blonde Hokage some privacy. Plus it was usually woodland and not much for habitation. Most people would think that it's purchase was just on a whim.

But the land he had purchased was actually good land and could be made a place to live and he had made plans to have the place walled off and made to withstand some of the wildfires that are known to move around Los Angeles. There was enough flat land on the plot to have a house and he planned to make the place self sufficient in terms of water and also there was a place that could be used to set up a solar power bank for electricity.

Once Naruto agreed to the land he was going to call home, which was not too far from Los Angeles, he would have supplies brought in to the place to build the house and have the house made in a way that would suit Naruto. But all of that could wait as he needed to see what Naruto thought of it and he was also going to show Naruto something else.

There might be some ruffled feathers by the more radical environmentalists who might assume that he planned to make a factory there or even harvest the place, but he felt it would be all right. He had a feeling that this place was going to be all right in the blonde's hands since the blonde was more used to living in his own fashion. And from what he had seen of the blonde's way of life, he was not averse to living by himself too many times.

The blonde turned to face Batman and nodded in approval.

"This place looks about right and at least it's connected to the highway that can allow me to go to the city as soon as needed a few miles out. You can tell Bruce Wayne that I am all right with his offering of the land for me and tell him that I'll make sure to thank him in person when I meet him. That of course will have to be one of those private meeting types, did he promise not reveal to anyone this arrangement between you and him?"

The Dark Knight nodded at that and soon the arrangement was made. Naruto would still remain in L.A until the new house was built under his directions and how he liked it. Naruto already had a house design in mind and as soon as he told Batman about how he wanted the house to be and look, the Dark Knight nodded in agreement. Though he did decide to speak about something else as well since building a house in the middle of nowhere and keeping it 'hush-hush' was not something he considered as easy.

"How long will this new place take to set up?"

Batman replied.

"Not too long, Bruce has some good friends who help him and keep silent about things like this."

Three weeks to a month or two later…

Naruto could not help but smile once more at the sight of his new home and he had to give credit for Bruce Wayne for being very thorough in getting a place for him to call home. The house was very much like that of a large Japanese mansion and was built up to the standard of any Japanese traditional house, and could fit a large family if needed. It was a bit much to be sure, but it was something that he wanted so no sense complaining about it and how it was made. He moved in and looked at each room carefully to take in the details.

There was obviously an open area in the middle of the compound that would be something of a training area, along with a few rooms on the sides. One was something of a meeting hall, another a dining area with traditional Japanese furniture, next was a kitchen with all the amenities of a well maintained kitchen, a freezer for food and drink, as well as a few other things.

Next room was obviously a bathing area and a place where water could be channeled to make into a hot spring in it and also a changing room. There were also other guest rooms at least four to five and had all the things needed, including futons and regular beds found in any Western household. There was also a place that seemed to be bare but Naruto decided he could find a use for it later. The last was obviously his personal room, it was not too lavish and had only a bed which was very comfortable in design and feel, a table with a few chairs as well. There was a cabinet and closet as well as a few other things that he could use for himself.

The walls around his home were not that that high and were actually surrounded with trees and actually had some form of fire barrier so it would not be easily reached by fires just in case wild fires did break out. And while there was no lake, there was a well placed plot nearby that he could use to grow anything or turn into a vegetable garden or more.

All in all, the house was certainly worth living in and since it was connected to a bank of solar mirrors to provide energy to the house, it was not connected to the power grid of L.A so there was less chance of him being forced to pay a power bill. And he did have access to a nearby spring of water so he did not have to be connected directly to the water distribution system of the city. And thus he did not have to pay taxes or anything of the sort while he was there. All he had to do was buy food and supplies, and coupling it with his Hirashin Jutsu, he could move from the city to here in no time.

The lights were also the kind that seemed to be more economical in power so he could use less power, and since the location was windy enough, he did not have to rely on air conditioning, unless it was steaming hot. Even then, the air conditioning seemed to be top notch and also designed to do more with less power. His own connection to the TV was possible due to the fact that Batman had somehow given him a private satellite link to the Watch Tower that allowed him to watch the news and other media channels to boot.

As soon as he was done examining his new home, the blonde had to admit that he was going to enjoy living here and he was going to set up several posts in the inner area which he could use as mediums to create a Genjutsu to hide his place better. All he had to do was push in some of his chakra to activate the seals he would carve in that would create the Genjutsu. There was also the fact that the house was given a form of terrain masking field by Bruce to keep it from being seen by cameras owned by regular people, even by military forces and intelligence services.

It did have a connection to the highway but was made to a simple dirt road to nowhere, or so people thought.

It was going to be a bit hard for him to live in one place again since it had been a while since he had resided in one place ever since he adopted a mobile nomadic life style.

As he entered the house, he was pleased since the place was currently well aired and he enjoyed the cool air in his place. He took out his scrolls and moved to the rooms that were the best places to unload his stored away gear. Once he did what he needed with his gear, he headed down to the living room and decided to open up his laptop, connect his USB Modem and also plug in the latest security unit to keep his IP address hidden. It was one of the things Batman suggested for extra privacy. Batman had also insisted the learned how to drive and had been given a simple SUV for his transportation needs in and out of the house area. Batman also mentioned that he had convinced Bruce to set up a small warehouse under Waynetech that could be where Naruto could go to from his home to get into the city to do his usual rounds. The warehouse also happened to be where he could be teleported to the Watch Tower when he needed to be there.

He had not gone there just yet since he was getting used to this place.

Once he was done with logging on, he decided to get some left over work done and then head off to meet with his boss Carolyn who was no doubt going to give him a very loud verbal lashing for not reporting in on the allotted time for the rest of the week.

Once he had gotten back from the League meeting, he had spent the rest of his months handling the loads and while he now had plenty of money in his pockets, he decided to earn more on the side. He did not tell the League he wrote perverted novels for a living, no sense letting them know, plus he had no idea just how Diana and Shaeyra would react to the news of his writing choices. But if his experience with women was anything to go by, it would either be all right and funny, or an open invitation to the highway to hell.

He loved that song a lot and wondered why no one ever got to listening to that classic. That was when he decided to have some fun and listen to his favorite music. This included J-pop and rock music which he understood and found to be fun. But that was balanced by some of his own western favorite music which was pure…what was it again? Oh yeah, rock and rock heavy metal.

He had amassed a serious CD collection over the years and even had those MP3s stored in his computer. And right now, he was listening to one of his favorite bands, one called Atreyu and a song he liked a lot since it resonated wit him, that song being none other than Honor.

(Ah, life is good.)

(("Well I am happy for you Naruto, and at least despite some of their culture that surprises me, at least these guys know how to make good music."))

(Got ya…they said I was supposed to have a house warming party or something like that. Never had one before back home so I have no idea why you need to warm up a house. Kind of curious how it will turn out when it happens though.)

(("You ever tried looking up in that thing you call the internet what that term meant yet Naruto? That might answer your question right off the bat."))

(Nah, I like to be surprised, anyway, I should get this over and done with, and say hello to my boss and see how the books are doing.)

(("Right…and then you have to play catch up with her too I take it?"))

The only response Kurama got was a laugh which only served to confirm what he suspected his partner had in mind. The Bijuu found the fact that his partner was getting used to working with a team again amusing, and it also had a feeling that considering his partner's history with the opposite sex, there was going to be a lot of drama involved later on in the future.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

There we go, chapter finished and now I have decided to use a solution to the idea of how to have Naruto find a place to live in while in the area around L.A. I had been in Los Angeles before of vacation so I am pleased that I was able to remember some places where our blonde friend could set up. The place is not much, but it will have to do for now and I might make it a more permanent residence for Naruto. I decided to have the residence out on the outside of the city for safety's sake and also for Naruto to be closer to nature which is more him anyway.

The house in question is actually based on the house that Kushina lived in when she was a girl back in Konoha. And while I did not get all the details right, I did have some idea of the house's looks and also from images of traditional Japanese houses that I have seen as well. The house is masked from scanners and also cameras by Bruce and couple that with Naruto's use of Genjutsu, he is better off now than before. And since he can live off the grid, he does not have to deal with being found easily.

I know that some people might suggest that hikers and other kinds of people moving through the outdoors might find his house, but I will fix that soon enough. I would not make these kinds of moves unless I have a plan in mind. And there is the fact that since the place is out of the city, you can bet it will be more acceptable for some of the people coming to Naruto's place. Once person in particular is going to say hi to the blonde soon enough.

I decided to take the second option on Naruto revealing his history, since I had to admit that I felt that it would make the story more interesting in the long run. Sure it would make things harder for Naruto, but he has always lived a life where he had to deal with adversity and more on a regular basis, this naturally included his status as a Jinchuuriki. If I had Naruto reveal everything, it would deny me the chance to make the story more dynamic and interesting as well. So for the ones of you who thought that it would be better for Naruto to reveal everything, I apologize and I hope that you will not take offense to my course of action which goes against what you have suggested to me in your reviews and PMs.

I had thought long and hard about this and while I feel that I could have done more, I have a lot on my plate so I did what I could with the data that I have on hand and also with what I know.

On the next chapter, we will not yet go into the chapter dealing with Lantern's little run in with the Man-hunters. That little adventure can wait and I do have to come up with an idea on how to allow Naruto to fight underwater when we get to dealing with Aquaman and company from Atlantis. In this chapter, Naruto is going to meet his boss again and he will also have the house warming bit from the heroes with the marked exception of Batman since he has his own thing to deal with.

Naruto and his boss have a very dynamic relationship, the no strings attached type and I might even include a few lime or lemon bits here on the chapter.

Poison Ivy might even pay a visit and you will bet that I will reveal just what happened between her and Naruto before he left Gotham. All I can say about that meeting is that Naruto proved to Ivy that he was dead serious about providing her a chance to enjoy being a woman with a man. As for Selina Kyle…she might make an appearance soon in this story again and you can bet that her appearance is really going to make things very interesting for the people involved.

Plus I would like to point out that Naruto and Selina's relationship is not yet at that level since Selina is not yet fully trusting of Naruto. So don't expect a lemon between her and Naruto just yet. And for the benefit of those who are curious why Selina is blonde and not dark haired like she was in the new Batman series, I had not seen it entirely and I personally like the original animated version of Catwoman more than the new version of her.

Anyway, with this done, I will focus on my other non Halo stories, if this is able to meet the expectations of you readers then I am very pleased with the results. If not then I apologize in advance since trying to work on this while working part time is eating away at my energy and creativity as well. But I will work to make sure that I do it the way I feel is more me and right up my alley.

Next to be updated in the non-Halo category is still my works related to Naruto and then the ones not related to either Naruto or Halo. I won't say anymore which story is the one to be updated, all you will have to do is wait and trust me.

Send me your comments and reviews as well as critiques. Flames will immediately be disposed of or ignored since I have no time for them. If you don't like the story, then don't read it.

Bye!