Welcome once again everyone, to what I know will be an exciting chapter of The Red Fox. This is going to be a big one, in fact it'll have three parts. After briefly finishing things up in the Leaf, we're finally going to get to the day that Gotham elects its Mayor. With everything that Scarecrow's done to work his campaign, and mysterious group backing The Penguin, it's going to be an epic battle. There's players that haven't even entered the battle just yet. These next three chapters are going to be important, with the first used to set up an epic free for all battle in the next two. Please, sit back and enjoy. Thank you for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Metallica: Whiskey In the Jar


"Look Sensei, I'm not asking for your permission," Tsunade said as stared down Hiruzen, "I'm going to Gotham with Naruto and his family whether you want me to or not."

Hiruzen felt the killer intent coming off from his old student, but felt like backing down wasn't the best idea, "Tsunade, I'm fine with you wanting to go to Gotham, really, but you'll have to set up a time to do it like your teammate Jiraiya did."

Tsunade snorted at what she considered a pathetic response, "Oh hell no! I'm not setting up an appointment to get to know a boy I just found out is my freaking cousin!"

That had Hiruzen slumping in his chair just a bit. She was referring to the fact that Naruto was in fact her relative. Naruto's mother was the great niece of Mito Uzumaki, who was the wife of Hashirama Senju. The two of them were Tsunade's grandparents, so when she heard Naruto's last name was Uzumaki, she knew that something was up. Hiruzen didn't give her all the details, but he did confirm for her that Naruto was indeed her cousin.

"I'm sorry Tsunade, I was going to tell you about him," Hiruzen started, knowing that this day would come sooner or later, "There was just never a good time. You were never here and you avoided any messengers I sent after you like they were trying to kill you. It took a ridiculous amount of money just to get you here at all."

She opened her mouth to argue, but knew he had a point there, "Alright, I'll take part of the blame for that. Doesn't matter though, I'm going to Gotham with Shizune so I can spend some time with him. He's the last family I've got, and I'm not going to let myself lose him too."

Hiruzen had known Tsunade long enough to understand why she had to do this, "Fine, I won't fight you on this. I just have one condition, and that's that you bring one other ninja of my choice with you. Before I say anything, I know that you can handle yourself, I would just feel safer knowing there's somewhere there to keep an eye on you."

"Ugh, if it'll get you to let me go," Tsunade said, giving in, "It had better be somebody I like."

That wouldn't be a problem if Hiruzen's hunch was right, "Oh, you'll have no issues with my choice. You know of Kakashi Hatake, correct?"

Tsunade had heard the name more than once, "He was the son of Sakumo Hatake. Poor bastard killed himself after he decided to abandon his comrades in order to finish a mission. He felt too damn guilty. On the bright side, Kakashi's become a hell of ninja in his own right. Wasn't he a student of the Fourth?"

"Yes he was, in fact he's the only one that's still alive," Hiruzen said, his tone a little sad, "Anyways, he'll be accompanying you two. He can be a bit off putting at first, but you'll get used to him."

None of this really was something that Tsunade careered about, "As long as I get to see Naruto, that's all fine. Is there anything else, or can I go now?"

"No, you're free to go," Hiruzen said, but slid in a joke for good measure, "By the way, so nice to see you again as well."

Tsunade looked at him with a sad smile, "Sensei, did you want me to stay in here for a while so that we can catch up?"

Hiruzen could see is little hint worked, "Oh, well if you insist, I guess that I can spare a little time."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but sat down nonetheless. She and Hiruzen caught up for what must have been hours. He missed his old student dearly, and she'd missed him as well. It really was the little things in life that people seemed to enjoy the most.


The three days they all spent in the hidden Leaf seemed to pass by like a pleasant dream. Naruto spent his days playing with his friends, eating all of the food he'd missed while he was gone, and pranking some of the adults who'd been cruel to him. Even Ino's dad had helped them with the pranks, pulling a few fun little mind tricks on some people.

Sadly, that pleasant little dream was over just as soon it had begun. As much fun as he'd had Naruto knew that it had to end. At the end of the final day, he and the rest of his family said goodbye to all of their friends and prepared to shove off for home. The kids were heartbroken to see Naruto go, and Ino promised that the next time he was in town she'd introduce him to some of her friends that he hadn't met yet. Naruto also promised to visit the hidden Sand some day so that he could finally know where his other friends were from. Last but not least, he promised all the adults that he'd work even harder to become the greatest ninja that he possibly could.

Finally, once the long goodbye's had concluded, they got on a plane and flew back to Gotham with Freeze and his wife in the cargo hold. However, there was a few extra people heading home with them. Tsunade had recently revealed the whole thing about Naruto being her cousin, and flat old told Bruce that she was going to come to Gotham with them. That hadn't really been necessary, as Naruto had been so excited about finding out he had a blood relative that Bruce would've invited her to come anyways. He was fine with Shizune coming along too. There was really only one person that he had an issue with bringing.

"Remind me again why we have to bring this Kakashi person with us," Bruce mumbled over to Tsunade, "I mean this guy's rude as all hell. He's hardly said a word since he got on the plane. All he's been doing is keeping his nose in that damn book."

Tsunade was sitting in between Bruce and Naruto on the plane, and Kakashi was just a few seats over. She was in a poor mood about having to take him as well, "He's a kind of a jerk, but he's had a rougher life than most. Let him keep reading his book and we'll hardly even notice that he's here."

Naruto didn't want to talk about him, "Forget the grumpy guy. Tsunade, I wanna know everything about you! How old are you? What kind of food do you like? Do you speak English?"

"Woah, give me a second," Tsunade said, trying to get started on the boy's questions, "Jiraiya taught me a little bit of English, but I don't actually know it very well, I eat pretty much whatever anyone puts in front of me, and as for my age, don't ask. In fact, you shouldn't ask any woman that, ever."

Naruto would have to remember that, "Okay, so how did you find out I was your cousin? Did the old man tell you, or what?"

Tsunade went into the explanation about how he was an Uzumaki, and how she was granddaughter of the First Hokage. It took a couple of minutes, but Naruto seemed to understand what was going on, "So, yeah, I heard your last name and figured all that out. You know, that actually means you're a descendant of the two of the past Hokages."

"That's so cool," Naruto said, not realizing it before, "Now I'm even more glad that I helped you guys with Freeze! Did you hear that dad?"

Bruce had heard it, and it reminded him of something, "Yes I did, and it's very cool. However, it brings back up the matter of you not listening to me back when were taking out Freeze."

Naruto cringed a little bit, hoping he'd forgot, "Hehe...would saying that I'm sorry help?"

"A little," Bruce replied, his eyes never leaving his son, "As I stated before, I'm not angry with you. You're young, you're going to make mistakes. So, what I'm going to do is make this very simple for you. If you deliberately disobey me again, I will take you out of the field until I feel you're mature enough to go back. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto quickly agreed, not wanting to disappoint his father, "From now on, I'll do whatever you tell me to. I really am sorry, I only wanted to help."

Bruce figured he better explain why he was being so adamant about this, "You have to know Naruto, I'm only being hard on you because I care about you. It's like your trying to put yourself in the line of fire lately, and I wouldn't be able to deal with it if I lost you."

"You're telling me," Tsunade said, being able to relate to this conversation, "Listen to your dad kid. I know better than anyone what it's like trying to deal with loss. By the way, what do you mean in the field? What exactly do you have Naruto doing?"

Bruce planned on telling her that, but not just yet, "Wait until we get to Gotham so that I can explain it all there. Between you being Naruto's family and the fact that Jiraiya would likely tell you if you asked him, I planned on filling you in anyways."

Tsunade was getting tired of all the secrecy around here, "One of the worst things about being in my line of work is that people rarely give you a straight answer. I guess that I'll wait then. I'm beat, so I'm taking a nap until we get there. If I'm gonna catch up with you, I wanna actually be awake to do it."

With that, Tsunade laid her head back on her seat and closed her eyes. Naruto decided he wanted to go and talk to the new guy, "Hey dad, I'm gonna go try meet the Kakashi guy, okay?"

"Go ahead," Bruce said, seeing no harm in it, "He doesn't look like much of a talker though."

Naruto was never one to back down from challange. He jumped down from his seat and walked over to where the grey haired man was sitting. The guy looked like he was just over 20 years old. After a moment, Naruto sat down beside him, "Hi, I'm Naruto. What's your name?"

The man still didn't look up from the book, "Kakashi."

"That's a cool name," Naruto said, trying to keep the conversation going, "So what kind of book are you reading?"

Kakashi just kept looking at the pages with interest, "Icha Icha Paradise. It's not for kids."

Naruto pouted at his coldness, "Fine. How come you've only got one eye?"

"Look kid, not to be mean, but I'm not interested in having a conversation right now," Kakashi said, then finally looked up from the book. When he saw Naruto, his eye got wide. It was like he'd seen a ghost, "What the...what did you say your name was."

The boy was glad to finally have his attention, "It's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne. Are you okay? You're looking at me funny."

It was clear the gray haired teen had seen something that threw him off, "Uzumaki you said? Hm...anyways, I'm sorry about being rude. If you'd like we can talk later. Please, go back and sit with your father."

"Sure, enjoy your book," Naruto said before going back to his dad. He'd gotten the man to open up a little bit, so overall it went well. Hopefully things would improve even more when they got home.


At last, after months of planning, Crane's big day was finally here. The citizens of Gotham would go out tonight and choose who was going to be the city's new mayor. He knew that he could win it too, because Cobblepot and Sharp were worthless compared to him. They understood nothing about fear or it's power.

He stood in his office, looking at himself in the mirror. For the occasion he wore a sharp suit, a fedora, and had even broken out his father's cufflinks. His assistant watched him adjust his tie from the corner of the room, "You look excellent sir. Very much like a mayor I'd say."

"Thank you Cillian, that's kind of you," Crane said, making a few more minor additions to his suit, "How am I doing in the latest polls?"

Cillian pulled out a paper he'd printed out before, "You've got a sizeable lead against everyone, Quincy Sharp is in second, and Cobblepot is a close third. Is that satisfactory?"

Crane couldn't find a whole lot wrong with it, "I'm pleased for the time being. It seems like I've got more than good shot of winning this thing."

"You have an excellent shot sir," Cillian agreed, "But there's still the issue of that detective, Ellen Yin. She's Bullock's partner and has been following up on the leads he had on you. His credibility may have taken a hit after that incident with Clayface, but her's hasn't. From what I've been able to gather, she may actually have something that could cause you some trouble. She found out about the incident with your grandmother, and intends to release this infor within the next few hours. If she did that today, it would easily end your campaign. None of the voters would trust you."

Crane sighed, brushing off his suit one last time, "Ah yes, Ms. Yang. We can't have her destroying everything that we've built, now can we? I suppose it's time to get to work then. Please, exit the room and send in the prisoner. We have much to discuss."

Cillian hastily nodded and left the room. As he was walking out, a different man was walking in. A man who seemed very full of himself, "Riddle me this: Why does a soon to be mayor call in a convicted super criminal to his office on the day he is to be elected? The answer is: Because he requires a favor that can't be asked of a normal person."

"Edward Nygma, better known as the Riddler," Crane identified easily, since he was the one who called him in the first place, "Please sir, take a seat. I'm about to make you an offer I'm sure you won't refuse."

The Riddler, a slim man with brown hair and average hight, sat down in front of Crane's desk, Crane soon joining him. The men did not trust one another, as they both knew the other one wanted something out of this, "So Dr. Crane, what does a simpleton like you require from someone such as myself."

That was more or less exactly what Crane had expect him to say, "A narcissist, just as I read about in your file. Mr. Nygma, as much as I'd love to get into a battle of wits with you right now, I've got far more important things to attend to. I have a speech to give today, and after that I have to go and get changed for...Well, that part doesn't concern you."

"I see," The Riddler said and crossed his arms, "Then what, in your feeble little mind, does concern me?"

Calling Crance feeble pissed him off even more than before, "Nygma, if you don't start showing me some respect, I will find someone else who wants this deal! I'm offering you a get out of jail free card as well as a favor from someone who's about to be a mayor. Are you telling me that you don't want that?"

That was at last able to get the Riddler to close his big fat mouth and listen, "A favor and ticket out of here? That would be nice, as I wouldn't have to use my latest escape plan just yet. I could save it for the next time. Please, do tell me what you require."

"You greatest goal in life is to prove yourself smarter than the Batman, is it not?" Crane asked, though he already what the Riddler was going to say.

The Riddler nearly jumped out of his seat, "Yes! I want to prove to that arrogant bastard that I have the superior mind! Why? Is that what you offering me?"

Crane had twisted what he'd meant just a bit to get the Riddler interested, "It's not what I'm offering, it's what I'm hoping you'll get. I want you to kidnap a detective and hold her hostage. Any way you'd like to do it is fine. Batman just needs to be kept busy tonight. Between you and what ever other villains attack tonight, he should be far too busy to give his full attention to the Scarecrow."

"Ah, so he does work for you," The Riddler comment, having heard about the new villain, "And he's set to make an appearance tonight. This is going to be fun."

Crane was having a lot of fun during his little escapades as the Scarecrow, and it was even more fun since no one knew who he was, "Yes, he'll be making an appearance just as the voters are off to the polls. Again this is none of your concern. You just be sure to kidnap Detective Ellen Yin. I'll provide you with anything that you need to accomplish this."

Once he heard that, the Riddler knew exactly what he was going to do, "Well in that case, it's not what I need, it's who I need…"


The second mayoral candidate, Oswald Cobblepot, was getting himself ready as well. He was dressed in his usual attire, sitting inside his living room, and sipping a glass of scotch. The mysterious Lady Shiva was supposed to have one last meeting with him today before the election in order to discuss a few things.

The Penguin was upset that he had to wait, as he was already in a foul mood, "Jackasses told me they'd be here right at ten o'clock this morning. What in the bloody hell is taken them so long?"

He was about to find out exactly what was taking them so long, and it wasn't going to pleasant, "My apologize Penguin, but there was someone who insisted on meeting you."

"Good lord," Penguin yelled, jumping out of his seat to discover Lady Shiva behind him, "Woman, if you don't stop sneaking up on me like that, I'm gonna have to kill ya!"

Lady Shiva did not fear the Penguin in the least, "Be silent little man. My master has given you the rare privilege of his company. You shall not disrespect him while he's here."

Her master? At last, Penguin could meet the man, "So he's finally decided to show me his face, eh? Well don't keep me in suspense now, bring him in here!"

"He already is," An elegant voice said, as a man entered the room. He had blackish gray hair, a goatee, and wore a jet black suit. Draped over his shoulders was a dark green cloak. It was no mystery who the man was, "Hello Cobblepot. It's been a very long time, hasn't it?"

As soon as he saw the man, the Penguin backed away, "You, you're supposed to be dead! Oh, what the hell am I saying, your fucking Ra's Al Ghul!"

Ra's Al Ghul was indeed the man's title, which translated to Head of the Demon in Arabic. He had been alive for hundreds of years because of ancient pool known as the Lazarus Pit, with could heal all wounds and give a man immortality. If someone was to die, a simple dip in the Lazarus pit was all it took to revive them. After living through several different civilizations and seeing many wars, he'd become an expert in both mental and physical warfare. On the other hand, living that long had made him bitter and hateful towards that world. Eventually, he decided that the world was too far gone and that it needed to be destroyed so that it could be rebuilt. In order to complete his goal, he'd created the League of Assassins, a group of the finest contract killers the world had ever seen. Gotham was high on Ra's list of places that needed to be destroyed, and he'd come close to doing it more than once. Batman always stopped him in the end, but much to the man's frustration. He'd stepped on a lot of toes during these attacks on Gotham, and some of them clearly belonged to the Penguin.

"It's clear that you have not forgotten me," Ra's said, walking closer to the short man, "I know that I've wronged you in the past, but I feel like everything that I've done for your campaign should make up for all of that."

That's when the Penguin started to connect the dots, "You're the leader of the group that's been funding me? I'll be damned, never would pegged you for this. Why in the hell are funding me of all people?"

Ra's saw it as a legitimate question, "I had a feeling that you could win, why else? Having Gotham's mayor as an ally is beyond useful for me. The league will have a constant foothold in this city that the Detective can take from us. You've done very well for yourself so far, and I'm hoping that you can finish this campaign just as strong as you started it."

"You do realize that I'm third in the polls right now, don't you?" Penguin asked, uncertain of whether or not he should have even said that.

It clearly wasn't bothering Ra's, "We know that your third, but it won't be an issue. You're opponent, Crane, is going to meet a very untimely fate. Once he's gone, I'm confident that a few a favors that I can call in will get you the remaining votes that you need to win. I hope that you're ready sir, because you're about to become the mayor of Gotham city."

The Penguin went from worried and pissed off to grinning ear to ear, "Ra's, my friend, all our past problems are just water under the bridge now! Whatever you need me to do, just ask!"

"We won't need anything from you for now. The important things that need to be done will be handle by my associates. Please, just stay here with Lady Shiva and do as she tells you. I've got to leave in order make sure that everything goes down smoothly, "Ra's said, before his tone turned to a more threatening one, "Be courteous to her now. I'd hate to have to kill you over something like rudeness."

Lady Shiva could see the color drain from the Penguins face as Ra's left to attend to his work, "Whatever you say sir. Lady Shiva, is there anything I can get you? A drink? Some food? Whatever the hell you want basically?"

Now this was a Penguin that Lady Shiva could get used to, "I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee...Mayor Cobblepot."

"One cup of coffee coming right up," The Penguin said, now a little more willing to get it for her, "You'll love that stuff I've got, because I only take the best."

Lady Shiva found that a little ironic. He gotten the best possible people backing him with League of Assassins. If anyone got in his way, they'd simply 'Remove' the problem. This man was going to be mayor if the league had anything to say about it, and Gotham was going to welcome him. The league would more than see to that.


After a long night in airplane, Naruto and the gang were practically kissing the ground when they landed. They got to the mansion half an hour after they landed and found Alfred waiting for them at the front door. He greeted them in Japanese, as Bruce had already warned him about Tsunade and the others coming, "Hello everyone, it's nice to have you all back in Gotham. I trust that you had a safe flight."

"Safe as it can be I guess," Bruce replied as he carried his luggage into the entryway, "Like I said before, we had more people than we originally planned on, but it worked out fine."

Alfred was about to say something else, but someone came up from behind and nearly tackled him in a hug first. It was of course the blonde missile known as Naruto, "Alfred, we totally missed in the Leaf! Did you still have fun without us?"

He chuckled and patted the boy on the head, "I just kept the house in order and caught up on some television master Naruto. That's more than pleasant enough for me."

"Same old Alfred, all work and no play," Dick joked, then said to visitors, "If you want I can lead you guys to some empty rooms we've got. Does that sound okay?"

Tsunade handed her bags over to Shizune, "You and Kakashi can go find your rooms if you want. Put my stuff near Shizune's room and I'll be fine. I've gotta have a word with Bruce."

Shizune and others just shrugged, ready to follow Dick to their destination. That was until someone stopped them, "What, you're not even gonna say hi to your girlfriend?"

"Barb," Dick said with a smiling, glancing over at his girlfriend, "I didn't even see you there. How are you doing?"

Barbara walked over and gave him a brief kiss, "A little better now that you're home. I wanna know everything that I missed with you guys in the Leaf. Come on, you can tell me while we we get everyone set up."

They continued on their way to there rooms, allowing Bruce to ask Tsunade, "So what did you want to talk about? The stuff with Naruto?"

"That's exactly what I wanna talk about," Tsunade said, wanting to know every last detail, "You said something about Naruto being in the field, but didn't give me an answer in the plane. I'll ask you again, what does that mean exactly?"

Bruce decided to take this conversation somewhere else, "Lets go into the kitchen and do this over some breakfast. I need to get some real food in me."

That didn't sound so bad, as Tsunade was hungry too, "Sure, let's see what you guys eat in the mornings over here. Will Naruto and the other guy be joining us?"

"My name is Alfred madam," The old butler said, surprised she hadn't picked up on it before, "And I think that I will join you. I'm quite certain that young master Naruto would like me to make him some waffles."

Naruto became filled with excitement, "How'd you know?"

It didn't take a genius to figure it out, "You haven't had my waffles in three days. With the way you eat them, I know that you must have missed them."

"Waffles?" Tsunade questioned, "What's a waffle?"

Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen before anyone could answer, "They're the best breakfast ever! Come on, I know you'll love them!"


While Alfred hastily whipped up some waffles, which Tsunade discovered were pastries that were like crunchy little cakes with indents in them for syrup, Bruce began to explain to her his actions as the Batman and Naruto's relation to it. The others had been short of shocked when he started to tell her, but he was quickly able to explain his reasoning for it. Needless to say, Tsunade had hard time buying all of this, "Are you actually trying to tell me that you dress up like a giant bat and run out fighting crime at night?"

Bruce took a bite of his waffle, not surprised by her confusion, "I don't dress up like a bat per say, more like the suit I wear is themed round bats. Strange as it may seem, it's worked very well here. People are starting to believe this city can be a good place again and the criminals are running scared. Most of them anyways."

"Whatever works for your city I guess," Tsunade said, trying the waffle for herself, "That's actually not bad. I'll have to eat these more often. Now, my next big question is, do you really think that Naruto is safe with you letting him do things like this?"

That was a question that Naruto was tired of people asking, so he decided to answer it, "If dad thought I was gonna get hurt, he wouldn't take me out there with him. He's been training me really hard, and I know that ninjas back home have gotten into wars when they were younger than me."

Tsunade could see the boy was passionate about this, "You really wanna be out there with your dad, don't you?"

"I don't just wanna be out there, I have to be out there," Naruto said, determination bright in his eyes, "Someday, I'm gonna be the most powerful ninja in the world! There won't be a villain in the universe that can stop me! I'll protect everyone that's important to me too!"

She couldn't decided if the boy was doing this out of stubbornness or out of bravery, but Tsunade didn't really care. Naruto seemed to be just like her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan. They cared about people just as much as this young one seemed to. There was only one way that she wanted Naruto to be different: she didn't want them to suffer the same fate they did, "I know that you mean every word of that, which is why I have to make sure you're safe."

Bruce was wondering how she planned to do that, "Of course I have to ask what you intend to do in regards to my son."

"It's simple really," Tsunade said, having a one step plan, "Me and Shizune move in here with you guys."

Bruce almost started choking on his waffles and Alfred nearly dropped his coffee cup, "You wanna move into my house? Just like that! Are you crazy woman?"

"Very much so," Tsunade responded, smirking a bit, "But this idea isn't why. In fact, it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Sooner or later, Naruto is bound to have chakra issues or have some kind illness from back home, and what are you gonna do then? Drag him all the way to the Leaf every time that happens?"

It wasn't something that Bruce had ever really thought about, "There's illness in the Leaf that they don't have here?"

Tsunade could tell he was starting to worry, "Plenty of them, and your docs here might not know how to treat it. Plus, I could help train the kid. I'm sure you're a good teacher, but I'm just better equipped to teach Naruto this stuff. Better yet, we could even have some of the younger ninjas visit here and spar with him so that he's better trained."

"Woah, slow the hell down," Bruce said, not sure where all of this had come from, "You sound like you wanna turn my house into a hotel or something."

That was a pretty accurate description of what Tsunade wanted to do, "Why not? You've got the room and Naruto needs to train with some actual ninjas, at least for his jutsus and things like that."

"Knowing more justus would be pretty cool," Naruto piped in with a mouth full of waffle, "But we don't have to do it if you don't want to do it dad."

Bruce really didn't like how close they were getting to this, "I don't know. Having that many people in my house could put my identity at risk. I trust Tsunade, but if some of these ninjas found out and word got back to Gotham about it…"

It was a fear that anyone in Bruce's situation would have, so Tsunade added in, "Don't worry, I'll keep that under wraps while anyone's here. Trust me Bruce, this will all work out fine."

"Wait a minute, I haven't said that we're doing this yet," Bruce said, getting a little upset, "We're still discussing whether or not it's a good idea. I'm going to need to consider the pros and cons of it."

Tsunade could understand that, "Take your time. I'm confident that you'll see it my way."

Bruce was about to make a comment on that when his communicator started going off like crazy. He yanked it out of his pocket and put it to his ear, beginning to listen. Everyone's eyes turned to him as the scowled became deeper and deeper on his face, "You have to gotta be kidding me…"

"What is it Master Bruce? Some nasty villain attacking the city again?" Alfred asked, feeling the tension in the air.

Bruce pushed his waffle aside, having lost his appetite, "It's election day for the mayor, so I should've figured things would be busy. The Riddler has kidnapped Ellen Yin and wants me to come find her, The Scarecrow has finally showed up again and appears to be trying to move a massive shipment of his Fear Toxin by the Gotham Docks, and last but not least, a strange group of criminals have managed to infiltrate Arkham Island. Based on what I heard, they were some sort of ninjas."

Naruto could see why his dad was so upset, "Three attacks at the same time, and one of them's got ninjas? I didn't even think that we had ninjas here."

"We don't," Bruce said, his gravely voice was deep with anger, "There's only one group of people who bring anything even resembling ninjas to Gotham, and that's the League of Assassins. They're easily one of the most dangerous groups that I have to face. They use specially trained martial artists and master infiltrators to obtain enough power to try and end the world. Between them, Scarecrow, who I know little about, and the Riddler, who I know will kill Yin without a second thought. How in the hell am I gonna manage this?"

Alfred had been thinking about that himself, "Well, perhaps if Tsunade and Kakashi were willing to help, you could simply divide and conquer."

Now that was idea that Bruce could consider, "Maybe, but we'd have to make sure Kakashi didn't find out my identity. Who would we send them after?"

"Send us after the freaking ninjas," Tsunade said, not sure why he even had to think about it, "I promise you there's no way they're better than me and Kakashi. We could also make sure to stay out of sight with them, since most ninja fighting is done on the shadows anyways. No one would question who we are or how we can fight like we do. As for how we explain it to Kakashi, just tell him the police couldn't handle it and you want him to help. He loves a good fight, so he won't question it."

That made more sense than Bruce thought it would, "Good point. Besides, you couldn't solve the Riddler's puzzles since you can't speak English, and I don't know how you'd do with the Scarecrow since I know so little about him."

Naruto was getting anxious, "Dad, stop thinking about it and let's go! We've got villains to beat."

"I know son," Bruce said, having made his decision, "Go get Dick and Barbara. We've got a long day ahead of us."


Arkham Island was home to the most notorious insane asylum in the entire world, which caused people to attempt to break out on a regular bases. It was something that the guards there had almost began to shrug off. People trying to break in on the other hand, was incredibly rare. This was why everyone had been so caught off guard when the, as the guards put it, 'Bizarre Ninja Bastards' showed up. For the first 45 minutes, no one even knew they were there. They were only noticed when one of the guards, Aaron Cash, walked in on one of them in the tearing through Crane's office looking for something.

Ten of the people who'd infiltrated the Asylum were now standing together in the building morgue, all of them in tight black clothing. They weren't particularly happy, "I don't understand, Crane was supposed to be here. We've searched this place top to bottom and have people watching all the exits. He hasn't left the building, so where is he?"

"It's not possible, he was here when we arrived," Another mentioned, having the same frustrations, "Based on the map the master gave us, he should've been in one of the rooms we've already searched. Has anyone at all left the building at all since we've been here?"

One of them shook their head, "There was a prisoner transport, but that's it. It was a scheduled transport, so I thought nothing of it. Ah, I'm such a fool! He must have used that to sneak out!"

The others soon comforted him, "Do not worry my brother. We simply have to kill him before the night is over. He will not be a hard man to track down."

As the sentence ended, two people descended from the morgue ceiling, landing on and knocking out two of the members of the League of Assassins. The remaining members jumped back in shock, trying to observe their new opponents. One was a woman based on her bust, and the other was a shorter thin man, both dressed in a sleek layer of grayish armor. They began to speak to each other in japanese, letting the assassins know that have a conversation with them wouldn't work.

It wasn't like they were really much for talking anyways, "Kill them! We have to get to Crane as quickly, so we don't have time to meddle with these fools!"

Tsunade, of course the woman, looked at Kakashi, the man, and both were clearly amused. They were going to have fun kicking the crap out of these punks. These poor ninjas had no idea what was coming for them.


Ellen Yin awoke inside of a dark sewer, the stench of the place assaulting her nostrils the moment she regained consciousness. She didn't wake up for her own free will, rather she woke up to someone shaking her and repeating, "Detective Yin...Detective Yin, wake up."

The young asian woman opened her eyes to find Robin and Batgirl standing in front of her, just waiting for her, "Ugh, I feel like I got hit in the head with a shovel. What are you two doing here? Scratch that, what are doing in a sewer?"

"You were kidnapped by the Riddler and thrown down here," Robin explained, helping the woman her up to her feet, "We came down here to get you, but the Riddler blew up the tunnel we came through."

Batgirl looked around, seeing the about 7 tunnels that lead out of here, "This place is like a giant maze too. I don't know how in the hell we're going to get out of here."

"Well you'd better figure it out quickly my little proteges of the Dark Knight," A said over Robin's communicator, "Because if you wait much longer, our friend Killer Croc will be having you for a midnight snack."

Robin knew it was Riddler, based on the way the man talked. He pressed on his communicator, "So, you hacked my com, huh? Real nice Nygma. Forcing us down here with Croc too, even better."

Batgirl heard about Croc and nearly lost it, "Wait, we're down here with that psycho reptile cannibal? I swear, when I get my hands on the Riddler!"

Robin was thinking the exact same thing "So Nygma, what incredibly complicated thing do we have to do to get out of here? Oh, and how long do we have before Killer Croc gets to our location?"

The Riddler was happy to elaborate, "Oh, it's easy. I'll give you a riddle to begin with, one which will lead to the tunnel you need to go down. From there, you will find a series of logical puzzles which will lead out of this sewer. Take too long, and Croc will hunt you down and likely feast on your bones. I don't know how long he'll be, but it usually doesn't take him long to find his prey. I'm going to enjoy watching your tiny brains fail to complete my challenge. Batman's about to see that there's nothing he could teach you that prepare you for me! So, are you ready for my first riddle?"

Robin looked at Batgirl and Yin, who were looking back at him desperately. A growl was heard in the distance, making them all flinch. They had no time to waste, "Considering none of us wanna be Croc food, we're ready. Time to see if you're anywhere near as smart as you think Nygma."


While the first two groups had already began their battles, Batman and Red Fox were still lying in wait for the Scarecrow to make his move. They stood atop a large shipping crate at the docks, watching as villain ordered around his men, telling them to move various boxes of chemicals. Just by watching them you could see how much the men feared the Scarecrow.

"How much that Fear Toxin is he moving?" The Red Fox asked, looking at the dozens of boxes.

Batman found it unnerving as well, "It looks like enough to use on half of Gotham. We have to keep those crates from falling into the wrong hands. Speaking of..."

A car slowly pulled up to to the Scarecrow and his men. The door opened and a large man walked out, a man that Batman knew to be Rupert Thorne. He seemed happy to see the Scarecrow, "Ah, there's my favorite costumed nut. You've got my Fear Toxin all ready to go too. How very thoughtful of you."

"Yes, well as long you see to it that all of the crime bosses and their men vote my way, you'll get even more soon enough," Scarecrow said, in the same terrifying rasping whisper he'd used back in the alley.

Thorne was ready to tell Scarecrow that it was already taken care of, when he heard a voice call, "Not if we have anything to say about it!"

The Red Fox and Batman jumped from their crate and over to where the men were discussing Gotham future. Scarecrow was not pleased to see them, "All of the crime in this city tonight, and I'm the one who ends up with the Batman. It really is a challenge to make this city understand fear when you're always poking your nosy little head around here."

"Well then maybe you should just give up Scarecrow," Batman said, ready to end this villain once and for all.

The Scarecrow wasn't about to come this far only to give up. He raised his hand into the air, showing a glove with four syringes on his fingers, each containing a yellow liquid. There were tubes on it which seemed to be connected to small tank on his arm, "No, that's alright. It gives me a chance to try out my new toy. Now Batman, we decide who the true master of fear is."

Batman cracked his knuckles, "I've was the master of fear long before you got here, and I'll be the master long after you're gone. You just don't know it...yet."