Chapter 1: A New Dark Knight Begins (Start)
Gotham City
In the City of Sin, which was having crime rising up and not going down ever since the disappearance of the Dark Knight himself, Batman. Nobody knows why, being a great mystery leads to many dead ends. Some think someone killed the Bats or he retired but those two are unlikely in some people's opinion. Others think he was chased out of the city, gave up, transformed into a living bat, and among other wild rumors. A lot of rumors and not much spot-on information on what happened to the Dark Knight.
To make more fearful and surprised, the Clown Prince of Gotham - The Joker disappeared as well and crime took a different route from other criminals. Crime lords are taking action, much more and other rogues doing their own thing but some don't feel much of a challenge without a Batman appearing.
Robin was gone, many are saying he quit and left Batman after some disagreement or something. Some were saying that the Boy Wonder became Nightwing and has been operating Bludhaven, forever escaping the Dark Knight's shadow.
This leads Batgirl to become Gotham's sole defender and has done a great amount of work in defending the city, and cleaning up the crime and corruption but she's can't do it alone and that would soon change as our story takes place in a diner.
In one of the small diners, we see a few people coming and going but one person was alone to himself, having a tried look in his eyes and small hits of madness leaving him but still there and kind of sad of late. Like he just lost a friend or someone killed his puppy. He wore a brown overcoat, brown hat, black gloves, yellow-tan collar shirt with a black tie and blue vest over it, blue jeans, and rain boots of sorts.
Then the man heard the bell ring and become surprised to see a newcomer, coming into the diner and could tell he wasn't around here in Gotham, the pure soul look in his eyes. The said stranger was a young man in his late teens with sun-kissed blonde hair, ocean-color blue eyes, and three birthmarks on each side of his cheeks. He wore a grey-blue shirt, blue workout pants, and white running shoes.
This was Naruto Uzumaki, a new person and not from around here. World in general and had been on the road since he was thirteen for about five years now. He moved into Gotham City and had been told by a number of people to avoid this cursed city for some odd reason.
Naruto was a bit nervous and didn't know where to sit as some people were looking at them. He felt a bit at ease when the said people went back to their business but not one.
"Hey kid, over here," The man with a hat said, offering the blonde a seat.
"Oh, thank you!" Naruto thanked him as he took a seat, sitting across from this journalist from the looks of it.
"Not from around here huh?" The stranger asked, having his hat covering his face a bit.
"Oh no. From Japan but mostly travel around the states and came here after hearing how the city was coming around. Definitely past term," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head and seeing how much Gotham wasn't like the rumors he was told about changing around, going back to its sinful ways.
"Ah, indeed you are right. Back then, things were changing around and this city would be way better to live in. Now...hehehe, now Bats is gone," The stranger said, sounding suddenly sad after laughing a bit, and started to drink some of his coffee.
Naruto frowned at that and was later given some coffee, drinking it and trying to enjoy the company of a stranger. Won't be the first time.
"You know Batman?" Naruto asked, a whisper to make sure no one hears him and know from traveling that not many respected those fighting crime by wearing costumes.
"Hehe, know him? I kind of do but now he's gone and is not the same anymore. Not the same jokes, no fun, and this city doesn't have a defender anymore. Sure Miss Red is filling in for Bats but it's not the same," The stranger replied.
"Hmm, I see. Miss Red?" Naruto questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Batgirl, I meant. Soon enough, she would fail in defending Gotham or die trying. This city is filled with crazy and those that have a really rotten day," The stranger commented like he know what that meant.
"Sounds like you understand that," Naruto said, sensing some feeling that this strange knows that first hand.
"Yeah...but I am a new man now. I had one bad day, a really rotten one that changed my life, and I kind of saw Bats as someone to chase after. Maybe someone that understands that bad day or maybe not. I can't tell now and have been writing, it helps," The stranger informed.
"That does help or maybe talking with someone?" Naruto suggested.
"I use to have someone I could talk with, my therapist but I kind of blow it with her. Shame, she's was something," The stranger commented with a shrug of his shoulders.
"...Huh, okay...," Was all that Naruto could say and won't questuion it, best not for a good number of unknown reasons.
Things were quite a bit for a good number of seconds and the blonde wondered who this stranger is.
"Well, I better get going. I have some adventure time doing," The stranger smirked and pay for his coffee, leaving a few ones behind on the table.
"I'm not a magic dog nor a goofy boy," Naruto thought, having a feeling what the stranger was mentioning about.
"Oh, how rude of me...I never once ask you your name, did I?" The stranger asked.
"Oh, my bad. Name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto greeted.
"Jack Napier, adventure boy," Jack greeted back with a tip of his hat and showed his features. A pair of brown eyes that have a hint of green in them and brown hair that had some green dye color on the back faded out for some reason.
"By the way, Jack. Do you have an idea what happened to Batman?" Naruto asked, at least going to ask this man's theory of the Dark Knight's disappearing before they part ways.
"Hmm not much adventure boy, but search for one of the places in Gotham. Try outside the city, you may be lucky," Jack commented with a smirk and left, leaving some interesting hits for the blonde to discover for himself.
Naruto hummed in thought and kind of saw that Jack may be onto something but wondered what was behind their mask of Jack. He frowned and wonder about that mask since he once had one as well. Somewhat, not fully, and has become a better more mature since the past five years of being in this new world. He still wonders if he would return to his home world and village, but some part of him tells him it won't matter much. Not many would won't back as just himself but just the heir and a possible weapon, nothing more, nothing less. He was free now and would keep walking on this path he found himself in Gotham.
Is our blonde-haired hero willing to go down the rabbit hole? We shall see where this would go.
Time Skip
Wayne Manor
It seems that the journalist may or may not be onto something, Naruto wasn't sure at this moment. He had used a library and the computer to dig information on any old places in Gotham, outside the city which there are only a few of them. An old orphanage that was in ruins during a massive earthquake that happened years ago and the place was still there, like a scare onto the city. A few other places inside the city and the last location came up, Wayne Manor. The manor was built many years ago when Gotham was made and the whole manor was actually, personal build by the Arkham family. The big two families that are well known in Gotham's old and respectful history that Arkham build the city while Wayne helped found it and got people to come in.
And there's more than Naruto discovered.
It seems that the last remaining Wayne and CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne had disappeared shortly after Batman and the coverup was on about a business meetings trip. But hasn't returned.
Naruto wonders about that and due to his Shinobi training, along with others he learned from during the five years here on this world, there's always more than it seems in people. Some can wear a mask easily but to have one on yourself, is sometimes easy to catch up on patterns or habits they do. He saw the billionaire playboy and cocky personality to be a mask that Bruce wears, hiding his actual self and his views on crime & corruption are more than they seemed.
The blonde would have to find out himself and stand at the open gate to the manor, which is very old and almost gives that haunted vibe. The mansion was dark on the outside, some vines growing upwards for a bit, and not a single source of light inside. Not much the welcome and wealthy feeling but rather a wound was left behind here. This caused the Shinobi to frown and should discover the mystery, and solve it.
Naruto walk past the open gates and looked around if someone was still there, like on the grounds and keeping the place from falling apart. He saw no one and kept going, moving forward towards the mansion's front door. He first pushes the main doors slowly, finding them to be unlocked and the doors slowly open with a creepy old sound. He took a deep breath and walked in, calming himself down, and saw the inside of the mansion didn't match the outside.
The main area, the opening lobby was very nice and kept cleaning, still dark. Not total pitch blackness but rather this dark hum feeling and lack of color around. Not much dust on the tables and stuff, so someone might be here.
Naruto saw a few cleaning drones that were vacuuming rugs and cleaning the floors, so that answered that question. Someone was here but not anymore and couldn't hurt to look around more.
Unknown to the blonde Shinobi, at the front doors, above show some kind of camera and were activated the moment the door was closed. Blue light comes up and started to scan the unknowing blonde that walked in, finding his phone and started to send a message to him. Once the power was down, vibration came and the phone was going crazy.
Naruto was confused as this area had some bad signals and shouldn't be getting not many messages. He grabbed his phone and soon saw it didn't show its screen saver or time but something different. The whole screen was black with white lines around and then words appearing that says, "Code Black."
Naruto hesitated to answer this due to some rumors about spam codes or hacking but this seems different and strange to him. That hesitation would go away when seeing the said white lines forming into a certain and familiar bat symbol on the screen, outlining the words. The blonde now had a strong idea of what was happening and had his thumb press lightly on the screen, unlocking the code and a hidden message was appearing. The screen showed someone coming and taking a seat in a chair, wearing some kind of body armor, and had a worn-out bat symbol on the chest as it went through a number of battles during the night. The person was Bruce Wayne, looking very worn out and had a tired look in his eyes for some reason.
"If any of you or someone that came here is getting this message...it means that I am most likely dead. Gotham is going to need a protector and that symbol to keep going. We can't trust GCPD, they don't trust us either, not since Gordon had died. It won't take long for a number of criminals to know that Batman is no longer around and Gotham is going to need its defenders now more than ever," The message kept saying and surprised the blonde greatly.
Naruto had this hope that Bruce, the Batman was alive and needed help but no, he was truly dead. And the blonde knows the Bat was right. Gotham was going to need its protectors now more than ever and the Shinobi always had this strong desire to fight for the right thing, always against corruption no manner where go.
"You are going to need a good amount of resources. The location of the cave would come after this message. There are a number of other hideouts, and some of the equipment may be outdated but they will get the job done. I know you all would keep this city safe," The message ends, showing the location of the cave he was talking about and just so happens to be here in Wayne Manor.
Knowing what he was going to do next, Naruto followed the direction on his phone showed and head toward the study. Right behind the old grandfather cloak is where the cave is located. He turn the pointing hand of the cloak to the time his phone showed him, then a click sound escaped and open the secret door for the blonde to enter.
Naruto took a deep breath and had this strong resolve to keep going down this path. Like it was his calling to do something in this world, this world that has become his home much more than his old one, and protect this city in a far much better state than he ever could in his former village.