Naruto: Son of the Demon
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Batman or Teen Titans
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This chapter has a short mystery and a bit more on the Assassin's War. Here is Chapter 7. Enjoy!
[ ] designates hand signs.
{ } designates a foreign language.
Last Time….
…The Private Investigator was soon in the Mission library studying photographs, drawings and the history of the Sword of Santa Coleta. 'Forged in 1448 C.E. just after Saint Colette's death. Two-edged sword that has a blade that is 24 inches in length. Its most notable feature is a blood red, marquise cut ruby in the center of the blade near the hilt. The ruby is called Colette's eye…'
'So it was it was actually used as a weapon to defend various nunneries through the centuries…' he mused. 'Only chosen nuns could wield it as it chose them with its holy power…' "This sounds an awful lot like the Demon's Eye blade that was lost by the League of Assassins back in the 15th century…"
That's when Naruto felt a spark of killing intent and drew his katana over his head in the nick of time to block the Sword of Santa Coleta from slicing into his skull. The blonde body flickered across the room and saw his opponent was none other than Sister Rosetta. She was smiling wickedly and her eyes were ruby colored.
Rosetta said in Arabic, {"You are right. It is the Demon's Eye Blade. Only a direct descendant of Ra's al Ghul himself who has psychometry can wild this blade. When you rescued me two years ago, I learned what this blade was and who you are. I've been waiting all this time for an excuse to draw you back here."}
"You are possessed by the spirit of that blade Rosetta!" said Naruto. "Drop it before it's too late!"
{"You have the purest blood Naruto."} she said with a smile. {"If we mate our child will be the next Ra's al Ghul!"} She attacked like a berserker and said, {"Show me your power!"}
The battle raged across the library and nuns were running and screaming as Rosetta destroyed everything in her path. Finally, the blonde charged his katana with wind chakra and cut the Demon's Eye blade, shattering the ruby in the process. Rosetta froze up and said, {"NO! All that power was mine! MINE!"}
Then Naruto knocked her unconscious with a chop to the neck…
"Good Lord! Sister Rosetta is possessed!" said one of the nuns. "Call Mother Canon. Rosetta was speaking in tongues!"
…
The next morning, a sobbing Rosetta was taken to a mental hospital for treatment. Naruto felt heartbroken that the sweet and kind sister Rosetta had been twisted by Ra's al Ghul's sword. The blonde partially blamed himself but mostly he blamed his Grandfather. Naruto had always been rather indifferent about Ra's al Ghul but now he was angry.'
Batman's son hissed, "There will be a reckoning…'
…
Chapter 7
East End, Gotham City, United States
Naruto had solved the case at the nunnery but felt rather sick inside about it. He wondered how many other artifacts that Ra's al Ghul had carelessly left lying around throughout the centuries that could ruin the lives of others. That had been two nights ago and he'd taken a couple of days off. The following day the detective was in his office pondering the Immaculate Virgin Mission case when he turned on his news feed…
CURSED SWORD STOPPED BY DETECTIVE NARUTO UZUMAKI
"Tonight in the Gotham City News the Immaculate Virgin Mission nunnery proclaimed the bravery and skill of Detective Naruto Uzumaki in stopping a disaster caused by a cursed blade thought to have been in the keeping of the nun's order since the 15th century. The Sword of Santa Coleta possessed one of the nuns who went insane and was stopped only through Uzumaki's cunning and heroism. He was able to destroy the cursed sword without any loss of life."
"This hero has been quietly building a solid reputation as a private investigator for the past two years after immigrating from Japan. The Gotham City Police Department has revealed that they have been working with him for some time. Sources within the Police Department say he almost singlehandedly solved the human trafficking ring that has eluded justice for over a decade."
"Our investigative reporters…"
Naruto quickly turned the news off having seen enough. It was the same on every channel. He was being lionized by the public and that was the last thing he wanted. The blonde sighed and noticed his answering machine was overloaded with spam calls and didn't know what to do. For a brief moment he was considering going underground when his personal cell phone rang. It was his girlfriend, Barbara. Naruto answered and said tiredly, "Good morning beautiful, how are you?"
The redhead answered, "I'm fine Naruto. The question is are you okay? Have you seen the news? You are all over the place as some sort of super detective!"
Sighing again; the blonde investigator said, "This is bad Barbara. "I just checked my newsfeed and now my public phone is full of junk mail. I don't know what to do. I just caught up on the backlog of cases I had!"
"Well, don't lose your cool." answered Barbara. "Has anyone come there personally? Your new address hasn't gone public yet."
"I intend to keep it that way." replied Naruto. "I can't believe how this has spiraled out of control so quickly…"
The two lovers talked for about an hour before Naruto heard his office door buzz and went to answer it thinking it was James Gordon or Bruce Wayne. It wasn't. Naruto saw a beautiful platinum blonde on his door camera that he recognized from the news. She was a wealthy Gotham City socialite named Jaqueline Cortez. All Naruto really knew about her was she was a wealthy heiress in the diamond business and that she was famous for being famous.
The blonde detective noted she had two escorts and that they were armed. He took a deep breath and reluctantly opened the door. Naruto asked, "May I help you Miss…?"
She smiled beautifully and said, "Jaqueline Cortez, though I'm sure you already know that." She handed him her business card. "That's my private number handsome. I'm in need of your services. They say you are the best."
Naruto cringed internally at her strongly scented perfume and replied, "I'm really not the best at anything. I'm just your average private investigator. If you have a case for me, I will listen to the details though."
"I have money." she said haughtily. "Commissioner Gordon said you were brilliant on the news."
'Note to self: Kill my good friend James Gordon for pimping me out.' thought Naruto.
Not knowing what Naruto was thinking, Jaqueline added, "It could be quite lucrative for you to take on my case."
Frowning ever so slightly, the detective said, "Come inside and let me hear the details of your case Miss Cortez."
The socialite said excitedly, "Of course! …And please call me Jackie."
'She seems way too excited and happy for this to be anything serious.' thought Naruto.
After they sat down, the socialite started, "As you know, the Cortez family is incredibly wealthy and has a fortune in diamonds."
"So I've heard." said Naruto.
Smiling, she continued. "Let me explain the current circumstances of that fortune. My younger brother and I are the sole living heirs to the fortune that my Grandfather has willed us for when he passes away. We had two older brothers as well. One died in a car crash years ago and the other died of a rare heart virus last year. I believe my younger brother Davis hired someone to kill them and is now after me."
Naruto asked, "Were there any signs of foul play in the deaths of either of your older brothers?"
She shook her head. "No, call it a woman's intuition."
The detective had a headache. He wasn't sure if it was from her perfume or her pretzel logic. "Miss Cortez-"
"Jackie." she corrected.
"Miss Jackie," said Naruto, "Unless there is some substantial evidence against your brother, I can't take your case. If I were you, I'd hire an appropriate bodyguard if you feel your current ones are inadequate. Let me escort you out."
She looked shocked. "But I have money!" she said indignantly.
"Your wealth is of no consequence if you have no sufficient proof." said the blonde detective as he led her outside into the afternoon sun.
She was ranting and raving in protest when Naruto suddenly heard something. Drawing his sword from inside his long coat, he cut a bullet out of the air a fraction of a second before it hit her center of mass. The blonde detective traced the trajectory of the bullet to a nearby building. Naruto gave a fanged smile and said, "It seems that someone is trying to kill you, Miss Cortez. I'll take the case."
Shoving her into her bulletproof limo, Naruto said to the two bodyguards, "Get her out of here. I'll call you later."
"What about you sir?" asked one of the guards.
The blonde detective said, "I'm going after that sniper of course." Another bullet came streaking in and Naruto cut it down as well. The limousine took off in one direction and Naruto in the other.
The blonde was a blur in motion as he sped across the street to the high rise building where the sniper was and zipped inside. Once Naruto was out of the public eye, he shot up the shadowed side of the building using chakra.
When Naruto reached the top, he saw a man calmly walking down the stairs of the fire escape carrying a guitar case. 'Bingo!' thought the detective as he zoomed in after his target.
The guitar case carrying man was ex-military and had excellent instincts named Paul Edgerton. He knew he was being followed and quickened his pace down towards the street on the darkened side of the building. The last thing he expected was a flying kick to hit him square in the spine with an awful crunching sound.
Paul was face down looking over the edge of the fire escape in fear and felt himself being frisked. "It's a long way down Edgerton." said Naruto as he read the man's identification in a bone chilling tone. "It would be a real shame if you fell."
Edgerton was sweating a river and asked "W-what do you want?"
"I want to know who hired you to take out Jaqueline Cortez." growled the ninja.
"Everett Rogers." said the sniper. "I don't know why. It was just a job to do."
"Where can I find Everett Rogers?" asked the blonde.
The shivering Edgerton said, "The Depot. He works at the bar called The Depot behind the Army Surplus building in the East End. That's all I know. Who are you?!"
Naruto said, "I am the judge, jury and executioner…and you have outlived your usefulness."
The sniper screamed all the way down until he hit the pavement…and Naruto conveniently found the dead man's computer tablet up on the fire escape that Paul accidentally fell nineteen stories from.
Calling the Gotham City Police Department in about the unfortunate man's fall to his death, Naruto gave his statements about the splatter that was once Paul and took the computer tablet with him.
…
The Cortez Estate
Naruto showed up (after calling ahead) to see Jaqueline Cortez. The platinum blonde woman was obviously very frightened. "You CUT those bullets out of the air! How?!"
The detective put his index finger to his lips and said, "Ancient ninja magic."
Jaqueline nearly face faulted. "My life is in danger here! How can you take this so lightly?"
Naruto replied, "I have a lead, but we need to get you safely in Police custody first. I'm calling Commissioner James Gordon. He owes me a favor."
By that afternoon, an unmarked catch wagon took Miss Cortez to a safehouse so Naruto could get to work knowing his client was safe…
…
Barbara Gordon and Dinah Drake's Apartment
While Naruto was an excellent hacker, his girlfriend Barbara was even better. By that evening she found something interesting in the sniper's tablet. She said, "Everett Rogers… he put twenty-five grand in Paul Edgerton's account to eliminate Jaqueline Cortez. Rodgers is a known drug dealer, but this is the first time there has been any evidence linking him to violent crimes."
Naruto gave a smile showing his elongated canines. "Looks like I'll have to pay Everett a visit tonight."
Barbara sighed, "Try not to kill anyone for my sake…Please?"
Naruto kissed her nose. "I'll do my best."
…
The Depot
Late that night, the blonde Private Investigator waited until just after The Depot closed for the night. Everett Rodgers was cleaning drinking glasses at the bar and was totally unaware that Naruto was inside The Depot standing in the shadows. The blonde flipped the circuit breaker so all the power went out in the bar and killed the lights.
Rodgers jumped in fright and after he dropped and broke a glass, Everett let out a string of curses and said, "Must have blown a fucking fuse. Where did I put that god damned flashlight?"
Naruto gripped the man in a brutal chokehold and said "Welcome to hell. I'm going to ask you some questions and if you answer then you won't pray for death…"
"F-fuck you!" wheezed out Rodgers.
"I was hoping you'd say something stupid like that." said the detective darkly. He held up a pair of pliers so the gleamed in the moonlight of a cracked window. "There was a man I knew called the dentist where I come from. He worked in a containment camp breaking political prisoners. I'll show you how it works murderer."
By the time it was over, Everett Rodgers was a broken mess missing most of his teeth and Naruto had his answers…
Davis Cortez had indeed hired Everett Rodgers to arrange his siblings' deaths through sabotage and poisoning. Now Naruto had the names, numbers and everything else he needed to prove that Jaqueline Cortez's woman's intuition was right…
…
East End, Crime Alley
After finishing his business at The Depot, Naruto was walking back to his office for the night when he was confronted by a group of thugs and none other than Fabian Falcone.
Falcone said, "So you are the P.I. that is responsible for trying to ruin my cousin Mario's reputation… You've become pretty famous lately. Uzumaki, wasn't it?"
The blonde said, "I think you are mistaken sir."
Fabian chuckled darkly, "Oh, I'm not mistaken. You are Naruto Uzumaki and my boys are going to make an example of you for messing with the Falcone's."
"No, you really are mistaken Fabian Falcone." replied the detective. "You made a horrible mistake coming down to Crime Alley in the middle of the night with only twelve goons to protect you. You had better run back home before you get hurt."
Fabian was incensed. 'This guy isn't even scared!' thought the mobster. Turning to his men; he said, "What the hell are all of you standing there for? Get him!"
The men rushed Naruto only to have him disappear in a body flicker. They quickly started looking around and combing the area but didn't see Naruto perched atop a low roof above them. Naruto was considering whether he should eliminate them all when he sensed another presence. Looking up he saw a silhouette of the Batman perched on a gargoyle above him. Naruto saw another Bat motif wearing person beside his Father. She was outfitted similar to Batgirl but had mid-length jet black hair.
Batman motioned to the young woman and she attacked Fabian and his men with incredible skill. They were soon lying there bleeding, broken and unconscious except Falcone who (unfortunately for him) was still awake. He didn't know exactly what had happened but was in a great deal of pain and about to wet himself in fear of the Batman who had him by the collar and was towering over Fabian like an angry demon of the underworld.
Batman said, "So now you are trying to prevent Mario from doing time Fabian Falcone."
Fabian was terrified. "I-I-I-"
"Shut up." snapped the caped crusader. "You need to understand where you stand in the food chain. I'm watching you Falcone so sleep with one eye open." He dropped Fabian to the ground and added, "This is your only warning boy." Then Batman vanished into the night.
Naruto saw the young woman motion to him to follow her and the blonde did so wondering exactly what was going on. She led him to a meeting point where Batman was waiting for them. "Killing isn't the only way." said Batman. He motioned to the young woman dressed similar to Batgirl. "This is Black Bat*①. She's going to escort you back to your apartment and keep you out of trouble tonight."
The blonde said, "I don't need an escort and I certainly don't need a lecture."
Batman frowned behind his mask and replied, "I say otherwise. You have enough trouble going on without getting into it with the Falcone family. Just go home."
Naruto scowled and said, "I was going to do that anyway. I'm tired and frustrated enough as it is."
The Caped Crusader nodded to Black Bat and said, "I'll leave him in your capable hands."
…
Rooftop, near Naruto's Apartment
The silent duo of Naruto and Black Bat landed close to Naruto's place only to find a virtual army of low-level assassins waiting for them. They were surrounded. Naruto's eyes crackled with chakra and he drew his katana. He said to Black Bat with a fanged smile, "Let's see what you can really do…"
She smirked and nodded before each of them disappeared in a blur to their many opponents…
The blonde was thoroughly impressed with Black Bat. The pair moved together like poetry in motion as they utterly demolished their opponents from the League of Assassins. 'She's a better hand to hand combatant than I am.' marveled Naruto. 'She fights on Lady Shiva's level.'
Batman caught up with the wayward pair just as the pandemonium reached a crescendo. The Caped Crusader wanted to face palm as he saw the pair fighting in perfect synchronicity that would have been a marvel to watch under other circumstances. 'The goal was to stay out of trouble, not dive headlong into it…' Batman thought morosely. There was blood and broken bodies everywhere, but they were alive. That at least was a good thing.
Naruto was soon standing over the apparent leader of the group who was broken in more places than he could count. The blonde growled, "Which faction sent you? Tell me before I put you in REAL pain."
The man stammered out, "We s-serve Mara al Ghul. She said w-w could overwhelm you with sheer n-numbers."
"Too bad." hissed Naruto. "She was wrong. Dead wrong… and now you've paid the price."
"L-let us join your faction Lord Naruto! We will serve you loyally." said the man in desperation.
The blonde punched him unconscious in one hit. "I have no use for weaklings." spat out Bruce Wayne's son.
…
The Batcave
An hour later, Naruto was sequestered away in the Batcave and was formally introduced to Black Bat by her real name, Cassandra Cain-Wayne. She confided in her adoptive Father, "He is a lot like you as Batman. Naruto is powerful and just in battle. I like him."
As for the blonde, he noticed the beautiful Asian girl's resemblance to Lady Shiva in looks as well as in fighting abilities and style. He turned the Batman and said, "So what are your intentions? Are you going to keep me locked up in this subterranean pit?"
He heard a chuckle from none other than Alfred Pennyworth. "You are so amusingly flippant young Master Naruto. This is where Master Bruce trains. It is not a prison but a safe haven."
Naruto frowned, "I see. So, this is the base of operations you use as Batman."
"The entire Bat Family trains here." replied Bruce. "You should train here too."
The Private Investigator shook his head, "Maybe later. I'm working on the Jaqueline Cortez case right now."
"Then be careful my son." said Bruce seriously.
…
East End
Having thoroughly interrogated Everett Rodgers, Naruto meditated in the Batcave until morning when he returned to his office. As he expected, all evidence of the mass battle between the League of Assassins and Cassandra and him was gone. With few exceptions, they never left traces behind. 'At least they are neat and tidy.' mused the blonde.
Heading out in the morning Naruto found The Depot and its mentally shattered owner lying in the floor of his bar babbling about the things he'd done. The blonde promptly called the Gotham City Police Department to arrest the man who organized the older Cortez sibling's deaths.
The doctor and the saboteur who had done the actual murders were to be arrested shortly thereafter and a manhunt went out. The saboteur went to jail, but the doctor blew his own brains out with a .45 pistol like a coward rather than facing justice...
As it turned out, Everett Rodgers admitted to many other unconnected crimes that led to multiple arrests by the Gotham City Police…
…
Infinity Island, Indian Ocean
Mara al Ghul had been utterly disgusted with her forces failing utterly to kill her cousin Naruto. She had attempted to recruit Lady Shiva as well as Slade Wilson already to eliminate Naruto but neither seemed interested in getting involved in the Assassin's War. Actually, Lady Shiva seemed to favor Naruto for some reason. That had ara in a state of disbelief.
Naruto's cousin had found a powerful new ally willing to help her though, the master assassin David Cain*② who had been rumored to be dead by other members of the League of Assassins. With him was his adoptive son, Mad Dog*③ who David had some modicum of control over. Cain explained, "Cassandra was supposed to be the ultimate weapon for the League of Assassins, but unfortunately she was a failure. I'd be willing to carry out a mandate on her and Naruto Uzumaki."
Mara was suspicious of her new allies, however. Cain explained that his goal was to destroy Cassandra Cain who was (apparently) cooperating with Naruto.
As for Mad Dog, his motivations were unknown to Mara, but he seemed to be following his adoptive Father's wishes. She planned to kill the psychotic younger assassin as soon as Naruto was eliminated. Cassandra Cain was irrelevant as far as Mara was concerned.
…
Naruto's Office, Gotham City, United States
It had been two weeks and the blonde private investigator was reading his news feed about Davis Cortez having confessed to paying for his two older brother's murders and the attempted murder on his older sister Jaqueline. Naruto thought to himself, 'Davis Cortez would have been filthy rich regardless of whether his siblings were alive or not since their Grandfather was going to split the family fortune evenly between them. Now it's all going to Jaquelin and he's in jail and penniless. What a greedy little fool. I just don't understand people sometimes.' Deciding it wasn't worth dwelling on, the blonde got back to work…
…
The Cortez Estate
Jaqueline Cortez invited Naruto to a Gala Ball celebrating the safety of the extended Cortez family from the black sheep Davis Cortez who they (rightly) considered a threat to the entire Cortez line. Naruto really didn't want to go but was urged to for the sake of public relations.
Many famous people were there including Bruce Wayne and Police Commissioner James Gordon. Also there was Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone who spoke briefly with Naruto and told him his cousin Fabian Falcone wouldn't be bothering him anymore. The blonde thanked Carmine profusely but wondered what the older man's motives were…
Now the full heiress to the Cortez fortune, Jaquelin hinted around that she had more than a passing interest in getting to know Naruto better, but he acted oblivious to her obvious efforts to make a pass at him. (She was anything but his type anyway). He did dance with her once regardless.
Naruto spent most of the evening with his girlfriend Barbara who considered Jacqueline to be a spoiled, narcissistic floozy at best. Knowing how sensitive Naruto's nose was, the redhead thought it was hilarious seeing Naruto cringe slightly every time the heavily perfumed heiress got near him…
…
Gotham City Central Airport
David Cain and Mad Dog arrived in Gotham City that very night. Their targets: Naruto Uzumaki and Cassandra Cain-Wayne. David set his feral, insane son loose to wreak havoc on Gotham to draw Cassandra Cain out. He figured that as a crimefighter the young woman would feel obligated to stop Mad Dog once again.
…It didn't take long for the insane Mad Dog to go wild in his new playground of Gotham City where he was assumed to be a random serial killer by the public. It also didn't take long for Batman, the Birds of Prey and their allies to start hunting for him…
…
As for David Cain, he was carefully observing the situation. He was exceptionally precise and was in no hurry to achieve his goals. Cain was studying Naruto and his rather mysterious background. Mara al Ghul had supplied David with all the information she had on her cousin, but the blonde private investigator was still an enigma to the master assassin.
Cain didn't like enigmas. They were unpredictable wildcards that didn't fit into his meticulous plans at all. "The last time I had a situation like this I was training Bruce Wayne and look how he turned out." mused David aloud. "I won't make a mistake like that again…"
…
POSTSCRIPT:
*①: Black Bat/Cassandra Cain's background is very convoluted and is best read about on the DC Universe page. Ordinarily I wouldn't point it out in detail but she is going to play an important role down the line.
*②: David Cain is Cassandra Cain's biological Father and one of the world's most premier assassins. See the DC Universe for his background.
*③: Mad Dog was trained as a young boy by David Cain to be the first of a new generation of the League of Assassins. He is unstable and likewise has a convoluted background. See the DC Universe.
Well, we've introduced some new and dangerous enemies in the Assassin's War, but where are their true loyalties? See you next time, Blue out. 10/22/22