Naruto: Son of the Demon
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Batman or Teen Titans
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This installment is called War in the Shadows. It is mainly action oriented. Here is Chapter 8. Enjoy!
[ ] designates hand signs.
{ } designates a foreign language.
Last Time….
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…"
…
Chapter 8
East End, Gotham Fountains, Gotham City, United States
It had been three days since David Cain arrived. Naruto was blissfully unaware of the Master Assassin and Mad Dog's coming to Gotham City. As a matter of fact, they were the least of his worries at the moment. He had his hands full with three skilled ninja that were from a different faction of the League of Assassins. They were attempting to hunt and kill the blonde for over an hour and only spoke to each other in Japanese. From what Naruto could tell they were most likely triplets as well. The only way he could tell them apart was by the color of their headbands: Red, Green and Blue.
("Where is he?") whispered Red in Japanese. {"I know he entered these fountains."}
Blue commanded, ("Stay here at the entrance brother. Watch to make sure he doesn't escape. Any other way is surrounded by tall fences and will make noise if he scales them.") He pointed at Green. ("You take left and I'll take right."}
Nodding, Green said, ("Uzumaki is very skilled to still be alive. Be careful brothers.")
The blonde was hidden in plain sight under the hiding camouflage technique which made him virtually invisible as long as he wasn't moving. He was in front of the Central Fountain watching his three opponents as they spread out and started searching. Once the three ninja were out of each other's line of sight he waited until Red was looking away and made his move…
Blue heard the tall, wrought iron fence opposite of him in Green's direction rattle. Blue grinned in satisfaction. {'No doubt my youngest brother slew Uzumaki at last.'} he thought.
Circling around to where he'd heard the fence rattle, Blue saw a gruesome sight. Green was impaled on the top of the pointed tips of the fence. One bar of the fence was driven fatally into Green's chin, through his hard palate and brain and out the top of his skull. Green's body was still flailing like some grotesque meat puppet as blood poured out everywhere.
The Blue headband wearing Ninja cried out, {"BROTHER!"} in horror just as he felt his back shattered by a juken spine strike from Naruto. Finding himself paralyzed, Blue fell to the ground in a pool of his youngest brother's blood…
Naruto had already vanished again by the time Red arrived silently from the entrance. The ninja was staring at his two fallen brothers with terror in his eyes when he was suddenly garroted from behind by Naruto. The sounds of Red gurgling, and then the flesh of his neck, trachea and vertebrae cutting was drowned out by the noise of the fountains as his head rolled of his shoulders into one of the fountains where it colored the water red with blood…
Blue saw it all from his position lying on the ground motionless and unable to move. He shed a tear for his slain kin as he saw Naruto's boots silently walk over to him and nudge Blue over onto his back.
Naruto was silhouetted like a phantasm by the blood-colored water of the fountain. His eyes glowed with chakra and Blue knew he was already dead. {"Who sent you? What faction do you serve?"} asked the blonde ninja in Japanese. {"Tell me or I carve your eyes out and leave you alive."}
Blue whispered, {"We serve Nyssa al Ghul*①. She sent us to execute you. We would have been promoted if we had succeeded. Please kill me quickly."}
The blonde beheaded the ninja in silence and said, "So the predator became the prey."
…
Flinging the blood off his blade, Naruto walked out of the Gotham City fountains in silence only a ninja could achieve. That's when here heard clapping and a melodic female voice. "You did well Naruto. You are truly Talia and Bruce's son."
Naruto turned towards the voice and saw his Aunt Nyssa al Ghul sitting on a stone bench in assassin's gear who he'd met as a child. She patted beside her on the bench and said, "Come sit with your Aunt, Naruto."
The blonde walked over and sat with his Mother's half-sister and said, "Last I heard you were killed in an explosion. I guess the rumors of your demise were exaggerated."
The black-haired woman smiled. She hummed in the affirmative and said, "I'm not that easy to kill. I have a gift for you from your Master Jiraiya. He gave it to me only after I promised not to attack you. Of course, I never agreed to not send someone else to test your mettle." She handed him the scroll.
"Then I suppose I passed your test then Auntie?" asked Naruto as he checked the scroll over and found it to be genuine.
She hummed again in approval. "You performed beyond my expectations. You've grown up to be very handsome my nephew. Consider my faction of the League of Assassins, Leviathan*② to be your allies. I hope you will join us willingly someday. Say hello to Talia for me."
With that said, Nyssa kissed her nephew's forehead and said, "Keep growing stronger." then she departed.
Naruto sensed no other threats around and headed back to his apartment with Jiraiya's scroll inside his long coat…
…
Gotham City Clock Tower
In the meantime, Batgirl had carefully traced the movement of a serial killing Mad Dog to Gotham City's Upper East Side. The redhead and her allies didn't know who it was but were determined to stop the murderer regardless. The Birds of Prey were on the move and it was only a matter of time before contact was made.
The first to find the killer was none other than Helena Bertinelli, otherwise known as the Huntress. The Upper East Side was her home turf and she intercepted the Mad Dog in Robinson Park.
Hearing screams, Helena found her target and quickly identified him as the Mad Dog. Seeing a dead man, woman and child behind the feral assassin, the Huntress opened fire with a barrage of crossbow bolts aiming to slay the murderer.
Given her superb aim, she would have killed or at least crippled anyone…
…But the Mad Dog dodged them all through seemingly inhuman acrobatics and impossible maneuvers. Then he rounded on the shocked Huntress and attacked.
The clash was brutal as Helena lashed out with every kind of martial art she knew. She wasn't holding back at all.
Unfortunately for her the Mad Dog didn't even know how to how back and dislocated one of her arms during the first pass. Too her credit, Helena hardly cried out at the pain and landed a square kick to his stomach sending the feral man tumbling.
Mad Dog rolled with the hit and got back up in an instant though. The Huntress found herself being battered in a losing fight. Using a grappling line from her utility belt she made a strategic withdrawal. 'Better to live and fight another day.' thought the vigilante. The Mad Dog tried to pursue her as she retreated but ultimately gave up in favor of easier prey…
'At least I made it out alive…' thought the Huntress. She radioed the Gotham City Clock Tower and said, "This is the Huntress calling the Birds of Prey. Our killer is the assassin Mad Dog and he's loose in Robison Park. I engaged him and lost. He appears to be uninjured…"
…
East End, Naruto's Apartment
While the Huntress was in battle, Naruto had made it home where he bit his thumb and swiped his blood over the blood seal on the scroll. Opening it he found a dark gray ninja uniform that would hide all his features but his blue eyes*③. It was a vast improvement over his old uniform he lost in the La Brea Tar Pits when he fought Slade Wilson. Trying it on he found it fit him perfectly.
Also in the scroll was an ebony-colored katana named Yokaze (Night Wind) that was made of chakra metal in the 14th century. While Naruto could stream chakra along the edges of his old katana; he could actually project jutsus through the blade of the Yokaze. The blonde ninja was thrilled to say the least.
It was then that the Black Bat arrived and tapped on his window. After he let Cassandra in, she grinned and said, "That looks great on you Naruto! I'm prowling solo tonight, why don't you come with me? With that suit you could be my partner!"
Naruto was honestly flattered but said, "You know I'm not a superhero or crimefighter, I'm a detective."
"Then what's the suit for?" she asked.
"Infiltration and stealth missions." replied the blonde. "It's a ninja uniform."
Cassandra leaned in closely examining his ninja gear and said, "That sounds like vigilante work to me."
The ninja was trying to think of a proper retort hen Black Bat's emergency beacon blinked and she turned it on loud enough for Naruto to hear.
"This is the Huntress calling the Birds of Prey. Our killer is the assassin Mad Dog and he's loose in Robison Park. I engaged him and lost. He appears to be uninjured…"
…
Gotham City Clock Tower
Staying calm, Batgirl started organizing her agents. Regrettably, Black Canary and Katana were both in other parts of Gotham. Batman was unavailable and she was reaching out across her network. That's when she heard Cassandra's voice across the airwaves. "This is Black Bat. I'm on my way to Robison Park. I have the Detective with me."
The Detective was an impromptu code name the Birds of Prey made up for Naruto a while back. They never planned to use it in a combat situation…
Barbara's eyes widened in confusion. "Black Bat, did you say you have the Detective with you?!"
"Affirmative." said Cassandra. "We're headed to Robinson Park. ETA twelve minutes."
Batgirl said, "Understood." 'Naruto, don't you dare die on me.' she thought worriedly.
…
Upper East Side, Robinson Park
Naruto was riding on Cassandra's Batcycle behind her at breakneck speeds through the back alleys towards Robinson Park. Jumping a fence into the park proper, the blonde grouched, "I can't believe I let you convince me to ride on this deathtrap."
"Just sit back and enjoy the ride." said Black Bat as the two roared along. They quickly screeched to a halt at the scene of the battle between the Huntress and Mad Dog a few minutes before. Hopping off the bike in silence, the two started searching around for signs of the feral assassin.
Naruto took to the trees to get a higher vantage point and Cassandra stayed on the ground to look for evidence. The Mad Dog was nowhere to be seen but both fighters felt his presence.
Then the wild man attacked from another tree and pounced on the Black Bat. But Cassandra was too fast. Lady Shiva's daughter spun and hit him hard enough in the sternum to shatter the bone. She said, "I lost against you once butcher, it won't happen again."
As Black Bat and Mad Dog traded vicious blows it became obvious that the feral assassin was losing and was taking more and more damage as he lost speed and momentum. She finally landed a roundhouse kick to his jaw that nearly snapped his neck. The Mad Dog was badly injured and going down.
That's when a high caliber rifle bullet came flying at Cassandra. She'd been so focused on fighting the Mad Dog that she didn't notice until it was nearly too late. Naruto appeared in a body flicker and cut the bullet out of the air with the Yokaze. He cut down a second shot aimed at him but the third shot went wide…Right into the back of the Mad Dog's head and blowing his brains and skull into a million pieces.
Naruto saw the glint of a gunsight it the distance and body flickered over to a point behind it. There was a female member of the League of Assassins with a sniper's rifle lying on her stomach. He beheaded her with his katana in an instant and noticed something was amiss. She was wired!
The blonde detective body flickered out a split second before the bomb rigged corpse exploded in a ball of fire. Naruto appeared beside the Black Bat and said, "We need to leave. Let's get out of here." She nodded and the pair got back on the Batcycle. They were long gone before the Gotham City Police and Fire Department arrived at the scene of the explosion.
…
Watching all of this through a long-range infrared night vision scope was none other than David Cain. He was in a car just outside Robinson Park with the window down. 'Damn. I lost Mad Dog and Mara's sniper. What a waste. And she missed the two targets; how useless… I underestimated them both. There is clearly more to Uzumaki than meets the eye and Cassandra is sharper than ever. I'll have to chalk tonight's attempt up as a failure.' Rolling up his window, the Master Assassin drove away unnoticed.
…
Gotham City Clock Tower
The injured Huntress made it back to the base of the Birds of Prey for medical treatment. She'd been listening to the airwaves as Barbara coordinated things. Dinah Drake had also just arrived and they went about relocating Helena's injured arm properly.
The group was listening to the police and fire radio bands about an explosion in Robinson Park and were concerned that their friends had been hurt. Then the radio came on they heard the voice of Cassandra Cain. "This is Black Bat. The Mad Dog is terminated, I repeat, the Mad Dog is terminated."
"Are you or the Detective injured?" asked the redhead in a worried tone.
"Negative. The Detective and I are fine." answered Cassandra "We weren't directly involved in the explosion. It was a bomb though. Detective has more details than I do. We'll meet you at the base."
Barbara leaned back in her chair feeling relieved. "Roger that Black Bat. Over and out."
Huntress was rotating her injured arm to get the range of motion back into it. "Are you alright Helena?" asked the redhead.
The crossbow wielding crimefighter replied, "I will be. The Mad Dog was tough. I have to wonder how they took him down."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough." said Dinah. "I'm anxious to hear about the details."
…
Naruto and Black Bat entered the secret entrance of the Gotham City Clocktower about an hour later. Naruto had already deduced the location of the place but wondered why the Birds of Prey would so readily trust him. 'Barbara I can understand but the others? Not so much.' thought the blonde ninja.
Cassandra led him to a hidden elevator and the pair rode up to the base where the Birds of Prey worked. When the door opened, Black Canary was there waiting and saw Naruto in his ninja attire. "My oh my!" she said to Naruto. "Add a cape and a bat symbol on the chest and that outfit would be puuuurrrrfffect!"
The ninja cringed at the concept as Barbara and Helena came over to admire his gear. Batgirl smiled at her boyfriend, "That is quite a uniform Naruto, I like it!"
The Huntress nodded. "It's snug in all the right places."
He sagged as the girls admired him in his ninja gear. After a few minutes of relentless teasing, Cassandra and Naruto each gave their reports on the battle in Robinson Park.
"Anyway, I figure the bomb was rigged so if the sniper died it would detonate." said the blonde ninja. There didn't seem to be anyone else around at close enough range to set it off."
"Regardless of that, unless the Gotham City Police Department knows what to look for; the evidence will never pan out." said the Huntress.
"That's assuming there is evidence left to pan out." said Batgirl glumly. "Someone set things up so Mad Dog wouldn't be taken alive and his killer couldn't be captured living either. Whoever did it has covered their tracks completely."
…
East End, Naruto's Apartment
Naruto got up the next afternoon at his apartment because he'd been out all night investigating things with the Birds of Prey. It seemed that they were all already familiar with his actions. Between his girlfriend Barbara, the Bat Family and the Immaculate Virgin Mission case all of them knew who he was to some extent…
…And now they'd given him the lame codename Detective. 'For the love of god; I'm a Private Investigator, not a vigilante.' he thought to no one in particular. Barbara and Cassandra had been delighted with his ninja garb and considered Naruto part of the Bat Family now.
And speaking of family, Naruto felt he should go see his parents and inform them about his Aunt Nyssa and the organization called Leviathan…
…
Wayne Manor, Dining Hall
Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul were surprised to see Naruto drop in out of the blue. They both were a bit puzzled as well. The blonde never showed up of his own accord. Generally, Talia had to badger her firstborn into joining them for an early dinner. Even then Naruto was always difficult.
"I'm glad you are here son." said Bruce sincerely. "Cassandra said you saved her life. You don't know how grateful I am."
Talia smiled. "I see you're finally following in your Father's footsteps. I'm proud of you Naruto."
Holding back a sigh, the blonde ninja said, "Actually, I came to inform both of you that Nyssa al Ghul is alive and well. She's the head of a faction of the League of Assassins called Leviathan."
Talia's eyes widened and Bruce said, "So she wasn't killed in that explosion in North Africa… I guess I shouldn't be surprised about it. How did you find out about it, Naruto?"
The ninja said bluntly, "She told me… After she had three of her men test me."
"And how did they test you, my son?" asked Talia with anger flashing in her eyes.
"They tried to kill me of course." answered Naruto as if he was talking about the weather. "They jumped me in Crime Ally and hunted me for over an hour before I set up an ambush in the Gotham City Fountains and eliminated them. It was a bloody affair."
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Did you have to kill them Naruto?" he asked.
Naruto frowned and said, "The three were ninja serving Nyssa al Ghul. They were supposed to kill me for a promotion. It was them or me. I chose self-preservation over their ranks."
Talia drummed her fingers. "That seems quite reasonable Naruto. When did Nyssa show up?"
"She was waiting for me outside the Gotham Fountains with a package from Master Jiraiya." explained the blonde. "She seemed very happy to see me and we talked a bit. She told me about Leviathan's existence and to tell you hello Mother. All in all, Aunt Nyssa seemed quite pleased."
The beautiful brunette groaned, "It sounds just like Nyssa to try to kill you and then dote on you."
Naruto's blue eyes narrowed. "You have no room to talk, Mother."
Talia let out a small cough to deflect that line of discussion and asked, "Did she say anything more about Leviathan?"
"Only that she hoped that I would join her someday and to consider them allies." said the ninja. I was hoping Father would know something about Leviathan."
"I have heard of them." said the Master of Wayne Manor. "They broke away from the League of Assassins a few years ago right after Nyssa's 'death.' She must have been operating behind the scenes all along."
…
"So have you chosen a vigilante codename?" asked Talia. "The Detective just won't do. It doesn't sound intimidating enough."
Naruto sweat dropped. "I'm not a vigilante and I don't need a code name."
"It's that or being called the Detective for the rest of your days by the girls in the Birds of Prey." said Bruce with mirth in his voice.
"You two aren't going to let this go, are you?" asked the aggravated blonde. Seeing his parents shaking their heads 'no,' he growled, "Fine, I'll think of something,"
Talia smiled happily and said, "That's my handsome boy. Do you want a Bat name?"
"Heavens no!" said Naruto. "There are too many Bats as it is!" (He would have sworn Bruce looked depressed for a split second). "I'll use the name Blackblade*④ until I think of something better."
"Why Blackblade?" asked Talia curiously.
"Because I carry an ebony-colored katana." answered the ninja proudly.
Bruce said, "I thought your sword was steel colored."
"My old katana was steel." explained Naruto. "My new Katana Yokaze (Night Wind) is black."
"What about the name Nightwind then?" asked Talia.
Now the blonde had a major headache. "We'll shelve this discussion for later. It's not like I'm going to be running around in my ninja gear much anyway."
…
Upper East Side, Mikado's Tea House
Later that evening, Sandra Wu-San (otherwise known as Lady Shiva) was at Mikado's Tea House which was a front for a smaller Yakuza Gang that called themselves the Orochi Clan. Shiva had received a request from her former apprentice Naruto to meet her there. She knew the blonde probably wanted something like information from her but was curious to see exactly what it was.
Naruto arrived punctually at 7 PM as agreed and found Lady Shiva was already sitting at the table he had reserved for them. Greeting her formally with a bow, Naruto said, "Greetings Master, thank you for coming to meet me on such short notice, I know you have a busy schedule."
Shiva smiled coldly and said, "I was wondering why you chose this place."
The ninja replied, "It's simple, they have the best imported sake in town here Master. I know you like it almost as much as I do… Not to mention it's soundproofed."
She nodded. "You always did have excellent taste. What is it you want from me?"
Naruto's blue eyes narrowed. "I want to see if you know of an organization known as Leviathan."
Her eyes glittered dangerously. "I do. I'm surprised you've heard of them to be honest."
"I unexpectedly crossed paths with some of them last night." explained the blonde.
Now he had Lady Shiva's attention. "It was you at Gotham City Fountains then."
Naruto nodded slowly. "You are well informed."
"You aren't the only one with and information network." she said mysteriously. "What do you say we trade information Naruto?"
The blonde was hesitant but nodded. "What is it you want to know?"
"I want to know two things." said Shiva. "Who told you the name Leviathan and what is your relationship with Cassandra Cain? I saw Mad Dog was killed and I know you two were there."
"Mad Dog was killed by a sniper, not us." said Naruto.
"That's not what I asked." she replied.
Naruto grit his teeth. "The one who told me the name Leviathan was none other than Nyssa al Ghul. As for Cassandra, she is a friend and ally."
Lady Shiva looked surprised. "Nyssa al Ghul contacted you directly? Interesting…"
"Why the interest in Cassandra Cain*⑤?" asked Naruto suspiciously.
Sandra said. "I made a major investment in that girl… much as I did in training you. There's a mole in Mara al Ghul's faction that answers to me. That person informed me that Mara hired David Cain to kill you and Cassandra. He was behind Mad Dog and the sniper. The pair of you should watch your backs."
"David Cain, the Master Assassin?" asked Naruto. "…Then he faked his own death too."
"Indeed, he did." answered Lady Shiva as she polished off her sake. "This has been an enlightening conversation Naruto." she said. "Thank you for the drink." With that Sandra made her exit and left the blonde pondering what to do next…
…
Infinity Island, Indian Ocean
Mara al Ghul was furious. David Cain had lost Mad Dog and her best sniper for nothing! What was worse, he'd just written them off as expendable!
Flashback…
David Cain looked rather bored on the video screen, "They were acceptable losses. Mad Dog was as good as dead and Naruto al Ghul cut down your sniper." he said.
"Acceptable losses?!" roared Mara. "I'm paying you a fortune and lending you elites from my faction. I expect to see results!"
"You need to learn patience Mara al Ghul." said Cain. "These things take time. You'll get your results."
"I'd better or you'll end up with a price on your head Cain!" snapped Mara as she ended the video call.
Flashback end…
"The nerve of that man talking down to me!" growled Mara. I was going to kill Mad Dog myself but not before Naruto was dead and buried! God damn it!"
…
POSTSCRIPT:
*①: Nyssa al Ghul – Nyssa is Ra's al Ghul's older daughter and half-sister to Talia. She has a history of fighting Batman and knows his secret identity. See the DC Universe for her full background.
*②: Leviathan – Leviathan is a schism group of the League of Assassins. In the DC Universe, it is led by Talia al Ghul but for plot purposes in this story it is led by Nyssa al Ghul instead.
*③: Naruto's new ninja outfit resembles Hayabusa Ryu's Falcon Suit out of Ninja Gaiden but is charcoal gray and has sleeves. See the Ninja Gaiden Wiki.
*④: I honestly am not sure about a codename or if he'll actually use one. Feel free to make a suggestion if you have one. Most of the ones I thought up are already taken.
*⑤: Naruto isn't aware of Cassandra's true parentage or background at this point in the story. He trusts her as an ally though.
Several people have suggested/requested a mass harem. Sorry folks but it's not going to happen. Naruto is with Barbara Gordon and the possibility of Cassandra Cain. That's about it. See you next time. Blue out. 10/26/22