DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto and Marvel.


Chapter 3

"What happened here?"

A masked jonin entered the Final Valley in surprise of the carnage that he was seeing. He knew who the two shinobi fought here, but the aftermath he was seeing did not look like it was caused by two genin. It could have been a mini representation of their predecessor's battle.

He leaped off the cliff to survey the situation. There were blown-off rocks and craters. It couldn't be caused by two genin who were a little more than rookies, right? Somehow, he disagreed with that. Considering what was taught to those two, it was very much possible.

Expanding the range of his senses, he feared for the worse. He could only feel one chakra signature in the area. With the help of his hounds, he was able to find Satsuki. She was unconscious. She may have been battered and bruised and her clothes torn, but she was still alive.

The jonin knelt in front of his student and felt for a pulse. It was faint. With the limited medical knowledge that was taught to him by his old teammate, he tried to administer first aid. He knew he had to get her out of the worst, so he could carry the girl back home.

He sat there waiting for his hounds. They had expanded their search radius to look for the blonde. He was nowhere to be found, and the boy's scent around the area had been swept away by the rain. At the back of his mind, he thought. He pondered on his current team that was now broken apart. Was it wise to teach Satsuki his signature move for assassination? Was it okay for him to focus on the Uchiha?

If he were honest to himself, the Uzumaki boy reminded him of his late sensei. The resemblance was so uncanny if fact that it hurt just to look at him. It reminded him of his old team that he had lost.

"Oi Kakashi," He was broken out of his thoughts as a pack of ninja hounds landed in front of him. They had returned from their search.

"Any sign of him?" He asked.

The lead hound shook his head. "There's no sign of him anywhere."

"That's it then," Kakashi said. "He's gone…Thanks anyway Pakkun."

"It's our pleasure," The dog said. "Also, you better get the hell out of here."

"Why's that?"

"The enemy's in an uproar. We barely got out of there alive."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, Pakkun? If they already have Naruto, why would they create a ruckus?"

"I don't know, but I would guess that the brat didn't make it to them," the hound named Pakkun answered.

"I see…I better get moving then…"

He carefully picked the girl up and leaped away. He dashed through the forest as quickly and as carefully as he could.

At some point, Satsuki stirred awake.

"K-kakashi-sensei…" The girl said recognizing the man carrying her.

"Satsuki, you're awake," The jonin said with relief in his voice. "You should rest. We'll get to the Village shortly."

"But…But…" Satsuki struggled to find the words, her eyes filled up with tears. "He's gone…I lost him…"

She cried into her sensei's shoulders. This reminded Kakashi of the time they lost Obito. Rin was inconsolable for weeks.

He didn't know what to say. All that came to his mind was, "There, there…We'll find him…I know we will...For now, let's go home…"


EARTH 616

"I wonder when she'll be back…" Naruto thought as he waited in the room of the apartment.

He sat there bored watching the passing cars. He was used to training the whole day in the Elemental Nations in the most secluded forests of Konoha, but here? He wasn't sure if there were any secluded areas in this city. Don't even get me started on the learning a new language thing he did. It was easy! What, with all his clones he created to do the work for him. (Thank kami his Jutsu scrolls came with him.)

Perhaps, being torn from this world is a blessing in disguise. He loved his orange jumpsuit. It was the only thing he was able to wear that wasn't overpriced. The shopkeeper threw it in the dumpster since it wasn't selling much, probably since it wasn't appealing to the eyes. Normally, Naruto would get kicked out of that particular man's alley even if it was the dumpster, but fortunately, he was able to sneak in and steal the stash. He was able to get enough clothes for him to forgo doing laundry for a month.

Thinking about it now, it was a whole different experience to enter a shop and not get immediately yelled at by the shopkeeper, in this case, the saleslady. Remembering how the Barton Family and Natasha take him out to the mall for the first time brought a smile to his face.

*FLASHBACK*

Lila pulled him into the store. Being a fanatic of clothes herself, she was excited to get Naruto a new outfit. Leaving the blonde in the middle of the store, she dove into the multiple racks of clothes to pick what she thinks would be suitable for the boy's style.

Being alone in a shop like that, Naruto couldn't help but feel anxious. Any second now, whoever is attending to this shop would find him and ask him to leave.

"I should probably just leave" He contemplated with himself.

He was about to walk out when a stranger walked up to him. "Can I help you with something, sir?"

The shop attendant asked the blonde.

"N-nothing! S-s-sorry for bothering you! I'll be on my way now!" Naruto stammered out as he jumped from the sudden appearance of the lady.

Naruto was about to leave the shop when Natasha intercepted him. He noticed the boy's mannerisms and knew exactly what was happening.

She placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder causing the said boy to flinch from the touch. She figured that he expected violence to happen at around this time he was found, wherever he may have come from.

"Where are you going, Naruto?" She asked, kneeling down so she was at eye level with the boy. "No one is asking you to leave. The kind lady just asking you what you need."

Naruto was shaken out of his current state. He looked back at the kind lady. She had a worried look on her face.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

"He's okay. Just a little trauma," She said, caressing the boy's hair. It always seemed to calm him down.

"It's okay, little guy," the attendant sent a sweet smile. "You're welcome to stay here all you want."

Just then, Laura came back with a heap of clothes of different styles that she was somehow able to carry despite her petite frame. Right on her tail were her parents and siblings.

"What's going on here?" Lila asked the blonde he had taken an interest in.

"Just a panic attack, sweetie," Clint told his daughter, understanding the situation immediately.

"I know how to get you out of that," Lila said, showing the pile of clothes to her dad. She then pulled the blonde to one of the changing rooms.

That day, Naruto would come to learn that shopping, especially when you are with the ladies, is a little more than troublesome.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

As he sat by the window sill watching the passing cars, his ninja senses picked up a presence in the room with him. That broke him out of his thoughts.

"There's no use hiding," Naruto called out. "I know you're there."

"Hmmm, so the files weren't lying," An older man's voice spoke from the shadows.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said. "And more importantly, what are you doing here? You better get out of her or the nice lady wouldn't let you leave alive."

"Don't you mean mother?" The bald man revealed himself, rummaging through the refrigerator for a beer.

"Was that what those papers were for?" Naruto pretended to be interested. "Tell me, is it a cover or something?"

"I'm surprised your mind went towards that area," The man raised an eyebrow at how the blonde was talking. "You're seven now, right? Close to Barton's kid. You are more mature than meets the eye. I assure you, Natasha insisted on this. It is not a cover."

"I have a family now," Naruto yawned. "Yay me!"

"You still haven't answered my question, though," Naruto continued. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Nick Fury, director of SHIELD," The man introduced himself. "This file made me curious. Despite your age, you managed to evade and overpower some of my organization's best agents. How's about you come with me so I could run a few tests?"

"Haven't you run all the tests you needed when you had me in that room?" Naruto asked.

"This one will be different," He said. "I know you are bored out of your mind here. This will be like *cough* training."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds. He contemplated on the man's offer. He drove a hard bargain. There was absolutely nothing he could do in this place.

Without a second thought, he turned around and ran towards the Director.

"Sometimes, you do act your age, huh Kid?" Nick Fury commented.

"Shut up, Mr. Bald Man," Naruto said pointing a finger at the said bald man. "Where are we going? Where are we going?"


SHIELD HQ

"So what did you bring me here for?" Naruto asked impatiently.

He had suffered through a car ride, and now they had to talk, without much of a word from the bald man. Being new to this world, Naruto still didn't take it fancy to riding these contraptions they termed 'cars'. He felt like a caged animal being transported in that situation. He still preferred the freedom of leaping from tree to tree, the wind blowing against his face.

"I don't know where you came from, but you caused quite a ruckus when you suddenly appeared in the middle of the city," The trenchcoat-wearing man suddenly spoke.

"Yeah? So?" Naruto raised his eyebrow not seeing the point of what he was saying.

"Agent Romanoff was adamant about giving you a chance to live normally like any kid your age might live," The man told him.

"Why would she think like that?" Naruto asked. Indeed, it was weird for someone to take him into a family all of a sudden.

"She has her reasons. It is not my place to tell you. Perhaps, you could ask her, but it will be up to her if she is ready to tell you or not," Nick Fury said.

Naruto sighed. That sounded troublesome. Although, he was still curious about what this bald man was talking about.

"Now then," the director of Shield opened one of the many doors in this building. "Despite Agent Romanoff's insistence, I don't see a problem about training you in preparation for you fighting for us in the future."

It might have been the phrasing, but those words sounded familiar. It was like someone told him those words before or something similar, but he couldn't quite grasp where he had heard it.

"What do you want me to do?" Naruto asked.

Fury gestured towards the large room. It was a whole room filled with trainees training their asses off to one day become a fully-fledged Agent of Shield.

"So, shall we?" The director asked.

"I knew you would do something behind my back," A feminine voice called out to the one-eyed man.

Being the boss around here, Director Fury wasn't at all intimidated by what he heard. He wasn't even surprised. It was like he expected that this little scheme of his would-be found out sooner or later.

"I was sure you would find out about this, but I didn't think you would this quickly," The man turned and faced his agent. True enough, it was Natasha Romanoff.

"Was I not clear when I told you, normal childhood," she said raising his two hands to emphasize the last two words.

"Look agent, my hands are tied in this decision," The man calmly explained. "It was a decision of the board. They cannot ignore someone like him let loose into the world. They want to make sure he is loyal to us."

"Hmph," Naruto subtlety huffed. He had heard this before. He just wasn't sure who said it and where he heard it from. All he knew was that this place's government wanted to turn him into a weapon.

"It's okay," The boy spoke up as innocently as he could. "We're just training, right?"


And so, the supposedly arduous training regimen was given to a child as young as he.

Everyone was surprised at the lengths that this boy had achieved despite his age. They were expecting to train him for a year, but they ran out of exercises to give him. He had smoked records for training simulations and obstacle courses. At first, they tried giving him light training to compensate for his age, thinking that he was a rookie, but it proved to be too easy for him. They had come to a point where they had to devise something harder at the boy's request. They were ready to take his training to the next level, training to take on assassination missions. (Little did they know, the boy was already trained to kill.) Only two responsible agents stepped forward and reminded them of his tender age. With that, they settled on teaching him multiple languages to complement his skills that are similar to that of a spy.

They concluded that he was more than ready to work for the organization. The higher-ups, the blokes who the DIrector answered to, were reluctant to let this boy out into the world again, fearing that he may turn against them one day. After all, a child, like Naruto, is susceptible to sweet talk if the right buttons were pushed. And the best way to ensure that he remained on their side was to make him an agent. Besides, after losing Captain America due to his sacrifice in World War 2 and the prior murder of the only person who could replicate the serum, there was no other way to make a super-soldier.

"Americans lowering themselves to make a child soldier," Natasha berated his higher-ups. "And here I thought you were different from the red room."

If the blow-hards felt remorse for what they initially decided upon, the Black Widow didn't know. But to avoid the iron grip of the law and getting targeted by an agent who was also trained at a tender age, they decided to just let the child be and just be content on keeping tabs on the boy. It wasn't the most feasible decision, but it was the best for the moment.

And so, they released the boy to go home with their long-time agent with that the little boy could return if ever the boy wanted a workout or a challenge, not that they will be able to provide that to him with one.

A few weeks later, after the stress of looking for a school.

One day, in the middle of the night…

Naruto's eyes shot open.

If you were the ones who looked at every detail, you would notice that his pupils were red and his sclera was black.

The blonde passed by the mirror.

He looked at himself with a look of disgust.

"I would expect no less from a brat," He said to himself. "And you dare call yourself a shinobi."

Silently, he snuck out of his room, his shinobi skills proving handy.

He walked down the street with no clear destination. He did not look lost either, but it was only a matter of time before he would find himself in the wrong part of town.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here," A voice called out from one of the alleys of New York.

Naruto ignored the voice in favor of exploring the streets once more.

"HEY! QUIT IGNORING ME!" came an indignant yell from the voice earlier.

Naruto stopped in his tracks and gave the hooligan an irritated look. "What do you want?"

"Now, I got your attention," The delinquent's lips twisted into a smile. "I gotta say, I haven't seen you in these parts before. You must be new here."

"Ugh, and here I thought it was something important," Naruto rolled his eyes at the waste of time.

"Don't mock me!" the hoodlum protested.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?" Naruto yawned, barely giving the other guy a. "Might have slipped out."

The thug growled. "There's no use talking to you. In that case…" He snapped his fingers, and out of the shadows, more of these ruffians appeared. To Naruto, they looked all the same, or he just didn't bother telling the boys apart.

"Is this supposed to scare me or something?" Naruto looked at the two newcomers with a deadpanned expression.

"Oh you don't know how surrounded you are," The man smirked. "Boys!"

All hell broke loose. More men than Naruto could have thought fit in such a small alleyway poured out and started to swarm him.

A normal human would run as far away from the scene as he/she could to save his/her own ass from getting beaten up. But Naruto wasn't a normal human. He stood his ground with a shit-eating grin on his face and some markings spinning on his pupils. He seemed to be enjoying this thing.

One by one, the men started to fly back after just charging. None of them had ever expected this random passerby who didn't even look like much to be destroying them.

"Boss, what is he?!" One of the beaten dudes croaked from the foot of the guy who seemed to be in charge.

"H-he must be one of them!" another one managed to say as he passed out.

He fought them off one by one without much of a scratch on his person. A dark aura seemed to exude from him and unnerving the ruffians even before they could throw a punch. Anyone who would see the blonde at this moment would not recognize him.

As the last man fell to Naruto's feet, the original two men crept back scared as Naruto stared at them with one of the creepiest smiles a man could give.

"L-look here, man," The last man standing begged. "I'm sorry I bothered you. I should have looked the other way. I'll do anything. Please just–"

"Oh, so now you're begging?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I was under the impression that you wanted to discipline me for being disrespectful."

"Not at all," He pleaded as he moved back getting as much distance from the young chap as possible. "It was a mistake! I promise!"

The man inched back slowly but surely as he profusely apologized to the boy who decimated his whole gang. As he walked back, he was stopped in his tracks when his back touched something that made his blood run cold.

"My, you started the fun without me," A newcomer spoke from behind him.

"You…" The ruffian turned in surprise. Before their nightly escapade even started, he was sure that this vigilante would be able to find them. In hindsight tho, he should have expected this already. This man always finds them.

'Shit….I lost track of time trying to fight that freak, whatever he is, I forgot about this guy…' He cursed to himself.

"The Devil of Hell's Kitchen," He tried for a confident smile, though he was shaking so badly that he might even wet himself. "Fancy meeting you at a place like this. If it's all the same to you, I'll take my leave now."

You would think these mobsters would have some self-respect, but this wasn't the same self-respecting mobster that would fight to the last man. This was just a mere lackey that was left alone without the strength in numbers he once had.

He turned to make a break for it, but he misjudged the so-called devil, or he just didn't think his next move through. The crimson-clad vigilante leaped in front of him and knocked him out into the next decade.

Getting himself back to a neutral stance, he turned to the blonde with weird eye color.

"I don't believe I have seen you around these parts before," The devil told Naruto.

"I would not be surprised," Naruto smirked with a smug look on his face. "I tend to keep to myself and mind my own business. Something I suggest you do, Devil-san."

Naruto turned around and jumped out to the roof of the high-rise buildings around them, a feat that a normal human being would do but here it was happening in front of the Devil's eyes. He was left there speechless.


Sunlight flooded the shinobi's room. His eyes closed tightly as he felt the heat of the sun's rays disturb him from his slumber. He raised his blanket over his head to see who was responsible for this, since the night before, he remembered closing the blinds.

"You're going to be late if you stay in bed any later," the kind woman told him.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked. He wasn't aware of any plans that day. In fact, he planned to stay in bed the whole day.

"Did you forget?" Natasha moved to a contemplative pose. "Or was I the one who had forgotten to tell you?"

She just shrugged. "Anyway, it's time for you to go to school."

"Ugh," Naruto groaned. This was one of the things he hated back in the Elemental Nations. Besides, no teacher had ever taken an interest in teaching him. They would always scold him for no apparent reason. Or they would just grade his works with a big fat zero, even if he knew he did them right. The only thing they couldn't find fault in were the practical exercises where he smoked everybody. The kid had clearly been training on his own. In the end, he only became a shinobi because he passed the final exams which were a measly clone jutsu. Even with that, the teachers begrudgingly passed him. If the Hokage wasn't there to watch, they would have outright refused to give him a headband.

You see, this is why he doesn't hold school in high regard. Natasha understood this. So, instead of getting mad, she knelt beside his bed. "I understand how you feel. But here, you will be treated differently. They will actually teach you and pay attention to you."

Naruto lowered the sheets over his head and contemplated the woman's words.

"O-okay…" Naruto finally said. Truth be told, he wanted to have friends. He had a taste of attention given by Clint's daughter. Now, he wanted more.

"Thank you for trusting me," Natasha smiled. "Now then, you better get up. The bus will be here soon."

The excitement drained from Naruto's face. He still didn't enjoy car rides. He still preferred leaping through the trees, with the wind blowing against his face. But he steeled his nerves in the end. This one detail wasn't going to stop him from his goal.

As quickly as he could, he took a shower and got changed. And before he knew it, the bus was there.

Getting onto the bus, he was faced with a bunch of kids staring at him. He didn't pay this any mind. They were staring at him with curiosity rather than staring at him in contempt like he was used to in his childhood.

As he moved through the aisles, he couldn't help but pick up the whispers and sighs, especially from the female population. This was almost like what Satsuki was experiencing, except the genders were reversed.

Seeing an empty chair, he took a seat, and soon they were on their way.


MIDTOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL

School in this country was completely different than in the Elemental Nations. For starters, this school was a lot bigger than the Academy and there were a lot more students. Most of them were rowdy, something that this school and the Academy had in common.

Somehow, he was able to find his classroom despite the size of the school.

When he entered, he was greeted with more the stares. The girls also gossiped and whispered among themselves.

Listening to the girl's gossip about him distracted him. He was so distracted that he failed to notice the leg that was extended through the aisle by someone he would later come to know as the school's resident bully.

He found himself tripping. As he fell, he righted himself and flipped in the air, landing on his feet. The girls found themselves cheering at the feat that was displayed in front of them.

"Flash! Stop picking on the new guy!" A voice came from the back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Penis," the one who tripped Naruto spoke up. "Besides, if he hadn't tripped he wouldn't have gotten his five seconds of fame. I—"

He suddenly stopped talking when something sharp whizzed past his head and embedded itself on the wall behind him. "Oh, sorry about that, my hand slipped."

Naruto said as he turned around to face him, "May I have my pencil back, Flash-san? That's your name, right?"

Flash gulped at the tone he was using. It was very polite, but there was venom laced in his words.

The said boy turned around and pulled on the pencil with effort, much more than he expected.

One of the girls in the front stood up. "See what I told you Flash?"

She turned to Naruto, "Sorry about that. Flash can be a bit…cruel…to new guys like you. I'm Liz, the class president. I didn't get your name?" She offered her hand to shake.

"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you kaichou!" Naruto took the offered hand and shook it.

Liz looked at him weirdly, and Naruto noticed it too.

"Sorry," He apologized. "It means president from where I'm from."

"Oh, I see, that's okay," Liz smiled. "For now, let's get you a seat,"

She led the way to one of the empty chairs. It was next to the guy who defended him earlier.

"I hope you enjoy your stay at our school," Liz said with a smile before she left for her own desk.

"That was cool," The guy complimented him as the girl left. "How did you do that?"

"Thanks," Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'm just flexible, y'know."

"Cooool," The guy said. "Oh, where are my manners, I'm Peter by the way."

"And I'm Ned," His chubby friend chimed in.

"I'm Naruto," he introduced himself."

"Naruto, huh? That's a cool name," The now-named Peter thought for a bit. "Naruto, I believe this is the start of a wonderful friendship."


A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry if I was confusing. To clarify, Naruto was torn out of the Elemental Nations at 12 years old. With that, I'm setting the age of the people around him to be around his age, except for Cooper who is a year older than them. Thanks for the review.