Disclaimer: I don't own crap. Seriously, I have like nothing to my name.
Shorter chapter, but this is more of an epilogue, or aftermath to the beginning arc.
By the way, I was wondering if you guys were interested in seeing Naruto obtain an EMS/Rinnegan, and Six Paths Sage Mode? I have an idea how I could make it happen, but I'd like to see if you, the audience, would like to see that happen? I have a poll on my profile, so go ahead and vote, or just give me your answer in the review box. That's great too. I really appreciate it!
Naruto remembered very clearly when he became aware of what he was to his father.
It was pouring that night, and Naruto's fourth nameday had only just passed, and the downpour was so oppressive he had trouble opening his eyes under its weight. The hard raindrops beat down mercilessly on his tiny body. Standing beside him, Father offered no tenderness or assistance.
"What is this?" Naruto asked whisperingly, unable to remove his eyes from the desolation.
"This... is war." Father's robust, unrelenting voice drove through the holler of harsh rain right into his anxiously beating heart.
War.
This was war.
Bodies bestrewed as far as the eye could see. Buildings toppled, body parts strewed helplessly, and numerous morsels of fire managed to escape the downpour. Rain churned with the blood on the battlefield, filling his sensitive nose with the awful scent of mud and iron. Naruto never hated his senses more than he did now.
Bodies, bodies, bodies…
It's all he could see. Mountains of dead bodies stretched across the horizon. And not a single one at peace. Instead, the corpses had hardened, with faces contorted in agony. Their blank eyes stared in a vague direction.
Naruto could see their various wounds. Some were in one piece. Others were not so fortunate. They all died defending their homes—Naruto was an intelligent child. He knew this. These men were soldiers. But some did not take on the appearance of soldiers. A few looked like innocuous farmers or merchants. They posed no threat. None of them had weapons in their hands. They were unarmed, a nonthreat.
Yet, they joined the soldiers in death, nonetheless.
"Let this be a lesson for you," Father's rigid words shook him.
Naruto stayed still and persevered. If he fell comfortable, the tears would come spilling out. These were not ears out of frightfulness or misery. It was an emotion he couldn't quite put into words, and it surged within. He didn't understand why, but he felt such a dreadful tightness in his chest. Naruto loathed that feeling. Almost as much as he hated what he was looking at.
They were both soaked in the ruthless onslaught of this planet's rainfall. Father likely wouldn't notice if he spilled his tears, whispered the traitorous part of his mind. Still, Naruto couldn't. He felt that if he cried, somehow, Father would see. So he desperately strengthened his resolve.
"Remember this feeling, child. Helplessness. Fear. Hatred. Memorize it all and draw power from it." This saying kept repeatedly reiterating in his ears like a broken record.
Naruto let that wildfire burn even hotter, trying to take comfort in his hatred, but he cried anyway. The tears merged with the rain as they drained off his ashen skin.
Father's soldiers. Enemy soldiers. Civilians—it didn't matter. There were countless dead, and they blanketed their corpses across the far reaches of land. With no end in sight, it was a sea of dead. All of them were unable to kick free of their deaths as they struggled, mourned, and writhed. Those anguish-filled faces were all similar.
Not one among them had wished for death. And yet they had all died.
Why?
Because of the war.
War was the great equalizer. Those who fought died, and those who had no desire to fight still died. War burdened everyone equally. Naruto could see this, despite his young age.
"Father." Naruto scarcely heard his voice. And then, for the first time, he discovered he was shaking. It wasn't the chill of the rain. It wasn't a fear of the corpses. Rage made Naruto shake. "Why?"
"Be specific."
The blond child shook even harder as the rain chilled him to the bone, and the wildfire of rage swarmed his core. "Why bring me here? Why?" he asked angrily. The words flew out against his control. He regretted them as soon as they left his tongue.
His father was silent for a while at the query from his young son, and then he began to respond as if choosing his words carefully. "You are a clever boy."
Naruto waited for his father to continue, his gaze still fixed on the bodies. Then, he felt a warm sensation—his father's palm resting atop his head.
"I wanted to make sure you saw reality," he said in the softest voice he'd ever heard.
The boy hysterically rummaged through his emotional mind for the meaning of the word "reality." He had yet to turn five. He couldn't comprehend the difference between reality and fiction. Finally, he grasped the meaning of what his father was leaving unsaid. And he captured the severity of the situation.
He understood because Father wanted him to.
"This is the world I will live in..." Naruto murmured, unable to remove his gaze from the ocean of the dead.
"That is correct." A brief pause. "This is what the universe is. A constant struggle for power. Conquest—defense… it's all the same. War still exists with or without me. It's engraved into sentient nature. As long as there free will, there will invariably be a power struggle. Where there are winners, there are always losers, which is why I even out the scales. Indiscriminately."
Once again, Naruto searched for the definition of "Indiscriminately."
"Half of all life on each planet. Rich and poor alike. The universe is better off."
"But why?"
Thanos sighed mournfully. "Because, child, the universe strains more and more by the day. Life grows out of control. Overpopulation. Those at the bottom struggle while those at the top eat like kings. What I do, is fair."
Naruto unveiled the horrors before him. He tried—he really did—to see what was fair about this. Father took them to this planet. They were happy, his naïve self said.
And then Father gave the order. Within the first hour, thousands had perished. Half of all life on this cursed planet had been extinguished before the next sunrise. All while he watched, helpless to do anything but be a witness to it all.
Such was the fate of the Kylosians.
None of this was fair! Naruto raged.
But he never forgot that day, nor his father's words. They were seared into his mind.
Another war.
As Naruto scoped the ruin around him with pained indifference, he thought about that day. No matter how many years passed, he would never forget it. Every word said, his father's facial expression when he asked: "why." Or the smell of thousands of dead men, women, and children made in the frigid rain.
How many would this make? Naruto questioned idly, disguising his apathy with disinterest.
The blond never received an answer.
A hundred, maybe? A thousand? He proposed.
Look at so many similar things, and they begin to blend together as time passes. Naruto memorized every battle, every war… every struggle. But sometimes, they just blurred together into convoluted messes.
Fighting, surviving, that was all he knew. It was expected of him.
But this, this was different.
He never rebelled against Father before. Not after what he did to Nebula. He could still hear her screams as he removed the parts that made her… her. Any thought of rebellion had been squashed right then and there. There were times he wondered if he did that to remind him that revolting was futile. But he didn't plan this. Rebelling came at a whim. The impulse was too strong to resist. For a good reason, however.
Naruto stayed behind as the group of "Avengers," or as Stark called them, traveled to his tower.
Loki had only recently mended himself enough to escape the breach in the floor. He hauled himself painfully to the front door. He'd never been so severely damaged by a mortal before. Healing would not come easily. He would, nevertheless, heal, and then he would enact his vengeance.
Even though the Tesseract had been lost and the portal had fallen. Regardless of the fact that his Chitauri army had been annihilated, Loki would prove to the so-called Avengers that opposing him was a mistake. He would crush their opposition with gleeful zeal.
He rolled over when he heard a disturbance behind him.
They just stood there. All of them. Even those he'd assumed were no longer alive. Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Captain America, Hulk, and the Black Widow.
Loki sighed. "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." He was calm, placid, even. Until he saw a figure lingering behind them. "You!" he thundered, startling some of the Avengers.
Naruto slowly approached the fallen god, ignoring the group's shocked looks. Clearly, they didn't expect Loki to know him.
"He promised me no interference!" Loki hissed out the first word.
Naruto boredly knelt to him. "My father didn't betray you."
"Then what—"
"I did."
A flash of rage washed over Loki's face while Captain America stepped forward.
"Wait a second; betrayed? Do you know him?" Steve asked wearily. Unlike the rest of the Avengers, he at least met them before the battle commenced. This man showed up out of nowhere, similarly to the other group.
"I do," he answered.
"How?" It was Clint Barton that growled this out. "How do you know this rotten bastard?"
Naruto spared him a glance. Seems like he's still angry about earlier.
Either that, or he was touchy for having his mind bent and reformed to Loki's preference. On some level, Naruto sympathized. He knew what it was like to be changed by someone else to fit their desires.
"Oh? You don't know?" Loki grinned sickeningly, seizing a chance to reclaim some semblance of control—some influence. "And here I thought you humans had finally learned. But it seems like you'll always be dull apes!"
"What is he talking about?" Steve Rodgers demanded.
"Better start speaking up unless you want to be occupying a cell next to Rock of Ages here."
"Wait, it is not what you think," Thor, surprisingly, tried to speak out in his favor. The blond privately thanked the God of Thunder for that.
Naruto snorted, the least bit intimidated by their little show.
"Do you think I just got an army from nowhere?" Loki cackled, enjoying their idiocy. "I'm good, but I'm not that good."
"The army?" Natasha whispered, confused.
"Oh yes," he turned his attention to her. The grin that threatened to spill off his face made Natasha want to shiver. "His father gave me the army. In return, I would raze Earth for him." Loki once again laughed at the confusion and turmoil written all over their faces.
"What's his name?" Tony demanded to know, his voice dire as a slight tremble shook him.
"Thanos," he said, smiling hideously. "Thanos the Mad Titan."
Tony immediately grabbed onto Naruto. The blood, unconcerned, looked to his arm and then his eyes.
"Remove your hand."
"I'm thinking about removing a couple more things," the billionaire snarled. "What's stopping me from sending you to meet your maker?"
Naruto rolled his eyes and effortlessly detached Tony's armored grasp from his shoulder.
"Besides the fact that I am your best chance of survival?" Disinterested in their baleful glares, Naruto strolled over to the patio. Hands conjoined behind his back, he overlooked the destruction. His saddened reflection stared at him.
"Thanos is my father." There was no use hiding that. "Ask yourself this, Stark. Why are you alive?"
Iron Man hardly blinked.
"If you think threatening us will make this go away, you've got another thing commin', pal," Clint Barton swore.
"Tis was not a threat," Thor said, drawing some of their glares to him. "He betrayed his father, assisted us in battle. I watched him fight. I know this man by reputation. If he wanted any of you dead, you would not be breathing."
"That still doesn't answer why he's here," Steve Rodgers pointed out.
"I'm here because I do not want to see my father destroy half the universe." Their attention zapped back to him. "I've seen worlds—much like this one—ravaged by my father's "mercy." You all believe you know everything there is to know, but none of you can fathom what will happen if my father realizes his goal."
"And that is?" Natasha probed quietly.
Naruto snapped his fingers. "Half of all life in the universe… gone."
A wave of his hand tore the Scepter from Natasha's grasp and into his own. He dimly heard the sounds of guns cocking, and a light whirr from Tony Stark's repulsor. Then, he shattered the Scepter and the jewel inside. Loki stared in shock as an aureolin-yellow stone now hovered in the blond's palm.
"An Infinity Gem," he murmured breathlessly. "I held an Infinity Gem." The words fell onto his ears, but he still refused to believe it.
"You held a weapon that utilized an Infinity Stone," Naruto corrected him. "Had you wielded its full might, your body would have combusted spontaneously under its power."
"Okay, timeout—" said Tony. "The hell is an Infinity Stone?"
"They're ingots comprised of pure cosmic energy," Thor explained. "When the Big Bang occurred, six fundamental forces of the universe split into concentrated forces of power. These are the Infinity Gems."
"And they can only be used by those of incredible power," Naruto continued for him. "My father included."
"He wants a couple of rocks? So, what?" Clint asked.
"You don't understand the power of these stones. Each one can generate enough energy to wipe away galaxies." A chilling silence descended on the room. When the Avengers looked at Thor, he nodded, telling them it was true.
"My father wants to wield all six of them. If he does, he'll finally get what he wants. You asked why I meddled in your affairs? Why don't you ask Loki what my father asked in return for the Chitauri?"
When no one dared to open their mouths, he shrugged. "The Space Stone. Or, as you foolishly call it—"
"The Tesseract," Steve said, wide-eyed.
"I don't get it. If that thing right there—" Barton pointed to the stone hovering in Naruto's palm. "Is an Infinity Gem or whatever they're called, that means he already had one stone. So why give Loki that one?"
Steve and Tony nodded. The thought had entered their minds too.
"He wanted to test its power and test the strength of Earth. Loki was a pawn in a game he was too blind to know he was playing." Naruto ignored Loki's resentful expression. "I could not allow my father to obtain two stones. My rebellion means my death."
But I'm already dead, Naruto remarked venomously. In his dreams, he ceased to see what happened afterward. Naruto didn't need to question why. He knew which half of the universe he stood on.
"Why reveal all of this?" Natasha asked something that had been bugging her. "The stones, we had no idea about them."
"Thanos will come for them. There is no dark, forbidden corner of the universe he will not travel to obtain them. But humanity could not even hold up against a third of the Chitauri my father has at his disposal." The looks of dread on their faces went unnoticed as he continued to take in the devastation caused by said army.
That was just a third?!
"Which is why I'm entrusting them to the Asgardians."
"I'm sorry, but who died and made you boss?" Stark asked.
"Tony—" Natasha was run over.
"Seriously, I think this should be a group discussion at the very least."
"You were naïve to their existence before today," Naruto commented. "You're incapable of making decisions on matters you know nothing of. As of today, Earth proved that they are ready for galactic war. Your alien encounters will only increase from here on out, making this planet more dangerous than ever. I will not entrust the Infinity Stones to a divided planet like this one."
"You don't get to decide that," said Barton.
Naruto rolled his eyes again. "My father fears the All-Father. Asgard boasts a respectable army. Therefore, the stones shall remain in Asgard where they are safe."
"I agree," Natasha said shockingly.
"Are you serious? You can't be." Tony shook his head.
"Natasha…" Hawkeye trailed off.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. messed with the Tesseract and brought an alien invasion on our doorstep, Barton. Before that, a Nazi used it to make weapons and nearly conquered the world. S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to make weapons with it as well. I don't blame S.H.I.E.L.D. for wanting weapons, but we're dealing with forces we don't understand."
"You don't understand," Tony corrected her.
"Do you know what cosmic energy is, Stark?" Naruto's sudden question halted their argument. "Do you know what the other four Infinity Stone are called? What aspects of reality they command? Have you ever wielded the power of one? No, no, you have not. Odin All-Father has."
This self-appointed Iron Man didn't know the first thing about the Infinity Stones or cosmic energy.
Tony adverted his gaze, deep in thought.
"The stones shall be taken to Asgard where they will be kept from the Mad Titan's clutches," Thor said in a tone that brokered no room for an argument.
"The government ain't gonna like this," Barton said ultimately.
Nick Fury answered the call to the World Security Council.
They demanded to know how Iron Man had discovered the inbound missile. Fury told them. Enraged, they then demanded that the Avengers be brought together and kept in one place under World Security Council supervision.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Fury said.
"Where are the Avengers?" the lead councilor asked.
"I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts," Fury answered. "I'd say they've earned a leave of absence."
This wasn't strictly true. He was tracking their whereabouts and knew they had gathered to see Thor and Loki off back to Asgard with the Tesseract and the Scepter. He also knew that Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Barton, and Steve would scatter once the Asgardians were gone.
Exactly as Fury wanted. The farther apart they were, the harder it would be for the councilors to watch over them. Fury was an old dog who knew lots of tricks. One of them was that he knew better than trusting groups like the World Security Council. After all, they'd already gone behind his back and tried to nuke Manhattan.
"And the Tesseract?" the councilor pressed. "The Scepter?"
"The Tesseract and the Scepter is where it belongs: out of our reach."
"That's not your call," the councilor said ominously.
"I didn't make it," Fury replied. "I just didn't argue with the god that did."
"So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes? And what of those others not included in the Avengers Initiative."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is searching for them as we speak," Director Fury responded.
"Search faster, Director." Fury almost allowed his annoyance to show. "The other one. What do you know of him?"
"Besides that he helped defend New York?" Fury inquired. He was met with some nods. "There is a threat coming. One that we all need to be ready for. I suggest that you all buckle up, Councilmen and Councilwoman. What I am about to tell you, none of you will like." When the world Infinity Stone left his mouth afterward, the room sunk into pandemonium.
Right before Thor and Loki gripped the handles of a cylindrical case holding the Tesseract, the God of Thunder turned to Naruto.
"Are you sure you do wish to accompany me to Asgard?" Thor offered hospitality and protection from the Mad Titan. Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. Even thousands of lightyears away, here on Earth, he couldn't but be afraid of him.
"No," he said eventually, masking his discomfort. "There are things I must do," he let out a heavy breath. "There are still four more Infinity Stones out there."
"You're going to attempt to find them before Thanos does."
"It is my aim," Naruto confirmed. "But without my father's chain around my neck… I have to find out who I am in this universe."
"Then I am afraid we won't see each other for quite some time," Thor said knowingly. Self-reflection and soul searches could take many years. He ought to know. It had been nearly two years since the All-Father had banished him, and he was still searching for the answer to the same question he landed on Midgard with.
"Who am I?"
"I'm afraid not." Naruto ignored Loki's irritation at their discussion. "But when the time is right, I feel fate may bring us together again."
"On a field fighting a glorious battle, I hope," he remarked with a grin. "I wish you good fortune on your quests."
"And you as well, Thor Odinson."
A small handshake later, Thor and Loki grasped the cylindrical case holding the Tesseract. In a blue flash, both vanished. They used the Tesseract's power to return to Asgard. Naruto heard that the Bifrost was shattered—disabled somehow. He thought it was rubbish. Seeing their need for the Tesseract proved him wrong.
First time for everything, he murmured amusedly as they dissipated. Naruto sincerely hoped that would be the last time he would ever gaze upon those two stones.
Odin All-Father would ensure the security of the Space and Mind Stones. Now all he had to do was find the other four before Father did.
That shouldn't be too hard. Father only had billions of soldiers under his command, a vast range of spies and scouts, and, well, he was but one man.
All of his contacts were sure to have been wiped clean as well. Naruto flew across the state, roaming the lands while he neared his ship. His mind wandered tirelessly as he pondered what his next move should be.
Okay. This chapter was surprisingly easy to write. I'm having a lot of fun exploring Naruto's background.
This was something I do not want to neglect. Naruto is pretty amoral right now. If I just show him acting a fool, and doing terrible shit out of no where, it will feel off. Which is I'm putting in so much time detailing his past. His training, interactions with Thanos, experiences, his wars wars—I want to explore all of that. It will ultimately paint a larger, more coherent and comprehensive picture of his past. In actuality, I was tempted to start this story with his backstory. But I ultimately disregarded that, and chose to show snippets of through flashbacks.
Short chapter, I know, but the next one will be a bit longer. It will also jump right into another arc.
Also, Naruto was not the strongest in the Battle of New York. But you'll have to believe me when I say this; he's going to become much, much more powerful. This version of Naruto will look like an infant to himself in the future. Hell, he'll make his adult canon version look like a child. I have some plans on how to make him grow stronger. One of those includes the idea of somehow giving him an EMS, a Rinnegan, and Six Paths Sage Mode (which is just an idea, at the moment. I have poll my profile. Whatever the final result for that poll will dictate that creative decision). He's going grow massively more powerful, and gain a few hax abilities as well.
I'm pointing this out because people might believe Naruto to be weak, but that simply is not the case. He's stronger than Captain America, and vastly more powerful than Iron Man. Within time, he will eclipse Thor and Hulk. Even after they get buffed as well. He's going to be one powerful motherfucker in the future.