Chapter 9

July 21st. The anniversary of his impromptu interdimensional trip.

When Naruto awoke, he was in a bad mood. Here he was, one year later, and he was still no closer to getting back home. Not only that, but the only lead he had discovered that could lead him to helping Kurama had been snatched up by some kid wizard and his ugly overgrown cat. The reality of his situation weighed on him like a boulder.

Naruto rolled out of his prone position and took up a seat on the edge of his single bed. He was a war hero, sitting in a tiny apartment in a city a literal universe away from his own. The best and most powerful ninja in the Elemental Nations, undone by his own mercy and ripped away from his friends, his home, and his life. Naruto had never felt so... defeated. With a sigh, he stood from his bed and decided it was time to start the day; even if he would rather just lay under the covers and wallow in his misery for the rest of the day.

Naruto walked towards the bathroom and was struck by how completely silent his apartment could be without Koriand'r there to cause a ruckus. He had been living alone for the majority of his life, but having Koriand'r around had really made him realize how lonely his apartment really was.

Koriand'r had been moved into Mount Justice when Batman and the rest of the League had realized that the team would not budge on the issue of her being made their teammate. Naruto hadn't protested, but now, seeing how starkly barren his apartment felt, he truly wished he had.

Maybe it was just the significance of this day, but Naruto couldn't help the depressed thoughts that were entering his head. The chances for him to return home had always been slim, but Naruto had at least convinced himself that by the time a year had rolled around, he would at least have Kurama to share in his predicament. But a year had passed and his only link to his own world was trapped in some astral plane.

"I gotta blow off some steam." Naruto decided that if he was going to feel like such crap today, at least he would make the criminals of Metropolis share in his pain.

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The scum of Suicide Slum was out in force today. Shinobi had managed to stop two robberies, one fire, and a record seven purse snatchings in the six hours he had been out on patrol. It was all well and good, helping people, but he really needed to let loose. It was never a good idea to wish for trouble, but Naruto was in that frame of mind. Stopping low level hoods was like swatting flies. He needed something big, someone he could really lay into. It seemed his prayers would be answered.

Shinobi's communicator went off as he was about to break up a mugging. He swiftly touched a hand to his ear before jumping across the street and into an alley occupied by three armed men and one rather pretty victim.

"This is Shinobi." He sized up his first target, a bear of a man, probably seven feet tall, wielding a comparatively small knife. His compatriots were much shorter, but no less menacing, one holding a thick pipe and the other a pair of brass knuckles.

"Shinobi, this is Martian Manhunter. There's been a report of an explosion in S.T.A.R. Labs."

Shinobi shot for the large man first. The man began a series of slashes and stabs, all of which were neatly and effortlessly sidestepped. Finally having had enough, Shinobi caught the man's wrist in the middle of a stab attempt. With a quick application of pressure, the man's wrist broke with sickening crack and the knife fell from his hand. The mugger began to scream before a quick chop to his throat cut off his airflow. He fell to ground, gasping for breath, with tears streaming down his face. He wouldn't die, but he certainly wouldn't be standing any time soon.

"When isn't there an explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs? It might as well be a weekly occurrence."

The final two men decided their chances would be better if they attacked in tandem. The man with the brass knuckles moved in first, attacking with a string of jabs.

"Yes, well, Superman is away on a space mission. He won't be back until the end of the week, at the earliest. I need you to handle this."

The man with the brass knuckles was swinging away at Shinobi, though he found little success, while his compatriot was circling around to try to attack from behind. It might have been a good plan if they had implemented it on a lesser man. Shinobi caught his assailant's fist and then quickly caught the other before pulling him in for a vicious headbutt. The man's nose broke, smearing the metal plate of Shinobi's headband with a vile mixture of blood and mucus, before the man himself crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Shinobi turned and caught the pipe the other man had been bringing down in an overhead strike. He ripped the pipe from the criminal's hand and bounced it off his own open palm in a menacing fashion.

"Let me just wrap something up and I'll head out."

The criminal, faced with his unconscious friends and vastly superior foe, decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valor and promptly turned tail and ran. Shinobi watched him for a second while he deactivated his communicator. The criminal tripped once but quickly regained his feet and continued to run until he made it just passed the entrance of the alleyway before his own pipe was sent flying after him. It hit him on the back of the head and he promptly fell over, unconscious in the street.

Shinobi looked at the pretty woman that they had been accosting and asked, "You okay?"

She nodded quickly, her eyes wide as she stared at the unconscious men before her. The hero had subdued them in an almost bored fashion, while having a conversation, no less.

Shinobi checked her over for any wounds before saying, "Call the cops and get outta here." That said, Shinobi walked over to one of the unconscious men and ripped his shirt to create a rag. He wiped the blood from his headband and said, "I'm off. Take care."

Shinobi proceeded to jump on the wall of one of the buildings and run up the side until he disappeared over the edge.

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Shinobi knew the route to S.T.A.R. Labs well. There was always some crisis at that place. For one of the most advanced scientific research centers in the world, the people there sure knew how to get into trouble. The Metropolis lab wasn't their only location, but it was, by far, the one that put out the most distress calls. There was always a fire, an explosion, or an escaped experiment.

When Shinobi arrived at the location, there were firemen already on the scene. Their trucks were parked in the street and some men were already spraying the fire with their hoses while others worked quickly to hook into any free hydrant they could find. Metropolis's finest were hard at work, and that suited Shinobi just fine; his job wasn't to put out the fire, it was search and rescue.

Shinobi moved over to a group of evacuated scientists. If he wanted answers, this was as good a place as any to start. He looked at one in particular man that looked to be in charge. Or as in charge as one could be when their place of work went up in flames. He was an older man, with hair that had long since gone gray, wearing a labcoat and a pair of rectangular glasses.

"Hey! Doctor-"

"Klein!"

"Yeah. What happened here? Is there anybody inside? And be quick about it." Shinobi had no time to spare.

"There's nobody inside. We've taken a headcount and everyone is accounted for. But there was something else in there. Whatever caused this fire, nobody really saw it too clearly, but it was big and it's still in there. The firemen won't listen-"

Shinobi waved him off and started making his way towards the building. It may have been rude, but he wasn't in any sort of mood to deal with a frazzled scientist. He walked passed the firemen and made a passing suggestion. "The labcoats say there's something big in there, might have caused this fire. Move your men back." It was a perfunctory action. He didn't expect that they would listen and he wouldn't wait for a response. He heard the beginning of the reply before he became a blur of speed and rocketed through the front doors of the building.

Inside was a haze of oppressive heat and and suffocating smoke. Shinobi was glad for his facemask in this moment. Maybe he didn't care much for concealing his identity, but, right now, his facemask was really coming in handy. It did its part to mitigate his smoke inhalation, but it wouldn't help for very long so he had to be quick about his investigation.

He moved down the hallways at a quick pace, checking the rooms he passed swiftly and moving on. He was hearing booming sounds, but those could have easily been small explosions caused by the fire, though he did consider the fact they they might also be whatever had caused this fire, continuing its rampage.

Shinobi rounded a corner, moving roughly in the direction he had heard the sounds coming from. What met him was a giant orange fist swinging for his face. Shinobi had very little time to react. He crossed his arms over his face and upper torso, reinforced his body with as much chakra as he could, and braced for impact. And, boy, did the impact come.

Shinobi's world was turned upside down. He was sent flying by the punch and was dimly aware of flying through several walls before the world became brighter. He could see the sky, and then the ground, and then the sky again, and so on. He had flown clear through the building and was flipping through the air. But the building's walls had done wonders to slow his momentum and he was already falling. Before Shinobi could try to right himself and land on his feet, his back impacted against the roof of a car, which readily caved in under his weight and the force of his fall.

Shinobi rolled off the wreckage of the car, landing on his hands and knees. Tsunade had once told him that he had an oddly dense bone structure, likely contributing to his ridiculously hard head. He was thankful for that now. It was thanks to that and his liberal application chakra that his arms weren't broken.

He regained his feet and looked around. The firemen and remaining scientists were looking at him with wide eyes.

"I told you to get outta here, right!? So, go!" He shouted at them. This was no time for innocent bystanders to be hanging around. The message didn't seem to sink in until there was a loud crash from the building and some thing walked out of the newly made hole.

Whatever it was, it was easily twelve feet tall. The thing had an orange body, rippling with muscle, and covered in tattered red rags. On the creature's head were a pair of large horns, easily a foot in length each. They curved back and then slightly forward like a goat's and held a fiery halo between them. On its wide back were a pair of leathery orange wings, easily another twelve feet in wingspan, though, by Shinobi's estimation, they still looked like they wouldn't be able to sustain the creature's flight for any prolonged period of time. The creature looked passed all the firemen and scientists and zeroed in directly on Shinobi. It let out of deafening roar, causing car alarms to go off all up and down the street. All in all, it was a fearsome image. It certainly seemed to convince the firemen and scientists to make themselves scarce.

Shinobi got into a ready stance and waited, watching the monster for any aggressive action. He wasn't disappointed. The monster took a breath and released a fireball from its maw. Shinobi jumped over it, flipping forward, and when he landed, he blurred into motion, moving directly at the monster. He jumped and held his leg out in the position of one of Maito Gai's signature techniques.

"Dynamic entry!"

His foot made contact in the monster's midsection and it was accompanied with the loud thud of a solid hit. The monster didn't budge, however. It didn't show any sign that it had even felt the impact of Shinobi's foot, let alone been hurt by it. They stayed in that position for a moment, and Shinobi could make out a symbol branded into the thing's chest. A circle that contained a simple capitalized letter 'I'. Realization entered his eyes before he was backhanded by the creature and sent on his way.

Shinobi's back impacted against an abandoned fire truck this time and he fell once more to his hands and knees. He looked up at the beast, a gleam of realization in his eyes. He knew who and what this creature was. A grin spread across his face and he vocalized his thoughts.

"It's been a while, Jason! Or should I call you Etrigan?"

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Superboy had been entertaining himself by beating up a practice dummy in the training room. Ever since the fight against Mister Twister, the days had grown long and dull. It had only been three days, but he was already bored out of his skull.

Of course, Megan and Koriand'r were doing just fine. The two were practically best friends already. They never seemed to stop talking to each other and Superboy was all too happy to let them. He certainly didn't want to get caught up in that whirlwind of words. But that left him with very little to do.

He had taken to trying out a few of the techniques Shinobi had taught him on several practice dummies. Maybe the guy was pushy and got on his nerves, but Superboy could admit he was good, scarily so.

Superboy was on his fifth dummy of the day. It was a trial and error process and he sometimes lost control of his strenght. Not to mention that Shinobi hadn't actually taught him anything, but instead had used the moves on Superboy himself ruthlessly and to great effect.

Superboy took the current dummy by the arm and threw it over his shoulder before viciously twisting the limb. There was a crack and he knew if it was a real person, they would be disabled and writhing in pain cradling their broken arm. Shinobi hadn't followed through with this move, but Superboy knew he probably could have found a way to hurt him if he really had to.

Superboy righted himself and prepared to pick up the dummy for another go before a holographic display lit up on the far wall and the computer said, "Incoming call from Shinobi, designation B-06."

Superboy jogged over to the display and accepted the call. Immediately he could tell Shinobi was in a fight. There were crashes going on in the background and Shinobi himself was grunting in exertion before he spoke.

"Hello!? Dammit, if you're gonna answer, at least say something!"

Superboy scowled and replied in kind. "Yeah? What do you want?" He wasn't going to take that kind of crap.

There was an explosion on the other end of the line before Shinobi answered. "Cut the attitude! I need you to get to the Metropolis S.T.A.R. Labs location! Bring Starfire and Miss Martian!" There was another crash before the line cut out.

Superboy stared at the display for a moment before running off to find Megan and Koriand'r. Shinobi needed their help. And knowing that guy, if he needed help, it was serious.

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Shinobi stood away from the demon, in a ready stance. His suit was torn in some places and singed in others. Luckily his eyebrows were still in tact, but Etrigan was growing very fond of throwing fireballs. And it wasn't like he could make the demon stop.

Everything Shinobi had tried had been for naught. He'd long since discarded his weights, but every blow he landed on Etrigan seemed to have little to no effect. He had tried fire jutsu, but Etrigan seemed eat the flames like they were fine cuisine. His wind jutsu had had some effect, but the cuts were easily healed by the demon in seconds, and any of his stronger jutsu would likely outright kill him, something Shinobi desperately wanted to avoid. The few lightning jutsu he had tried worked well enough, but then there was the problem of Etrigan healing too quickly for Shinobi to capitalize on the disadvantage. There seemed to be no course of action but to fight until his backup arrived.

With a blur of speed, Shinobi reengaged Etrigan in a taijutsu battle. The demon was too big for the ninja to use any of his throws and the quick dislocation techniques he might use against his more invulnerable enemies were similarly out of the question for much the same reason. The only advantage taijutsu gave Shinobi was that it allowed him to avoid taking damage while keeping Etrigan from wreaking havoc on the street and surrounding buildings.

Shinobi stopped in front of Etrigan's massive form, drawing out a downward punch that he neatly sidestepped. He drew out two kunai while the demon was pulling his fist out of the ground and with a small leap planted them directly in his eyes.

Etrigan reared back in pain, scratching at his face, trying to remove the two kunai. Shinobi winced. It was a mean thing to do, but Etrigan would heal, and his blindness would buy the ninja some time to draw out Kurama's chakra.

Shinobi closed his eyes for a moment, blocking out Etrigan's frenzied thrashing, and reached deep into himself. He found the well of power that was Kurama and pulled. Without the fox himself there to offer up the power freely, it took a great deal more work to draw it out. Eventually, his effort bore fruit though.

Shinobi's body was enshrouded in a golden flaming aura. His clothing disappeared, covered by the golden chakra, and his body was covered by black markings. He opened his eyes and revealed that they had become red and with a slitted pupil. Shinobi let out a breath and began rolling his shoulders before an orange fist came down on his position.

Etrigan removed his fist from the newly formed crater, expecting to see Shinobi's broken body, but found nothing. His confusion was ended when he felt an impact against his face that actually caused his head to whip around from the force. Another quickly followed, whipping him around to the other side and knocking him to his hands and knees.

Etrigan looked up to see his target, shrouded in that gold aura, standing a distance away with his hands at his side. While under the control of the Imperius Brand, the demon's intelligence was greatly reduced, but he knew enough to realize that his enemy had moved at such a speed that he couldn't see him at all. There was no blur of of motion, just speed and punches to match. Etrigan straightened himself and roared at the ninja with renewed rage before gathering another fireball in his mouth.

Shinobi, for his part, was regretting his decision to punch the new and improved Etrigan. He had hit him so hard, he'd broken his own hands and Etrigan was still ready for more. The Nine-Tails Chakra Mode had done wonders to speed his healing and he could already feel the bones in his hands realigning themselves and knitting together. Shinobi could run himself ragged attacking Etrigan, he could punch and kick until his hands and feet fell off altogether, but the demon would heal, much faster than he could, and would still come back for more. This was a fight he could not win without killing his enemy.

Luckily the decision was taken from him when a salvo of green energy blasts impacted against Etrigan's head, causing him to release his building fireball harmlessly into the ground. The demon raised his hand to block out the annoyance and Shinobi looked up to see Starfire, busily flying around and unleashing as many blasts as she could upon Etrigan.

As Starfire was distracting the enemy, Superboy ran up from the side and grabbed one of Etrigan's legs and lifted it off the ground, toppling the demon. Afterwards, a plethora of cars flew into the air, one by one, and started bombarding the fallen foe. Shinobi looked to the top of building across the street and saw Miss Martian there, doing her level best to bury Etrigan under as many cars as she could.

With his hands healed and the situation under control, Shinobi decided he would go talk to Miss Martian. He had an idea of how to end this madness. Shinobi disappeared in a bright yellow flash and reappeared at Miss Martian's side. She gave a startled squeak and the car she'd been floating fell to the ground at once.

She took in Shinobi's golden form and asked the first question that came to mind. "Shinobi? Why are you glowing like that?"

"There's no time for that. That guy's not gonna be down much longer. I need you to do something while Superboy, Starfire, and I distract him. I need you to go into his head and find out where his master is. He's skinny wears a black suit and his hair is in the shape of horns on the side of his head. His name is Klarion. Find him and we can put an end to this. Got it?" Shinobi waited for her to nod before he was gone once more in a yellow flash.

The ninja reappeared next to the pile of cars and beckoned his teammates closer to him. "Miss Martian's gonna go into his head, we've got to distract him until she finds what we're looking for."

Starfire nodded and took back to the sky, ready for battle, but Superboy stuck around. "What exactly are we looking for? Why don't we just crush this guy and be done with it?"

"He's being controlled. We're looking for where his master is hiding. Now, look alive!" Shinobi had taken Superboy by the arm and moved them both out of the way of a car that had been sent flying when Etrigan regained his senses. Superboy shrugged him off and resumed the fight, Shinobi following behind.

Given his superior speed, Shinobi reached the demon first. He quickly darted under Etrigan's legs to reach his back and quickly formed an Odama Rasengan. He waited until Superboy was in range and shoved his technique into the demon's back. The release of power was enough to push him forward and into a combo of punches from Superboy. It was a well executed attack, but Etrigan recovered quickly.

Shinobi was about to renew his attack, when Miss Martian's voice entered all of their minds. "I've found him! I found Klarion! He's nearby, at a the Jules Verne Extra-Terrestrial Museum!"

Shinobi knew where that was. He shouted to his teammates, "I'm going after the guy behind all of this! Keep this guy here! I'll be done before you know it!"

And just like that, Shinobi was gone in another yellow flash.

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Klarion had been sent by the Light to this museum to retrieve some space rock. He didn't care much about the details to be honest. They'd told him he could release his new pet upon the city to create chaos, and Klarion, as a Lord of Chaos, had jumped at the chance. The plans of his fellow members of the Light didn't matter to him. He was just in it for the good times.

Klarion walked around the museum taking in the sight of the daytime visitors to the museum cowering on the floor. All these mortals, on their knees before him. It was almost enough to make him swoon. Teekl was at his side, in his large sabertooth form, doing his part in making sure the humans were properly intimidated.

Klarion was taking his time. After all, the longer he delayed, the more death and destruction Etrigan would sow. He twirled the brand in his hand appreciatively as he walked. The Imperius Brand. It had given him such a good pet. Etrigan had been limited in his use when Klarion had taken control of him. But a liberal application of magic, genetic modifications, and a bit of Blockbuster serum had done wonders for him. He was truly a fearsome creature now. A demon with no equal. And Klarion would let him delight in the screams of the innocent for a little while longer. After all, a distraction was one thing, but he had to let the poor demon have his fun.

As he was reveling in the chaos he had sown, his attention was drawn back to the situation at hand by the sound of shattering glass and the of the cowering people around him gasping. He turned around to find a man, enshrouded by a golden energy, staring at him.

"What the-? Teekl!" The sabertooth set off running at its new target and leapt up to pounce on him before the figure backhanded it away and out the window he'd come through.

"So you think you're tough, huh?" Klarion started to gather his magic in his free hand before the figure disappeared completely in a flash of yellow and reappeared in that same instant in front of him. Klarion quickly repurposed his gathered magic and formed a shield in front of himself. The figure laid his hand on the shield and the strange energy that covered his form seemed to destabilize Klarion's own. The shield quickly broke apart and the figure grabbed Klarion by the neck and raised him off the floor with one hand.

For once, there was fear in Klarion's eyes. How could he fight against this man? He was so fast, and he could destabilize his spells so easily. And then he remembered the brand in his hand. It was only meant to subjugate demons, but perhaps it would work here. The energy surrounding this man certainly felt demonic.

Klarion raised the brand and began to bring it closer to the figure's chest before a hand closed around his wrist. There was a brief moment of crushing pressure before he could feel the bones in his wrist give way and he gurgled in pain. In the next instant, Klarion was thrown across the room and impacted against a wall. He cradled his broken wrist and looked up at the figure that had so soundly defeated him.

The figure bent down to pick up the brand and looked at it consideringly for a second. The golden shroud started to fade away and it revealed the man he'd fought in Gotham. The man who had beaten him then as well.

Shinobi reached into his weapons pouch and pulled a kunai knife out. It was quickly coated in wind chakra. He then threw the brand into the air and the kunai swiftly followed after it. The remains of the brand fell at his sides in two pieces while he began walking towards Klarion.

Klarion's eyes once again filled with fear and he began gathering his magic. Shinobi reached him and squatted down in front of him.

"So, last time we fought you said I was lucky, didn't you? And you've asked me twice now if I think I'm tough. What do you think?" He stared Klarion in the eyes and the witch-boy glared back. He had nothing to say. "Do you understand now? Last time we fought, I was holding back so much, I'd be embarrassed to tell anyone that you actually landed a hit on me. You get it now? I'm above you, and I'm above your little magic tricks."

"Oh, yeah!? Well-" Shinobi's gloved hand pressed against Klarion's mouth before he could finish, The ninja's other hand pressing his index finger against his own lips.

"Hush, now. I don't know what you're doing here. Guy like you, you wouldn't be interested in this space stuff. Nah, you're not the type. So, I'm gonna give you a message to send back to your bosses or whoever's calling the shots. You're done with Jason Blood. No 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts' about it. Next time you come with your little mind control tricks, trying to take one of my friends and make him your soldier, I'm going to make it my personal mission in life to hunt you all down and make life very, very uncomfortable for you."

He stood back up and took a step back and immediately Klarion left in a flash of red light. There were no parting shots, no vows of revenge; Klarion the Witchboy had run like a dog with his tail between his legs and only because Shinobi had allowed it. The moment was immediately ruined by a little boy running up and saying, "That was so cool! You were all like bam! crash! boom! and that guy was all like 'No! Don't hurt me!' That was so awesome!"

Shinobi looked down at the child and ruffled his hair before turning back toward the window he'd entered the building through. It was time to return to his friends.

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When he returned to the ruins of S.T.A.R. Labs, Shinobi found his teammates surrounding the form of Jason Blood. As he'd expected when he destroyed the brand, Jason had regained his faculties quite quickly, though he seemed rather exhausted.

"Hey, Jason. Nice to see you again," Shinobi said.

"Shinobi. I assume I have you to thank for the return of my mind?"

"These guys helped, too," Shinobi said, gesturing to his teammates.

"Yes, well, I suppose thanks are in order. And I did say I would help you with your little problem, no?" Jason held his hand out for Shinobi to shake, which he took and shook vigorously.

Koriand'r also laid her hand on theirs, eager to join in. Shinobi started laughing and said, "Oh, man, I've missed you Kory."

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Seven screens lit up, one after another, in an empty dark room. Seven figures, obscured by light, appeared in those screens.

"Shinobi has proved himself to be quite a nuisance."

"He's proven himself to be an enemy of the Light."

"He displayed a very interesting power when he defeated L-7. A power that could perhaps be harnessed. Perhaps the cloning process could prove useful in this regard. And if not, we could turn him to our cause."

"Whatever the course we decide, it's clear that, as of now, he is an enemy of the Light."

A/N: So here it is. Jason Blood has been rescued, and Naruto should be getting back in touch with Kurama fairly soon. And you've also seen why I don't have Naruto just running around spamming jutsu and Sage Mode and all that jazz; it's just too easy. He's several notches above chumps like Klarion. Also, for people who keep telling me about cloning Naruto not being worth it because his power can't just be replicated through simple clones: I understand this. My intention is not to have a 'dark Naruto' running around. I've got things planned, don't worry so much. As well as people telling me that Kurama is not a true demon; I know this, I've taken a liberty here because it fits well with the story. There's literally no other reason. Anyway, thanks again to Wing Zero Alchemist for helping with this chapter. Until next time.