The Hokage Of The League
Sorry about the delay in this chapter folks. I was in mid traveling on vacation in the Philippines when I was writing this out. Well, that and Summer Assignments from school. As always enjoy and review.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Naruto or Justice League. All rights belong to their respective owners.
"Talking"
"Thinking/Mindscape Speech"
"Kurama/Kyuubi Talking"
(Translations)
XxX
Chapter 9: Revelations
"Is there an area that we can relocate to, as I have a feeling that this may take some time to explain?" Naruto casually asked Batman who nodded in response.
"The War Room will have to do." The Caped Crusader stated with finality as he gestured everyone to follow him. A few minutes of traveling later the heroes found themselves in a spacious room that held a single circular table in the center of the room. Eight chairs were evenly situated around the table, which the heroes easily seated themselves into. From 12 clock the order was Superman, Batman, Hawkgirl, Diana, Naruto, Green Lantern, Flash and finally J'onn the Martian.
Having comfortably perched himself in his own seat, Naruto gave the group of heroes who had their undivided attention on the blonde a blank stare, as his mind attempted to formulate a proper response to the Dark Knights impetration. He had already expected this to happen sooner or later, and had conversed with Kurama on what information was safe to divulge to his fellow heroes. While he may have worked together with them in the invasion that did not give them the privilege to all of his occulted history.
All he needed to do was provide them with decently adequate answers to their questions that would give them some incentive as to who he was, but elude to some of the classified details of his life. God knows how they would react to a giant fox demon that was essentially made of a large mass of chakra, and resided within his body. And if he had heard correctly, Diana's people had battled demons for centuries, so he could only assume that her reaction to Kurama's existence would most likely be less than savory.
"Well…"Naruto started, finding his choice of words."-Before we begin I want to clarify that there are some parts of information that I will not be willing to divulge to you guys, as there are some things that I still want to be kept concealed for now. I hope you understand." A chorus of nods acknowledged Naruto's request as he mutely gave back his own nod of appreciation for their consideration; though he did notice that some were a little more reluctant than others, namely a certain Dark Knight.
They all understood that every hero was entitled to their own secrets that they did not want just anyone to know about. Every hero present had their own secrets that they kept to themselves, namely their secret identities and other factors that kept their loved ones from harm. So they knew the importance of keeping a few secrets and found the blonde shinobi's reluctance to give away too much information to be an understandable precaution.
Naruto inwardly sighed to himself as this particular part was probably going to be the most difficult to explain, but was needed for everything else to add together properly. "I suppose I should start things off by establishing the fact that I am not from this world."
As expected, Naruto's sudden declaration was met by a wave of befuddled expressions from many of the heroes within the room, with the exceptions of J'onn who masked his surprise extremely well with his constantly passive features, and Batman who strangely had held an expression of admission to his proclamation.
Superman was the first to question the blonde on the sudden bombshell he had just dropped onto the group of heroes. "When you say that you're not from this world, do you mean that you originate from another planet like me or J'onn?"
Naruto shook his head at the Man of Steel's understandable misconception. There were many identified extraterrestrials from distant planets and systems that had a similar body structure resembling the human race. Superman had probably assumed that Naruto may be such a case. "Not quite, my world is of a completely separate dimension. While I do not originate from this version of Earth, I assure you that I am completely 100% human. Both my parents were human, as well as are the rest of my people."
Naruto gave the group a few moments of alleviation to fully register his words. The Man of Steel rubbed his chin in reminiscence. "Another dimension huh? It's like the time when a friend of mine was transported to a dimension where they met another version of me."
Batman was well aware of the event that Clark spoke of as he kept tabs on most if not all super hero and villain's activities to the best of his ability. "That particular circumstance was that of a parallel dimension. What the Hokage speaks of seems to be an alternate dimension, which is a whole other factor."
Hawkgirl interjected at that moment with intrusiveness webbed in her speech. "If you have powers does that mean that all of your people are meta-humans?"
Naruto turned his attention to the winged heroine. "From what I understand meta-humans are essentially people who have achieved unique powers and abilities through both natural and artificial methods. Am I correct in that regard?"
A nod of confirmation from some of the heroes served as his answer. "Then in that case technically no, my people were not classified as meta-humans. My people were regarded as shinobi, which is also a term used here as well." The heroes seem to take the information in cool stride, most already somewhat drawing to the conclusion that the man before them had some form of connection to the old shinobi arts. They just did not expect it to be the shinobi arts from an alternate dimension, certainly not one that seemed to possess ninja capable of meta-human like feats.
"But if you shinobi weren't meta-human then where did you draw your source of energy from?" Lantern questioned, his eyes momentarily flashing a fluorescent green. Stewart knew that the young blonde had to have been harnessing his power from some source of energy to perform all of his abilities. Just as he and every other lantern drew their source of power from their rings.
Naruto moved through the many pockets on his flak jacket, in search of a particular scroll. The league looked on with some inquisitiveness as the Hokage brought out a thick parchment scroll, eager to know of its contents. Unraveling the scroll, it revealed a complete diagram on the subject of chakra, including a short description of the topic and sketches of the human body with arrows and labels on certain sections. It was one of the many scrolls that belonged to Naruto's father Minato, who had collected his own set of materials on many things pertaining to the subject of chakra. It was only with Kurama's insistent prodding that Naruto had finally buckled down and made sure to commit this information to his memory. Not only so he would be able to describe it thoroughly to others if he needed to, but to also get his container to ingrain the information into his thick skull. The crimson colored fox did not want his container to be a brainless buffoon who was but all brawn and no intellect. It was also a good source of reading material for the young blonde during his continued training with his chakra control, which had taken acceptable leaps since before his arrival to this plane of existence.
Making sure to point to certain visual pictures in his description, Naruto began his explanation. "Our bodies have a natural special circulatory system that regulates energy known as chakra, which is the culmination of both spiritual and physical energy. Charka lives inside every living organism and flows through all 361 chakra points known as Tenketsu in the human body. Shinobi were able to harness this chakra through various methods, but the most common of them that my people utilized was through the use of hand seals. Through training we learned to manipulate our chakra to where it can give us the ability to achieve effects that would otherwise be impossible. Sticking to the surfaces of buildings, manipulating certain elements, enhancing the physical conditions in the body to where they perform at superhuman levels, and so forth."
All of the heroes recollected the spare few moments that they had remembered of the blonde waving through those strange hand motions, and what he was capable of performing with them. Batman had already known this as he had given a thorough study of the Hokage's mannerisms and movements from watching past footage and witnessing the blonde shinobi in action.
Superman took this moment to cut in. "Wait, if it's true that everyone has this chakra, then how come no one has been able to harness this energy before?"
"From what I gather, everyone here has been born with extremely low chakra reserves to where it's even lower than the average civilians of where I'm from. The people from this world only seem to carry the bare minimum amount that is required to continue living, but nothing more. It also takes more than just having chakra. A person must also train their chakra control from a young age to manipulate it to receive the necessary requirements needed to perform a jutsu. Also there's the fact that the humans in this world haven't even discovered the use of chakra at all, rather, they focused their attention on growing in the technology field." Superman nodded his head in acceptance of the Hokage's explanation.
Positioning his hands into a cross seal, an exact replica of the Hokage suddenly poofed into existence, somewhat startling some of the league members. "This is a perfect example of what can be accomplished with the appliance and control of chakra."
Flash, being the curious little speedster he was, edged closer to the clone and had begun poking it with his gloved index finger to see if it was real or not. Much to his inner amazement, his hand met with resistance as it came into contact with the clone's form, indicating that the clone of the shinobi was indeed tangible.
The speedster as well as many of the other heroes had heard of several reports on many sightings of multiple copies of the blonde shinobi fighting against the Imperium's forces, but to actually see it in person was interesting to say the least.
"What you are seeing here is what I call a Shadow Clone. The Shadow Clone or Kage Bunshin is a physical manifestation of my chakra forming a carbon copy of myself that is identical in every possible way." Said clone had long grown tired of acting as a zoo animal on display and Flash's incessant poking did not help matters.
Eventually the clone had reached its breaking point, slapping away the speedster's hand and dispersing itself from the confines of this reality. The abrupt disappearance of the clone knocked Flash on his rear, elapsing a few chuckles from some of the heroes in the room. Naruto held in his mirth as he helped the grumbling speedster back on his feet.
Nearly a second later Flash's mood took a 180 spin as he raised his hand with childlike curiosity. "So does that mean that with training, anyone of us could unlock this chakra?"
Naruto sweat dropped at the speedsters seemingly bi-polar mood swing but chose not to comment on the matter. The question that Flash proposed was rather interesting and it got the attention of the other leaguers. Naruto idly tapped his fingers on the table in thought, overlooking the possibility of the others being capable of utilizing chakra themselves.
"While everyone here does carry an innate amount chakra, not one of you can learn how to control your charka at this stage. Your bodies have aged too far along to naturally process the flow of chakra without any harmful effects. It's why we had our shinobi are introduced and trained on how to utilize chakra at a young age, for their chakra coils to get accustomed to the energy and eventually expand over time. If someone of your ages were to try and use chakra now, then it could have disastrous affects; for their bodies would not be familiar with the new energy and would not know what to do with it."
"In other words, it would have a similar effect to poisonous toxins spreading throughout your body, resulting in a high possibility of death." Batman finished for Naruto, who steadily nodded in confirmation to the Dark Knights assessment.
"On top of that, chakra is a foreign source of energy to your people so it would take generations for your people to naturally become accustomed to it and expand the reserves of chakra you'd be able to surmise. Not to mention the time it would take to create your own method of utilizing the chakra."
The heroes nodded in understanding of the fact that they'd most likely never be able to harness their chakra, as would everyone else on Earth. The methods it would take to produce people with naturally high reserves or even average reserves of chakra were highly impractical. It would take countless years and generations of select breeding and overseeing before someone would yield a satisfactory amount chakra to start off on. Realizing that he had made his point across, Naruto allowed the others to continue with their questions.
"So how does your reality differ from ours?" Batman asked wanting to know what his version of Earth was like. He already had some theories, since if the Hokage was skilled in ninja arts then that could mean his world wasn't as technologically developed as theirs, but then again it could just be that they didn't depend on technology to live their lives.
Naruto looked spaced out for a moment as he thought about how to explain his world's functions. "Well for one this world contains many similarities to my own, but with several stark differences. For example, my world was known as the Elemental Nations. The technology of this world far exceeds mine, but we did have things such as electricity, refrigerators, television, and even trains." The heroes continued to listen with rapt attention as the blonde shinobi continued to describe the similarities and differences between his world and their own. It was an eye opener to think that a culture that seemed to be based off of the federal era system of early Earth history was used in the young shinobi's society. His world had a strange blend of being both modern and medieval at the same time.
Replacing the chakra scroll, Naruto produced another scroll from his flak jacket. This one contained a neatly designed map of what appeared to be the geographical features of the Elemental Nations and its countries.
"As you can see, the Elemental Nations are divided into five major countries, with other smaller factions surrounding them. These are known as the Five Great Nations which are: Land of Fire (Hi no Kuni), Land of Water (Mizu no Kuni), Land of Earth (Tsuchi no Kuni), Land of Lightning (Kaminari no Kuni), and Land of Wind (Kaze no Kuni). Naruto translated the names of the countries in English as most of the people bar Batman would not be able to comprehend his native language.
"Each country operates as a separate entity under a monarchy system and is ruled by feudal lords known to us as Daimyō (Great Name), who have an equally standing rank as the Kage (Shadow) of each of the five most powerful hidden villages."
"Hidden Village? Kage? What are those?" J'onn queried with growing interest.
"I'll get to what the title of Kage entitles in a bit but the Hidden Villages are shinobi villages, where shinobi are trained and is also where they operate from. They serve as both a home and base of operations. Each Hidden Village bears a symbol to distinguish their own village and all shinobi of their respective village are required to wear a forehead protector. My village was known as Konohagakure or the Village Hidden in the Leaves, thus I wear the forehead protector with the symbol of a leaf." Naruto paused, gesturing a thumb at his forehead were his Hitai-ate (Forehead Protector) was secured firmly and displayed with pride.
"Before I get to what the term Kage truly means, let me get you up to speed on what the ranking system within the village is. At the bottom of the totem pole we have the Academy Students, who are children who hone the various skills required to graduate from the academy and are also taught in other ordinary subjects such as history and mathematics. Not too dissimilar to the schools offered from this world." Of course, the schools in this dimension did not offer a shinobi curriculum, but that was beside the point.
Hearing that young children were brought into the academy where they would be taught to become ninja did not sit too well with Green Lantern. He had seen enough of child soldiers in his lifetime as a marine and Lantern. "You mean to say that young children were inducted into the academy to become shinobi? How could you accept that!?"
Naruto drew a bewildered expression in hearing Stuart's reaction toward the knowledge of academy students. "Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions Lantern. No one was forced to enter in the academy, it's purely a voluntary option proposed to anyone willing to partake in. If the child was unwilling to become a shinobi, then they would simply pursue another career and become a civilian. You don't have to become a shinobi to live in a hidden village. Most hidden villages have a large civilian populace that run other businesses that help circulate the economy."
As soon as it came, Lantern's rising ire had harmlessly deflated, much to the relief of Naruto. Stuart sent the blonde a look of admission before falling silent again to let the young shinobi continue where he left off in his explanation.
"After graduating and passing through a trial of sorts, the academy student will have ascended to the level of Genin (Low Ninja), which is the lowest rank in the shinobi system. Genin are assigned to a four-man squad consisting of three Genin students and is overlooked by a Jonin (High Ninja) sensei. Typically, Genin are assigned to missions or jobs classified in the E-D rank level, being the most simple and easiest of tasks."
"What sort of tasks?" Superman questioned, slightly afraid to know what young shinobi were assigned to in the blonde's world.
Naruto could sense the faintest trace of anxiety held within the Man of Steel's question. The same could be felt coming from a few of the other heroes in the room. "Relax, the E-D rank mission contain the most mundane of tasks that are risk-free and contain some manual labor that can range from stuff such as finding lost pets to cleaning and picking up trash in the village."
Naruto's explanation was met with blank stares from some of the heroes in the group. The thought of ninja getting paid for menial tasks such as gardening work seemed so contrary to what they had envisioned of a shinobi to be doing.
"Of course there are a few exceptions to this concept. If a Genin has achieved enough experience and or is deemed talented enough, they can be assigned to more difficult missions such as C or even B-rank. Though, this situation is rare." Naruto continued with his speech, not mentioning that he was one such case when he would complain to old jiji about giving team 7 an actual shinobi mission, leading to the incident in the Land of Waves.
"Usually these types of missions will be taken by the next level of shinobi which are known as Chunin (Middle Ninja). Chunin are Genin who have passed through the Chunin exam and have reached a level of maturity and ability that primarily consists of leadership skills and tactical prowess. Some are qualified to lead other shinobi while others move on to function as Academy teachers. It is also at this rank that they truly begin to perform real shinobi tasks that have a possibility of risk to the shinobi involved."
"This Chunin exam. Just what sort of trials do these Genin undergo for the test?" The green Martian questioned.
Naruto's tone held an inflection of calm seriousness within them as he further explained the mechanics of the Chunin exam. "The location for the exam circulates around to other Hidden Villages after each one has had their turn. Genin from every shinobi village gather to the appointed village that holds that years Chunin exam, where they then compete with each other to obtain the rank of Chunin. The Chunin exams are not for the faint of heart. It is only after Genin have worked on missions with their teams for a decent number of months, if not years before their Jonin sensei qualifies them as ready to take the exam, and even then chances of success are slim."
"It's only a test right? How tough could it be?" The resident speedster in the room spoke out with a clueless expression on his masked face.
"I'm not entirely sure how the exams work in the other villages, considering that I only tried for the exam once myself, but I can tell you from personal experience that the test can be both challenging and grueling."
"What did they have you do for your exam?"
Naruto grew a misty eyed look as his mind wandered in nostalgia, recalling his past experiences of when he partook in the Chunin exam. "Well, I took the exam when I was thirteen, along with my team members at that time. The exam was held within my own village and was divided into three stages, each with a different objective."
"The first phase was taking a written exam, though not just any normal test. It consisted of at least a hundred or so questions, all of which were real head scratchers that had the potential to kill more than a few of your brain cells just attempting to solve them. Definitely above the criteria of most Genin."
Batman's eyes burnished in musing. "A ploy to mask the real objective of the written exam I presume?"
Naruto gave a gentle clap at the Dark Crusader's impressive deductive logic. Truly his reasoning and foresight rivaled if not surpassed some of the greatest minds that Konoha possessed. "You're absolutely correct in your assumption. The true objective of the written exam was to gather intelligence from your neighboring shinobi without getting caught by the Chunin and Jonin proctors that supervised all of the Genin taking the exam. They were extremely thorough and even brutal in snuffing out any cheaters caught looking at others tests. If even one of your team members were caught and kicked out, then the entire team would be penalized and booted from the exam right then and there. Needless to say, there were a good majority of the Genin present that exam that did not pass through the first trial."
"Following up on that was the next stage, which was held within the site of the most deadly and dangerous place that Konoha had; the forty-fourth training ground, or better known to the public as the Forest of Death." The name was met with surprise by the group of heroes.
Diana was the one to ask the question that was on everyone's mind. The forest that the young Hokage had mentioned was obviously not a normal one to be given such an ominous and foreboding title. "Why the name?"
Naruto couldn't suppress the small grin that creased his features behind his mask. "It was given such a name because the forest was host to hordes of flora and fauna that were quite often or not gigantic and poisonous, hence its given title as the Forest of Death. The primary function of the forest was to serve as a testing ground for the survival and fighting skills of the contesting Genin. Add that to the other countless groups of competing shinobi, and you have yourself a dangerous survival exercise that has the real potential of death.
Naruto's grin fell as he remembered one of the most disgusting moments of his early life. "Heh, reminds me of the time that I was eaten and nearly digested by a snake the size of house. I could barely move inside the damn thing, so I had to forcibly burst out to create an opening for myself to escape. It took a good 10 cycles through the washer and dryer to wash away the foul stench of blood and intestines."
Some of the heroes visibly blanched at the thought of being digested by an oversized serpent. Green Lantern was quick to comment on that, his features fuming with both anger and disbelief. "How could your people commit mere children to such a daunting confrontation?! They could very well be killed from these exams."
Inwardly Naruto cringed at the accusation. Maybe he shouldn't have recalled his past experience with Orochimaru's snake summon. Taking a quick look around he found that the others seemed to share Stewart's assessment, while others stayed indifferent as they waited for the blonde's explanation.
Sighing, Naruto calmly tried to placate their worries, but found that he'd have to be direct in some facts. "That's just how it is in my world. Being a shinobi isn't fun and games, it's serious business and if you want to be one then you have to be willing to put your life on the line to achieve it."
That answer wasn't received well by the other heroes in the room, but some of the more open minded and understandable of them knew that it was not their place to judge another culture's beliefs simply because they saw from a different perspective.
Taking notice of their discordant expressions, Naruto tried to soften the blow. "However it wasn't like they just went in and not receive help. Precautions are always accounted for in the exams for the Genin's safety. Most Genin's parents were also or still were shinobi, so they have taken the exam themselves and make sure their children know for certain what they are up against. By the time they take the test, the Genin are already fully aware of the risk that come from taking the exam, and have the option to quite at any given point in the exam. They are also given wavers that they are permitted to sign, which states to them they are willing to take the risks of the exam and are aware of the possibility of their possible death. It's also why the Genin's Jonin sensei don't recommend their students to attend the test until he or she fully believes in their capabilities of succeeding and passing the exams."
"You're also underestimating the prowess of the Genin that take the exam. Genin shinobi are infamously known for having the most varying of skill levels. Hell, my own Jonin sensei took and passed the exam when he was but a six year old, so that should be a huge indicator to how capable Genin kids can be." The league was silent with surprise etched on their expression as the thought of a mere six year old being capable of surviving and passing such a grueling exam. Slowly they began to understand just what sort of life the blonde before them and his people lead, and how it shaped him into who he was today. They continued to listen to Naruto as he finished describing the rest of the details of the exam and eventually learned that he himself did pass the Chunin exam, but he did not go into further detail pertaining to why that was.
"Now we enter the rank of Jonin (High Ninja), who are highly-experienced shinobi with great individual skills who serve as military captains. I am unaware of how the process is done in other villages but for Konoha, senior Jonin would vote on any prospective Chunin who have proved themselves qualified for taking on the rank. They are often sent out on A rank missions or even S rank which has both the greatest difficulty and pay. These type of mission can range from transporting highly valuable or sensitive information, escorting and guarding important VIP's, to even assassinations. Based off of their skills they are also assigned as sensei for Genin teams that match well with their area of expertise, or would provide the most benefits toward their selected students."
Batman committed to memory every word that the Hokage had spoken. From what he had gathered from the young Blonde, it seemed that the shinobi of his world had extremely talented individuals, and yet if he had heard right, there was still yet a level above that of a Jonin. A Kage as the man before him had put it. "You mentioned previously of a Kage?"
Naruto lazily stood there for a moment in thought, before he patted his left hand in with his right fist. "Oh yes, I remember. The Kage as I mentioned earlier are the leaders of their respective villages. They are acknowledged as being the strongest shinobi of whatever Hidden Village that they hail from."
"Is being the strongest all that is required to become a Kage?" Superman frowned somewhat. A system such as that would have issues with power struggle for who would become the leader of the village, thus creating a chaotic and structurally weak system of government.
Naruto noticed the slight look of disapproval within the Man of Steel's eyes, and made to correct him before he got the wrong idea. "I cannot account for the other villages, but in my village being the strongest did not guarantee one the title of Kage. Whoever thrives for the role of Hokage (Fire Shadow) must win the acknowledgment and unwavering influence from the populace within the village. Ideology and renown play a huge role for whoever tries for the position. It's also not a hereditary, thus any shinobi in the village who has the necessary requirements can fill the role."
"Once officially inducted as a kage, he or she is responsible for all details pertaining to the village. Expenditure for all shinobi in the system, finances, assigning missions to active duty shinobi, conservation of the village and its people, and all the likes." Naruto finished counting down the list with his fingers.
Flash made a small but noticeable groan when he heard the list of duties appointed to the Hokage. "Man I feel sorry for the Hokage. That seems like a crap load of work I wouldn't want to be bothered with. Don't they have someone to help them with all the paperwork?"
Naruto chuckled at the speedsters words. They brought back memories of Baa-chan when she would grumble and complain every chance she got when the workload was ridiculous and kept on piling up into a mountain stack of papers. Silently he agreed with the speedster. Even though he himself had dreamed and strived nearly his whole life to become Hokage, the paperwork was possible the only thing that he would not have looked forward to if he had ever gotten the role. Oh the hand cramps that every Kage must've suffered.
"Well they did have a few assistants to help them if I recall. But unfortunately the bulk of the work is dumped on the Hokage for god knows what reason. Though maybe they could've done something about it if they managed to get the council's help."
"The council?" J'onn questioned.
Seeing how he opened this new topic he explained. "Oh yeah I forgot about them, the council is a group of representatives from every clan inside the village, always one from each and the one that's the current head of that clan."
"What do they do with the Kage?"
Naruto thought hard but had some trouble finding the answer to this question. "Truthfully I'm not sure since I never attended their meetings, but I do know that the council is for attending and discussion things like politics, important news and other things like that. Sometimes things needed to be taken into a vote for a final decision so the council would cast their vote to decide what action they'd take. I guess you could say they were all like advisors for the Hokage, offering any form of aid they could provide to the Hokage to resolve issues affecting the village."
Hearing that everyone could understand that kind of position since it sounded like they were advisors to their leader, similar to how a vice president's position would be.
"So do you carry your hero name as Hokage to honor the village that you came from?"
Naruto folded his arms, nodding in affirmation. "In a matter of speaking yes I do. It was always a dream of mine to one day claim the position as Hokage." Some of the more observant of the heroes took notice of the blonde's shift in emotion as he stated those last few words, but none commented.
Diana, who had been silent thus far during Naruto's absorbing speech had taken an interest in the man's origins and his people's society. "If I may ask, what were the females like in your world Hokage?"
"In the Elemental Nation's there were no discrepancies involved with one's gender. Both male and females shared equal rights and female ninja were known as Kunoichi. Kunoichi are respected as any other shinobi and have proven themselves to be extremely proficient ninja." Diana felt an inner joy in knowing that the females of this man's world held a high social standing and were quite capable of themselves.
"In fact I personally knew at least two kunoichi within my time that had achieved the title of Kage from their respective villages." Motioning his hands through a few seals, Naruto summoned two Kage Bunshins into existence, though this time they did not take the form of the man himself.
"Henge (Transform)."
The two Shadow Clones took the enticing forms of two very well proportioned kunoichi ninja. One of the women had brown eyes and blonde hair that reached her mid-back and was tied into twin pigtails. Her attire consisted of a grass-green haori with the kanji for Gamble on the back, inside a red circle. In the center of her forehead was a small but noticeable purple diamond that left the heroes to wonder of its origins. On her feet were open toed sandals with high heels. Her skin was smooth and fair with a touch of pink lipstick that glistened on her supple lips but the thing that caught most of the guys attention (especially Flash's) was the size of her exceptionally large bust that was hidden behind her clothing but was showed through it despite that.
The other women held beauty that rivaled the blonde kunoichi. She was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties and had a slender figure unlike anything most of the guys had seen. The woman had green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back. Two bangs were short, with one covering her right eye, and another two were long, crossing each other on her exceptionally large bust, just below her chin. She wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that fell just below the knees. The dress only covered up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wore a mesh armor that covered slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wore a skirt in the same color as her dress and underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, was her weapons pouch attached to the back on the left. Her feet were supported by high-heeled sandals and shin-guards reaching up over her knees while her fingers and toes were colored with dark blue polish. She had full lips that held fushia colored lipstick that seemed to compliment her beauty perfectly.
The presence of the two females invoked a lot of attention, particularly from the male group for their beauty rivaled that of the most beautiful woman they had ever met or known, even that of Diana's natural beauty. Flash was gob smacked by the two kunoichi's appearance and couldn't help but whistle lowly in appreciation and was wishing he could meet the woman to see if he could land a date with one of them. Superman actually grew a slight look of embarrassment from them, GL cocked his head to the side with his eyes widened marginally, seemingly in thought, while Batman and J'onn remained ever unmoved. Shayera's delicate brow merely rose while Diana gazed at the two with some measure of respect and hidden fascination.
Naruto then moved to explain who the two well-endowed woman were. "The blonde woman with the diamond mark on her foreheads name is Tsunade Senju, and she was my villages Godaime Hokage (Fifth Hokage). She was Konoha's first female Hokage and was highly regarded as the best medical-ninja and one of the strongest kunoichi's in the Elemental Nations. She was also something of a grandmother figure of mine whom I cared for deeply for."
"The other woman here's name is Mei Terumi. Mei was an incredibly powerful kunoichi from Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist) who earned herself the position of Mizukage. I actually didn't get the time to know her that much, but from the brief moments that I did interact with her and of what I had heard of her from other sources, she was an extremely capable kunoichi who deserved her title."
"Both women were excellent Kages of their time and were extremely frightening in combat, especially if you managed to get on their bad side." Naruto finished with a cold shiver running along his spine at the memory of Tsunade's infamous temper and Mei's rage hidden by that beautiful sickly sweet smile plastered on her delicate face.
"Besides her unmatched skills in medical ninjutsu, Tsunade was well revered for her monstrous strength that I would say rivals if not surpasses yours Diana. I personally witnessed her rupture the ground with but only her index finger."
"Mei on the other hand was also quite capable for a Kunoichi, having two kekkei genkai and being able to manipulate the elements of Earth, Fire, and Water.
The Amazonian princess's eyebrows rose in shock at the revelation of a woman who could very well have rivaled her own strength and prowess. The same could be said for the others.
A grin flickered across the blonde's mouth as he suddenly recalled something interesting. "As a matter of fact Diana-hime, there was a hidden village near the Land of Water that bears strong similarities to your people in that their village only consist of female shinobi."
"Really?" That got a rise out of Diana who did not think there to be another possible civilization that operated in a similar manner to herself and her fellow Amazonians on Themyscira.
Naruto grinned as he replied. "The Hidden Village was known as Nadeshiko Village, but unlike your people, the women of Nadeshiko venture outside their village to find themselves a worthy male to betroth and procreate with. Though there method of selection is…unique to say the least. You see they don't just accept any average male to become their husband. They only accept the strongest men they can find, and even then they challenge said man to a fight to the death. If the man is strong enough to defeat them, then the Kunoichi will take him back to the village where they will get married, but if the man happens to lose, then said male will be hoping for a quick and painless death."
All of the league members were caught off guard at how the Kunoichi of the Nadeshiko village operated. Even the more calm and stoic members of the group, which included Batman and J'onn were not immune from the shocking revelation.
"Are you saying that if the male should lose then he also loses his life in the process?" Batman questioned.
Naruto motioned a stern nod as the red clad speedster of the group whispered lowly. "…Damn, that's cold. Poor bastards."
Diana made a slight frown but none the less commented. "I find it odd how they would go to such extremes to find a male to mate with, but as they are different from my people, I won't pass judgment on their decisions."
Surprisingly, Superman was the one that took the bit of news the best of the group. "It actually doesn't sound so farfetched. There was once a time when a warrior queen named Maxima challenged me to a fight because she was in search of a strong and worthy husband that could best her in combat. Still, the bit with the death of the male seems a bit extreme no?"
Naruto's body began to shake at what he heard and the league were wondering what was up with him until he started guffawing in an unrestrained fit of laughter which caught some of the leaguers off guard.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha" Naruto laughed in mirth at the irony of Superman's statement.
"What's so funny?" Superman questioned with smile on his face, his curiosity piqued.
For a moment Naruto said nothing as he kept laughing until he gained control of himself and stopped laughing. "Oh…sorry about that, it's just that I didn't know you went through the same thing that I did."
"That you went through? Are you saying that…?" Flash began but was cut off by Naruto.
"Yeah I also had a fight against a woman that forced me to fight her for her hand in marriage." Naruto said earning some reaction from the league.
"I take it was one of those kunoichi from that village called Nadeshiko?" Diana asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yep but it wasn't just any of their kunoichi, it was the current leader of their village." Now that got more of everyone's attention.
"You mean you fought against the leader of their village? Since your alive does that mean you won and married her?" GL said while finding it surprising someone his age would be married. Even though he didn't know how old he was exactly, he had a guess that he was probably younger than Flash.
Surprisingly, Naruto shook his head. "No I didn't marry her, I won our fight but I didn't marry her. I wasn't in love with her so I couldn't accept the marriage. Instead we just became friends and went our separate ways."
Flash frantically waved his hands in excitement, getting everyone's attention. "Could you show us what she looked like?" The speedster asked, wanting to know what a so called princess of an all-female village would look like.
Naruto thought for a moment before replying. "Sure I guess, just give me a moment." He said before he tried to recall what Shizuka looked like and what she wore. It took him a minute before he remembered clearly and then created another clone that appeared in the form of Shizuka.
The league saw a young girl who appeared to be less than twenty years old. She was a fair-skinned girl of average height. Her eyes were a deep green and she held waist-length black hair in a hime-style cut tied in a high ponytail, with short bangs and chin-length strands framing her face. She had a black forehead protector and wore her village's standard form-fitting kunoichi uniform. The uniform was grey-colored with a right shoulder-guard, grey gloves, and opening in her shirt which revealed some of her sizeable cleavage.
Flash had to admit she was quite a looker too. A bit too young for him, but still a real beauty to see. "Man, are all the women in your world this good looking cause so far everyone you've shown is one I thought I'd only see in a model magazine?"
The other league members got annoyed at the Flash's question but Naruto just chuckled in good humor.
"We'll not all of them, but I can certainly say that most are defiantly better than your average looking female." Naruto said in amusement as he could only imagine how Flash would react from seeing other beautiful women like Kurenai, Anko, Yugao, Samui, Temari and any of the other impressive looking females in the Elemental Nations. The speedster's head would probable explode and he'd be wanting to visit his world as soon as possible.
"Could you at least act mature?!" GL admonished, ruining Flash's fun.
"How strong was she?" Hawkgirl asked, curious as to how strong a young girl like her would be.
Naruto grimaced. "Let's just say she knew how to blow her enemies away and had deadly aim with anything sharp."
Flash shook for a moment at the images he saw. The memories of what their Kunoichi were capable of were still fresh in his mind. "I don't think I want to know."
Once the revelation of the Nadeshiko's choice of marriage selection died down, Stuart moved to comment on something that caught his interest.
"If the Hokage is as important as you make them to be, then they must've had some form of security that safeguards the Hokage from any impending danger and threats. Maybe the Jonin?" Lantern asked in a curious manner. Someone with that much importance couldn't have possibly been left unguarded. That would leave them open to possible assassinations. Though, according to the blonde shinobi, the Hokage were also considered the strongest in the village so maybe they didn't feel the need for the extra security and protection? As unlikely as that was.
"Actually the Hokage are always monitored by active and nearby ANBU (Dark Side)."
"ANBU? What does that stand for?"
"The ANBU are the black ops force in my world. Every Hidden Village has their own form of ANBU, though they may be called by another name. ANBU is an acronym for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, or Special Assassination and Tactical Squad in your native language. They take orders directly from the Hokage, performing high-level/risk missions such as assassination and torture, as well as other special missions that only they are permitted to perform. If by chance an ANBU is captured for interrogation, they will use a special jutsu that will incinerate there body to prevent any information from being taken.
"Your ANBU seems to operate in a similar fashion to our world's FBI. How does your black ops deal with wanted criminals?" Stewart asked, his military tendencies were curious as to how the Elemental Nation's black ops compared to how the Federal Bureau of Intelligence operated.
Naruto made no vocal response, but merely reached into his weapons pouch where he stored his shinobi gear, making a few of the more cautious members of the group tense. Hawkgirl instinctively tightened her grip on her mace while Batman covertly hovered one of his gloved hands over his utility belt, using his dark cloak to cover his movement, while Green Lantern had his hand under the table with his ring faintly glowing in preparation.
Naruto was quick to pick up on the subtle tensing of their stances and silently approved of their quick and responsive reflexes. "Relax guys." Their apprehension was for not as they noticed the small black pocket sized book that the young shinobi held within his hand. Seeing as how the shinobi was of no threat, the league members relaxed from their tense positions.
"What I have in my hand is what my people referred to as the Bingo book. In the Bingo book is a list of all documented criminals that have been black-listed and a full detail description on who they are. Depending on what crime they committed and how powerful they are, the criminals in here are given a rank, which extends from D to S class. D being the lowest and S at the top of the totem pole." Naruto went into detail while flipping through the pages. The book contained the most recent photo of the criminal of topic, as well as a detailed report on what acts they commited, who they were, and of their previous village affiliation.
Naruto made sure to omit any mentioning of the Akatsuki as he felt that the situation was still too delicate to mention their existence. Because then he would eventually have to go into the details pertaining to the war and he didn't want to go into that at this stage. Not to mention that the war still left Naruto with some bitter feelings of remorse that he'd personally prefer not to speak about it, at least not yet. They'd need to garner his trust first and foremost before he even thought of revealing that bit of personal information.
Meanwhile while in his own musings, many of the League members were impressed by the ANBU. They were willing to risk their lives on a daily basis for their village and performed their duties with the utmost proficiency; even going so far as to self-cremate their own body's if they were in danger of capture by an enemy, as well as tracking down some of the most heinous criminals of their world. A most respectable and dangerous occupation indeed.
"Tell me something, what do they usually do to the ninja from the bingo book?" Batman questioned wanting to know what they did to the criminals they managed to locate. Did they perhaps interrogate the criminal for any informative information? Throw him behind bars for an allocated time or for life? Or perhaps they settled for the darker alternative and ultimate penalty sentenced to those unlucky enough to have suffered such a fate?
Naruto chose his next course of words carefully, not wanting to anger some of the more subjective members of the league. "The defected shinobi are often referred to as missing nin. As for their fate, that often depends on what village they were affiliated with and defected from, as other hidden village's may have differing methods of deciding the fate of their missing nin. Though, it is likely that the more dangerous of the missing nin, namely those who are of B to S rank class criminals are killed when found and defeated. In a morbid way, it is similar to your world's sentence of the death penalty. Though, there is a prison that houses missing nin from all of the villages, so their death is not always guaranteed."
Innerly, Batman frowned at the prospect of the shinobi killing their criminals, but refrained from chiding the young blonde on the beliefs of his people's killing policy. It'd be hypocritical for him to say that he disagreed with their killing of criminals since this world also sentenced some of their own criminals to the death sentence. Some would say that certain skum deserved to be killed for the horrible atrocities and acts they commited, and deep down somewhere, a part of him agreed with that method of thinking. But he swore not only to himself, but to his parents' graves that he'd find another way, no matter how challenging or luring the temptations were to simply end that criminal's pathetic life.
Batman made no comment as he listened to the Hokage's reasoning before his mind conjured a question. "Have you ever killed someone?" The question was asked bluntly, but that didn't stop it from startling Naruto into silence.
Superman was now on his feet in protest. "Batman that's beyond personal." he berated the coweled knight with some anger reflecting in his voice.
Batman said nothing as he looked back at Clark, holding his gaze on the Man of Steel who firmly stared back, making no mention of backing down. The other league members were now feeling some tension between the two before the dark knight finally relented. "Forget what I said then."
…
After a few agonizing seconds of awkwardness, Naruto moved to continued his explanation, eventually describing what courier and postmen ninja were, which brought a great source of amusement to the heroes listening to the blonde's tales. Eventually Batman grew tired of the idle chatter and made to inquire about a particular subject that he had been planning to question the Hokage about at some point.
Coughing gruffly into his gauntleted hand, the Caped Crusader managed to grab the attention of blonde hero. "Before when you read into J'onn's mind, your eyes took an odd mutation. Care to explain that?"
The question Batman posed brought the attention of the other heroes, who now listened intently for the blonde's response. Behind Naruto's mask, his lips creased into a thin line, his expression lacking emotion as he addressed the Dark Night's question.
Briefly Naruto closed both his eyes before reopening them to reveal the legendary Doujutsu. The piercing stare and sudden change in the atmosphere brought a shiver that ran up the spines of the group of heroes. "These eyes are a gift bestowed upon me. They are one of the Three Great Doujutsu (San Daidōjutsu) that are known to exist and are the rarest of the three. The Rinnegan (Samsara Eye).
Each hero present examined the shinobi's unusual eyes, silently marveling at the strange phenomena. Batman was the first of the heroes present to come out their self-imposed stupor. "Exactly what sort of abilities does this Rinnegan grant you? And wha-"
The Dark Knight's questioning was halted by Naruto who had raised his hand up to interrupt further questions. "Sorry to interrupt but I must warn you that this is a sensitive topic, so I may not be able to answer all your questions. As for your previous question, the Rinnegan grants me several abilities. One of which you already know as telepathy through physical contact, but the others I feel are too soon to divulge to you as of yet."
Batman restrained the urge to glare at the blonde shinobi's refusal to answer his questions but refrained from pressing any further, lest he anger the young shinobi and belittle the delicate relationship that was there.
"As I stated previously the Rinnegan is one of the three doujutu or Eye Techniques that are known to exist. The doujustu are a byproduct of a special Kekkei Genkai or Bloodline Limit that are passed down genetically in certain clans. My particular doujutsu is the rarest of the three, and to the best of my knowledge, it has only been wielded by four other individuals besides myself."
"Would you be willing to go into more lengths about the specifics of the Kekkei Genkai?" J'onn quizzed in his usual polite manner.
Deactivating his doujutsu, Naruto gave the reserved Martian an eye smile. "Certainly J'onn. Kekkei Genkai are a term used by my people to describe certain individuals who have received genetic traits that give them abilities that cannot be used, copied, or taught by others unless you have said Kekkei Genkai. Though, there are a few exceptions to this rule in that certain Kekkei Genkai can be surgically transplanted into another who has no relation to the clan that wields a Kekkei Genkai." Naruto continued to go into length on the condition of the Kekkei Genkai and what it entitled. Including how some Kekkei Genkai gave one the ability to infuse two different elements to create a new element, as well as other abilities that extended to not just elemental related features.
"So in other words, they can be considered the meta-humans of your world so to speak?" Superman supplied.
"In a manner of speaking I can see how you would see it in that light. Although, I don't believe even they would be considered that since they're exclusive abilities were supposedly naturally acquired and not artificially" Naruto responded in matter of fact.
Hawkgirl waved her hand to get Naruto's attention before placing it back on her hip. The concept of a separate culture that was heavily influenced by the military somewhat intrigued her, considering the fact that her people were practically bred for combat. "If these Kekkei Genkai are only implemented by those from clans then what clan did you derive from?"
For a moment Naruto paused, mentally deliberating whether he felt he should share his clan's origins with the league. There was really no reason to withhold his namesake. His clan's name was not registered anywhere within the databanks of any government in this world, so there was no way to connect the Uzumaki title back to him. "I belonged to the Uzumaki clan, who were a prominent clan in the shinobi world and were located in Land of Whirlpools (Uzushiogakure)."
Pausing for a second, Naruto moved to take off his short sleeved long white haori, revealing a red spiral stenciled into the back and shoulders of his flak jacket. "This here was the symbol used by the Uzumaki clan. As a show of good faith, Konoha bore the Uzumaki symbol on all of their uniforms in memory of their strong friendship with my clan even after their untimely demise."
That set off a spark of alarm for the attending heroes there. "What do you mean by their untimely demise Hokage?"
"'I'm afraid it's exactly as I said. Long before my birth, my clan and Uzushiogakure were utterly destroyed. From what I was told, my clan had unusually long life spans and were extremely knowledgeable in the Fuinjutsu or Sealing arts, so much that they were both feared and respected for their prodigious skill in it. Unfortunately that fear led to their destruction in the era of the Shinobi World Wars." Naruto said with a firm tightness in his voice.
"But there had to have been at least a few survivors if you were born years after your clans fall. What about the others?"
Naruto gave a forced smile behind his mask as he replied with a somber voice. "It is true that there were a few remaining survivors that managed to escape, but to my knowledge I have only ever encountered two other surviving clan members besides myself, one of which is now deceased. If there are any others out there they are either in hiding still, or have long since passed away."
Putting back on his short sleeved haori, Naruto released a long sigh. His throat felt sore and dry from all the talking that had transpired and he had hoped to turn in for the day and get a nice cold drink of water.
Superman pressed his palms together, seemingly in thought. "I'll take it that's all you'll be willing to tell us as of this moment. Well, thank you Hokage for your time and explanation, you certainly gave us quite a story. If you don't mind can you leave the room for a bit while we discuss your admission into the league?"
Naruto curtly nodded, excusing himself from the War Room, in search for some well needed water to sooth his irritated esophagus.
XxX
"So what are your opinions on the man?" The Man of Steel started the deliberation that proceeded.
"I like the guy. Gotta a bit of a mysterious aura about him, but I say let him in." Flash spoke first with a grin plastered on his face as he would love to see him join. Maybe he could even tell him more about his world and the lovely women.
"He contributed in the effort to fight against the Imperium forces alongside us. He has every right to be a part of this as we do." Diana added in favor of the blonde shinobi as she felt that he deserved to be apart of the team.
Green Lantern hummed lowly in thought, arms folded over his chest. "The man is a bit too secretive to my liking, but he was forthcoming with giving us some background information on himself, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now."
"Although there are still things we don't know about him I feel like he's a trustworthy person, so I concur with Lantern's assessment." Hawkgirl chimed in compliance with John.
"He has done nothing to cause harm to us and I sensed no ill intent or false pretense from him at any given point till now." J'onn dutifully supplied.
The heroes turned toward Batman who had remained silent thus far, listening to the other opinions on the shinobi of discussion. He made no move to add his own opinion immediately, but eventually spoke his thoughts of the Hokage. "I don't think that we know enough of the Hokage yet, but it is true that he has shown himself to be rather reliable and cooperative. I only advise that we watch him carefully for now, at least until we know more about him."
Diana felt a sense of discombobulation at the Dark Knights assessment of the Hokage. "Why are you so cautious of the Hokage Batman? He hasn't done a single act to warrant any suspicion."
"I am merely taking the necessary precautions to this situation." Batman replied to Diana's question with practices patience. "There is also the issue with his people showing the willingness to kill."
Superman raised a hand, bringing it to his chin. "That's true, which is something I myself find the need to do something about that."
"This isn't his world, it's ours. If he's going to live in it then he has to abide by our rules" Batman said making it clear that things work differently here and that some rules will have to be enforced.
Superman glanced in Batman's direction for but a moment, before he folded his hands together. "You bring up a good point. We'll have to make it clear to the Hokage of our no killing policy then. Whether he refuses the offer will be up to him. Though, judging by his actions so far I get the feeling that he isn't willing to take it to those extremes."
With that out the way, Superman cleared his throat. "Alright, so are we in accord to letting the Hokage join the league?" Everyone nodded in unanimous agreement.
XxX
After about half an hour of wandering around the Watchtower, cup of water in hand, Naruto was finally called back to the War Room to hear the results of his acceptance to the league. For a fraction of a second Naruto felt a sense of trepidation, but quickly squelched those emotions, reentering the room.
Superman was the one to give the results of their deliberations. "We as the newly constructed Justice League would like to make it clear that we have a firm no killing policy. From what you told us, your people are willing to end a life, but from what we understand you don't seem to have this mentality. If you are to join this league then you must be willing to abide by our rules, is that clear? No killing at all cost?"
Naruto briefly casted a glance over to the other heroes before meeting the Man of Steels coal black eyes that were stressing his point. He wasn't sure about what they were asking him. While he took no pleasure in ending another's life, after what he went through in that war against Madara, a part of him felt that killing an enemy was sometimes the only way to end it for good and for the better of the world.
The league members began to grow a bit weary as the Hokage kept silent and stared into Superman's eyes after hearing his request. Eventually he finally broke the silence.
"I promise to follow your iron clad rule of no killing." Naruto said a bit unnerved but serious nonetheless.
Superman beamed, seemingly pleased by Naruto's response. "Well Hokage, by unanimous vote you have been accepted into the league. Welcome to the team." The Man of Steel said with a bright smile on his expression.
Naruto experienced a feeling of elation when he heard the good news, grinning ear to ear. Joining his seat alongside the others, they proceeded to go over the details pertaining to what being in the Justice League involved. After some hours of discussion and deliberation, the newly formed league adjourned the first official meeting.
End…
XxX
(Important Notice Below)
Hopefully the Naruto's explanation came as satisfactory to you readers, or at least most of you. Some may see it as a rather boring chapter as it relatively goes over information that most of us already know, but as it is the chapter and explanation were necessary to the story.
Didn't expect the strong feedback about the possible romances for Naruto. To be honest it was never truly my focus to begin with, but I suppose I kinda dropped the ball there in having it appear that it was gonna be a harem. I guess it just came out like that from watching dozens of other fanfics who have Naruto in harems and it unknowingly influenced how I was writing the story. As for the topic of whether this story will be harem or not, I don't believe it will. As tempting as it is, and as convincing as your pleas and opinions were (which btw I truly appreciate those who gave a rather rational and insightful explanation on why they wanted this story to be a harem) I think that one woman will do.
Please don't let that little tid bit deter you guys and gals from reading the story though. Oh and I decided to go with Pamela as the romantic interest of Naruto. The way I wrote the story out simply gives Naruto and Pamela more chemistry together. True you could argue that this is because I simply did not give Kara enough cameo time with Naruto, and to a certain extent you are probably right; but I personally like Pamela's character and I believe that I can do a lot more with her than I could have with Kara. Besides as of yet, I have not seen anyone else try this particular pairing so I want to see where this takes the story. Be advised though, that the romance between the two will not be a main focus of the story, but it will have an effect on both the two's lives and interactions. There will also be no explicit or extremely sexual and graphic scenes involving the two. I write for the story, not to write pornography.
Thanks again for listening (At least I hope you read through all this). Till the next chapter.