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-Unknown tropical island-
Former US Colonel Slade Joseph Wilson was known far and wide as anything but merciful. Ruthless, cold, calculating, and deadly were the best attributes one would label him with. It served him well in his line of work as the world's deadliest mercenary. Training with the best, terrorizing and terrifying the greatest heroes of the world, and succeeding in accomplishing the impossible were the basics of his impressive and extensive resumé. Every soldier who crossed paths with him had to respect the man as the greatest strategist and fighter to ever live. Superheroes the likes of Batman and Superman himself would stay on their toes around the man, no small feat though also in part due to his high standards.
Unfortunately for the man, time was not kind to anyone, and age would catch up with him eventually, leading to regrets from a past life where he was more than a soldier… Alas, he was too proud to go back or apologize. His current predicament came with knowing his skills and heritage would not be held up to his reputation. Therefore, he needed to find a suitable successor. Question was who could he mold to be a machine of war? If such a person existed, who could endure his vision of strength and power? No fiber in his body would accept a child with no drive to surpass him…
One can only imagine his surprise when in his own private training grounds at an undisclosed location that he would find a particular sight at the beach. It was a battered, bloodied child clad in an eyesore of a jumpsuit sporting a gaping hole in the chest. He, of course, had several questions. Mainly how the child could still cling to life unless the blood wasn't his, but also about his arrival. As a man who made a name for himself making the Batman tense up during battle, he earned enough money to ensure no one would enter his private training grounds. That, coupled with the feral look in the boy's eyes surprised him. Even a fool could tell those were eyes of someone with drive, ambition, and a broken heart.
Narrowing his only eye, Slade spoke up, "Identify yourself, boy."
And the child replied… in Japanese, "Eh… Oi, jiji, do… itte!" he cursed in pain, nearly passing out as Slade remained calm and collected, observing him, and processing his words. "Teme…"
Switching his mindset to Japanese, the man spoke up, "I hope you aren't insulting me."
Briefly surprised, the child looked at him with half-lidded eyes from exhaustion and irritation, "Where… am I?" he gasped and nearly fell to one knee, "Ungh… that… idiot…"
Giving the boy a chance, Slade took a step forward in a menacing way, reaching behind him to trigger any and all reaction… which was met by the child pulling out a kunai to defend himself with a light of defiance in his deep blue eyes, "Can you even fight?" he was both asking that rhetorically and seriously, as contradictory as it sounded, out of intrigue, "What can you do with your last breath, boy?"
Holding the knife in an inverted grip, the kid growled through clenched teeth, "I don't care who you are, old fart, I'm getting off this island." He was either putting on a brave face or a surge of adrenaline born of anger kicked his mind into overdrive, "And if you're one of Enma's onis, take me to your boss."
Knowing a little about mythology since the world he lived in provided plenty of surprises, Slade narrowed his single eye in interest, "Consider me worse than the lord of the underworld, child."
Pulling out a handgun, he aimed it at the child, who stared at the weapon puzzledly, indicating he was not from his world… or possibly from a truly secluded island. Then, the boy ran at him without fear… which he replied to by aiming at the kid's feet and squeezing the trigger to scare him.
"What the?!" the kid exclaimed… and dodged the bullet by dashing to the side.
Not bad…
But not good enough, "Let me give you some advice…" Slade was right in front of the kid with a tactical knife with its blade held inches from the boy's neck, "Blades are faster if you know how to wield them. Your icepick grip is good for defense, but the saber grip reaches your enemies better."
And the fire in the boy's eyes did not go down, it did flicker due to the initial fear, but that was overcome by that drive to surpass a challenge, "Ora!"
Deflecting the knife's blade with his kunai, the kid attempted to punch Slade… only to have his tiny (the man guessed twelve to thirteen years old) fist caught in the mercenary's free hand before he was kneed in the gut. With the air knocked out of him and his vision foggy, the boy doubled over and gasped for breath while trying not to puke. As he did, Slade walked back and holstered his gun but kept his knife ready, looking back as the kid swallowed air. The older fighter waited patiently for a response…
Egging him on would probably work best seeing his pride, "Act considering every single strike you and your enemy can make against each other… or did you survive that wound on your chest through luck?"
Yet again, the child surprised him as something in him snapped, growling at the man, "It wasn't luck…" he clenched his fists… and put them in a weird hand-sign with his fingers in a cross, a move reminiscent of the eastern meditation practices for soldiers who needed peace of mind for all the lives they ended, "And I won the fight because the other guy would not quit… so neither will I!"
Maintaining a solid grip on his expectations and with years of experience to keep his mind under control, Slade was still surprised by the sudden appearance of at least a dozen of the same boy, but they were not illusions. He found himself surrounded by solid copies, all with the same weapon. Of course, he knew what to expect, and held up his knife with his free hand on the back of the blade. A single glance at the area, a clean, open beach, reminded him that he was cornered with his back against the sea.
"Good, I needed the workout," he softly told the boy. "Do try to impress me."
Racing at him, two tried to slash at him from the side, but Slade ducked and swept his leg to knock them down, parried the kunai of a third with his knife, punched him across the face… and watched the copy vanish in a cloud of smoke. That told him a lot as he heard more running at him, prompting the man to grip his knife and show them how to properly wield the weapon. Parries, blocks, stabs, swipes, and a proper posture allowed him to strike each hand holding a kunai to disarm them. It was thanks to his incredible mind that he could process information and even minute details far faster than any normal human could, which helped him to kick one clone in the chest faster than he could react. It sent the double into other clones, an act followed by him charging forward, slashing at them with quick swipes of the knife, then jumping up. All the boys growled or groaned when their opponent used them as steps to jump behind the small squad, placing his back against a palm tree to get them to rush at him again.
…but then, he saw a blue glow, "Rasengan!"
In a split second, the kid burst out of the sand next to him! Slade threw his body to the side as the child, followed by another, charged at him with a shining orb which flickered like pure fire, a sky hue which was made of condensed, spiraling energy that the kid rammed into the palm tree. What the man saw next caused his single eye to widen as the orb downright obliterated the tree, causing it to burst into splinters with some hitting his armor and the top half, the only piece that remained, falling beside him.
However, the boy had left himself open by throwing his arm forward, "Good night." Slade said and sent a powerful uppercut to the kid's jaw, using superhuman strength to send the child flying over ten feet into the air and knock him into unconsciousness once his back hit the sand of the beach, "Not bad…" he said before looking at the clones, noticing they all vanished in clouds of smoke, "Quite the interesting if odd fighter you are. Injured, weakened, and running on fumes… yet still able to get next to me…"
Quickly turning to the side, Slade faced the real deal, "Ah." The boy gasped in shock when his kunai was yet again stopped by the man's knife, the blades sending sparks flying, "How did you-"
"Victory tastes better when you look your enemy in the eye," Slade replied and pulled back, throwing his knife on the floor. "What's your name?"
"Screw you, old fart!" the kid snapped, getting into a defensive stance. "First you tell me my skills ain't worth jack, and now you pretend to be nice and ask my name?! Eat crud!"
"Fair enough," Slade narrowed his eye, not liking the tone, but he had to expect it due to his approach. "I can see you are using the grip I showed you… as if you learned it while fighting."
Just as he stated, the kid took the man's posture and grip with seemingly practiced ease despite how his actual stance seemed far longer practiced. It even surprised the boy, who looked at the grip on his kunai with wide-eyed astonishment. That hinted at either a detrimental education or that the boy had learned the skill to multiply himself without testing its limitations and potential properly. Either way, to have one capable of learning even in defeat, adapting with each loss, and perfecting their skills at every fall… Only idiots would squander such promise or neglect the chance to use and abuse it to cover all weaknesses.
Zapped by realization, the kid grinned far too confident, "Alright, I'm kicking your teeth in, old fart!"
"The name's Slade…" he retorted calmly… and decided to leave it at that. Reaching into his back pocket, he threw a smoke pellet at the kid far faster than the exhausted, wounded child could react to, "And it's time for you to get some rest."
"Agh, what the… oh… you… mother… fu…" Naruto collapsed face down into a deep sleep.
"Let's see if the attitude and that innate talent of yours can truly shine with some polish, boy," Slade commented as his mind began to weave a web of training regimes.
-Later, at an underground facility-
Naruto felt his mind swimming with far too many emotions and none of them were good. There he was, facing the one who would turn his back on his peers and home for power, all for revenge without a second thought about who he hurt in the process. Fury blinded them to the point fists flew, techniques were traded, and it all culminated in a final clash.
Of course, he wanted to stop the traitor, to make him see reason… but when their attacks collided…
A deep roar erupted from him when he felt the sharp pain in his chest as an arm turned into a blade of lightning reached for his heart.
Instinctively, out of the drive to survive, he swerved his hand holding the Rasengan upwards…
…and slammed the ball of concentrated energy into his face…
"Gah!" he woke up with a startled yelp, wincing as his chest still hurt to remind him that it was all real.
"I see you are awake…" that voice…
"Old fart!" Naruto snapped at the figure… on a screen.
The same one-eyed creep who had attacked him at the beach he woke up was looking at him through a flat crystal surface. Naruto finally realized he was in a mostly empty room with an IV stand next to his new bed, clean clothes were on his body, and an old man in a suit stood next to him. Said suited man looked to be a servant of sorts if his stoic demeanor said anything. As much as he wanted to ask about what happened, he had far too much hatred aimed at the guy calling himself Slade to care. He would have bolted out of his bed… if not for the fact he was pretty much nailed to it. Thick steel bars were placed around his body to keep him from breaking out.
"Hopefully, you understand I cannot let you move in your current condition," Slade then cited a list of injuries from a paper. "Five fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, a series of first degree burns next to your heart… and, of course, the wound on your chest. If not for that interesting healing factor of yours as well as my personal doctor, you may have died. And yes, I said may…"
"You're going to talk and bore me to death, then?" Naruto growled.
"Quite the contrary," Slade narrowed his eye at him in interest. "I intend to train you, boy."
"Well, I intend to wipe that smug look off your face!" Naruto spat back.
"Good, consider that your motivation," Slade didn't lose his temper, unnerving but mostly irking Naruto.
"Find a hole to rot in," the kid snarled.
"Unfortunately, that is why I am here…" Slade said coolly. "You show potential to become a true fighter, but you need training, discipline, temperance, fortitude, and wisdom… I shall provide all of them to you and allow you to graduate once you surpass me."
"Did I not make it clear my answer's no?" the kid felt like he was talking to a wall, giving the man a squinty eyed glare. "Why not get kids? Are you, like, into dudes? If so, this is way too creepy."
"None of that," Slade should have been given credit for his calm demeanor despite the accusations. "I… haven't met anyone with as much promise as you to overcome my challenges."
"Adopt, then," Naruto flatly replied… then blinked. "Oh, for crying out loud… I'm not calling you dad!"
"There is no need for that," Slade stated. "If hating me makes you want to surpass me, then I care not what you think of me. Your training will begin once your injuries are fully healed, and your education-"
"Education?!" Naruto snapped. "Wait, you ARE planning on boring me to death!"
"…if it makes you despise me that much more, I can add hours to your classes," Slade's cold tone and eye were either a warning or a promise, and Naruto hated not knowing which.
So, he decided to take one offer, "Oh, I will pass your test, old fart…" he glared as a feral anger burnt deep inside him. "Hear me out, then. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will take all your stupid tests and trials just to make you regret being born! Mark my words! I swear I'm going to destroy that stupid mask of yours!"
"Excellent," Slade nodded. "Let's see if you make it… to the final test."
Years would fly by… and Naruto had no easy time through any single second he was awake thanks to his mentor making sure the pupil was constantly at a disadvantage, mostly by starving the boy, to ensure the kid would face the worst to come out as the best.
During one particular trial he was kicked off a helicopter and into the Sahara Desert with nothing but a pair of binoculars, a blunt knife, and simple clothes with no armor or even a hat. The task involved infiltrating a heavily armed and highly secured abandoned fortress where Slade would wait for him. A good chunk of the desert was mined just to make him spite the man all the more. He had to start eating some of the random scorpions he could find for nourishment since his teacher didn't provide rations nor even a bottle of water. It ended with Naruto trading blows with the man and losing due to dehydration, famine, and exhaustion… It was a miracle he didn't suffer a heat stroke or two along the way.
One particularly excruciating month was spent in a deep jungle with some of the deadliest animals to get him to remember how to survive with literally nothing but the clothes he had on. He was somehow meant to survive while being hunted by Slade who had a sniper rifle, camouflage, and antidotes for the poisons several animals had. Naruto discovered three things. One, his classes at the academy needed far better emphasis on survival. Two, snakes needed to have their poisonous glands removed to become just the right amount of edible. And three, he utterly hated his mentor with a fire that put Hell to shame. It culminated in hand-to-hand combat with the boy getting three fractured ribs.
Close quarter combat became his breath, bread, and butter by the time he was shown guns. He decided to spite Slade by trying to beat him with melee rather than long range. A challenge he made impossible for himself given the man's vast knowledge on the matter. Still, his mentor had to admire that kind of single-minded and downright stupid dedication when the boy fashioned a slab of steel from a rifle into a knife with cloth for the grip. It took seeing Naruto deflecting bullets with his makeshift weapon for him to agree to drop the use of firearms. Granted, the use of melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat got far more intense, which ended with bruises and broken noses. He even lost a molar because of that, an event which helped the teacher see his student's healing factor was also good for dental work.
It was to be expected for Naruto to hate textbooks and traditional learning, but he was given a helpful hint from his mentor. Using his clones to read copies of the same book to retain the knowledge by just multiplying the intake helped a lot. He was taught everything Slade deemed necessary for more than fighting, but combat was still the main goal. Biology to learn how to deal with trauma and deal it. History to teach him of the new world and the strengths and weaknesses in war strategies. Languages to ensure he could communicate properly. Mathematics to keep his mind sharp. Even meditation to learn control his chakra better, a part of his routine which ended with… tea and good food.
He hated to admit it, but the rewards Slade gave him for a job well done were… more than welcomed. Food by great chefs which also improved his health, vitality, and physique. Commodities like a television to see the outside world through more than books and missions. Even what the butler called a video game console for him to turn his brain off and relax. It seemed that his mentor knew he needed… fun.
That said, he spent most of his time thinking of ways to make the man suffer.
-Abandoned oil rig, South Africa Sea-
"2 years of this crap…" a fifteen-year-old Naruto growled as he rested his back against a wall. "No food for five days, no sleep for two days, and only fourteen bullets... I hate that this is the best chance he's given me."
Growing out his hair until it was chin-length and smoother, he pulled it back in a small ponytail with the ragged remains of his jacket. He had donned a black bulletproof jacket with matching pants and orange boots, but the instant he set foot in the rig the blond was not surprised to find a bomb. Well, he was in the first two seconds he registered it blowing right on his face.
Pulling out a pair of handguns, a Desert Eagle next to each side of his head, he snarled when Slade spoke up, "Even if you refuse to use guns to spite me, you hinder yourself by not using every tool in the trade."
"Do you ever get tired of talking like this is normal?" the blond snarled and didn't attempt to look for his mentor. "Or how about you trade me the grenade launcher for these?"
His answer was a sailing grenade reaching him, his ears ringing as he made it out to be three, no, two yards to his left. Dashing to the side, Naruto opened fire and made an incendiary grenade blow up, the smoke and fire giving him time to pull out a throwing knife and throw it up. Slade, who rested perfectly still at the top of a large tank, was almost impressed when he had to lift his grenade launcher to block the knife that would have nailed him in the forehead.
"Banter will only tire you out," he advised his disciple before throwing off his weapon and pulling out an anti-tank rifle. "If you spent half as much time concentrating as you do talking, you'd be less predictable."
"Eat dirt," Naruto was of course telling Deathstroke to do so while underground and filled with worms.
"Charming," Slade pulled the trigger, watching Naruto fall backwards… and vanish into a cloud of smoke. He had to ask one thing, "How do you get so many logs?"
"Ack!" in the split second he saw the boy turn into a piece of wood, he had turned around and grabbed the real deal by the throat, swept his legs with a kick, and choke-slammed him on the floor.
Rolling backwards, Naruto tried to shoot the man's kneecaps… only to see him flip backward and land on a heliport after clearing ten yards in a single leap. Upon hearing a few empty clicks, realizing he had exhausted his ammo, the boy was quick to run after his mentor just as the man lined up the sights. He wouldn't give Slade the chance nor the time to set up a shot, twirling the guns in his hands and turning them into makeshift tonfas. Once he was up close, he tried to make it personal.
"Not bad," Slade used the rifle as a staff to block the first strikes, pulling out a knife which Naruto had to deflect before he was kneed in the gut by his mentor with a sickening crack. "But you need to learn…"
"You're, ugh, teaching me how much one can hate you…" Naruto gasped but didn't fall nor double over despite knowing his teacher had fractured a rib.
Using his sword, Slade closed the distance in a fast dash, with his disciple having to use his improvised tonfas to parry and swat aside the large double-edged blade. During the exchange, Naruto gritted his teeth upon seeing bits of steel fly off, forcing him to flip backwards. To ensure his mentor didn't follow, the boy was also forced to throw his slash-covered guns at him, which the man kicked aside before they hit him in the face. Once he landed, the kid pulled out a tactical knife with a growl.
"Frustration's one thing, but anger needs to be properly wielded," Slade started and sheathed his sword, pulling out his own knife. "Learn to use your anger, don't let it use you. Otherwise, while good to shock and intimidate opponents, it can be detrimental to you."
"Thanks for the advice, sensei," Naruto said sarcastically, but forced himself to cool down. Narrow as his chances were of even scratching the man's armor, he knew he couldn't take him lightly, "Let's go."
"I'll be frank and say this is the best you've done so far," Slade stated in that monotone of his. "Let's make a deal. Manage to land a single strike on me this time, and you get to choose dinner."
"Oh, you better get the best ramen in the entire planet, then," Naruto quipped confidently.
Knowing that his master would teach him the hard way how pride came before the fall, his eagerness for victory and ramen cost him five broken ribs, three teeth which would regrow thanks to his own healing factor, and a cracked femur… but he at least got a hot bowl of noodles.
-Washington DC Sewer System - 4 years after Naruto's training began-
Living under what could only be described as care from Slade by a complete lunatic, waking up in a vast open room which was mostly abandoned was pretty standard, but there was one surprise to be had.
"Come again?" Naruto wasn't sure he heard the man right.
In front of him, displayed on a small portable screen, was Slade. The man was a walking tank and dressed like one with his most notable feature being the helmet with its left side orange with a single black outlined eyehole, while the right is solid black with no eyehole due to his loss of his right eye. Donning a heavily armored black body suit that covered his entire body except his lower torso and forearms which had a lighter, gray armor that allowed for better mobility. There were overlapping armor parts in certain spots of his body, a gray neck guard, a guard on both shoulders, forearms, over his gauntlets, one for each of his thighs, knees, the top and soles of his feet and finally, a gray sash wrapping horizontally around his torso. For his arms, he carried black gauntlets, gray gloves. Naruto noted a gray utility belt and the hilt of a sword poking over his right shoulder, so he was not unarmed.
"It's time for your true first mission," Slade replied.
"So that's why I've got the new suit and you that new armor?" the not as young boy replied.
Despite everything his mentor did to him to mold the boy into a soldier, Naruto exceeded expectations to become a true warrior. Once short and spiky blonde hair was grown quite long during some of his missions, to the point he had stopped caring about cutting it and let it grow into a mid-back length ponytail with a pair of bangs framing a lean, rather foxy face with deep blue eyes. Unusual birthmarks adorned both his cheeks, three lines on each side of his face as if imitating whiskers. Having a healthy complexion with sun-kissed skin, he had turned quite handsome due to his training with the physique of a cruiserweight boxer standing at five and a half feet tall. Like he mentioned, his teacher had given him a parting gift in the form of a suit: a high-collared military jacket with black elbow pads and combat gloves, and black pants with orange kneepads, greaves, and combat boots. A black utility belt with plenty of pouches carried essentials for shock troopers with no fear of death: grenades, throwing knives, a tactical knife, and throwing needles. There was a bulletproof vest hidden under the jacket for extra protection.
"And a proper graduation gift," Slade motioned at a box in front of Naruto.
Having finished adjusting his new suit, the blond reached for a three and a half feet long box in front of the screen, eyeing it carefully in case it could have a poisonous gas, "You're not giving me only twenty-four hours to find the antidote by killing you, right?"
"Tempting as it is to motivate you in such a manner, I need you to prepare for your first and last true mission with me," Slade told him without missing a beat. "You will need to take your time on this one."
"Right," Naruto nearly spat. "As long as I get to wipe that smirk off your face, I'm going through Hell and back just to make you pay for everything you put me through…"
"Meet me when you are truly ready, Naruto," and with one final comment, before the transmission ended and the screen showed only static, he said. "Enjoy the gift, you've earned it."
Opening the box, Naruto examined a pitch-black hand-and-a-half sword. Its double-edged blade was like that of a Scottish broadsword, but instead of the basket hilt, it possessed a handguard with prongs to ensure he could catch other blades like with a sai and a texturized handle should his hands get… wet. He noted that the steel for made with…
"You used all my old kunai to make this?" he asked in surprise, then groaned when he remembered the call had just ended. After securing the sword on his left hip in an orange scabbard which came in the box, he growled, "Crazy geezer, dropping me into the sewers and telling me to hunt him down… Why did I not expect this? That lunatic's always thrown me into the lion's den… literally during that stupid trip to Africa when he forced me to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!"
Letting out a growl, he turned to the exit after deciding to get everything over with. Right on cue, the door opened with a light revealing a ladder leading to the surface. The blond walked to it, pausing half a second after the lights went out and the door closed. Offended, the boy spun in place and swung his leg around in a roundhouse kick, slicing the air with his heel and ripping the head off an automaton!
"You've got a lot of nerve sending your toys after me, old fart!" the boy snapped and jumped back to not only put some much needed distance, but avoid claw swipes and a plasma blast.
For a split second, he considered brandishing his new sword after pushing an inch of the blade out with his thumb on the cross-guard. Looking at his opponents, he decided against it and sheathed the sword in that same fraction of a second. Instead, faster than the eye could see, he pulled out a knife into his hand in a saber grip. Taking a practiced stance with his left foot forward, knees bent slightly, face up, left arm held vertically in front of him with the fist at chin level as if his forearm were a shield, and his knife next to his stomach, he narrowed his eyes at his enemies. Unsurprisingly, they all bore an uncoincidental similarity to his mentor, making it easier for Naruto to hate them and desire to see them destroyed.
All of the robot commandos, as he had known them, seemingly wore a black attire similar to Slade's with the same armored places around the neck, arms, and legs. However, the key difference was that their mechanical heads had an orange circle in the middle of the face with white lifeless eyes looking directly at him. Sparks flew from the wires on the neck stumps of the head and headless body of the one he just destroyed, prompting its cybernetic brethren to take defensive stances. Some of the commandos flexed their fingers to reveal claws, others took offensive karate steps, and one held up a blaster.
Dashing forward, Naruto quickly counted all five, the distances, and openings in less than a second. One second later, he spun under a claw swipe, blocked another with his left arm to them wrap it around his mechanical opponent's outstretched limb, used his knife as a hook to trap the other robot's attack, and rolled to the side. As he fell, bringing the two automatons down with him, Naruto threw three throwing knives at the heads of the other three, nailing each one before they could react. The one trapped by his knife was let go to break the arm of the one he arm-locked with a lever motion.
Swiftly stabbing the downed robot in the neck, he didn't forget the remaining one and caught its leg the moment it tried to kick him in the face. Holding it by the ankle and knee to twist it, break both joints, and throw one more knife at the back of its head ended the fight. It was a testament to Slade's brutal training that he wasn't even winded. And it was a far stronger testament to Naruto's stubbornness and hardheadedness that he saw it as another reason to get angry and plot his revenge further. It was a much-needed outlet for his anger, though not a healthy one.
"Alright, old creep, you're playing some stupid new game with me," he whispered angrily, barely able to think through his fury. Thus, he decided to calm down… and he did so by punching his right fist into his left palm with an echo, snarling like a furious fox as he declared, "Listen to me, Slade, I am going to find you and kick your old leathery hide across the entire globe just to get started on the payback for those four years!" for extra dramatic effect, he pointed at the nearest security camera, "Don't you dare croak so I can find you, break your stupid mask, and grind whatever face you hide under it into shoe polish!"
Naruto had an entire encyclopedia of issues against his mentor, and he didn't plan to die without Slade regretting his existence, so he desperately needed a way to vent out, and a healthier one. Making his way up after retrieving all his throwing knives, he got ready for the worst. There was no way would he disregard ammo against the likes of the man who tossed his starved, sleep-deprived student into a tiger infested mansion previously owned by eastern gangsters who got devoured by the beasts to test his survival skills with no weaponry. It took both lunacy and luck to take down a pair of feral giant tigers with a No. 2 pencil, so he remained tense and alert as he climbed the ladder to a manhole cover.
Pushing the cover open, he expected more robots, feral animals, bombs, or ninjas for irony, but instead found dozens of men in blue aiming shotguns and handguns at him in the middle of a busy street with a large number of shocked onlookers.
"Freeze, scumbag!" one of the police officers exclaimed.
"Uh… what did I miss?" Naruto asked in surprise.
Just as a comedic coincidence, a large TV screen on the side of a building displayed the latest news with a panicked man, "Just in, the string of sudden bank robberies and assaults which resulted in the deaths of five officers and fifteen guards has shed light on the culprit. We have recovered damaged footage which has been edited to keep the gruesome parts away from the sensitive audience's eyes."
A recording of the attack played out, showing none other than Naruto himself without the mask strolling into a heavily armed bank, smirking at the armed guards. Before they could squeeze the triggers on their shotguns, the blond onscreen lunged at them. The image cut to bodies lying on the floor with dozens of familiar knives on the floor and, judging by some pixels on the censored images, the guards' and some officers' heads. It was then that the whiskered teen walked out with large bags filled with gold and had the gall to wave at the camera with an evil smirk.
"Oh, now I truly hate you, Slade…" Naruto growled as his eyes flashed red for a fraction of a second.
"Keep still, dirtbag!" one panicked man exclaimed, trying to keep a steady grip on his handgun… only to cry out when a knife was flung into his hand, "Ah… Ah! My hand! He's massacred my hand!"
"Everyone, open fire!" one officer hollered while the wounded man nursed his injured hand.
Before he was about to get shot, Naruto realized several things. The voice ordering the men in blue to fill him with lead didn't come from one of the police officers. A weird flash of orange flew by on one of the rooftops, making itself visible to him thanks to tracing the trajectory from where the knife came from. It was going to be impossible to justify defending himself right then and there.
Last but not least, he loathed Slade with every fiber of his being.
"Crud!" having no better response, Naruto threw a smoke bomb onto the floor which detonated upon impact, blinding the officers and allowing him to leap high into the air.
"After him, he's… flying!" one policeman shouted.
"No, he's jumping good," a policewoman corrected him when she saw the boy land on the rooftop and start running off.
She, unfortunately, didn't see Naruto chasing another Naruto, "Get back here with my face!"
Looking back, the fake Naruto smirked, "But it's such a pretty face for such a pretty boy." The doppelganger said in an identical voice and accent to the real deal, "I may have to keep it…"
"Oi, thanks for the compliment, but I am more handsome than pretty!" Naruto roared, blinked in stupor at his own words, and raced at full speed. "Hey, no, only I get to decide how much of me is around!"
Realizing the real deal could catch up quickly, the copy leapt to another building, and what Naruto saw was absurd even for him. His copy's legs stretched like rubber, allowing the double to cross an entire street, and leaving the true boy to jump after the shapeshifter.
"Insistence like that won't make you a hit with the ladies, boy," his copy said atop a parking building.
"Drop the act and show your face," Naruto demanded and angrily held up a fist. "I like my mug too much to punch it, so make it easier for me."
"Are you truly his apprentice?" the double asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Tell me…" Naruto whispered… right behind the copy.
"Que-est que-" the fake exclaimed in French as one of Naruto's clones appeared behind the double for a bearhug, or so it seemed.
It was then that the fake was slammed onto the ground in a belly-to-belly suplex! The clone flipped over the false Naruto and returned to the original's side with the two holding the scabbard of their swords with one hand, the other gripping the hilt. A sense of worry settled when the false blond sighed.
"That didn't take the impostor out, did it?" the clone asked.
"D'accord…" the fake whispered in a woman's voice and got up… by twisting both her ankles to place the feet firmly on the ground, bringing up her long-legged body like a long balloon being filled with air.
Cloths shifted as the body followed suit, turning into a slenderer and taller frame which started to grow curves. Blonde hair became dark and shorter, becoming a bob-cut. Deep blue eyes became colder and sharper with the edge of a remorseless killer. A hourglass figure and feminine assets appeared under a form-fitting red top and matching leggings. The black thigh-high boots with high heels and black elbow gloves were a tad much if he was asked. Her red lipstick emphasized the cold of her scowling a lean face which, while alluring in its own right, carried a threatening aura which demanded fear and submission. She was the textbook definition of a femme fatale, down to being from France.
"I'm guessing Deathstroke paid you for the favor of framing me," Naruto spoke up.
"Quite true," the woman smirked. "The name's Madame Rouge, mon petit renard."
"Did he give you instructions other than making me mad?" he asked impatiently, ready for anything and watching Rouge's every minuscule move.
"Only to help your new name be known," she stated, placing a hand on her hip with an amused smirk. "It's not bad, but I expected something more suited for such a pretty boy…"
"Spill it out, what cheesy name did he choose for me?" he tried not to blow his lid and do something rash, he had learned from Slade too much about that.
"Now, now, I believe kids enjoy the fun of a good chase," Rouge smirked and threw her body back.
Stretching her already long and slender limbs, the tall French woman flipped backwards and used her new height to clear the distance, growing her arms and legs more to increase the speed and keep the boy at a safe distance. Naruto, of course, followed her with his clone right beside him. Both boys started to throw needles at the shapeshifting woman, whose response was to smirk and twist, turn, and mold her body in any shape needed to let the projectiles fly off.
Upon reaching the edge of the building, Naruto snarled, "Don't you dare-"
Mockingly, she smiled as she let herself fall into an empty alley… stretching her body thin as paper to slip through the edge of a manhole cover and into the sewers.
"She dared, boss," the clone told the original, who glared at the sheepish copy. "Hey, I'm as angry as you, but what can you expect me to say?"
"Fine…" Naruto begrudgingly accepted that and dispelled his copy.
"Halt!" yelled an officer through a megaphone, riding on a helicopter.
Even more policemen arrived, storming into the rooftop through the stairs or on armored cars with their guns aimed at the blond. Knowing they must have seen the copy but not Madame Rouge due to the oh so convenient timing the woman had practiced for or was lucky to have, Naruto groaned.
"Tell us how many more of you there are!" one policewoman exclaimed. "We saw you clone yourself! Do not think you can fool us!"
"And, of course, none of you donut-munchers saw the French lady in red," he whispered to himself, not wanting to anger the trigger-happy officers who had every unfortunately misguided reason to gun him down. "Well… crud, I didn't think I could hate Slade even more."
Zipping movement rung through his ears, prompting Naruto to take out his sword in a millisecond to slice a bullet before it hit him, which the officers took as their cue to do one thing, "Open fire!"
-Far off rooftop-
"Valiant if hardheaded…" Madame Rouge told none other than Slade, who had a sniper rifle in hand as he watched his apprentice deal with the officers. "Did that remind you of your younger years?"
"I chose him for more than that," Deathstroke stated and turned to leave. "Now, about the job you and this group of yours wants…"
"All in due time," Rouge told him calmly. "We were quite surprised to see you take in an apprentice already, but to see one with such a bratty attitude… You may be losing your touch, Slade Wilson."
"There is far more to him than that," Deathstroke knew he wouldn't get information unless he sated his current employers' curiosity a tad. "He's the embodiment of how what doesn't kill makes one stronger."
"One of many," Rouge didn't buy that.
"He's also experienced what it is to choose to end a life to survive," he stated, surprising the woman. "Despite how averse he seems to the idea of killing; he chose to do so in the past. I have seen it. Either when he was backed into a corner by beasts or when he had a perfect opening, he recalls what it feels like… One too many times, he's dreamt of the one time he put his life first over another's."
"You believe that to be enough?" she could see the reasoning in Deathstroke, but there were far too many holes and variables he seemed to leave up in the air when it came to his plan.
"Let him show us what he can do," the man said simply. "After all, it is a master's greatest honor to see their disciple surpass them."
"Can one such as you have honor?" Rouge retorted.
"I'd advice asking that when looking into a mirror," Slade calmly replied, leaving her to scoff.
Back with Naruto, the blond groaned as lead rained down upon him, "You're a sadistic old man, sensei…" he clenched his jaw as bullets flew past him during his dash toward the edge of the building, leaping from one side to the other with flips, twirls, and even cartwheels to not let himself get filled with lead. Before jumping off, he turned to the cops with a grenade in hand, "Sayonara!"
Throwing the explosive at the floor caused the officers to panic… until the grenade only let out a bright flash which blinded the men and women. Free to think clearly for a second, the blond latched onto a wall and started to run on the side of it. He was thankful he could still use chakra to walk on both water and solid surfaces, but it would do him no good if he was caught. And therefore, his best chance to get out of the mess he got into was finding Slade, and the best way to do so was getting Rouge.
Running down to the manhole, he removed the cover to jump in to try and find the French woman, it was then and there that he found a letter addressed to him by none other than his mentor, "You've got to be kidding me…"
Jumping into the sewer system and pulling out the letter, he began to read it with Slade's voice speaking in his head, "Naruto, by the time you read this, you have two options. First, you can take revenge on me by working as my competitor. If you follow the water upstream, you will find a client who shall pay your weight in gold if needed to bust some figures out of Arkham Asylum in Gotham City. That shall be one of many steps to finding me and proving you can do better than your master."
"You said two options," Naruto started, narrowing his eyes at the paper.
Looking into the envelope, he pulled out a map… and a picture of Madame Rouge entering a building, a laboratory called Cadmus along writing, "Should you choose to free yourself of the blame placed upon you by Madame Rouge and I, there is a name I have chosen for you…"
"…Fox Fang," Naruto read out loud, frowning incredulously. Rubbing his face, he decided not to ask too much and act, "At least it wasn't something like Death Fox. What a way to celebrate Independence Day."
Destroying the letter, Naruto made his way downstream.
-TBC-
And that's my rap!
Important things to keep in mind since many people's (completely understandable) knee-jerk reaction is to say I nerfed Naruto. Okay, fair points, and I can see how it comes that way, but you also need to take into account that this is just the start of the story, and that I have some surprises in store. However, I cannot show everything right at the start. Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Naruto's training had him endure famine for days and sleepless nights for each training session, this will come back later with an explanation of why he's gone through that, but it was his choice to remain there. The training is something Naruto agreed to despite having every reason to escape when Slade confronted him about it, after all. All of the hinderance and sabotage is like putting weights on his back while doing pushups... extreme pushups on burning coals, but you get the idea, I hope.
2. Deathstroke deals with superpowered heroes and is not a regular human thanks to his own healing factor and enhanced anatomy, but he is the greatest tactician, another point to keep in mind. He did keep Naruto at his worst for a reason, and it will be revealed next chapter. The guy's used to dealing with everything, but he's training Naruto to be the ultimate warrior. Basically, he knows Naruto can be far more powerful than him, but he decides to give him Hell to make him fight better and smarter.
3. Kurama will appear later on, yes. I haven't forgotten the fluff.
Questions you may have:
Why do this when I have other stories and commissions? Because I like to write for fun.
Does Deathstroke deserve a redemption arc? Arguable, but the main issue is how complicated his character is… as in thanks to the writers who want to make him either a monster or sympathetic. I did like the movie Knights and Dragons, but he's still done far too many amoral things to just forgive him. He's kidnapped Naruto for 4 years to make him a successor here, which is a nod to 2000s Teen Titans cartoon here along others:
-Armor design for Deathstroke is from the cartoon, with a broadsword added.
-The robot commandos are from that show as well.
-Madame Rouge, the first time most of us were both scared and enraptured at the same time, was the perfect villain from that cartoon to set a few things to come. Admit it, creepy as she could be, you had to fight some mixed feelings from her walk, sass, and accent.
Is your favorite writer with obsessive-compulsive impulses going to add other heroes and villains from other DC media? Quite likely, but let's keep it a bit on the downlow as Young Justice has quite a lot of faces… with some not getting enough time to shine or as good a performance as we'd like such as with the Joker – if not Mark Hamill, get John DiMaggio to improvise at the recording booth.
Can you suggest good media for references on characters in case you think I need proper reference? I'm a guy who appreciates actual constructive criticism – if I make a mistake, tell me about it without insults or demanding I follow your vision and no one else's.
You have your opinions and ideas, but respect mine if I don't bow down to everyone's whims.
Swordslinger out!
