Orphans Chapter 1: Arrival

"" – Dialogue

'' – Thinking

'How did it come to this?'

Was the only thought running through Naruto's mind as he formed a purple Rasengan in his palm. The odd coloring came from the unusual combination of his own dwindling chakra reserves mixing with those of the Nine-tailed Fox he held within.

The mission started off simple enough. Naruto and four of his friends (five, if you count Akamaru) were dispatched to retrieve his teammate and soon-to-be-rogue ninja, Sasuke Uchiha. Initial intel said he was being abetted by four other jonin-level ninja, but another appeared right as Naruto was about to reclaim his friend.

Thankfully, reinforcements from their own village appeared as well; leaving Naruto to pursue Sasuke alone.

Initially, Naruto sought to plead with his friend; trying to change his mind with his words alone. Those word, however, would only fall on deaf ears as Sasuke approached him, dead set on a fight. Initially, the fight went in Naruto's favor, his superior technique and chakra reserves giving him the edge necessary to overpower the Uchiha.

Who would've thought one tomoe would change so much.

Once Sasuke gained the final form of his doujutsu, Naruto's hold on victory became increasingly loose until he could no longer feasibly see any chance of winning.

With his own power, that is.

Gritting his teeth and accepting help from his tenant changed the fight in his favor until Sasuke accepted power from his own 'gift'. The curse mark eventually growing to cover his form until his pale white skin now presented as a sickly gray, with his formerly white sclera now a menacing black.

Now, both boys stood opposite one another; neither in their original forms as the waterfall between them muted any chance of verbal communication. As Sasuke charged up the Chidori, his new signature jutsu, Naruto charged up his Rasengan.

No more words were needed.

The two boys leapt, their respective attacks cutting arcs in the waterfall as the two flew towards one another with opposing hands extended.

This would decide it.

-Close By-

Waiting in the tree line, just outside of range, was a man covered in a black cloak.

The only feature one could make out was the tiger-striped mask he was wearing that possessed a single eyehole to betray the man's identity. A glowing red sharingan was visible through the lone eyehole, marking the man as part of the near-extinct clan.

'The climax is almost here.' He thought, watching the boys leap.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

Each boy called as their attacks collided, creating a singularity of chakra that displaced the water around them. This not only served to mute the sound of their clash as well as bend the space around them, creating a dark purple sphere that encased them.

'Now!' the man thought as he activated his sharingan, the three tomoe morphing into three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil that each curved clockwise at the top to form a circle, looking similar to a pinwheel.

Upon the transformation of the man's eyes, a wormhole opened at the location of the purple singularity, absorbing the entire thing into his pocket dimension. Without the singularity disrupting it, the surrounding scenery quickly returned to normal. Leaving only the scars inflicted by the boys' conflict as proof that they'd been there at all.

'Capture complete.' The man thought to himself as another wormhole formed on his eye, sucking him in without a trace.

A few minutes later, a silver haired man and his loyal ninja hound would enter the area, beginning a fruitless search for his two missing students.

-Pocket Dimension-

In a realm with an eternally dark sky, the masked man emerged from the same portal he'd entered. His feet landing on one of the many, seemingly concrete, rectangular prisms that filled the area.

Upon completing his exit, the man scanned the area for his recently transported cargo; pleasantly noting the unconscious form of Sasuke Uchiha lying in a smoking crater. Damaged? Sure, but alive if the labored rise and fall of his chest was any indicator.

The problem came when he scanned for the Nine-tails' container.

The area was littered with the fox's chakra. The red wisps wildly dancing against the dark backdrop of the depressing space.

But where had Naruto Uzumaki gone?

-?-

Naruto Uzumaki was in a world of pain.

He didn't know what happened, but whatever it was seriously angered his tenant if the roars of anger and rampant thrashing told him anything. Anytime the fox's tails rattled the cage, Naruto felt like his very being was being rent asunder from the blows. Eyes screwed shut from the immense agony, all Naruto could do was simply exist as the fox had his way.

What Naruto was too distracted to realize was the red chakra rapidly escaping his every pore. Every attack the fox threw at his bindings causing pulses of the crimson energy to explode out of the young teen. The energy seemingly had nowhere to go as it evaporated into the void which Naruto had found himself falling.

After what felt like millennia of inconsistent contractions, Naruto finally felt the fox begin to calm…or had he just run out of chakra?

The young shinobi couldn't even bring himself to check his mental prison as the recoil from suffering such brutal attacks took its toll. The pained expression that had haunted his face melted into one of peaceful ignorance as the boy quickly descended into the realm of the unconscious.

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 17th, 8:30 AM

Recognized, Wonder Woman: 0-3

A machine droned out as a loud whirring noise came and went along with an accompanying flash of light. Once the light died down it was revealed to have come from a cylindrical threshold housing a circular opening that hid the light with a set of compressing doors. The doors themselves led to a short pathway surrounded by black striped metal that pulsed with blue energy.

Out of that hall walked a tall, broad-shouldered woman. She had waist length, straight black hair left to hang freely behind her. She possessed a strong, angular face with fierce blue eyes and full, red lipstick coated lips. She was dressed in a strapless red bustier held up with a brace resembling two golden W's. On her lower half, she wore a large golden belt with blue briefs that bore a white star pattern. Connected to the belt was a looped golden lasso. On her feet, she wore tall red boots that each had a singular white stripe in the front.

This was the hero known as Wonder Woman.

Making her way out of the Zeta tube, Wonder Woman trekked through the common area the tube connected to. Calmy walking through a series of arbitrary halls, she soon found herself standing before a metal door with a button on the side. 'Medical Bay' read a sign engraved on the door as well as a plate that protruded perpendicularly to the hall.

Pressing the button to open the door, Wonder Woman was greeted to the sight of one of her oldest friends sitting at the bedside of an unknown child.

Her old friend was a man of impressive stature, standing just a little taller than her abnormally tall self. He possessed green skin and a head shape that, while human-like, possessed a few characteristics that defined him as inhuman. Being completely bald, his second most noticeable trait were his protruding eyebrows that rested above completely red eyes. His angular face rested above an equally impressive build that was covered by an all-black body suit that was decorated only with a red 'X' shape on the chest. Finally, draped over his shoulders, the alien had a blue cape held in place by two large yellow buttons.

This was the Martian Manhunter, or as Wonder Woman referred to him as…

"J'onn?" She called out to the manhunter, attempting to snap him out of whatever psychic trance he'd put himself in.

Green eyelids parting at her call, J'onn noted the presence of his friend with a nod.

"It is good to see you, Diana." He remarked, using her civilian name in lieu of her alias.

"I see I'm the first to arrive… I take it this is the 'anomaly' you mentioned?" Diana says, gesturing to the heavily bandaged young man on the white bed.

From what Diana could see; the boy was a teenager of below average height, standing just shy of 5 feet tall. Even bandaged, Diana could still see the boy's impressive physique. His exposed upper chest showing muscles that could only be developed through extensive calisthenic exercise… like the kind needed for combat.

"Indeed. His physiology is human, as evidenced by his reception to human blood and several other factors." J'onn said, nodding his head in the direction of the blood pack the blonde was currently receiving a transfusion from. "On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary… except for an energy that I cannot place." The Martian said, his neutral expression doing nothing to give away his trouble with the matter.

"Energy?" Diana repeated.

"Yes. Whatever energy this boy has running through him is acting as a mental blocker, thus I am finding it difficult to perform a mental scan on him." J'onn reported, briefly attempting another reading. His red eyes beginning to glow but quickly returning to normal. Another failure.

"What of his belongings?" The Amazon asked, spying an opaque bag resting on the ground next to J'onn.

"Clothes tattered well beyond repair and weapons of a bygone era along with a headband of unknown origin. If I may?" J'onn asked, getting a nod from Diana.

The Martian's eyes briefly glowed once again, but this time when they ceased their glow, Diana got a mental image of the headband he'd mentioned... or what was left of it.

The 'headband' consisted of a damaged rectangular metal plate bearing a distinct symbol in the middle. The exact nature of the symbol was hard to discern given the numerous cuts and dents the metal sustained. There was a stud in each corner, likely used to secure the tattered dark blue cloth that hardly remained in the image.

"We may need the assistance of a detective." J'onn points out. "We have clues as to the boy's origin but no concrete answers. Waiting until he awakens may prove dangerous as well, given my inability to read his mind." He concludes.

Diana's eyes close as she weighs their options. "We can't contact Batman about this…" she trails off. "With the recent loss of his apprentice, I think he's better left alone." She intones.

Diana was referring to the recent passing of Batman's 2nd ward, a boy known to all as Robin and to some as Jason Todd. His passing was difficult for their teammate and caused him to become more of a recluse than he'd already been. The entire league concluded that time and space would serve the Caped Crusader best.

"The Question would sooner execute the boy and we can't be sure how Zatanna's magic would interact with the boy's unique energy…" J'onn continues.

"We may have one option…" Wonder Woman said after a bit more pondering.

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 17th, 8:58 AM

Recognized, Nightwing: B-0-3

Out of the same zeta tube that Wonder Woman stepped out of previously, a young man emerged.

The man had on a black body suit that covered everything below his neck. The sole discolorations on the bodysuit were a gray area denoting the abs and a blue bird symbol on the chest. On his shoulders, knees and elbows, there was additional dark gray padding. On his back were two holstered batons that were positioned so he could reach over his shoulders to draw them. The man possessed a strong face with high cheeks and eyes that were obscured by a modified domino mask. Finally, his hair was chopped short, barely reaching the top of his ears.

This was Nightwing, the first robin, former partner to the Batman and officially Blüdhaven's newest protector.

Making his way to the medical area, he opened the door and was unsurprised to meet Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter.

"I came as quickly as I could. I hope the planet doomsday clock isn't set to end at 9." The masked hero joked, getting a small smile from Diana and an indifferent look from J'onn.

"It's good to see you, Nightwing." Diana greeted. "As you can see, we have a little dilemma here that we could use your help with." She relayed.

"Alright. Lay it on me."

What ensued was a brief explanation of the zeta activity, Manhunter's discovery of the boy and the conundrum of just who he was and where (or when) he came from. The explanations intrigued Nightwing as the mystery seemed simple on the surface but quickly got more complex as tiny details started to emerge.

"Well, first I'll need to have a look at his things. I'll conduct a short investigation here, but I'll probably need to take these to the Batcomputer for a full analysis." He said, having the boy's belongings bag floated over to him via telekinesis.

Pulling out an items pouch, Nightwing began to carefully pick through it. First grabbing a throwing star that remained mostly intact, then moving onto a kunai knife. Afterwards, he gently fingered a piece of paper the size of a large bookmark; one that had strange symbols drawn on it lined in red. Satisfied with his findings, He returned the items to the pouch and placed them back in the bag.

"My initial analysis says that these items are Japanese in origin. That much is obvious, but the details are where this starts to get murky." Nightwing begins. "First off, I know enough Japanese to know that the symbols on that piece of paper are archaic. That, combined with the types of weapons he was carrying leads me to believe that he's from ancient Japan." He concludes.

Slinging the bag over his shoulder, Nightwing turned to leave. "By the way, you called me instead of Batman because of…" He trailed off, getting two somber nods in return. "Alright, I'll likely have some answers for you by evening time. I'll be in touch." The masked man said as he departed.

A few moments of calm silence passed before J'onn broke it.

"Intriguing…" The Martian said as he used his hand to part the unconscious blonde's hair. This earned him a raised eyebrow from Diana before she noticed what he was referring to.

A cut on the boy's forehead healing before their eyes, a small amount of steam emitting from the wound as it did. Upon completion, there was not even a scar to speak of.

It would seem their friend had a few tricks up his sleeve.

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 17th, 12:23 PM

Wonder Woman had taken a break from waiting in the room to get lunch, so she was extremely surprised to return and find none other than Batman awaiting her.

The Batman was a tall Caucasian male with a string build to back it up. Clad in a grey body suit, similar to his former apprentice's, the main difference was a black bat on the chest area. He also had black armored greaves as well as black boots. Finally, his head and the top half of his face were obscured by a black cowl that connected to a long cape that ran the length of his body. Atop the cowl rested two points that were designed to replicate bat ears.

Currently, he was analyzing a tablet that seemed to be monitoring the boy's vitals.

"Perfect timing, Diana. I was just about to summon the league to discuss what to do with our little friend here." Batman said, cutting straight to the point. "Nightwing, get him moved to a more secure room. Scans indicate he shouldn't need any more specialized treatment, so we should just monitor his heartrate." He commanded, spurring Nightwing to action.

"Batman, are you sure you should be here?" Diana asked, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I'm fine. I can't spend forever feeling sorry for myself when there's a world to protect." Batman said. "Diana, J'onn. I'll meet you two and the rest of the league in 30 minutes."

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 17th, 1:00 PM

Naruto's eyes hurt.

The blinding white of whatever room he was in did his resting retina no favors as they assaulted him until he could adjust.

The beeping of machinery and the familiar feeling of a bed beneath him told him that he was in a hospital or equivalent medical space, but where?

Was he back in the leaf?

Did Kakashi come get him after he and Sasuke fought?

Did Sasuke make it back?

With too many questions and not enough answers, Naruto sat up to get some answers of his own. His mandated emotional retention training is the only reason he didn't pass out from what he saw.

The room he was in was basic, but not in the leaf village from what he could tell. Words he couldn't read beeped on the equipment that seemed to be reading his vitals. The lights and even the door was way more advanced that anything he'd ever seen.

He'd seen sliding doors before but the way this was designed looked straight out of a science-fiction book!

That is to say, he was kind of freaking out.

But he made sure not to show it. Wherever he was, he could feel the eyes that were on him; meaning there was a camera somewhere in this room. If whoever brought him here was able to sense his panic, then that was just another way they could gain an advantage over him.

Assessing his current condition, he was in no way ready for a fight. Multiple broken bones and bandaging all over informed him of his obvious disadvantages but whatever painkillers they'd given him were surely hiding more surprises he'd have to heal from.

In other words, he was likely stuck.

But that was an assessment he'd have to make after he met the people who brought him here.

Almost as if God himself had been listening to Naruto's thoughts, the doors in front of him slid open, revealing two figures. First was a woman of short stature with long black hair tied into a high ponytail. She was wearing some sort of combat armor with distinctive white shoulder plates with a red dot on them. Another white plate made up her upper face mask with a red dot on the part where her forehead would be.

The second was a well-built green man with red eyes that somewhat creeped Naruto out.

The green guy tried saying something, but Naruto didn't understand. Tilting his head to convey his lack of understanding, the green man nodded his head and turned to the armored woman.

"起きましたか? (You're awake?)" She asked the young man.

Eyes widening slightly, Naruto responded. "はい. どこですか俺たちは. (Yes. Where are we?)" He asked.

"ちょっと待ってください. (Please wait a moment)" The woman requested before she turned to the green guy and began speaking his language. Nodding in understanding, the man turned back to him, and his red eyes began to glow.

Wary of an ocular attack from the eyes bearing the same color as his former teammate's Sharingan, Naruto screwed his eyes shut. He still felt a slight nudge on his brain, so he thought he didn't close his eyes in time.

"大丈夫です. (It's alright.)" The woman said to him. "攻撃じゃない, 連絡するのためです. (It's not an attack, it's for communication.)" The woman cleared up.

Seeing no other option but to believe her, Naruto opened his eyes as well as his mind. The gentle nudge transformed into a light touch that made him feel like he was wearing an invisible helmet before vanishing completely.

"Well, do you understand me now?" The green man spoke, shocking Naruto.

"Yeah, I understood that." Naruto said in his native tongue but found himself surprised when the green man smiled in understanding.

What form of Ninjutsu was this? A universal translation jutsu? What were the activation requirements? Did he have to speak first or was that just a courtesy?

He had so many questions but now he could actually ask them!

"First things first, who are you guys?" Naruto asked in his normal blunt manner, getting a chuckle from the lady in armor.

"I am Katana." The woman introduced with a bow. The politeness in her speech transferred into action.

"And I am the Martian Manhunter." The green man introduced. "We are heroes helping you in the name of the Justice League." He said with pride.

.

.

.

"Who?" Naruto asked with a confused expression on his face.

XxX

What happened next was a crash course on history of both of their worlds.

Naruto learned he was on a continent called North America in a country called the United States of America (he couldn't help but point out the repetitiveness of the title). This was in stark contrast to the Elemental Nations he was used to, a location that he found did not exist in these people's history. The closest link he was informed of was a country called Japan, the place Katana hailed from and represented proudly on her costume.

Allowing Martian Manhunter to show him a brief rundown of human history gave Naruto a small idea of just how much more technically advanced this world was to his own. No longer did people fight using kunai, shuriken, and other tools, now they mainly used guns.

These weren't the guns he was used to either! These were much more advanced.

Imagine the surprise Naruto witnessed on the other patrons faces when he told them of his life. The horrors of shinobi life that they were introduced to in the academy but immersed in upon graduation, the chuunin exams and the fights that resulted, animals the size of buildings and betrayals that cut deep. Martian Manhunter had to extract the memories himself in order to believe what he was hearing.

To them, he was essentially a child soldier. Forced to fight-to kill- at too young an age, forced to fight in wars when his biggest battle should be a math test.

Of course, Naruto didn't let him see everything. Trusting as he is by nature, he's still a shinobi. Such a status meant that he couldn't afford to fully open his mind. Keeping the finer details of his life and things that would jeopardize village security under wraps were boundaries the mind-walker respected.

Filing that away for later, the next question became apparent to all:

What now?

Naturally, having been given access to Naruto's memories, J'onn now knew that Naruto had no idea what had brought him here. From Naruto's (frankly, quite limited) understanding of chakra, J'onn couldn't immediately form a reason why he ended up here. The idea that the boy was lying was appealing due to the convenient nature of his memories, but his memories of the other world were too fleshed out to be false.

The next concern was what should they do with the boy? If he agreed, then they could enroll him into a school and try to integrate him into society until they could get him back. This was ideal but would also be a security risk given the boy's abilities. Ideally, given his age and experience; he'd be made into a sidekick. But then the question became who would take him?

Unknown to the Manhunter, that very thing was being decided as he thought.

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 17th, 1:47 PM

"As such, I'll be taking care of you from now on. Any Questions?" Batman asked the blonde shinobi.

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

While Naruto was being interrogated (putting it strongly) by Manhunter and Katana, the entirety of the Justice League was watching and listening via cameras in the room. Trusting J'onn's initial analysis of the boy's mind, they quickly moved onto the subject of where the boy would be staying.

They all agreed that keeping him in a League owned facility would prove disastrous without knowing the extent of his abilities, and the same prevented him from bunking with the Team. This led to a roadblock as nobody in the League seemed willing to take him in… until Batman volunteered.

Citing his experience in raising sidekicks while introducing them to crime-fighting, as well as Naruto's ninja past fitting well with his style of combat left the others with no disagreements.

This brings us back to the present.

"Yeah, for starters, who are you supposed to be? Batman?" Naruto joked.

"Yes." The caped crusader answered seriously.

"…wait, you're being serious?" The blonde asked with a straight face.

"Yes. Was that the most important question you had for me?" Batman asked back, tone not changing as he moved to inspect Naruto's medical record.

"Nah, I've got one more." Naruto said, suddenly serious. "What are you gonna do with me?" He asked, locking eyes with the eye holes in the bat's mask.

Batman noticed the tensing of the boy's hands, ready to spring into action should he give an unsavory answer.

"Relax, we're not going to kill you." Batman said in a nigh-undetectably softer tone.

Naruto's ears picked it up, though. Relaxing a little, Naruto voiced his query: "Alright, but seriously, what is the plan?"

"You'll be staying with me and in turn, I'll be keeping an eye on you while you assist me with fighting crime." Batman explained. "I'm told you were a soldier of some kind in your past life?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was a ninja. We fought, snuck, and killed in exchange for money." Naruto's expression hardened at his own oversimplification but continued. "From J'onn's memory sharing, can I assume that you're planning to make me your sidekick?"

"Astute." Batman complimented with nary a nod. "Yes, you probably won't require any sort of training except for non-lethality conditioning so you'd be best as my sidekick until you're ready to undertake missions on your own."

"So let me get this straight. You'll give me food, clothes, and shelter in exchange for kicking bad guys asses all while you search for a way for me to get home?" Naruto summarized.

"Yes." Batman confirmed.

"You've got yourself a deal." Naruto said, sticking his fist out for Batman to bump.

Staring at the fist, Batman left Naruto hanging.

"There is one other thing, Naruto." The caped crusader said.

"What's up?" The blonde asked, dropping his fist.

"You'll have to go to school."

The look on Naruto's face was so priceless that even Batman himself internally chuckled.

GOTHAM CITY

July 24th, 8:00 AM

Naruto was woken up early on the cool summer morning. His injuries had sufficiently healed in the week such that he went from being completely bound in bandages to only having major coverage under his clothes.

Speaking of clothes, with his orange jumpsuit destroyed; Naruto was forced to change up his style to fit this new world.

Given an infinite budget and free reign of his clothing situation, Naruto chose for himself a pair of faded blue jeans with a black shirt. Over the black shirt, he wore a dark orange windbreaker that had white sleeves. He was also gifted a black earpiece that was emblazoned with a symbol saying 'WayneTech'; he was told this would translate for him until he got that hang of English due to Manhunter not being able to translate for him anymore.

Before you ask, yes. His shoes were also orange, being sneakers with white soles and laces.

Batman had personally come to take Naruto to their base of operations, arriving at 8 am on the dot. He arrived via a device they called a "zeta tube". Very much not being a scientist, Naruto accepted the explanation that it was teleportation and left it at that.

That didn't make it any less cool, though.

Batman had explained that after he took Naruto to his base, they'd discuss his living situation and-Naruto had to mentally prepare himself for this-school.

That catches you up to the present, where Naruto found himself in what Batman called the Batcave with two new people in front of him. The Batcave was essentially a large cave with grey walkways constructed throughout. Naruto could spot various bat-themed gadgets meticulously placed around the space as well as a small museum of what appeared to be souvenirs. A massive supercomputer was also placed on the largest platform, leading Naruto to think that was the most used part of the cave.

Back to the people that stood before him.

One was a thin elderly man dressed in a full black suit with white gloves and a neat black bowtie. He also had on an earpiece identical to the one Naruto wore. His piercing gaze told Naruto that this man was not to be trifled with, however as he met the gaze of the blonde shinobi as well as the Batman without an ounce of give.

The next person was a red-haired girl that was a couple inches taller than him. She was wearing a female version of the batsuit that was only different in that it allowed him to see her green eyes and it allowed her hair to flow out the back of the cowl. She was fixing him with a kind, almost-sympathetic stare.

"Naruto." Batman said to focus him. "This is Alfred Pennyworth and Batgirl." He introduced, pointing to the two as he named them. "Batgirl will work with you on combat training and societal adjustment while Alfred will be your educator as well as your main support on missions." He spoke.

Eyes widening, Naruto couldn't help but ask. "Wait, you mean that old guy is super strong?" He asked. 'That explains that stare…' Naruto mused to himself.

Briefly raising an eyebrow, Alfred cleared up the confusion. "Not quite, Mr. Uzumaki. I mainly handle the computing and other logistics to feed you information from here." He revealed. "Although, I can hold my own if I do say so myself."

"Moving on… It's nice to meet you, Naruto." Batgirl said before removing her cowl. "I'm Batgirl with the cowl and Barbara Gordon without." She said with a smile. "I've been told that you're almost fourteen now, so that means we'll be going to the same school sooner or later." She finished.

"Please don't remind me…" the blonde said with a groan.

"Finally, you're going to need a place to stay." Batman cut in. "Like I said back at the hall, I can provide that in exchange for your services as a hero."

"But?" Naruto continued for him.

"I need you to pledge that you won't take another life as long as you're on this earth." Batman said somehow in a tone more serious than he normally spoke. "What we do is very dangerous to us and others and can often make life seem trivial. Nevertheless, I need your word that you will not succumb to this urge. I need your word that you will not be a killer."

'Again.'

Naruto mentally filled in the word Batman left out.

Looking the Batman in his white-covered eyes, Naruto gave his answer.

"I swear that I will never kill again." Naruto resolved. "Furthermore, I never go back on my word because that's my ninja way!" He added proudly, slamming a fist against his chest to drive his point him.

After briefly analyzing Naruto's face for any sign of deceit and finding none, Batman seemed to confirm something with himself.

"Good." He said as he pulled down his cowl, revealing a strong-jawed man with short black hair and blue eyes as intense as his own.

"I am Bruce Wayne, and I will be your sponsor for as long as you serve the mission." The man introduced.

"Now, let's get down to business."

GOTHAM CITY

July 24th, 10:00 AM

Naruto learned that forging one's identity is a surprisingly easy process when you have access to billions of one's own currency.

The whole process was done quite quickly (something Alfred made sure to let Naruto know was a rarity in their government) and thus Naruto was officially in the custody of Bruce Wayne. The man himself wasn't present for the proceedings as he had a business to run, so Alfred took the reins.

While he was officially in the man's custody, he wasn't considered his adopted son or anything of the sort. The distinction made Naruto raise as eyebrow as he asked Alfred about the difference.

Alfred gave him a somber look and explained the emotional weight behind such a gesture, especially to one as closed off as his master.

Naruto sensed there was something more to it but dropped it without pushing.

After that, he was taken to the school he'd be attending during his stay: Gotham Academy.

Seeing as how he was nearing 14 years old; he'd be placed in the upcoming 9th grade class. This presented a slight problem in that Naruto would have to be rapidly taught enough to be able to keep up with normal 9th graders, but Alfred seemed confident in his tutoring skills.

Naruto certainly wasn't confident in his learning ability, though…

Currently, he was being chauffeured by Alfred back to Wayne manor to plan the last facet of his new identity.

"Have you thought of a name yet, Master Uzumaki?" Alfred suddenly spoke, breaking Naruto from his recounting.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked back. "You can call me Naruto, by the way, I don't like that formal stuff." He added.

"I mean your alias for your… extracurricular activities, Master Uzumaki." Alfred clarified.

'Way to ignore me.' Naruto thought with a small frown as he thought about Alfred's question.

An alias or superhero name wasn't anything he ever gave thought to. In his world, Shinobi simply went by their own name with a nickname eventually being given by those around them. The only person he could think of making their own title was Jiraiya referring to himself as the "toad sage", but he still used his name before the title.

This would take some serious thought because he'd rather be hit by another Chidori than pick a lame name!

?

July 24th

On an Island in a well-hidden location, a girl woke up.

Sliding her thin bed sheet off of her form revealed tan skin that bore numerous deep scars. The scars painted a grotesque picture of the horrors the girl had survived in order to bear them. Some were long, some were thin, some were round, some were square; she had all manner of pale markings where her skin refused to re-pigment.

The worst of which was on her neck, however.

The scar that went across her neck wasn't the ugliest scar she bore, but it was the most impactful as it mostly stripped the girl of her ability to speak.

Her face was sharp, containing no fat that would be found on a properly raised girl her age. Regal, high cheekbones led to eyes that denoted her of Asian descent with black hair that, despite being unkempt, was straight and kept cut to chin length.

Her body, despite the scarring, appeared to be the picture of fitness as lean muscle seemed to cover every inch of it.

This was Cassandra Wu-San, and she had a mission.

End

A/N: Surprise! I started a new story. I first got the idea for this when I watched Young Justice season 4 and have been sitting on it for a couple months.

I find Cass to be an interesting character because her disability (inability to speak) is directly tied to her strength (fighting ability greater than Batman). Her lack of use in recent comics and other media inspired me to just write my own.

I thought about it for a bit and decided that making it a slow burn type romance with a goofy character would be interesting. Thus, I arrived at making Naruto crossover into the YJ universe.

It should be obvious to anyone that's seen Naruto that this version of him is more serious and calculating than he was in the original series. That'll be explained over time as his character is further explored in later chapters. Speaking of later chapters, this story is going to be composed of a series of short episodic chapters, similar to my other story Road Less Taken.

The Chapters are going to be Naruto and Cassandra-centric, meaning that it's going to be from their perspective from now on. This will be my first time writing anything like this so be sure to let me know in reviews if I mess up anywhere.

One last thing: It occurred to me that I might've made Batman a little too trusting, given his famous paranoia so I will be incorporating future plot points to address this.

Thanks for reading and I'll more than likely see y'all before next month!

-Mango G