Starfire embraces Nightwing, catching him guard as she flies in the air holding him tight with his lean form fitting perfectly against hers. The rush of adrenaline and the warmth of their reunion filled the air.

"X'HAL!" Starfire exclaimed, her voice echoing with joy.

Nightwing chuckled, his gloved hands resting on her shoulders. "I've missed you too, Kori."

Naruto, standing nearby, scratched his head. "She missed his what?"

Kid Flash snickered.

Starfire beamed at Nightwing. "How's Barbara?"

Nightwing's expression shifted, a hint of concern crossing his features. "A bit moody lately, but we're working through it."

Starfire leaned in, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Well, let me know if you need any assistance. I know ways to solve certain 'moods.'"

Nightwing raised an eyebrow.

"Just kidding!" Starfire giggled.

As the former lovers laughed, Naruto observed them, arms crossed. He wondered about their history, the unspoken moments that had shaped their bond.

"So," Naruto ventured, "is that Star's boyfriend? The one who taught her everything?"

Robin corrected him. "Ex-boyfriend, but they're still on good terms."

Naruto nodded. "Oh...nice."

After lowering back down to the concrete pavement, Nightwing greets the rest of his old and new teammates, then makes eye contact with Naruto, who stands just a few feet away. Nightwing approached blonde ninja, extending his hand with a heartwarming smile. "I'm Nightwing."

Naruto shook it, surprised by the friendly gesture. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"I know I'm not who you were expecting, but you'll be meeting the higher ups in JUST a moment. Can you stand still right here, please?"

Puzzled by Nightwing's request, Naruto complies and stands a little to the right as Nightwing places his finger and speaks with someone on his earpiece. Before Naruto could react, a blue flash enveloped him, and he vanished into thin air.

Elsewhere...

Sebastian, dressed in red and black robes, entered the church of blood. His exhaustion from last night's battle weighed heavily on him. The psycho villain then enters the meditation room and meets with Mother Mayhem, who floated in the air, legs crossed, meditating.

"You've been on quite a roll," Mayhem said. "Capturing subjects one day, losing them the next."

Sebastian chuckled. "It's actually pretty funny when you think about it."

"It's really not."

Mayhem's tone turned serious. "Last night's blunder didn't escape my notice."

Sebastian winced. "Shino?"

Mayhem confirmed it. "My perfect eyes and ears."

Sebastian tried to salvage the situation. "At least I gained a large sum of chakra, including the Byakugan."

Illustrating his success veins appeared around Sebastian's eyes, turning lavender as he checks Mother Mayhem's body from head to toe.

Mayhem's anger flared. "Yes, while that may be success in and of itself, the fact remains that you still lost the princess. Worse, she's a Green Lantern!"

Sebastian nods in agreement, finding last night's event to be just as unbelievable. He still pondered how Hinata could have required the ring when based on what he's seen from Hinata that she has weak will, which is unfitting for such power. His only conclusion that night was that Hinata may have had a strong will to live.

"I know, I found it ridiculous too...I also take responsibility for toyin' around with her too much. It looked like she knew what she was doing, but she was obviously being guided by the ring telepathically. "

Mayhem demanded a solution. "And how do you seek to make amends?"

Sebastian smirked. "We'll need more hired guns. I know some... ASSOCIATES who might be able to help."

Mayhem leaned in. "Associates who share our cause?"

"No…but they do love money." Sebastian states smugly.

Meanwhile...

In the far reaches of outer space, we are introduced to the planet called Oa. Oa is a planetary citadel that lies in the center of the universe. It is used by the Guardians of the Universe as the home base of the Green Lantern Corps. In the middle of one of their many bases, the screaming Hinata finally reaches her destination, but makes a rough landing inside as her ring begins to speak again.

"Your destination has now been reached.!"

"OW..." Hinata mutters.

As Hinata slowly rises rubbing her head, she is nearly speechless when she realizes she's in a whole new world."

"Where…am I?" Hinata's voice trembled.

"You are on the planet of Oa."

Hinata looks up and spots over a dozen men and women that resemble short humans with blue skin and white hair. They are known as the Guardians of the Universe; founders and leaders of the Green Lantern Corps.

Their strange appearance marked them as beings beyond her understanding sure what to make of this, Hinata stood up nervously, smiles and waves, hoping that the blue men are friendly. She finds some of them to look adorable, while others to be just plain ugly.

Some of the guardians looked stern, while others whispered among themselves, questioning the timid ninja of her worthiness.

One of the guardians stepped forward. Appa Ali Apsa, seated in the middle, radiated calmness. "We understand you are lost, in more ways than one."

Appa continued, "As we do with all newcomers, allow us to explain. Afterwards, you may choose to return to your homeworld or join us in the upcoming war—a conflict your ancestors left unfinished."

Naruto's disorientation faded as he found himself in a new space—a place beyond Earth. The Watchtower, headquarters of the Justice League, loomed before him. His stomach churned from the teleportation.

As he looks up, the silly blonde meets eyes with a masked man sporting pointy ears with black cape and grey costume standing a few feet near the ninja. It's Batman!

Naruto slowly stands up and asks the Caped Crusader if he is-

"Batman?"

Batman simply nods.

Yet again Naruto's mental image of the Dark Knight didn't quite match the reality.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I presume?"

A black-haired man dressed in a blue and red suit with baby blue eyes stepped forward with his cape flowing in the air. Superman. Beside him, a GORGEOUS muscular woman with long black wavy hair,dark blue eyes wearing a red top and blue pants with red boots. It's Wonder Woman.

Naruto now bears witness to DC's iconic Trinity. He feels overwhelming power radiating from them, but at the same time, a welcoming sight to behold. After taking a moment, Naruto finally responds.

Naruto grinned. "Y-Yeah, that's me!"

Superman welcomed him. "I'm Superman."

Wonder Woman added, "Wonder Woman."

Batman remained silent.

Superman's wry tone broke the tension. "And he's Batman."

Naruto chuckled. "Nice to meet you."

Superman gestured. "Follow us. We have a lot to discuss."

And so, the threads of fate wove tighter. Hinata and Naruto stood at the crossroads of cosmic conflict, their destinies entwined with ancient powers and legendary heroes.

To Be Continued...

This arc's almost coming to a close, afterwards I think I'm gonna stop for a little while, because now I'm back to not liking how some things are turning out. Even one of the reviewers shared my exact thoughts. For that, I thank said reviewer for his/her feedback. I have also decided to remove Sakura's scene. I have a lot of plans for her, but I feel it's too early to bring her in at this time. I can't just introduce the lot I picked out for this story left & right, otherwise it'll make it even messier, if that makes sense. So sorry, Haruno fans, you'll see her eventually. No promises though.

For now I'll just stick with the same formula as Shippuden where it's 2 stories with an occasional 3rd involved. So for the remainder of this arc, it will be about Naruto and Hinata. Have a nice weekend, all. And as I said before, if you come into this expecting a good story, then prepare for disappointment. Bye.