Paradoxity
I have not reached that far (haven't completely watched episode 4 yet although I have seen spoilers online anyway). I think that it was more of the mental breakdown at Vander's place as well as her sister hitting an abandoning her that caused her to spiral down. Jinx was a very sensitive case, especially without a proper support group around her.
As for the explosion; Naruto had already saturated the area with his own magic, and with the ambient energy already in the warehouse just existing, when the magic came shooting out from the hexcrystal it created the equivalent of a nuclear chain reaction. Hence it was atomizing Naruto down to the cell rather than just burning or exploding. He was hoping to regenerate but when Lamb arrived he knew it was his end so he just made sure he could protect the kids - Zaun's Future.

bednarczykmiki
Lamb is great at and loves cuddles (she's little spoon) and Wolf likes sleeping on top of people (he lays across Lamb's legs and chest a lot).

Hi hello

The song doesn't exist I just made it up as an old Ionian folksong. Got that "A Hero Comes Home" vibe.

This is where the timelines split. With Naruto, Zaun has a different future than when it was in Vander or Silco's hands. Lord have mercy on Piltover.

VII

"I walked through shadows, long and deep,
Where stars would fade, and silence weeps.
A stranger's road, so far from grace,
Yet still I dream of a warmer place."

Why… does he hear singing? He should be dead from the explosion.

"Oh, gather near, though winds may moan,
We'll find the light where seeds are sown.
Through the aching dark, a fire is stilled,
A home is not found, it is the hearth we build."

Wait. He knows this song. It's the same one his mother would sing sometimes when she missed her old home. It spoke of new travels and missing home, while also saying that home is where you settle.

His mother came from somewhere across the seas, she never spoke much of it and he never pressured her. His young mind could see that it pained her something deep whenever she sang this song.

"I've heard the whispers of the trees,
Of ancient paths and restless seas.
Their song, it calls, with gentle plea,
To raise a haven for you and me.
Gather near, though winds may moan,
We'll find the light where seeds are sown.
Through the aching dark, a fire is stilled
A home is not found, it is the hearth we build."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked around in bleary confusion. It was like coming out of a deep nap where one feels like the passage of time was greater than it really was. Even then, he felt a sense of familiarity with this place.

He did not recognize any of it, although the signs of something in the corner of his mind told him otherwise. Either way, he sat up from his position laying on the couch - a beautiful pale purple that looked muted to his senses. It was a fine piece of furniture, better than anything he could ever hope to find in Zaun.

He grabbed his head for a moment as he sat up too quickly and he felt pressure on his temples.

"Through broken fields and frozen streams,
We carry lanterns forged with dreams.
The stones we lay, the hands we lend,
Will turn to shelter that will not bend."

He looked up when the singing continued, finding a shadow moving from the room to his right and across a hall. The clatter of dishes and chairs scraping the ground could be heard under the soft singing.

He got to his feet and approached as the final lines of the song were finished by this unknown person.

"So step by step, through trials so vast,
We'll shape a future, free at last.
The journey ends where hearts fulfill,
For love is our hearth, and the world is still."

Naruto stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and dining room, wincing at the bright light filtering in through the windows. He couldn't even see outside with how bright it was, which told him he was nowhere in Zaun or Piltover. It was very likely he wasn't anywhere close to the cities.

But what got his attention the moment he could see again is the redhaired woman with her back to him. It was his mother there doing dishes and singing the song she knew of her home. But… her voice was off.

Has it been that long that he can't even remember his own mother's voice? The dreams had a different voice for her, what he thought she sounded like when he was younger. Was that wrong?

"Oh, you're awake," Kushina noticed him and smiled brilliantly.

She wore a loose, red dress with specks of purple and orange, gold studded lapels for the straps that made her have a divine appearance compared to the average Zaun and Piltover citizen. Her pale skin is unblemished and only marked with the intricate lines and symbols from her chest down her arm and her knuckles. Her lips are covered in a dark purple lipstick that made her eyes sparkle like a pair of perfect amethyst stones.

"Mama?" Naruto questioned hesitantly while entering the room. "How are you here?"

She smiled sadly before reaching to rub his cheek. "You died, Naruto. Remember the explosion?"

He winced and held his head, feeling the remnants of his body being destroyed from the hexcrystal explosion.

"Did the kids at least escape?" He asked his mom hopefully. "Did I protect them?"

Kushina smiled as tears formed in the corner of her eyes and nodded her head. "You did, Naru. They escaped safely, even the one you sent your Shade for."

That made him feel relief and he couldn't help the tears that traveled down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring the future that we wanted for Zaun to life. I got too caught up in my hate for losing you that I did too many unnecessary things."

Naruto bowed his head pathetically, and his mother looked at him with a soft pitying gaze. She pulled him into a hug and kissed his head, which was different now that he was taller than her. Still, she pulled his head into her chest and softly hummed as he held her tightly.

"My beautiful son. You have had to figure so much out for yourself that you didn't have time to find out who you are as a person. There was so much left for me to teach you, to explain to you, but that is just how life is sometimes. No matter what, I believe in you and know that you will make me proud."

She ran her fingers through his hair as she enjoyed his embrace once more. She missed her son so much, time in the afterlife being skewed and almost imperceptible. She never forgot Naruto no longer how long she stayed here as she knew one day he will return to her as his own man.

But right now was not his time.

"You have to go, Naruto." Kushina pulled away to hold her son's head in her hands and look in his eyes. "It is not your time. You have more to find out about yourself and your destiny. Protect those kids, nurture their growth, but don't forget about what you are."

She pressed a hand to his chest and he felt something burn inside, filling him with rage but it struck him like a shard of ice. It was so much more different than any other time he's felt this energy rise inside of him. He was going to question his mother when she began speaking again.

"Look for the other Runae Mundi. They are the key."

With that, Naruto felt himself slipping from his mother's grasp. He began panicking but she was calm as she continued to hold him.

"I love you, Naruto. I hope to hear about the family and home you build for yourself when it's your time. And treat Cassandra with more respect, remember that she's a friend."

"Naruto!"

He heard Powder weep against his chest, gripping his damaged top tightly as she sobbed. He wasn't sure why she would cry for him when he had barely been in her life.

"Come on, Powder," Vi called out. "The Enforcers will be crawling all over the place soon."

"We can't leave him," Powder cried. "He saved you!"

"Vi's right, Powder," Vander softly told the youngest child. "We can't stay here any longer."

Fuck you too, old man.

This is why he didn't want to come saving the old fucker. The man cares not for Zaun but for himself and those he wants to care about. Zaun needed something better than that, someone who takes all of them together without having to "sacrifice" anything.

The idea that to protect one thing you have to give up the other is complete bullshit. You don't need to make that choice at all. You can make the choice to stand against those who propose terms and sink your teeth into their neck to rip their jugular out!

"I'm alive."

Naruto's statement startled everyone there and he opened his eyes to stare at the fog ceiling above the warehouse. Speaking of the warehouse, it was ablaze with blue and purple flames from the hex crystal and Shimmer.

"So, is everyone alive?"

He didn't get an answer, instead he found Pounder climbing onto him to hug him tightly. She was crying happily this time, making him chuckle and pat her back while sitting up. He held her carefully.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Powder. I told you my luck is stronger than your jinx." She just sobbed harder.

He realized that this must have been the tipping point for her should he have actually died. She would have been the cause of his death, something that would have gone against his promise that nothing would happen. She would have spiraled into a mentality of self defeat until someone else took the reins to shape her into something else.

He held her tighter, like an older brother, and shushed her. "Quiet, I'm fine. I told you you're not a jinx, alright?"

He looked up as he felt eyes on him, and he found the other three kids and Vander staring at him. Vi looked guilty, probably bothered by his assurances that Powder isn't a jinx, while the boys were more awkward for the same reasons.

Vander however…

"You survived that?" His words are confused, stunned, and his bruised face reflects the same. "Could have sworn the Kindred have claimed you."

"I did die," Naruto admitted while trying to get to his feet with Powder still in his arms. She's tired.

Sure enough, her breathing had returned to more of a steady rhythm and he had to hold her carefully so she didn't slide out of his arms.

"I died in that explosion, but I'm a cockroach and didn't stay dead." Naruto looked at the four others before noticing something behind them.

Eleven enforcers came out of the shadows with Marcus leading them. They all had their rifles trained on them as they approached.

Goody! Company!

"All of you are under arrest," Marcus announced as he faced them down. "For crimes against peace and the destruction of private property, among others, you will surrender yourselves."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he took a few steps forward. He tilted his head even as Powder still slept in his arms despite the man's shouting. He looked all of the Enforcers up and down, taking in their weapons and gear, before smirking.

"You should have brought more men, Marcus. I think I win."

Foosh! Foosh! Foosh!

Purple and blue lights cracked as the gist of wind exploded one after the other. On the streets, the burning warehouse, and even the sides and roofs of the buildings surrounding the open street. Dozens upon dozens of foxes answered the call of their partner that arrived to aid their boss.

The calling magic that is tied to the base relays positions of each fox that is marked with Naruto's power. This, of course, did not include the unofficial foxes like Cassandra who were not bestowed with his magic. This is purely for the official members that lived and served Naruto under Zaun.

And each of them, with the exception of a dozen that would stay to take care of their home, were appearing in flashes of magic teleportations around the group of enforcers. It surprised Vander and the kids with how many there were as it had not occurred to them that so many would exist. It had always been theorized that those noticed around Zaun were among a handful simply because they weren't always noticed in such detail to distinguish them from one another.

There has to be over seventy here! Vander realized as he quickly estimated the foxes staring down the enforcers. And all of them have magic.

The danger of such a fact was not lost on him.

"So, tell me again, Marcus," Naruto calmly stated as he gained the attention of the man. "Who is surrendering?"

"Do you think that with numbers you will win here?" Marcus glared at all of the foxes around him before settling his gaze on the blonde. "Once the council learns of you, the son of the Red Witch, is still alive, they will muster everything they can to find you. They will send the entirety of the Enforcers down this shithole and smoke you out."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, only listening to the man's threat with minor interest. He then grinned, his lips curling into a wicked curve.

"Now why in the fuck would you threaten me with that, Marky?" The childish name given to the man made his face burn. "Here is my counter threat. Who's gonna tell them?"

Schlick!

From his clear threat, and a signal given to the foxes in secret, a bunch of the foxes above the group of enforcers jumped on them. With the use of large daggers stolen from shipments reaching Piltovan gates, the armor of the peacekeepers were like paper against the arcane-imbued blades.

Only Marcus now stood, surrounded by the fox-masked agents of the blonde sorcerer.

"See, the amusing thing is that you know me," Naruto said as he began pacing his way towards the man. "You know my mother, which means you know my vendetta against people in your uniform. But my ear was against Sheriff Grayson and the council members that authorized the shooting of unarmed protestors."

"What I would have given to kill her myself, but I digress. Either way, knowing what you know, and seeing what you saw, why did you think it would be a good idea to threaten me and my home?"

Marcus did not get to answer. He was stunned into silence when he was stabbed in the back by one of the foxes behind him. Then another blade. And another.

Another.

Another.

Another.

Naruto watched with blank eyes as Marcus was silenced by one of the foxes stabbing his throat. Only a gurgle escaped his lips before the final fox stabbed him with their blade. The light left his eyes and he slumped onto the ground with all of the blades still in his body.

"Clean this up, standard procedure," Naruto jerked his head at the foxes and got a round of affirmatives.

"Why did you do that?"

Naruto turned and looked at Vander when he heard the man question him. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you kill them?" Vander questioned again. "They're going to wonder what happened to their enforcers and they will investigate."

"And they will find nothing," Naruto told the man seriously. "Who's there to tell them what happened? Grayson and her officers are disposed of and the mess has been cleaned of any speck that shows they were there. I'm doing the same with Marcus and his group. So, what will they find other than about sixteen of their peacekeepers missing?"

"They will begin heavy patrols and harass the people even more. You've made things worse for everyone!"

"No, I secured us more time," Naruto told the man. "I'm not arguing with the same man that sold himself in the name of peace. You are the past, Vander, and the sooner you step away from trying to control everything the sooner the rest of us who have bigger dreams can begin our work unhindered."

Naruto glanced at Vi, Mylo, and Claggor, before adjusting Powder when she tended in his arms and mumbled something into his neck.

"Count yourself lucky I care about the kids you've taken in," Naruto finally told the man with a sigh. "Otherwise, you would not be here."

"Naruto, we found Sevika unconscious outside the warehouse." One of the foxes approached the blonde. "We brought her back home to give immediate aid because one of her arms was mangled. It is unlikely she will keep it."

"If you have to, amputate it. I can always create a new one."

Naruto rubbed Powder's back as she mumbled some more in her sleep, making him smile. He glanced at the group of kids and then at Vander. He noticed that Vi looked uneasy about something, but the way her eyes flicked to her sister occasionally hinted what she was worried about.

"I have some things I want to talk to Powder about, and she's sleeping so I don't want to risk waking her while you tend to your wounds," Naruto stated while nodding to Vander, indicating to his bad bruises and open wounds. "So I will take her to my home where she can sleep and rest away all of this trauma. I will talk to her when she wakes and after that I will return her back to your care."

"Until then," Naruto interrupted when he noticed a rising protest coming from Vi. "If you want to come to make sure she is safe in my care, you are more than willing to come with me, Violet."

"I am more than capable of taking care of the kids," Vander spoke for Vi. "These injuries are nothing compared to my past."

"But you aren't your past self anymore, you seem to forget that." Naruto stared the man down before turning his attention back to Vi. "What's your answer?"