Chapter 2: The Spy Game

Naruto Uzumaki, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, who mastered magic like no other, was very confused. He didn't understand how they had ended up in this situation. He had sent his shadows to follow the young couple he had rescued a few hours earlier. He thought they were a couple, but the truth is, he wasn't very good at that sort of thing. Now, with a frown and his arms crossed, he was trying to find an explanation for this whole mess.

He had used his power to read their minds and see their memories. That way he could take them back home safe and sound. The truth is, he was surprised that in this world they were fictional characters. And not just from one world, but from several! "This is crazy," he thought. Even he was an amalgamation of characters from manga and video games. "They say I'm a Gary Stu... but I've lost more battles than I've won!" he said to himself in frustration. He remembered his confrontations with Apollo and other sorcerers. He knew them well, that's why he was able to defeat them. But against Kenjaku and Mahito, with their unknown curses, things were different. He had bitten the dust more times than he cared to admit.

This world was a real mess. Much more chaotic than his own. At least here there hadn't been a war between magicians and non-magicians. However, the environment was quite deteriorated. "It's incredible how much pollution they have generated in just a few decades," Naruto thought with concern.

Gamma had assured them that this world would be perfect to settle in, once they adapted or built a new kingdom. They imagined an Avalon, a Shangri-La, an El Dorado, even a Uruk 3.0! But they had been wrong. Although non-magicians had not completely destroyed the planet with their wars and their madness, they were one step away from doing so. "It seems we were wrong about this world," Naruto thought with frustration.

He didn't know what to do. He had sent his seven shadows to explore the nearby city, looking for information. It wasn't that he needed it, he just wanted to be alone. He needed a moment to calm down, to gather his thoughts. He didn't want to be seen like this, frustrated and defeated. He knew that first attempts rarely went well, but failing like that, wasting such valuable resources... it hurt. A lot.

Damn, he was about to unleash his fury on this world, turn it into a smoking rock in the middle of the cosmos. But what was the point? These people were not to blame for his misfortune, they were not the ones who had taken everything from him, who had massacred his people. Of course, they were not innocent, but he was not one to punish children for the sins of their parents. Or in this case, a whole world because of a few. "It doesn't make sense," he thought. "Never mind, it's not like I'm good with metaphors."

"This world is a disaster..." Naruto thought as he looked at the city in the distance. It was definitely better than his, which had been virtually destroyed by radiation. "Well, anywhere is better than a radioactive wasteland," he said to himself wryly. "Although this place isn't exactly a paradise either..."

To be honest, he had no idea what to do. His whole life had been an endless battle, and although he longed for a break right now, the fight wasn't over. "I can't give up," he told himself with determination. "Not now." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The weight of the world, of two worlds actually, rested on his shoulders. "I need a plan," he thought, opening his eyes with renewed energy. "A new plan."

He had used his ability to read the minds of a couple of soldiers he had defeated a few hours ago. He discovered that they had been sent because of energy readings similar to something they had seen before. Something about the Bifrost, as he recalled. "It can't be," Naruto thought, frowning. "I destroyed the Bifrost myself. How is it possible that it has reappeared?". The dates the soldiers mentioned in their minds didn't make sense. No more than a year, they said. "Something's not right," Naruto thought, feeling a chill run down his spine. There was definitely something strange about all this.

He put those thoughts aside, erasing the soldiers' memories with a wave of his hand. He stood up, waiting for the arrival of the people he had detected in the distance. His elven senses allowed him to hear their footsteps approaching, closer and closer. One of them was moving stealthily, trying to surprise him. Naruto smiled to himself. "You don't stand a chance," he thought, still watching the waves. "But let's see what they want...".

He waited until the man was close enough to hear him clearly. He turned his head slightly, with a faint smile. "It seems someone is eager to chat," he thought wryly. Without losing his composure, he said in a serene voice:

"Don't worry, they're not dead."

The man stopped dead in his tracks, his hand trembling. Naruto watched him closely, amused by the soldier's indecision. "To shoot or not to shoot?" he thought wryly. "That is the question." Suddenly, the man raised a hand to his ear, listening to a message. Naruto listened intently, but couldn't understand the words. "Some kind of code," he guessed. The soldier put away his weapon and backed away as another man approached. "Looks like we have a new player," thought Naruto, with an enigmatic smile.

Naruto turned to look at the man closely. "Bald, friendly face..." he thought, analyzing the newcomer. "But appearances can be deceiving." He remembered Apollo, his cousin and comrade-in-arms, a sorcerer as powerful as himself. Despite his beauty, Apollo was a formidable warrior. "I mustn't let my guard down," he reminded himself. "In this world, the true nature of people is revealed in their actions, not their appearance."

When the man was within reach, Naruto snapped his fingers, releasing the soldiers from the magic sleep he had plunged them into. "A simple spell," he thought. "Any sorcerer could have broken it. But these poor devils...". Naruto held back a smile. "If it wasn't for me, they'd still be sleeping like Sleeping Beauty," he thought wryly. "Although, come to think of it, Sleeping Beauty wasn't exactly bewitched...". Naruto shrugged. "Well, the point is, they're awake now."

"Hello, my name is Agent Phil Coulson of the National Strategic Intervention, Law Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "National Strategic Intervention, Law Enforcement and Logistics?", he thought. "That has to be an acronym for something", he thought. "Although I can't figure it out...".

"I was sent to investigate when we lost contact with some of our people who were sent to investigate an event at this location," Agent Coulson continued. "Could you help me? I really hate giving bad news to the director, and no news is bad news."

Naruto watched him closely, analyzing his words and body language. "A secret agent", he deduced. "Interesting. And he seems concerned about his men. I like that". He decided to play along.

"Hello, you can call me Naruto," he replied with a friendly smile. "As for what happened here, I'm afraid I can't divulge any information as it's a matter of international security."

Naruto remained calm, hiding his true thoughts. "Technically, it's true", he thought mischievously. "Although not for this world, of course". Of course, he wasn't planning on revealing his origin to anyone. He could erase their memories and disappear, but this was the meeting point with his shadows, and the situation amused him. "Let's see how far this game goes", he thought with a spark of excitement in his eyes.

Just then, one of the men he had knocked unconscious began to stir, to the agent's obvious relief. He gestured with his hand and some of the men who had come with him approached to examine them.

"MI6? UN?" Coulson asked curiously. "I can assure you that we have a solid working relationship with all the working agencies in the world... at least mostly."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, analyzing the situation. "Trying to get me to lower my guard?", he thought. "Interesting strategy...". He decided to play along.

"I see," he replied calmly, feigning naivety. "That's good to know. But I insist, I can't reveal any details about what happened. These are confidential matters."

Naruto kept his eyes fixed on Agent Coulson, studying his reactions. "Let's see what else you have up your sleeve", he thought, ready for anything.

"Agent Coulson, if you'll allow me," Naruto said with a dramatic sigh, "you have no idea how long my day has been. I'll have to contact my people through my own means before I can divulge any information."

As he uttered those words, a doubt arose in his mind. "Will two-way mirrors work between dimensions?", he wondered. He hoped so, as he had no other real way to communicate with his world.

Putting that aside, however briefly, he noticed the glint of intelligence in the man's eyes, who was clearly trying to connect the dots. Not that he was going to get anywhere with it, but it was clear to the redhead that they weren't going to let him leave without someone higher up in the hierarchy ordering it. And until then, he was a stranger and a potential security risk... "The sad thing is, they're not wrong," Naruto thought with a grimace.

"I understand," Coulson said with a nod. "Until you've made contact with your people, we can provide you with accommodation and something to eat. Do you need anything from us to contact your people? Of course, we'll provide you with transportation to your destination."

Naruto caught the subtlety in the agent's tone. It wasn't a question or an offer. They were going to accompany him to make sure he didn't try to run away. "Of course I could do that, even if they sent me to...", he thought, stopping short as he remembered the agent's name. Phil Coulson. And those acronyms that didn't ring a bell in Spanish... Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place in his mind. "No way!", he thought incredulously. "Of all the dimensions... of all the damn dimensions I had to end up in a Marvel one!".

He had to think fast. S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't a problem in itself. "They're like kids playing spies", he thought disdainfully. But if things got out of hand, they could call in the heavyweights... And that was a problem. "I don't want to have to face Sentry", he thought, remembering the hero's immense power. "A million exploding suns... Not even I want to deal with that". Besides, he knew Sentry's reputation. "That guy would be happy to fight someone like me", he thought with a grimace. "It would be an epic battle, no doubt. But now is not the time". He pushed the thought away, focusing on the present.

— "Now I want to fight him" —he muttered to himself, before shaking his head—. It's not the time to fantasize.

"Thank you, that's a very kind offer, and one I'll accept," Naruto replied with a polite smile. "I hope you'll contact me in the next few days. If you have a place for me until then, I'd appreciate it."

As he spoke, Naruto sent a telepathic message to his shadows, ordering them not to follow him. "Better safe than sorry", he thought. He preferred to play along with S.H.I.E.L.D. before they decided to call in the Avengers. "I don't want to have to deal with Captain Marvel, let alone Thor", he thought with a shudder. "I hope this is a dimension based on the movies. Those are much weaker than their comic book versions". And most importantly, Sentry didn't exist in the MCU. "That gives me a bit of an edge", he thought with relief.

Agent Coulson seemed to notice a bit of his hesitation. However, he had been playing the spy game long enough to know what to do and what not to do, so he simply nodded and turned to one of the men who had been checking on the newly awakened soldiers. Apparently, and from what Naruto could hear, he did a good job with the memory wipe: they remembered arriving at the scene, finding a little girl lost in the dark, and then nothing...

"Oh, shit," Naruto suddenly thought. "I forgot to erase the Lizzy part from their memories!". A cold sweat ran down his forehead. "Well, it's done now," he resigned himself. "I hope it doesn't cause too much trouble."

Naruto remained silent, watching the scene with apparent indifference. In reality, his elven ears picked up every word of the agent's report. It seemed that his men didn't remember anything that had happened. "Excellent work, Naruto," he congratulated himself. Suddenly, the agent mentioned that the recording devices had been tampered with. Naruto held his breath. "Damn", he thought. "That detail slipped my mind". He felt the agent's eyes on him, but he forced himself to remain calm. "He can't suspect me", he told himself, although a pang of unease ran through him. "I must be more careful".

Finally, the agent finished listening to the report. He turned to Naruto, with a serious expression.

— Follow me —he ordered in an authoritative tone, and with that, he started walking towards the road.

— Where are we going? —Naruto thought curiously, needing the information to guide his shadows.

— We have an office in Malibu, but it's an office building —the agent replied with a small smile—. Most of the staff who work here bought a place or rent it, so we'll go to a hotel. Feel free to order room service. I understand it's tax deductible, depending on which agency you work for.

Naruto had to stifle a laugh. "Seriously?", he thought incredulously. "Does he think I'm that naive?". But he maintained his composure, returning the agent's smile. "This guy is an open book", he thought with amusement. "Every word, every gesture, gives me information".

— Sounds lovely —Naruto replied kindly