Chapter 2: New Life

Crystal Palace, West Wing

The calm and kind King glided in the direction of the west wing of his palace with a calm and soft smile on his face, his subordinate walking beside him obediently. The entire West Wing of the palace was devoted to the sons and daughters of the ancient king.

Each chamber designated for a Master or Mistress was an isolated and independent dimension, originated for the solitary principle of meeting every single requirement of its Master, designed according to the preferences and choices of living of the resident.

Though, there was another room constructed where the Monarch and his children would convene their meetings.

Since today was the day of the monthly meeting between the siblings, it would be convenient for Naruto to simply surprise all of them by suddenly entering the Meeting chamber instead of visiting them one by one, not to mention it would prove quite amusing to see their expressions.

The massive door of the Meeting Chamber came into view, guarded by two colossal sentinels. Naruto turned towards his loyal subordinate with a kind smile "Oken, I believe you should stay outside, considering Kurama's less than pleasant temperament"

Oken gave a slight bow "Sire, wouldn't it be better for me to follow in case something gets in the way of Master Kurama's rather volatile temper? I have no desire to waste your time by fixing something which should be my job to fix"

"Do not concern yourself with such travail matters, Oken, I would like to be alone in order to properly greet my children" He dismissed with a soft smile when they approached the gate. The massive guards bowed to the kind ruler and opened the great doors to the Meeting Chamber.

"As you wish Sire, I'll wait for you outside" he relented with a small bow while the King entered with a calm and comforting aura.

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Meeting Chamber

The inside of the massive room like the rest of the palace was located in a separate dimension to properly accommodate the massive residents. The dimensionally isolated room was dimly lit with small torches of fire littered around for miles.

In the middle of the strangely isolated room was a raised platform where a large and crimson crystal throne was made specifically for the King to sit upon during his visits. The raised platform was lit up by two torches resting on either side of the throne, giving it an eerily commanding and mysterious look.

Starting from the right side of the throne were nine massive cushion-like structures for the nine siblings, curving around till it reached the left side of the throne. Each structure was different than the other in a unique way.

The first structure from the right side was a bed of dazzling golden sand. Sitting upon the bed or rather cushion of sand was a massive light golden raccoon-dog hybrid animal with strange black marks running down its body and a large spikey tail. This was the last child and youngest son of the King. Shukaku, Master of the Desert.

The second structure was entirely covered in bluish flames, seething and swirling from side to side due an invisible wind. Sitting upon this strange structure was a two tailed flaming blue cat with black marks littered across its body and different colored eyes. This was the eighth child and youngest daughter of the King. Matatabi, Mistress of the Hellfire.

The third structure was occupied by a large three spikey tailed turtle like creature with one eye closed and one opened, calmly floating in a pool of crystal blue water. This was the seventh child and fifth son of the Moon King. Isobu, Master of the Oceans.

The fourth structure was a pool of molten lava occupied by a large four tailed orange-red monkey. This was the sixth child and fourth son of the mighty King. Son Goku, King of the Sage Monkeys.

The fifth construct was a pool of boiling water with copious amount of steam rising from its heated confines. The massive figure relaxing in the boiling pool was a strange five tailed horse-dolphin hybrid animal with two long and two short horns atop its head. This was the fifth child and second daughter of the King. Kokuo. Mistress of the Boiling Temple.

The sixth structure like the rest was a pool of sizzling acid. The one occupying this dangerous structure was an enormous light bluish bipedal slug with stubby arms, feet and six long tails. It had two prominent optical tentacles and hole-like openings as a mouth with its entire body covered in the sizzling and hissing acid.

This was the fourth child and first daughter of the kind King. Saiken, Mistress of the Sizzling Acid.

The seventh structure was more like a massive nest or cocoon sticking to a giant tree in the room. Inside the nest was a massive blue armored rhinoceros beetle with seven tails resembling green insect wings and a large seventh tail emerging from its bottom. This was the third child and third son of the King. Chomei, Master of Insects.

The eighth structure was a rocky small landscape with clear clouds swirling above, giving off a serene and peaceful look. Laying in the middle of this peaceful landscape was a giant eight tailed ox with octopus tails and two long horns pointed at the front. This was the second child and second son of the calm King. Gyuki, Master of the Oxes.

The final structure was a peaceful forest landscape with a massive nine tailed fox laying in the middle, resting its head on its paws. This was the strongest of the King's children, the first child and first son. Kurama, Master of Foxes.

"So why are we here again?" the ever prideful and impatient Son Goku asked, taping his hands in the lava pool like an impatient teenager.

"I would also like the answer to that same question" Isobu asked calmly "Usually, our meetings are only held when Father is present. Without him here, I see no point in coming here only to see you bickering with each other"

The four tailed ape King snorted mockingly "Thank you for stating the obvious"

Isobu apparently didn't take kindly to that retort and glared at the Sage Monkey "You wanna say that again, you damn monkey!"

"What did you just call me, you one eyed turtle?!"

Kurama rasied his head from his paws and glared at his two siblings while they bickered with each other. Normally, this wouldn't happen, since Father would maintain a sort of connection and peace between the uniquely different siblings.

In fact, the kind King was the only cord keeping them together; otherwise they would have split up a long time ago due to their differences like they had first split up when their father had entered the cycle of incarnation.

His glare and little bit of Killing Intent seemed to have grabbed their attention "Shut the hell up you two, or I will kill you both!"

Son Goku snorted in response. Even though he knew he would never be able to fight his older brother for long due to the sheer gap in their power level, however, his pride would never allow him to submit to anyone, besides Father of course.

"You still act all high and mighty even now, Fox, clearly our Father's absence has boosted your already titanic ego"

"I agree, you have no right to tell us what to do and what not, stay out of this" the three tailed turtle agreed with a scowl.

Matatabi knew the situation would get out of hand soon if the almost giddy expression on Shukaku's face was any indication since he seemed to have a disturbing habit of rubbing his hands when there were any signs of potential fight "Let's all take a few deep breaths and go through this meeting like civilized people err … demons"

"Fight! Fight!" Shukaku shouted giddily, his eyes wide with maniacal ecstasy as he rubbed his stubby hands together like a mad scientist ready to dissect a poor sap.

The three tailed and four tailed siblings tensed when the aura around their older brother changed and turned to one of malice, knowing they were screwed if he unleashed even a slight fraction of his immense power.

Kurama slowly rose to his full gigantic height; his nine tails flickering behind him menacingly, his red eyes boiling with anger "You dare address me with such disrespect!"

The two tailed hellcat stood up abruptly from her flaming cushion and tried desperately to calm her older brother "Brother, calm down! What would Father say if he saw you trying to harm your siblings?"

She backed away when he turned his malicious glare towards her "He isn't here"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the massive doors to the Meeting Chamber opened and a familiar pressure rained down upon the room followed by the tall silhouette of a man in the darkness of the isolated chamber "Now now, Kurama, no need to be so hard on your siblings"

The siblings except Kurama let large smiles of happiness appear on their visages despite trying to appear annoyed. Shukaku was the most vocal of all the siblings, jumping in his sandy cushion like a child on sugar rush and screaming 'Father' over and over again.

Kurama on the other hand was seething in anger. As soon as the regal figure of the King entered and floated to the middle of the room; he raised his massive paw and attacked.

His giant paw struck the ground with the grace of a speeding meteor, blasting away the ground and winds picking up pace. The other siblings scowled in anger at their older brother's disrespect for trying to attack their father.

"Kurama, you've gone long enough, stop this foolishness!" Gyuki growled in anger, the nine tailed fox ignored him and glared at the smoke covered ground.

"Is that any way to greet your dear old father?" A regal voice full of open amusement said among the rubble, the dust and smoke clearing away to reveal the regal figure of the King stopping the massive paw of his elder son with a finger.

The King was dressed in a long white coat reaching past his knees, matching black hakama, a white kimono style shirt with a few buttons undone, a blue sash wrapped around his waist and black socks hidden by white straw sandals

Long tresses of crimson hair reaching to the middle of his knees waved and swayed like the calm waves of a sea in a soft wind, two delicately thin bangs fell down right in front of his blue shinning diamond-like eyes. A soft and delicate smile danced on his lips, giving his otherworldly regal and handsome face a new light and aura.

The amount of amusement in his narrow blue eyes angered Kurama even more "You mean the father who saw fit to go to the human world first for two months instead of visiting his own children!"

"Stop acting like a child Kurama"

The nine tailed fox tried hard to sneer at the kind smile on his father's face, only to avert his eyes after a few seconds of staring into those endless pools of ocean blue. No matter how much anger he had pent up over his father's two century long slumber, he simply couldn't hold onto it for long when in his presence

"Dear children! Its quite a pleasure to see you all again, despite your … less than pleasant welcome" the King said with a kind and regal tone, giving a pointed look to Kurama when he mentioned 'welcome' and floated towards his pedestal, giving a affectionate rub to Shukaku's eagerly outstretched head and sat calmly on his throne.

"It's good to see you again, Father. I may not approve of Kurama's violent welcoming gesture, still it was quite painful to hear that you had departed for the Human World instead of meeting with us first" Matatabi started with a large but annoyed smile.

Naruto smiled at his youngest daughter with a kind look on his face "No need to blame this old man for his mistakes, though you are not mere children to feel such irrelevant emotions in regards to my absence. I have given you my expressed permission to visit me in my Throne Room"

Shukaku let out a loud roar of annoyance and accusingly pointed to his siblings one by one with his chubby sandy fingers "I suggested that, but these stuck up idiots were against the idea. Though I wanted to visit, I couldn't because of that pain in the ass Oken guy that follows you around all the time, he is creepy!"

Kurama let out a low growl when Shukaku included him in the list of 'stuck up idiots' but kept silent, knowing that if he raised a hand against him now, his father would stop him regardless of his reasons.

Naruto gave his youngest child an amused look "Shukaku, be more respectful towards my Right-hand. It's his job to look out for your safety and needs"

Kurama snorted "Please, as if we need someone's help in taking care of ourselves"

"Hey you dumb fox, stop interrupting Father with your petty arrogant claims!" Shukaku shouted from his place to the King's right and pointed to the nine tailed fox on the King's right.

The two glared at each other like children while Naruto looked on with clear amusement in his blue eyes, a small smile on his face. The rest of his children were calm for the most part since they hated bickering, though even they had their breaking point. Matatabi, Saiken and Kokuo were the ever peaceful daughters while Chomei and Isobu were his two calm sons.

The rest were as hotheaded as they came, Shukaku and Kurama would fight over the slightest of things, triggering an argument between Son Goku and Kurama over the title of the strongest demon between them. Gyuki would join in to prove his superiority leaving Matatabi to try and bring some semblance of peace between them.

Hearing a loud cough among them, Naruto turned his attention away from his two bickering sons and looked towards his daughter sitting in the pool of boiling water "Yes? Something the matter, Child?"

She cleared her throat and directed a discreet glare at her two bickering brothers "Pardon their rather discourteous behavior, Father, I wanted to ask what was so important that you left so suddenly towards the Human World?"

"Your suppressed annoyance over the fact that I went there first aside … I was interested in joining a group of Heroes to see what the world was like" Naruto explained with a kind smile.

The dolphin-horse hybrid lowered her head in embarrassment at being found out, though she couldn't be blamed. What would someone else feel if their father left somewhere first after two centuries, instead of coming to see them?

The term 'human' seemed to have gained the attention of Kurama as he turned around with a sneer, not really a fan of humans in general. The King couldn't really blame his son for his violent reaction, considering his previous history with humans.

"Wait, you mean those weirdoes who wear their underwear on the outside?" Shukaku asked innocently.

No matter how big or powerful they were, each of them weren't afraid to show their childish sides in front of him, even Kurama despite him trying to hide it with his impassive attitude.

"Indeed" Naruto replied with an amused chuckle. Shukaku always had a habit of turning everything into something humorous.

"Please don't tell me that you are going to wear it the same as they do?!"

Naruto let out a loud musical laugh at the whiny tone of voice "Nonsense Child, I never mentioned anything about adapting their sense of fashion as well"

"Shukaku, you insolent little shit, you just accused father of that horrible fashion style!" Son Goku bellowed in his usual loud and boisterous voice.

"Who told you to butt in, you oversized monkey!"

"Why you…"

The King looked on with amusement and something akin to fondness in his crystal clear sapphire blue eyes, listening to his children bicker with each other like normal teenagers.

He wasn't much for emotions considering his origin, though he supposed he could chalk up these human emotions to his human incarnation, Naruto Uzumaki. He was a tree by nature, granted a tree of unlimited power, but a tree nonetheless. Kindness had always been his default emotion, the rest were all thanks to his incarnation.

His original name was ironically Naruto as well, but after he had been reborn as Naruto Uzumaki, he had taken the Uzumaki last name as a show of respect to the one human who truly took a place in his heart, Kushina Uzumaki, the mother of his reincarnation.

It had been a fascinating experience to see what the humans meant by saying the love of a mother and father transcends every wall and limit. He hadn't been expecting to feel those irrelevant emotions upon his incarnation, but nevertheless they were welcomed.

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Throne Room

Naruto was sitting on his throne upon the raised pedestal and looking over his vast kingdom, his head resting on his clenched fist. The meeting had gone pretty well considering the sour moods of his children over his abrupt departure from the Kingdom to the Human World.

The rest had warmed up eventually, not able to keep onto their annoyance for long in his presence, though Kurama had once again proven his legendary stubbornness. He had been sulking and pouting throughout the entire meeting, but had eventually been pleased upon his promise to not leave before meeting them first.

"Oken"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Oken appeared in front of the raised pedestal and bowed "Yes Sire?"

"I want you to head over to the Island of Santa Prisca" Naruto stated evenly without turning his throne around to face his kneeling Right-hand man.

"Objectives and time limit?" Oken asked curiously, wondering what his Master wanted in an island.

"Simply observe and report back immediately"

"Your wish is my command. I shall leave immediately"

Naruto felt Oken's presence disappear from his isolated dimension inside the celestial body and move towards the island. He had no particular reason for sending Oken to that island, except that he wanted to make the upcoming mission for the Sidekicks to be easy.

The thoughts swirling around in Batman's head were only focused on the island since he had apparently found some reasons to be suspicious.

The King had to give the human credit for being so observant, no wonder he was called the Greatest Detective ever. Such keen mind and intellect would push him far, if he didn't allow himself to be swallowed by the darkness of his past. He had Oken gather everything about the human and had to admit, he was a fascinating one.

A man forced into the dark life of vigilante by the early and unfortunate death of his parents in front of his young eyes, transforming him into a being of darkness, striving forward with the purpose of bringing his parents murderer to justice.

In all honesty, each member of the League had some traits and background that made them unique than the rest.

Superman, for all his strength and might possessed the kindness and patience of a monk. A man sent from a distant planet to be raised by two humble farmers and made into the man he was now. The humble, mild mannered Clark Kent one moment … and the powerful and stoic Superman the next.

Diana of Paradise Island, the beautiful daughter to the fabled Queen of the aforementioned island and gifted by some unknown power, the perfect upholder of peace and honesty.

Billy Batson aka Captain Marvel, a humble orphaned boy, gifted with mystic powers by a Wizard named Shazam. A young boy one second … and with the utterance of a single word, able to change into a powerful adult. To think an orphaned boy would possess so much strength.

Aquaman, the King of Atlantis living in the surface world to preserve peace and represent his people.

Oken appeared in the Throne Room after a few minutes and saw his King deep in thought "Well?"

"The island is being occupied by the Cobra Cult, formerly controlled by Bane, a cult dedicated to worshipping and serving a mere human, name Cobra who claim himself to be a deity" Naruto smiled at the small show of annoyance when Oken mentioned 'Deity' "The purpose of the hostile takeover so to speak, is to create a combination of Venom and project Blockbuster from the now half destroyed Cadmus"

Naruto revolved the throne around and calmly walked down the pedestal with his long red hair and cap trailing behind him over the crimson carpet "Excellent. On a side note, I want you to keep an eye on Cadmus as well as the Genomorphs"

"Sire, I don't understand" Oken said confusingly, not sure why his Master would want him to keep an eye on something that was destroyed.

"You'll understand soon. Oh and, do try not to obstruct my children's path to enter the Throne Room, especially Shukaku" As soon as he reached the end of the stairs, a black portal appeared in front of him.

Oken detected the underlying hint of amusement in the King's voice and couldn't help but smile himself "I'll try my best, Your Majesty"

With one last smile of approval, the King walked inside the portal and disappeared without a trace.

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Mount Justice

"Santa Prisca, this island nation is the primary source of illegal and dangerous strength enhancing steroid. Infrared heat signature indicates that the factory is going on in full capacity, though the shipment of Venom had been inexplicably cut off" Batman explained to the team of five young sidekicks "This is where the team comes. It will be your job to find out if the factory is still functioning or not. This is a covert Recon mission, observe and report back without engaging. If the Justice League needs to intervene, then we will"

The team nodded in consent, though Dick Grayson looked like he wanted to ask something "Who'll be leading the team?"

Batman and Red Tornado exchanged looks of silent agreement and turned towards the team "Work that up between yourselves"

Recognized Destiny!

Batman grunted when the usual suffocating pressure of the aforementioned man entered the cave, announcing his presence. He couldn't for the life of him figure just how that damn pressure was there.

He had followed Destiny several times only to lose sight of him … had put several trackers on him to track him on his private satellite only for the screen to show no signal. It had been hell, trying to find out who and what he was during his regular days when he was not on duty.

All that endless investigation and searching had resulted in nothing!

Naruto walked up to the screen in his usual regal stride, full of confidence and power, an aura of calmness and comfort oozing off of him in waves as he smiled that usual calm and friendly smile "Greetings Team"

"Good morning" The team replied with small smiles on their faces, except for Batman who didn't want to smile and Tornado who didn't know how to smile.

Naruto snapped his fingers and turned towards the screen, an image of Cobra and his cult working on several projects, trying to perfectly blend Venom with Project Blockbuster in order to create the new and more enhanced version of venom, Cobra Venom appeared on the screen

"I already have the info regarding the island"

Batman narrowed his eyes in suspicion "How did you come by this information as well as the visual proof?"

Naruto gave his him a small smile "Though your suspicion is well placed, there is no reason to deny the validity of the info I have gathered"

"Forgave me if I don't exactly trust your information considering that the source is unknown" Batman retorted sarcastically, though he did lost the sarcastic tone when the pressure increased a little "The team will proceed anyway"

The team passed the unfathomable man an uncharacteristic look, expecting him to show some sort of dissatisfaction for being disrespected, but were stunned to find him smiling calmly like it wasn't bothering him at all.

Naruto didn't seem the least bit bothered by the lack of trust; rather he seemed more amused than annoyed. He wondered how long it would take Batman to realize that he was not one of the 'bad guys'. Then again, he didn't really care about his opinion. He would follow the team nonetheless, simply to ensure their safety.

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Outside the Cave, Night Time

Naruto emerged from the cave and watched the team fly away in Miss Martian's Bio Ship with a calm look. He snapped his fingers and a black winged steed appeared before him as he calmly mounted on it. The steed bowed in recognition and followed after the Bio ship by flapping its mighty wings, flying undetected in the darkness of the night.

The calm waves of the sea brought back so many buried memories, memories he had kept simply to remind himself that even he had once experienced what it was like to be a human. Granted, he still had his power and immortality, but still it had been a fascinating encounter.

If he had to choose between the different variations of human emotions, he would choose the love of a mother and a father. During his existence as a tree, he had watched and observed many fine examples of splendid friendship and parenthood, yet had only observed, never able to fully grasp the concept of love. He had observed the love a mother would shower on her child with a strange sense of fascination.

Why would one human sacrifice himself to protect others?

Why would a mother discard her comfort and make sure her child was fed and rested?

All those jumbled emotions had only made sense when he had actually reincarnated as Naruto Uzumaki. His heart had bled and shouted towards his reincarnation's parent to dodge the blow of his own son, Kurama. His heart had only then understood the true meaning of love. He had been fascinated; stunned even to witness them jump in front of him to protect him from Kurama's anger induced state.

The parting words before their unfortunate death had been engraved into the deepest recesses of his heart for all eternity.

Minato Namikaze, a man of honor, courage and determination.

Kushina Uzumaki, a woman of love, sacrifice and courage.

In all honesty, he couldn't have wished for more suitable parents.

"Drop zone A in 30" Miss Martian voice sounded through the ship, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. It seems they were approaching the assigned location.

"I'm ready"

Aqualad's voice said silently, followed by his abrupt jump from the underside of the ship into the ocean below, no doubt to hack the motion sensors by approaching it from the ocean. He watched as the Atlantian used a device to hack the sensors and inform the team.

"Aqualad to team, the motion sensors have been patched. The data is now in continuous loop, move in!"

"Acknowledged!"

The Bioship moved over the island and into the dense forest ahead, safely hovering above a small clearing. The black winged stallion followed the Bioship and hovered right next to it, while the redhead King looked on serenely. Miss Martian, Robin, Kid Flash quietly exited the underside of the Bioship.

Naruto smiled in amusement when Superboy jumped down upon them with the grace of meteor, creating a small crater under his feet.

That boy just couldn't control the aggressive side of his Krptonian DNA!

"Miss Martian, Robin, Kid, Superboy, switch to Infrared and see if you are being followed" Aqualad said through the com-link.

Kid Flash lowered his red goggles over his eyes and looked around the forest, looking for any heat signatures. His face lit up in realization when he saw a group of heat signatures moving towards the direction opposite to them "There a squad coming, but not towards us apparently"

"There are two of them, it looks like they'll find each other before they find us" Superboy interjected, using his X-ray vision to scan the surrounding forest. As soon the words left his mouth, a series of sounds eerily similar to guns firing resonated throughout the forest, signifying the two squads' meeting.

Kid Flash turned towards Batman's sidekick, only to see an empty space where Robin should've been. The redheaded king knew he had to talk with him about that particular unpleasant habit of his. Naruto looked towards the scene where the Cobra cult and Bane as well as his followers were firing at each other relentlessly.

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Naruto slowly walked through the forest towards the fighting scene with a calm look on his face. Getting rid of this Bane character now would be an excellent opportunity, considering his busy schedule. His sudden appearance from the woods apparently caused the fighting between the two sides to stop, as they looked at him expectantly.

"Good evening gentlemen! Can someone kindly direct me toward the one named Bane?" he asked calmly with a friendly smile on his face.

The calm King created an invisible barrier around the area so that the young sidekicks wouldn't accidently stumble upon the scene. He had no intention of having them witness death so early in their lives.

Bane grunted in annoyance "What do you want?"

"Greetings, young one! My apologies, but I'm afraid you are going to die here" Naruto answered in his usual calm and smiling tone, causing Bane to growl in anger.

"It seems to me that it is you who is ready to die!" Bane retorted in anger, using the steroid stored in the small glove like device to transform his body into a bulky and muscular man.

Roaring in anger, he rushed towards the still smiling and calm man. As soon as he reached the redhead, the drug-enhanced criminal lifted his right hand and rammed it forward, intent on crushing the tall man who had the audacity to mock him with empty threats of death.

Bane stumbled back in mind-numbing shock and pain when the bones in his hand were crushed with a sickening crunch as soon as his hands touched the still redhead. He had to use all his life long battle hardened pain tolerance and endurance to stop himself from screaming out in agony when he looked down at his revoltingly mutilated hand.

The fingers were twisted and turned towards his wrist; in fact his whole forearm up to the elbow was twisted and turned like it had been through a grinding machine!

Jumping back with a pained grunt, he gave his shocked men a discreet signal to start firing. The silent signal snapped the frightened men from their stupefied stupor as they reached for their their guns and pointed it at the still calmly smiling redhead.

However, that seemed to have been the wrong action they could've possibly taken as the bullets they had fired returned back to them with twice the speed and power, igniting in flames from the sheer force of the air fraction.

Bane looked on with shock and a little bit of fear as his whole squad was killed, more like cut in half by their own weapons. Just how a bullet even managed to cut someone in half, he would never find out.

The Cobra cult had remained silent throughout the proceeding, however they snapped into attention when they witnessed the attack on the redhead and its ineffectiveness. They couldn't let someone as dangerous as this one live, seeing as he could prove a threat to their 'god'.

With a silent agreement of attacking the redhead, they slowly reached for their Plasma Guns, only for the ground beneath them to open like the mouth of giant beast and swallow them whole, never to be seen again.

Naruto gave the slightly shaking Bane a look of curiosity and fascination, as if he was a mystery he couldn't understand "How do you feel about the death of your comrades? Does it sadden you? Anger you? Or maybe you don't feel anything at all about their deaths and are more focused on how to survive?"

He of course knew what he felt and thought, not because he could read his mind or look into his twisted soul, but rather from the expression on his face, the sweat dropping down his forehead and the slight shaking of his knees. You don't live for countless millenniums and not know how to read someone like an open book.

Perhaps the criminal had never seen someone redirect someone's attack back at them with twice the speed and power or someone able to split the earth in half and let it swallow a whole squad of trained soldiers without moving a muscle?

"What's the matter, child? Can't decide how to survive this battle? Is your strength enhancing steroid not able to help you?" Naruto asked calmly, as if he wasn't in any hurry to finish the battle.

Bane now looked more confused than scared. The words 'young one and child' said by this man were truly confusing. The redhead didn't look that old, in fact he looked younger than him, and yet he was calling him a child.

That aside, the man obviously was invulnerable, if his terribly twisted and deformed had anything to say about it. The other two abilities he had shown were simply not in his database. He had no one listed in his records with the ability to manipulate earth or simply reflect bullets, neither a Hero nor a Villain.

The smiling and regal face of pure confidence and the constant aura of power oozing off of him were suffocating, not to mention the bone crushing otherworldly pressure settling on his shoulders.

Just what he had he gotten himself into?

"Hmm, it seems like you are unable to satisfy my growing curiosity in regards to your kind" Naruto said with something akin to disappointment and walked away, causing Bane to look both confused and relieved to have been spared.

His momentary thoughts of relief were soon shattered like a fragile glass when he lost feelings in his hands and feet, prompting him to look at his body organs with horror. His hands and feet were slowly turning to sand, slowly and gradually moving up to his abdomen and chest, until it reached his head.

The last picture of the famous criminal mastermind was his face frozen in horror, a silent scream etched on his face before the wind carried it to place unknown.

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An Hour Later

Naruto floated in the serenely star littered sky, with the full moon shinning brilliantly as always as he looked on below at the Sidekicks trying to come up with a new plan to infiltrate and prevent the shipment of the dangerous newly developed drugs

Killing needlessly had always been a nuisance to him. Why kill someone who is not even able to harm you? Why harm someone when he has no intension of harming you?

Taking that into account, the death of Bane would help in more than one way. First of all, the strength enhancing drugs would be stop, meaning no adults or teenagers being tricked into thinking it would be for their body benefit. He was not only an illegal drug producer; he was also a contract killer like the rest of them, assassinating people just to keep their mouths shut, so that his dirty secrets remained secrets.

On a side note, it would give Batman more time to relax if there was one less criminal to deal with.

Coming back to the Sidekicks, they had failed at their first attempt to steal or destroy the new drugs. The cause of their failure had apparently been due to their lack of teamwork and lack of a qualified leader.

Batman had been right to leave the selection of the team leader to the team itself. He had given them the authority to choose a suitable leader from amongst themselves, trying to figure out who they would choose and to see if their selection was a valid one.

Naruto smiled when they chose Aqualad to lead the team, seeing as he was the only logical and suitable choice for a team leader. He had been the one to safely escort them outside enemy's territory in order to come up with a sound plan.

The sound of a helicopter approaching the island reached his ears, he didn't even bothered to look, already knowing who was sitting in it.

Looking down now, Superboy seemed to be the decoy for the team, giving them time to successfully infiltrate the ware house where the shipment was stored. That decision seemed to have been the wrong one, since there were some of Cobra's minions guarding the shipment.

The resulting commotion between the team and the Cobra cult caught the attention of the rest as they raced towards the warehouse.

Oh well, it seems he had to interfere one way or the other.

Raising a finger towards the large and strangely deformed humanoid creature currently fighting Superboy _ no doubt a product of the new drug _ he sent a silent and invisible blast of lightening energy, burning and electrocuting the massive creature to a crisp.

The look on Superboy's face was quite amusing and expected. How would you feel if your opponent was suddenly fried like a chicken right in front of you without even knowing the source of the attack? He had to give the clone credit for getting over his surprise and taking advantage of the momentary distraction caused by the sudden death of the creature.

That momentary distraction gave the team the advantage they needed to overcome the superior number of the enemy. The arrival of Sportsmaster was an expected but unwelcomed surprise, for the team anyway. They soon lost their advantage and Sportsmaster took off with the shipment.

Naruto gave the helicopter a sideway glance, instantly lighting it up in flames. While he could kill the man without even batting an eyelash, he needed him alive for now in order to take the one simple of the Cobra Venom to the Light and for the pieces to smoothly fall into place.

Taking someone out at the early stage of a game was not entertaining at all.

The redhead King watched as the masked man jumped from the damaged and flaming helicopter with the only undamaged simple of the new Cobra Venom in his hand.

Seeing as their objective was fulfilled, the team retreated one by one, slowly dispatching the bold ones trying to capture them. Naruto slowly floated down to the ground when the team entered the Bioship and flew away, with more questions than answers.

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The Cobra cult suddenly was on the defensive when a harmlessly smiling redheaded man floated down from the sky without a care in the world. The man was dressed like their own lord, red skin tight shirt, black leather pants, segmented wrist bands as well as red boots, long red hair and a red cape fluttering in the soft wind.

Cobra gave his tense minions a silent signal to stop them from firing. He may have lost a lot today, seeing as his factory was damaged by mere children, not to mention his honor and dignity blasted away in front of his partners, however, he still had to keep his stance of a powerful deity in front of others.

"Identify yourself!" one of the minions shouted in irritation.

"Greetings, my name is Destiny. I am here as your executioner" Naruto greeted pleasantly, instantly putting the already tense soldiers even more on-guard as they pointed their Plasma Gun at him threateningly. He had the audacity to threaten their 'god'!

"What insolence! You dare address a god in such a manner" Cobra said with a frown, finally letting his irritation show.

"My sincere apologies, I had no idea I was addressing a deity when I spoke those words" Naruto explained calmly, all the while smiling harmlessly, not at all bothered by the expected show of hostility "Though my mistake could be clearly justified due to the fact that you apparently have minions to protect you"

Cobra frowned even harder "I have no need for them; they simply obey me like all creatures of the world should and would eventually"

"Pardon my disrespect, but I see no evidence of your self-proclaimed godhood, considering you were outsmarted and defeated by children" Naruto stated curiously. It was so amusing messing with these kind of individuals.

Cobra was slowly but surely getting angry if the sudden redness of his face and the clenching of his fists were any indication of that fact. He couldn't really blame him, seeing as the man himself knew his false proclamation of 'godhood' "You dare question my actions! Kill him!"

Naruto smiled delicately and serenely walked through the countless blast of plasma firing towards him relentlessly without a care in the world. The look on Cobra's face was calm, though he couldn't fool his ancient eyes. On the inside, the man was practically shaking like a leaf.

Cobra backed away discreetly, as not to appear too obvious that he was retreating, from the calmly approaching man. His Plasma Guns should have been more than enough to deal with a lowly human, yet this calmly smiling redhead was walking through it like they weren't scorching plasma, but merely a shower of flower petals raining down upon him.

He knew he should have upgraded his troop's weapons, in order to properly deal with the likes of Superman and this man.

"Why back away? Aren't you a deity? Shouldn't you force me to submit to your will?"

The calm and smiling way he was asking those infuriating questions was getting on his nerves!

The calm and curious glint in his piercingly narrow blue eyes was disrespectful! The way he was looking at him as if he was an interesting creature he could not understand, as if he was an endangered animal being studied by curious bystanders in a zoo, was angering him to no end!

"I would like a prove of your 'godhood', to see what the power of a deity would look compared to mine"

"I need not stoop myself so low that I would submit to the whims of a lowly creature" Cobra retorted snappishly, getting angrier by the second. He would not be disrespected by the likes of him!

"That's means you can't do it? I have to say I'm greatly disappointed" Naruto stated with a sigh.

The firing had stopped to witness the conversation between their lord and the strangely powerful man. Some of them were starting to wonder if their belief and faith at him as a true deity had been a correct one, seeing as he was shaking like a leave in front of the redhead.

The fact that he hadn't been able to provide a proof of his self- proclaimed godhood wasn't helping matters any. Some of them were wondering just how they hadn't asked that same question the redhead had asked?

Seeing the uncertainty in his minion's faces, Cobra knew he had to fight in order to regain his lost dignity. If he didn't, he would eventually lose all his followers.

Without uttering a word, he threw his black cloak away and sped towards the calmly approaching man with an angry scowl. However, before he could attack, a firm hand shot up and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up like a mere toy.

"Racing towards your opponent deprived of any sort of plan or strategy, not to mention knowing any of his weakness isn't befitting of a deity. You ought to have knowledge of his weakness and every move before he even makes them" Naruto said calmly, unhurriedly squeezing the struggling man like a lemon "Considering the fact that you can't seem to provide me with a solid substantiation of your self-proclaimed 'godhood', I have no choice but to end your existence. However it seems this island needs to vent its suppressed anger by doing that itself"

Naruto let go of the panting and wheezing man as he dropped to his hands and knees, his followers not even bothering to help seeing as they were too transfixed on the sight of the redhead King floating in the sky, his cape and long red hair fluttering in the wind while the full moon shined brightly behind him.

As a deity of Nature itself, he knew their grief and agony more than anyone, he understood their feelings. The smoke and the poisonous gases from the factory had killed more than enough of their kind for them to simply stay silent.

It just goes to show just how ungrateful humans are. The island had given them a place to stay and live without being hunted and killed, yet they had repaid that act of kindness by contaminating its vegetation and land.

"You have my permission" Naruto said with a fond smile and felt their aura of gratitude and happiness. With his job done, Naruto flew away, knowing the island would exact its revenge as agonizingly slow as possible. Cobra and his cult would wish they had never been born!

Cobra and his cult looked on with a confused look on their faces, wondering what the redhead meant by that as he flew away without even looking behind him. They soon got their answer when the trees and small plants of the island were suddenly brought to life, slithering and flickering towards them like snakes.

The rocks and seemingly unmovable boulders suddenly developed humanoid bodies, red menacing eyes and spikey body parts.

Cobra and his cult felt as if they had been dropped in hell. The last thing they ever saw was the flashing of lightening in the sky and the attack of the hungry rocky and plant beasts as they descended on them like a pack of wolves on a helpless dear.

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