The Village Mercenary
This is my first Naruto/ Deathstroke/DC Superheroes crossover. I'm a huge fan of Deathstroke and I just thought because I had planned on writing a Naruto fic five years back it never happened. So now, I'm putting thoughts to paper.
Naruto POV
How did I end up like this? What happened to my lifelong goal of being Konoha's Hokage? Was it just a whim? A quixotic dream? Whatever it was, it vanished in the blink of an eye ever since I ran away from my village. I used to be the village hero, a role model for kids and most importantly, a loyal warrior. But now I kill people for money.
More accurately, I'm a mercenary who works for rich bastards whom don't want to soil their hands with blood.
Yes, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, but better known as Deathstroke the Terminator. I'm the third deadliest assassin in the whole wide world or maybe fourth…the top three probably being Deadshot, Deadpool and the original Deathstroke, Slade Wilson.
I was accused of murder by my own sensei after my best friend, Sasuke killed my fiancée, Sakura during a battle a few years back. We got engaged when we were twenty-two years old. I'm actually twenty-five years old now.
My whole world crumbled before my eyes as I saw Sakura's lifeless body being tossed aside by that deranged killer. Her hollow emerald orbs screamed agony as she gave me a withering look right before she died. I was completely apoplectic with rage and I wanted to just scream and rip everything to pieces but instead of offering me comfort, my sensei, Kakashi fabricated some slanderous story about me conspiring with Sasuke to murder my own fiancée.
Flashback( three years ago)…..
" Sasuke, you know that I have my orders to stop you, even if it means killing you," a bloodied Sakura panted as she clutched her broken rib. Kakashi barely had any energy left in him after using the Mangekyo Sharingan against Sasuke.
" Keep dreaming that you'll ever be able to stop me now," Sasuke sneered as he thrust his blade forward but Sakura evaded it and plunged her kunai into his side but it disappeared into a cloud of smoke and before she knew it, cold hard steel pressed against her throat while another hand gripped her arm.
" It's not like you to get tricked by a Shadow clone, Sakura," Sasuke chided as he pressed the blade harder on her throat. Sakura attempted to force her way out of his grip but she knew that he would kill her in a heartbeat.
" Sasuke, stop it! You don't have to do it!" Kakashi roared from the side but Sasuke didn't even bat an eyelid and just breathed down the pink-haired ninja's neck.
" You're wrong, Kakashi. I need to prove a point to you irritating Konoha dirtbags so I suggest that you keep your quiet."
" Sasuke, you know that I'm still your friend and the Sasuke I knew would never hurt a friend." Sakura whispered to him but his grip around her arm tightened and he grit his teeth.
" I am not your friend anymore. I am not the person you admired years ago and I definitely won't hesitate in killing you right now," Sasuke retorted.
" Sasuke! Let Sakura go now!" Naruto bellowed from the other end of the stream.
In a flash, Naruto was charging towards the raven-haired boy, brandishing a sharp kunai.
" Naruto, you have to stop Sasuke now before he kills her," Kakashi said as Naruto presses his kunai on Sasuke's throat.
Sasuke was genuinely shocked. Naruto's speed and agility really had increased since the last time they had fought.
" I'm warning you. Your fight is with me and not her, so release her. Stop being such a coward. We're here to bring you back home" Naruto said.
" Go on Naruto, kill him now…..he isn't messing around anymore," Kakashi thought to himself as he could sense the fear behind Sakura's calm demeanour.
" Would you kill me now, if you had to?" Sasuke calmly asked and Naruto looked stunned at him.
" No. I'm not going to kill you after I spent countless years chasing you and convincing you to come back to the village. You're still my best friend," Naruto said sadly as his press of his kunai on Sasuke's throat decreased.
" You're still the same fool I despise, Naruto," Sasuke muttered as he released Sakura from his grasp and in one quick motion stabbed her heart with his blade.
Naruto and Kakashi were rooted to the spot as they were both catatonically stood there as Sasuke removed his blade from her and let her lifeless corpse drop to the ground.
" You'll never be able to defeat me until you channel all your hatred into your powers and let them feed upon the darkness that swallows you. Naruto, the next time we meet, will be your last," Sasuke said coldly before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
Kakashi clenched his fists and sent Naruto crashing into a tree with a powerful punch to his jaw. Naruto spat out a wad of blood and looked incredulous at his sensei.
" What the hell was that for?" Naruto roared as Kakashi knelt over Sakura's lifeless body and cradled her in his arms.
" For being weak. How could you let him kill her!? Why the hell didn't you stick the bloody kunai into his throat? You know why? Because you still have this fucking whimsical idea of coaxing him to come back to the village. Have you learnt nothing at all? Emotions only get in the way. I lost Obito due to my emotions last time and I hope you're happy that you lost you're fiancée," Kakashi said coldly as he carried Sakura's corpse out of the stream.
Naruto's hands started shaking as tears began streaming down his face. He howled in agony as he began weeping uncontrollably and cuddled Sakura. " I'm so sorry that I let my emotions cloud my judgement. I let Sasuke kill you and I failed to protect you…..We were supposed to get married next month," Naruto whispered to her.
" Sakura! Sakura! I'm so sorry I let this happen to you! I didn't even get to tell you how much I love you for the last time," Naruto sobbed as Kakashi couldn't help but feel utter resentment towards the blonde ninja.
Kakashi was still angry at Naruto for beating him in winning Sakura's affection and he nearly went mad with rage after the announcement of their engagement. He began giving Naruto the cold shoulder and even began to ignore him, much to Naruto's bewilderment.
" I'm going to make sure that you suffer when we get back to the village, Naruto. Forgive me Minato-sensei for being so selfish but it was Naruto's fault at the end of the day," he muttered as he knocked Naruto out with his Sharingan.
Back at the village, Kakashi explained to Tsunade that Naruto refused to kill Sasuke which led to Sakura's demise and that Naruto did not even attempt to save his comrade, placing his personal goal ahead of the mission. Word soon got round the village and everyone began ostracizing Naruto before ANBU apprehended him and brought him to Tsunade's office for his punishment.
" Naruto, I am greatly disappointed in you after hearing the mission report from Kakashi. You let my apprentice die at the hands of that Uchiha psychopath and what pisses me off even more is the fact that you valued your obsolete friendship higher than your own fiancée. Really brat, I am really disappointed in you. However, your actions bear heavy penalties and I hereby strip you of all your ranks and you are banned from any B-class and above ninja missions. Furthermore, you are going to be reeducated by Ibiki to banish this obsession with bringing back Sasuke" Tsunade told him.
As Naruto was being escorted by two ANBU ninjas to Ibiki, Naruto knew deep down that his life in the village was over and that many villagers were after his head.
He broke free from them and began fleeing but they called for backup and soon, he was surrounded by them. These ninjas were trained to kill their targets so Naruto had no other option than to kill them after they were close to decapitating him several times.
" The other ANBU will probably come looking for their comrades after they realize that they have been missing for a few hours. I better leave the village now," Naruto thought to himself as he stole one last glance of Konoha before fleeing into the forest.
There was soon a bounty on his head and other nations were alerted by Tsunade to be vigilante and try their best in apprehending him.
Naruto had to resort to living in a cave in a secluded part of the forest where hardly anybody was to be found. He began living his life as a hermit and repented for his failure in protecting his fiancée. Soon, he was consumed with hatred for himself, Sasuke and the whole of Konoha. He began to despise his years as a ninja and all the memories that came with it. The once happy-go lucky, cheerful, cheeky and idiotic ninja was replaced with a sullen, cold, uncaring and vengeful young man.
He had given up on life and began wasting his days away by sleeping and staring mindlessly at the scenery. His ambitions were in tatters, his hopes were brutally crushed and he was a fugitive.
" Maybe I should just end my miserable existence on Earth now. I have nothing to live for anymore. Every ninja wants my head on a silver platter, my friends have turned against me and my fiancée is dead. So much for being Hokage," he muttered to himself as he traced the sharp tip of the kunai with his finger.
" Oh well, it's been fun… I'll see you soon Sakura." Naruto thought to himself as he prepared to stab himself in the heart until a voice interrupted him.
" There were many times that I contemplated suicide but I didn't give in. I decided that why should I pay for a mistake that wasn't entirely at fault for? I should be killing those bastards who took away everything from me. After all, an eye for an eye," a voice called out behind Naruto.
Naruto spun around to see a decrepit old man with long grey hair tied into a ponytail and a black eye-patch covering his right eye. He hobbled to Naruto and looked amused at the blonde ninja who drew his kunai.
" Who the hell are you and how did you find me? Were you sent here by a village to kill me old geezer? If so, let me warn you that you're going to regret it," Naruto hissed but the old man just snorted and drew his Glock at him.
" I have no idea what the fuck you're saying boy, but don't think that you can threaten me. I promise you that I will blow your brains out before you even take another breath," the old man said coldly and Naruto dropped his kunai while the old man placed his Glock back in his holster.
" I'm Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator. I don't think that you have heard of me though," Slade shrugged as he shook Naruto's hand.
Naruto shook his head and eyes the Caucasian man carefully. He was a medium sized buffed man, despite his age and his left eye had no warmth or kindness in them.
" I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I used to be a ninja from Konoha….until I became a fugitive," he muttered and Slade looked amused at him before convincing him to pour out his entire story.
" You know, you somewhat remind me of myself back in my younger days. I lost my family due to some hitmen because my house got burned down and my son was kidnapped. I had lied to my wife about being a safari hunter when I was really a mercenary. When I came clean to her, she shot me in my right eye and I was shocked. I knew that my family hated me and so, I left afterwards, thinking that it was best to stay out of my wife and son's lives so that I didn't need to make them suffer even more than they already did. Then, I completely became Deathstroke and thrived on killing people," Slade told Naruto who quietly hung his head.
" But you're not even from my world. Where exactly did you come from?"
Slade snorted told him how Zatanna had transported him hundreds of years back to feudal Japan just as he was about to kill Batman and her in a fight in Gotham City.
" Since I had travelled back hundreds of years, the time loop must have caused me to age rapidly. I can't believe that I'm eighty years old now. I landed here and killed a couple of guys who wanted to rob me. Ever since then, I've been keeping a low profile here," Slade sighed and silently cursed Zatanna.
" I'm sorry to hear that Slade but I don't think I can help you. If you're story was supposed to cheer me up, well, it just exacerbated the problem. Now, I feel as if this whole world is nothing but a place for assholes and therefore, I want no part of it" Naruto decided.
" You're a really bad liar. I can see that you're itching to exact revenge on those who destroyed your life and let me tell you something, you're not going to last a day with those ninjas lurking around the borders of this forest. I think you have potential, kid." Slade chuckled before lighting his cigarette.
" Potential? For what?"
" To take over my job as the new Deathstroke. I'm too fucking old to kick some ass and the joints in my fingers crack when I pull the triggers of my pistols. Which other candidate would be suitable enough than a guy who lost his family and is lusting for blood? On top of that, a guy who kills people on a daily basis. Well Naruto, it's your choice. I can train you and help you quench your thirst for revenge," Slade growled.
Naruto hesitated for a while before memories of Sakura began flooding his mind.
" Fine, I'm in. But I'm going use my powers only on the people who wronged me," Naruto attested to Slade who sneered at him.
" Keep telling yourself that, kid. But mark my words, once you've gained the power and abilities that you could only dream of, killing people for sport or money becomes addictive," Slade said before bringing him to his hideout.
" Nice place you got here," Naruto said sarcastically but Slade just shrugged and knocked him out with a punch to the cheek.
" Sorry kid but I need you to stay quiet while I inject this soldier serum into you. This serum is made from by blood and other chemicals that are designed to stimulate the adrenal gland which I stole from some village. Hopefully, you don't die in the coma," Slade said as he injected the serum into the blonde man's limp body.
Flashback end….
Well, that's how it was. Slade trained me in every fighting technique I knew and I had successfully inherited his godly abilities such as accelerated health regeneration, super strength and maximum brain efficiency. He molded me into an excellent marksman and a ruthless killer who killed professionally and for good reason.
Slade passed away last year after he had a stroke and I laid him to rest at the place where we first met. I can't thank him enough for crafting a new life for me and giving me the chance to kill the people I despise.
Honestly, I'm enjoying my life right now. I'm rolling in cash and I have no real worries of being killed by anyone, not even Sasuke. He is the one that should be scared of me because sooner or later, we will cross paths again. And when we do, its curtains for him.
Naruto POV end
The blonde mercenary sipped a cup of tea in his wooden cottage in the forest as he ironed his orange-dark blue Deathstroke costume while humming a jolly tune.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he picked up a letter dropped at the doorstep of his cottage. It was addressed to him.
As his eyes scanned through the contents of the letter, he broke out into a smirk and crumpled the paper.
" Ten million dollars for such a satisfying task this time. I've been waiting for this request for a long time," Naruto laughed as he began to prepare for his long awaited return to Konoha- not as Naruto Uzumaki or the Jinchuriki, but as Deathstroke the Terminator.
I hope you guys liked the first part of my story and don't forget to review and tell me what you think. See you guys soon.