Chapter 10

" This is amazing. I have never seen anything like him before. The cells in his wounds are regenerating at a rapid rate while the red blood cells are clotting at an equally astonishing speed. What happened to him?" Sakura murmured as she dabbed a cotton ball against a mean looking laceration across his chest.

Jason and Cheshire exchanged a skeptical glance before the assassin decided to answer her question. " Naruto met someone from our world and that someone managed to pass on his genes to him. If that is even possible…"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but Jade merely turned away and continued her nap. " If you're asking whether you can find this someone, he's already dead," she shrugged.

Sarada quietly watched her mother patch up the resting blonde- her eyes following the movements of the scalpel and tweezers. She felt hollow and sad but strangely, the feeling of resentment towards Naruto for the death of her father was void. Sure, she loved her father but he was hardly ever around and when he was, he preferred to be cooped up in his room, wallowing in the depths of his despair and planning. She wanted to be mad at the mercenary but she just couldn't find the feelings as she realised that the emotional attachment that she had with Sasuke was not as deep as she thought it to be.

" Was this your mission all along? To kill my husband and leave our family in despair? If it was, then congratulations," Sakura's voice echoed in the silent operating room. The two Gotham representatives maintained their hardened look until Jason cleared his throat.

" We are getting paid for our troubles so we are just doing business with Naruto. However, I think you had it coming, lady. Did you really think that your crime would go unpunished? That nobody will step up to bring you to justice? To make you pay for what you did?" he sneered as Sakura clenched her fist.

" Just shut up. You know nothing about what happened between us so you have no right to be throwing your words so freely!" she retorted.

" I don't mind teaching you a hard lesson in manners when you've finished up with him," Jason reached for his handgun until a weary sigh from the bed drew everyone's attention to the heavily bandaged figure.

" Stop acting like a twelve year old, Jason. For gosh sakes, Sakura, stop harping about the past. You damn well knew that I was going to return and find out about your little secret," Naruto drawled and slowly sat up.

Sarada avoided his piercing stare and shifted nervously in her seat. Sakura put her hand on her hip and continued sponging his forehead. She took one look at his solemn visage before dropping the sponge and wrapping her arms delicately around his injured frame. Jade clicked her tongue and motioned to the crime lord but he calmly held her back and gesticulated for her to remain in her seat.

" Naruto, I'm really sorry for what I did to you. I did it for the village! The hidden leaf couldn't afford to lose the Kekkai Genkai to another village. I was reluctant to but…" the sound of skin cracking against skin filled the air as Naruto's hand whipped across Sakura's pale cheek, leaving a visible red mark. Sarada jumped up angrily and prepared to land a punch across his face when she heard the sound of a trigger being loaded.

" Don't take another step closer to them if you know what's good for you," Jason nodded as he pointed the barrel of his gun in her direction.

She stared at him wide-eyed as her hand slowly made it to her fire red cheek.

" Enough with the lies and the bull crap. How much did Sasuke offer you in return for churning out kids?" Naruto asked calmly. No response from the pinkette as she continued using her chakra healing on him.

" It wasn't about the money…."

" So he did pay you after all. I'm sure it beats working overtime daily at the local hospital," Naruto snorted and dropped his head back against the fluffy pillows. Now that he had finally completed his mission, he didn't even feel like talking to Sakura. Why should he? She had lied and participated in this charade for years and couldn't even be bothered to apologise as soon as she saw him again.

" You know Sakura, I guess I won't split you in half like a Russian doll since you helped tend to my wounds and patched me up. Consider us even now- your services for the sparing of your life. Actually, this little pathetic act of repentance is nowhere near enough to repay the suffering that you have caused me for all these years, but, I want nothing to do with you anymore so I can't be bothered to wait for you till you pay it off," Naruto said coldly before sitting up and walking over to his team.

" You two need medical attention as well and don't try to argue with me. That's an order," he briskly told his two teammates who exchanged a small smile with each other before allowing the pink haired kunoichi to heal them.

Sarada felt the bench that she was sitting on sink lower as the blonde mercenary took his place beside her. She remained silent and just fiddled with her shuriken while keeping her head down. The bespectacled genin had no words to say to him. Would phrases such as " I'll avenge my father" or " I'll hunt you down next time" instil fear into him? Or would he just take it as another head to mount on his timber wall?

" Sarada, it's alright for you to hate me for what I did. I left you without a father now," Naruto said nonchalantly and turned to her. She took a deep breathe and slowly faced him. " I don't know what to feel right now….. I feel as if it's my duty to avenge my father but knowing what mother and father did to you- you are the real victim here," she replied quietly.

Naruto cracked an amused grin before ruffling her short onyx hair much to her surprise. " If you want to get stronger, here is a piece of advice for you, handed down from your deceased Uncle Itachi. Hate the man called Deathstroke the Terminator and channel all that hate into your training and goals. Once you've felt that you are ready to avenge Sasuke, come look for me, or better yet, plan an ambush," he chuckled and gathered his belongings, leaving an open mouthed little girl.

"What are you trying to say? That sounded as if you want me to try and take your head in the future" she blurted out as Naruto paused and gave a small shrug.

"I can't deny that but you're the heir to the Uchiha household, representative of the Maangekyou Sharingan and destined to be a very important person to this village, so it's important that you fulfil your potential."

Jason and Jade thanked Sakura and followed their captain to the exit of the hospital but their exit was halted by Sakura who stood in Naruto's way and opened out her arms to him.

" Naruto, I have no right to ask of you this but would you like to give it another go? I do still love you and since you've already taken a liking to Sarada, it makes things easier won't it?" Sakura looked dolefully at him.

Naruto pursed his lips before calmly brushing past her and swinging open the hospital doors. " I can't do that because I'm in love with another woman. Someone who is helping me clean up the mess I made in Gotham City. An enchantress whose code of justice and high integrity as a superhero prevents her from committing unscrupulous acts unlike you. Besides, I always did prefer black hair to pink," a small smirk graced his lips before he disappeared into the busy streets of the Hidden Leaf Village.

" I want both of you to wait for me at the entrance gate of the village. I still have one last person to visit," Naruto told them.

" Your village chief right? The young looking old hag," Jason sniggered as Jade rolled her eyes and nudged him.

Naruto slipped past the throngs of jonin surrounding the Hokage building and knocked on Tsunade's door.

The blonde Hokage looked up from her paperwork and sighed. " Shizune, is that you? How is the situation regarding that brat and Sasuke? Who made it out alive?"

" Surprise, Tsunade baa-chan," came a smooth reply as Naruto, clad in his usual Deathstroke attire, strolled into her office and leaned against the door frame. Tsunade narrowed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

" Naruto, I'm giving you ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn't pound you to a pulp and throw you into a cell after you killed one of our most prized warriors!? You have no business wreaking havoc on my village after your exile," she said in a dangerous tone as the masked mercenary gave a small chuckle and dropped his sword onto the ground.

" I'm not here to fight, Tsuande. Well, not any more at least because I've already completed my mission and exacted rightful payment for your crimes."

Tsunade turned purple, grabbed him by his armour and pinned him against the wall.

" Rightful payment?! I lost many good men and shinobi thanks to you, you filthy mercenary! Even killing you right here wouldn't be a punishment just enough for your heinous actions," she sneered and released him reluctantly.

Naruto walked towards her and offered his hand. She look wide-eyed at him and gave him an incredulous stare.

" What the hell do you think you're doing, brat?" she thundered.

" This handshake is a symbol of gratitude for everything that you've done for me up until the Sasuke incident. I would like to believe that you spared a thought for your old friend when you kicked him out of his own family but I don't know what to think of you now. I bear you no ill, Tsunade because….to be honest, that would be like bearing a grudge against my mother," he gave a small smile as Tsuande's hardened visage melted down to a softer and thoughtful one.

" I know that I killed many shinobi during my return, including my old friends, Neji, Sai and Yamato, but I would like to see to it that I receive my judgement in another life. Sometimes, even a mercenary can't help but feel compunction for those he killed, especially if he grew up with them. So before I go, I just wanted to say that I wish this village the best of luck and I hope that we may remain on civil terms," Naruto said and picked up his fallen sword.

Tsunade remained silent before scratching her head and sent him flying out of her office with a punch to the face. Naruto rubbed his tender jaw as he caught a glimpse of Tsunade's weary face.

" I'll give you a five minute head start to leave the village and never return. Once the time is up, my jonins and ANBU will be all over you and your slimy friends," she sighed and turned her back on him.

Naruto picked himself up before giving a small laugh. " Thanks, granny Tsunade and in return, I'll try not to kill more of your men."

" Never return to this village again under the penalty of death," she continued.

Tsunade sunk into her chair and rubbed her temples with her fingers. She could hear the commtion from her room but knew that they had every right to be in a state of panic. Naruto had managed to do the unthinkable- kill Sasuke.

His words rang in her ears and she had to admit that his diatribe contained a dint of truth in them. She had always been a mother figure to him and the Naruto she knew believed that the whole village was part of his family. To be honest, she couldn't fathom how she let the Uchiha dictate her decisions or even instil` worry that he would settle down in another village where he would repopulate his clan. You could say that she had to break a few eggs to make an omelette but right now, it was all for naught.

Deathstroke silently surveyed the village from the top of a building which was buzzing after his showdown with Sasuke. He could see the other jonins mourning and cursing after the discovery of Iruka's decapitated body in his garden while the rest of them were busy ushering the frightened villagers to safety.

" Admiring the view, captain? You made quite a scene down there," Jason chuckled and stood beside him.

"You mean we made a scene down there, dumbass," Jade sighed and sat down on the ledge of the roof.

Naruto remained deep in thought and did not acknowledge his teammates' presence until he stole a glance at the Uchiha household.

" Thank you for your help, Cheshire and Red Hood. As promised, the ten million dollars will be wired into your account once we head back to Gotham but that aside, I would like to think that our time as a team was surprisingly fun, even if we did piss the hell out of each other frequently," Naruto told them and walked past them.

"You know, Naruto, I'm up for permanently joining…" but Jade was cut off by a wave of a hand from the masked mercenary.

" Thanks for the offer but I think it's time we all did a little something different from before. Plus, the three of us have different goals. Cheshire and her prerogative in Star City, Jason and his crime organization in Gotham while I'm going to take my services elsewhere," Naruto nodded.

Jade pursed her lips and stole a glance at Jason who gave a little snort before shrugging.

" I don't really care about the plans that the both of you have. I prefer to work alone and I don't think that I could spend my entire life being your lackey, Deathstroke. There is only room for one boss in Gotham and it sure isn't you," Jason said simply.

" I have no interest in ruling over Gotham or being Batman's perennial target so lose the attitude before you piss me off. That aside, we should get going now because we have to find a way to contact Zatanna for her to open a portal back to Gotham. I don't plan on being marooned here for the rest of my life, especially with a bounty on my head," Naruto snorted and started walking towards the village gates.

" And how exactly are we going to contact your beloved sorceress?" Cheshire sighed dramatically as she wore her Kabuki mask and picked up her pace. Naruto pulled out a map and pointed to a red cross marked in the middle of a forest.

" We are going back to my place or at least the place that I used to occupy during my time here. It was the place where I first encountered Zatanna so before I left Gotham, I told her to open a daily portal for this week to check if we were at the rendezvous point. I basically owe her a huge one for this favour," he explained as they exited the gates of the village.

Jason shook his head in disbelief. " Opening up an inter-dimension portal every day to check if we're ready to go back? That's just too much and by that I mean, she must be pretty blinded to obey such a request from you."

Naruto chose to ignore him as he stole a glance at his watch before turning to him. " Could I have my detonator back now? Unless you want to have the satisfaction of more blood on your hands," he held out his gloved palm as Cheshire looked suspiciously at the mercenary.

" Um..am I the only one who is in the dark about what's going on right now?"

Jason snorted and tossed him the walkie-talkie before stuffing his hands into his pockets. " I doubt that this is going to kill them but it's probably strong enough to make them lose a limb or two."

Naruto silently stared at the detonator briefly before letting a chuckle escape his lips. " Since I'm already going to hell, might as well take a few of them with me.' His thumb hovered above the button before pressing it with alacrity. Out on the rolling skyline, fifty miles away, there was a blinding flash, like sheet-lightning, and a huge ball of varicolored fire belched upward, leaving a series of smoke-rings to float more slowly after it. That fireball flattened, then spread to form the mushroom-head of a column of incandescent gas that mounted to overtake it, engorging the smoke-rings as it rose, twisting, writhing, changing shape, turning to dark smoke in one moment and belching flame and crackling with lightning the next. There was an enormous explosion. It was as though a fist of orange flame had decided to punch its way out of the Hokage building.

Screams of terror rang from the village as several other explosions could be heard all over the village. Naruto threw the detonator to the ground and stepped on it before casually continuing his walk to the forest. " Let's just say that she didn't expect Shizune to be armed and dangerous today," he told his two companions dryly as he recalled his plan of subduing her In the female's washroom and hiding a bomb underneath her kimono.

Jason and Cheshire were lost for words before Naruto calmly pulled out his pistol and shot a patrolling jonin point black at his head. " He was in our way and I'm just really overflowing with adrenaline from that explosion. If we're back before one, I could rustle up some ramen,"

" Just when I thought that you had made peace with the Hokage and the village, you decide to blow her up," Cheshire clicked her tongue as Naruto snorted in mock amusement. " I have made peace with her. I like to believe that I have freed her from her regrets instead of letting her wallow in self-pity."

" That's the lamest explanation that I have heard from you to date…" she slapped her forehead as Jason shook his head in disbelief. " I actually have to concur with her this time so try to refrain from spouting gibberish like that again."

The both of them continued to argue about the validity of Naruto's statement which descended into a relatively childish bickering regarding their respective idiosyncrasies. For the first time in a long while, Naruto didn't mind as he was going to miss their company anyway. He had grown to tolerate their presence and might even consider them to be his friends but he wasn't about to let them know. He took off his mask and took a long hard look at it before cracking small smile. It might have been fate that Slade stopped him from committing suicide all those years ago or it might have just been pure coincidence. Nonetheless, he was ready to gain redemption in life by becoming a notorious mercenary. The time spent with the both of them might be coming to an end but his new life as the mercenary known as Deathstroke was just getting started.

End.

A/N Hey guys, I'm sorry that it took me over a year to publish the final chapter but I was just really busy with work and studies. I just want to give a huge thanks to everyone who has followed and supported me throughout this journey. I have received some rather harsh criticism regarding this story but I do not regret writing it as this has been the biggest project for me till today. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the last chapter and I felt as if it would have been better to focus more on a mellow side of him. I hope to see you again in another story so till next time.