Hello there reader, those of you who know me have probably read my previous story 'If It Ain't Broke', and if you haven't… congratulations! It was a terrible failure and I blame no one else but myself. I thought I could charge head-first into a story with half of a basic plot in mind and milk it until I got a five-star ending. Long story short it only lasted seven chapters and the ending was bad and poor. So I decided to adopt the five P's and use those for my next fanfiction (this one). Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Now that I have the story's skeleton I'll be fleshing it out with content you'll hopefully understand and something you can sit down to with a cup of coffee and enjoy in your spare time. And I don't plan on deleting 'If It Ain't Broke' so that whenever I think about doing something stupid with 'Perfectly Balanced' I can always look back on 'If It Ain't Broke' and think… what in the world was I on?

A short summary of 'Perfectly Balance'. This is an anime/superhero crossover fanfic but it's centred around the Naruto World, so I decided to upload it as a Naruto fanfiction. The shinobi of the Naruto World join forces with the heroes of the Marvel/DC universe to stop Thanos who is a growing threat thanks to his sudden need for the seven Infinity Stones.

Rated M. Warnings include violence, swearing, blood, character death, lemons and lime, and dark scenes… if you haven't watched Infinity War I don't recommend reading this fic.

-Naruto Uzumaki- Normal Text

-"Naruto Uzumaki"- Normal Speech

-"Naruto Uzumaki"- Thoughts or Flashback

-"Naruto Uzumaki"- Demon/Creature Speech

-"Naruto Uzumaki"- Jinchuuriki Speech

-Nine Years Later – Konoha- Passage of Time and Change of Scene

Power. Space. Reality. Soul. Time. Mind. Dimension. The seven pillars of existence that existed in the forms of gems long before the creation of any universe. After the Big Bangs these Stones were spread across the universes, never to make contact, and even though six of the seven were trapped in one universe it was believed that these tiny stones were so well-guarded and hard to find that the universe would collapse in on themselves before anyone got their hands on all seven. At least, that was until the God of a Perfectly Balanced Universe decided to start searching.

Unknown Time – Unknown Place

"Rasengan!" from the darkness came light, and from that light came energy.

An injured blonde young adult jumped away from a massive explosion. He landed upright with kunai knife in one hand, and a spiralling orb of energy in the other. Dust surrounded him. His eyes darted around in their sockets. Everything was black. He coughed up some blood.

"What is your name?" a bellow came from within the darkness.

The young man wiped some blood away from his chin, it splattered on his orange jumpsuit, "My name is the one and only Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage of the Leaf dattebayo," he exclaimed raising his arm above his head to create a large shuriken of white energy.

"Well… Naruto Uzumaki. Strength has gotten you thus far at least," the voice approached.

Light started to seep into Naruto's eyes.

The figure speaking was tall, broad and built like a tank. Naruto watched the behemoth of a man walk over the rotting bodies of some of his closest comrades. Neji Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha. His eyes flashed red. He prepared himself for an attack.

"What have you done to them?" he asked.

"I have liberated them from this universe… if I wasn't on a mission I would've joined them," the man continued to approach.

"Well I'm on a mission too dattebayo, and it revolves around eliminating you!" Naruto tossed the Rasenshuriken. It disappeared as soon as it left his hand. The voice chuckled.

"Foolish," a metallic golden glove reached through the darkness and wrapped itself around Naruto's thick neck. Air left his body quickly, "You do not have what it takes to kill a god."

"Naruto!"

The blonde awoke with a fright. With no air in his lungs he reached out for the nearest stable object, a pink-haired medical kunoichi and Naruto's biggest crush. The concerned woman rushed to console the Jinchuuriki.

"It was just a dream! It was just a dream," she repeated. He wasn't having none of it. Never had a dream felt so real in his life. "Naruto!" she screamed.

Two more figures rushed to the mednin's aid.

"What happened?" a pineapple-headed genius asked.

"He had a nightmare," Sakura whispered softly. She gently rocked Naruto like a toddler to calm him down. She could feel Naruto's shudder as she pulled him closer.

Shikamaru leaned in to place a caring palm on Naruto's shoulder.

Sai stood up and shrugged, "What a pussy! Heroes aren't supposed to get nightmares."

"Ai! Naruto's still human," Shikamaru roared.

"If I wasn't holding him in my arms I would've slapped you by now," Sakura became defensive. She waited for Naruto's breathing to ease before placing him on his makeshift bed. All three shinobi stood around the sweaty blood.

Shikamaru looked to the east and said, "We're closer to Konoha than I thought. Five more minutes and we can rest in our own beds, maybe then we can get a good night's sleep," he glanced back down to Naruto who had sat up and was now staring into the distance.

The genius folded his arms and told Sakura to calm down too, "Humans generally tend to forget the details of their dreams after ten minutes so we can let him sit there for a while, he'll be okay. After all it was just a dream."

Sai smiled, "Yes, we might as well start packing our equipment," he said before retreating to his tent to grab his supplies.

PERFECTLY BALANCED

CHAPTER ONE

Enter Naruto Uzumaki

Twenty Minutes Later – Konohagakure

It had been a year since the Fourth Great Shinobi World War had come to an end. Even though he'd been acquitted for all his crimes Sasuke decided he still deserved to be punished after the war so he opted to venture out into the world for a year to atone for his sins, redeem himself and to learn more about the Otsutsuki Clan. Seeing that the village was going to be Sasuke-less for a year and that Kakashi was nominated as the Sixth Hokage instead of him, Naruto decided to go on his own journey of atonement, which was made of a victory lap around all Five Great Shinobi Nations and a quest to the ruins of Uzushiogakure to see what remained of his people. Unlike Sasuke thought, who left the village alone, Naruto had to take with him his three greatest comrades, Sakura, Sai and Shikamaru, for company.

The Konoha air was crispy and cold, which was to be expected since the sun had just risen. Three quarters of the village was probably still consumed by sleep and the other quarter were a few shinobi heading home to sleep after a night watch. Konoha was eerily quiet, a silence they'd gotten used to after 365 days without a Naruto prank or a Naruto-Sasuke battle or a major battle that would take out half the city. The large city sat silently under the gaze of the six Hokage faces (Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade and a half-finished Kakashi).

"KONOHA! I'M BACK DATTEBAYO!"

Sakura smacked Naruto.

"Wake everyone up why don't you," she whispered angrily. A few lights popped on in houses near the gate. Citizens and shinobi alike, in their pyjamas, made their way out of their houses to check on the loudmouthed blonde. He was proud to be back in the city that raised him.

"Oi! Naruto! Welcome back!"

"Naruto! Good to see you!"

"SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

"Naruto's back!"

Shikamaru tapped the whiskered idiot's shoulder, "I'm gonna get going. It's quite a drag but Temari promised me she'd meet me at home when I got back," pineapple head explained. Naruto nodded before giving Shikamaru a big hug, "Don't forget to tell Kakashi-sama that we returned safely."

"Will do," the blonde smirked.

The four-man cell split up. Sai left the group to go check on his flat near the central business district. Naruto turned to Sakura.

The pink-head spread her arms out in front of him. Naruto gladly accepted the hug. He was a few inches taller than her so in order to get his arms around her waist he had bend his knees a bit, which gave him the chance to rest his head on her shoulder. After the war Sakura, who wasn't as annoyed at Naruto, had hugged him over a thousand times. But… this one felt special. It felt lasting. He never wanted to let go. Almost as if… she could turn to dust in his arms.

"I love you," he admitted.

Sakura backed up and smiled. She looked so beautiful with her pink hair brushed to the left like that, with short hair that barely touched her collar and a bright blue diamond in the centre of her larger than average forehead. His blue eyes met her green eyes for what seemed like hours. Her smile grew, she finally replied, "Naruto-kun, let's not play that game again. I love Sasuke, and when we get back we'll get married. Your love should be focused on Hinata, now go look for her, you big oaf," she punched his shoulder.

She was so smart. "Yeah, you're right… I don't know what I'd do without you Sakura-chan."

"Well you'll have to learn," Sakura began to cry as her skin turned brown and bits of her flesh turned to dust.

"What?" his heart began to race.

"Huh?" he blinked her back to normal. Sakura tilted her head before placing a hand on his forehead, "You're a bit warm. You should probably go tell Kakashi-sensei about the mission then run home for some rest and relaxation. See you," she kissed him on the cheek before running off.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed with himself, "But first I stop off at Ichiraku's for some good old ramen."

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha as the sun began to heat up the ground and people began to exit their homes for a breath of fresh air.

"Hi Naruto."

"Welcome back."

"Oi Naruto, come by for a drink when you have the time."

Naruto heard it all as he made his way towards the little booth which had grown into a little restaurant. He loved hearing people praise him especially after the years of torture he'd gone through as a child. Naruto realised that most of the people worshipping him were probably the same people spitting on his brittle body eleven years ago, but he didn't care. They loved him. Everyone loved him now. Especially Hinata.

"Hinata," Naruto pushed open the glass door and walked into Ichiraku's Ramen Restaurant. The nineteen-year-old woman was sitting at one of the booths with a familiar brown-haired rebel and his matured white four-legged companion, "Kiba, good to see you too," Naruto strutted in.

Ayame, who probably worked morning shifts, looked nervous behind her counter. She stopped stacking the bowls to focus on the whiskered blonde as he strolled through the cosy brown wooden restaurant.

"Naruto," she cleared her throat.

"Hey Ayame, I see even without my daily ramen you still managed to earn enough money to renovate," Naruto chuckled.

"Considering how you weren't paying for any of the ramen, it actually makes sense," Ayame laughed before glancing at Hinata and Kiba. Naruto turned to the trio. He fistbumped an anxious Kiba and a carefree Akamaru before focusing on Hinata.

"Hey Hina-hime, can I talk to you in private?"

The duo moved to a booth, three booths away. Naruto invited her to sit but she chose to stand instead. Naruto decided to stand too. He placed his hands on his hips and stared into her lilac eyes.

"I'm back Hina-hime, and I'm here to honour the agreement we made a year ago."

Before leaving Hinata made Naruto promise to come back and see how things went between the two of them. At times that promise was what kept Naruto alive, the idea that a potential wife and mother was waiting for him back home.

"Our agreement?" she blushed.

"Our agreement," he reached for tiny hand, but she pulled away from him. There was something she was trying to hide. Hinata looked down and whispered something, "What?" Naruto asked.

"Our agreement…"

Naruto was still full of enthusiasm, "Yeah dattebayo, our agreement. I made a promise to come back to Konoha and make you my wife and here I am… but you don't look so happy to see me," he noticed. She whispered something again, "What?" he repeated.

"A promise," she began to shake. Her eyes teared up.

"Hina-chan?"

"I made a mistake," her voice broke.

"Hinata?" the honorifics fade. He reached out for her hand again. It was cold to the touch, so they both pulled away, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she began to tremble, "But you were gone for a year… and a lot can happen in a year."

Naruto grabbed her hand one last time and felt the cold metal around her left ring finger. Hinata didn't bother looking up. Naruto turned to Kiba, who was also looking down at his empty bowl.

He struggled to formulate sentences, "How long…"

"Naru-chan, we can st-,"

"How long until the wedding?" he asked aloud. Ayame dropped a bowl. Kiba dropped his head onto the table. Akamaru began cleaning his groin with his tongue. Another costumer, seating near the door, placed some money on the table and walked out.

"F-four months," she whispered.

"Oh… well… I'm happy for you. All I want in life is to see my friends happy. Of course," Naruto relaxed. He stepped back, away from Hinata. Finally, the matured Hyuuga woman looked up into Naruto's eyes. They were red. Not because of the Nine Tails though. The red had drained from his face and gathered in his eyes as he held the tears in, "It's good," he nodded.

"I need to go home," Naruto looked at the clock on the wall.

"Naruto," she reached for his hand. This time he pulled away.

"I… I'm tired Hinata. I need to go home," he began walking, "Congratulations," he muttered as he passed Kiba.

Naruto made it to the Namikaze Compound without crying. He passed three large buildings before getting to the main house. He removed the genjutsu, the airtight seal and unlocked the door. He unsealed all his clothes and items before walking up two flights of stairs to his father's old room, the master bedroom. All without crying. He landed on the silk bed sheets and looked up at the high ceiling without shedding a tear.

"I'm not going to cry over a woman," he told himself.

"Yes you are."

"Yes I am."

He cried himself to sleep.

Not Even An Hour Later – Namikaze Compound

"Naruto!"

The tired blonde's bloodshot eyes opened.

Shikamaru stood over him with a bored expression on his face, "I thought you told Kakashi we were back in the village," the genius said.

"Sorry, something came up," he cleared his throat.

"It doesn't matter. You're needed at the Hokage Mansion. Clean yourself up," Shikamaru rushed Naruto into the bathroom and out the door. The village's top two shinobi dashed across the town to the mansion near one corner of the city. Upon opening the door to the Hokage's room Naruto noticed four muscular men standing in front of the silver-haired Kage.

One man was wearing an expensive-looking suit with a pair of shades, a goatee and well-kempt brown hair. He stood next to a more physically gifted blonde man with blue eyes, a tight white shirt and long beige pants. The man next to him was also wearing a black suit with a five o'clock shadow, brown hair and a paler complexion. And the last man, built like a tank, had nice brown hair, dark brown eyes, a chiselled jawline and a pair of glasses that made him look a little nerdy.

"Ah. Tony, Steve, Bruce, Clark… meet the man you've been looking for. Enter Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde walked in and gulped. The four men folded their arms and turned to each other, "What can he do?" the one with a goatee, presumably Tony, asked.

Kakashi smirked behind his mask, "Make a mess of any bad guy's plans."

Unknown Time – Somewhere In The Marvel Universe

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless… it's frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives all the same. And now it's here," a tall muscular figure manoeuvred around piles of dead bodies to pick up a tiny purple stone, "Or should I say, I am," he broke an orb with his bare hand, then slotted the purple gem into the index knuckle of his golden gauntlet. The power flowed through him.

"The Power Stone is mine."

That's the introductory chapter down. Focusing mainly on the return of Naruto. If you're enjoying the story so far. Favourite it. Follow it. Favourite me. Follow me. And if you have any constructive criticism lay it on me by Reviewing it. If the reviews are mainly positive, I'll keep it going at full steam ahead. If they're negative, I'll see what I can change to keep this going. If they're neutral then… oh… thanks for reviewing I guess.

Until next time.