Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This is just for funsies.

Land of Endless Fires

01 - Head First Into the Flames

On top of a cliff overlooking a sprawl of hills and farmlands, Naruto decided to rest in his objective of finding Konohagakure. There was a break in the sea of trees which the Land of Fire wasn't known to have. He drew his brows together in confusion as he stared at an unfamiliar view in front of him. "Oi, are you sure this is the right direction?"

"Keep going east," Kurama suggested within his mind. "If we don't hit Konoha along the way, we turn around and start going west. If that doesn't work, we take a right and start going south. If for some reason it fails, then we do the complete opposite and go north. We should see her walls eventually."

"You freakin' moron! That's not how it works."

In his mission deployment to assist Tsunade's humanitarian efforts in Amegakure, Kakashi sagely advised him to carry a compass and a world map since he'd be tackling on this assignment on his own. Naruto decided to swim against the current since he'd been relying on Kurama for these past few years when it came to navigation. His fox friend had been able to sniff out a squirrel a Land away and now, all of a sudden, all scents had been unfamiliar to him.

Kurama grumbled, "Neither you and I can't sense Konoha for some reason which is, well, bizarre for me, but fitting for you—"

"Screw you!" Naruto interjected quickly.

"Nevertheless," Kurama said with a louder voice. "I find it rather peculiar neither one of us have yet to pick up on any chakra trails…" Kurama paused. "Have you been doing the exercises Kakashi and Sasuke assigned?"

Dusting off his dark orange pants, Naruto started his descent down the edge of the mountain. He wanted to reach those farmlands as soon as possible and ask the locals for direction.

"Yeah! Twice a day, six days of the week," Naruto shared pridefully. He was amazed in his diligence to better his sensor skills.

"What happened to the seventh? Sasuke strictly instructed you to stay disciplined to the regiment. Naruto, how in the world are you going to make it as a Hokage if you keep procrastinating?"

"Maaa, it's no big deal," Naruto tried to alleviate Kurama's concerns. "I just got promoted to jōnin, I ain't lookin' for the seat just yet. I've finally seen what Kakashi goes through on a day to day basis. I wanna enjoy my deployments as much as possible."

If Naruto wasn't assigned to out-of-Land missions, Kakashi and Shikamaru had him working in the Hokage Tower as an assistant of some sort. Most of the days were spent reading urban development propositions, Shinobi internal complaints, and budget distribution from the office of the Fire Daimyō. Occasionally, he'd witness some heavy political action during his sit-ins in the village council briefings. As much as he didn't want to accept it, that had been the most engaging aspect about his newly stationed desk job. And, after fourteen-hour shifts tied down to a small office room—some days it went up to sixteen—Naruto had been itching to see old people bicker amongst one another.

"Ridiculous," Kurama undignifiedly grunted out. "Physically, you are more than ready to take on the mantle. If you continue to withhold you're studies and Sasuke finds out, he'll most likely take on the responsibility himself and take the Hokage title from you."

"No way that's gonna happen!"

"And why is that?"

"I called dibs."

Naruto could sense the disappointment rolling off of his fox friend. "I can't believe Hagoromo entrusted you to preserve the peace within these Lands."

"Oi, I still got years ahead of me." Naruto said. "Why rush in now, when I know that I ain't ready to handle whatever that seat brings, y'know?"

Naruto couldn't understand how Kakashi and Shikamaru were able to handle the daily operations. There wasn't a week where Naruto didn't pull some kind of overtime. Some days, he slept in his office, used the Hokage's bathroom suite to freshen up the next morning, then dove right on in on the previous day's unfinished work to meet the weekly deadlines assigned to him by Shikamaru and sometimes one of the village advisers.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, there was a point in time where an air of dread pushed down on him whenever he walked through the Tower entrance. Naruto felt like he completely underestimated the entire sphere of what it takes to lead a hidden village. There were nights where he rolled on his bed, staring out his window and contemplated in his capabilities to one day guide Konoha to new heights of prosperity and peace.

He minced on Kurama's dry comments earlier.

Was he the right person to preserve the peace between the Lands?

"Well, at least you have a good sense of scope to what the Hokage represents."

Did he really, though?

Naruto had done the mountain of paperwork that buried old man Third time and time again. However, that had been a third of the Hokage's responsibilities. The old man, granny Tsunade, and Kakashi have dedicated themselves to finish up any past conflicts, present rising situations, and future developments within the Land of Fire.

While they were approving infrastructure upgrades from development contractors, all Hokage's took delegated some time in cultivating their ideas for a superior Konoha. The Third took it upon himself to vastly improve on the Second Hokage's education policies and child labor laws to better the lives of Konoha's future leaders. Tsunade used her position to progress the Land of Fire's healthcare system. Promoting good health became her number one priority and now everyone had easy access to treatments, medicine, and surgeries. Kakashi was in the process of restructuring the Land of Fire's military forces. With the help of the Fire Daimyō and Shikamaru, they were in the process of streamlining military commands for smoother daily operations. In their agenda, no resources were wasted, the morale was high, and objectives were easier to accomplish.

If he became Hokage now, what would he bring to the table?

He was still a kid who was one year away from being able to drink alcohol legally. He still felt giddy in sneaking glances at adult magazines. And, Naruto worried whenever Chōji used wine to cook his beef steaks—even though he was well aware that the wine would never influence him in any way.

Looking at it now, that Hat kept getting father and father away from his hands.

"How far have we traveled?" Kurama's question pulled him away from his thoughts which he thanked the Great Six Paths. Any more and his demeanor would completely one-eighty when questioning the local farmers for directions.

Naruto looked back to the mountains, "'Bout twelve kilometers."

"Do you hear that?"

Naruto did indeed.

Metal clashed with metal. Metal slicing through the air.

The ground cracking. Trees toppled against one another, some breaking in half. Soil pushed away and caving like a tidal wave. The earth vibrated achingly, wailing for his help.

Cyclones drilling through metal.

Explosions blasted across. They were loud enough to reach the farmlands. Naruto, through chakra enhancements, could hear the cattle shifting uncomfortably around. The birds chirped and flapped their wings violently.

"A scrap," Naruto realized. "Three kilometers back. I'm going!"

"Be careful, Naruto. I can't sense any chakra at all. This is all so bizarre."

Naruto couldn't either which worried him endlessly. Only containers of the Ten-Tails, the Ten-Tails itself and Kaguya have been the only things capable of avoiding his and Kurama's sensors. He caught the scent of nine targets in the distance. Two of which were heavily decked out in metal armor, Naruto hypothesized. If Kurama and him couldn't whiff out any trace of chakra on them, Naruto prepared himself for the toughest battle in his young jōnin career.

With that in mind, he created a clone to lag back and draw natural chakra in case things went south fast and to start things off. Even with the Great Six Path's perfect chakra control, he still wasn't able to gather natural chakra whilst mobile. The dangers of collecting natural chakra had always stayed the same.

"Don't worry about it," gaining a semblance of confidence in his ability to diffuse the situation. "We all have our off days."

"Guys, this might be an off day for me!"

Green Arrow fired of four arrows in hopes of at least one of them landing the final destination he'd been hoping for. Unfortunately, this heaping pile of junk had enough agility and coordination to zig-zag his way out of the four-placement attack. Even the arrow with a shrapnel detonation attachment couldn't land a shot.

"Green Arrow, fall back!" Batman hollered from the other side of the clearing. "You're loitering too close to the target!"

He was forced to barrel roll out of a swiping attack, lowering his frame as close to the ground as possible. By some good luck, the android didn't have enough time to stomp him to oblivion spun all over the grass. "I know, I know…" Green Arrow murmured with a dash of annoyance.

"ACCESS: FLASH," the android declared.

"Shit!" Green Arrow let out as his system blared out a full red-alert. Everything within him clamored to reach for a safety zone, but, at the back of his mind, Green Arrow knew that he wouldn't reach it in time. Instead, he opted to reached in his reserves and fished out an arrow with a high-explosive grenade attachment.

Superman intercepted.

The android was tucked in the arms of the Man of Steel and redirected to a nearby hill. Superman was joined with Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado and Captain Atom as they pummeled the android, tunneling him deeper towards the Earth's core.

Flash helped Green Arrow stand back up. Green Arrow could feel Flash glaring at him inside his red cowl. "Don't do that again," Flash growled out.

Green Arrow returned the high-explosive grenade arrow back to his quiver before Batman and most importantly, Black Canary, arrived.

"It's getting stronger," Black Canary warned. "The longer this continues, the more it creates counters against our tactics."

"Agreed. Our engagement is minutes away from breaching the fourth hour mark. If we hope to eliminate the target, now's the time to do it." Batman advised whilst doing a headcount for every gadget in his utility belt. "My reserves are depleting rapidly."

Green Arrow nodded to Batman's report, "So are mine. I've got some left, mostly high-density polyurethane foam. But, they haven't done anything to restrict it."

"They've slowed it down and that's enough for me," Flash encouraged him.

Green Arrow noticed Black Canary nursing her left shoulder. Black Canary was armored up in a Kevlar weaved bodysuit supplemented with ceramic plates. During the first hour of engaging the android, Green Arrow and Black Canary had been completely dominated and suffered minor injuries against the android's metallic frame. Green Arrow could feel the burning sensation of a developing bruise on his right hip when the android mercilessly side swiped him to a party of Black Birch trees.

It was then, Green Arrow decided to bring in the heavy guns. The first to arrive was Flash, Superman, and Martian Manhunter; then followed by Captain Atom, Red Tornado and Batman who arrived in the Batplane. While the other Justice League members fought the android, Black Canary and Green Arrow suited up to a tri-layered, high-impact absorption body suit with ceramic plates to outlast the android's assaults.

Green Arrow frowned as it dawned on him that these upgrades might not be enough to withstand the android. If they survived this, it'd be back to the drawing board with Batman.

In the distance, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom and Red Tornado experienced similar difficulties in terminating the android. It had access Red Tornado's air capabilities and was superior at leashing them to a secure distance. Captain Atom opted to swing around a sizable cyclone despite Red Tornado's warnings and was blindsided a newly generated cyclone that catapulted him towards a resting area by the hiking trails. The android, then, used super speed to reach Red Tornado, knocking down the distracted Justice Leaguer with a simple shoulder shove.

"It has Flash's speed," Green Arrow notified.

Amplified by Flash's lightning speed, Superman labored to lock on the android using his heat vision but was ultimately unsuccessful. Over and over again, the android took advantage of the forest to weave around and use oaks and northern hardwoods as cover. Though, with Martian Manhunter's telekinetic prowess, they were able to push the android back out to the clearing.

"It has studied all of our abilities and nuances, then duplicated from those to counter all of our techniques flawlessly." Batman surmised. "Flash's speed; density manipulation and shape shifting from Martian Manhunter; Black Canary's canary cry and fighting skills; Captain Atom's energy blasts; Red Tornado's wind manipulation; lastly, Superman's heat vision, flight, invulnerability, and super strength."

When their long-distance weapons didn't work, Superman and Martian Manhunter arrived on a more abutting approach. Easily outgunned by Superman's and Martian Manhunter's overwhelming, physical attributes, the android was forced to change its tactics by dipping into Superman's abilities and outlasting the onslaught.

Superman and Martian Manhunter's attack gave Red Tornado and Captain Atom ample time to recover. They dove back into the flames by smashing the android with a large tornado and sniping him off with a couple of energy blasts.

"But, it can only 'access' those abilities one at a time, " Black Canary added in.

"Then, we exploit that to our advantage." Batman relayed. He pressed on a button on his handheld computer built on his gauntlet. It smoothly established multiple communication lines through all present Justice League members, "Be advised, the android is incapable of accessing several abilities at the same time. We hit it from all directions until we find a crack in its defenses!"

BOOM!

A deafening crack in the air pulled their attention to the fight beyond them. Green Arrow watched in horror as the android wiped out their massive guns by dipping into Captain Atom's skill sets and generating a gigantic dome of energy powerful enough to send Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom and Red Tornado into multiple directions.

The android launched into the air. At the crest of its lunge, Green Arrow fired off the remaining high-explosive arrow. Green Arrow didn't know if the android equipped flight as one of its main utilities, though nevertheless, he leaned on the jet propulsion systems in his arrow to boost the speed.

In no time at all, there was a large explosion hanging meters above Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash and Batman. The seconds felt more like hours as they all tried to spy the aftermath of Green Arrow's response.

A hulking metal body broke through the smoke.

The android crash landed towards them.

Even though Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Batman didn't wield any superhuman abilities, their reflexes were fast enough to react to this impending doom and their armor allowed the most demanding movements to escape their deaths. Both Batman and Black Canary back flipped away and Flash strafed to safety; running up a boulder, freeing him from any obscurity the android might exploit for its next wave of attack. Like Flash, Green Arrow chose a higher ground by grappling up to an oak tree.

Up here, Green Arrow was free to unleash hell.

Black Canary was the first one to break the silence. Screaming at the top of her lungs, the android was knocked back to the boulder where Flash was recently posted. Batman supplemented her efforts by serializing nine batarangs in the air. All nine stabbed the android and a series of detonation roped in their concentration.

Still, it wasn't enough.

Yet again, the android sieged through the smoke cloud and made its way for Black Canary and Batman. Flash reappeared to intercept the android, only to be chucked onto a gathering of northern hardwoods. However, Green Arrow smiled as Flash supplied him with all the time in the world in shooting off a high-density foam arrow; precisely on its legs.

The android stumbled awkwardly. On its arms and legs, the android shuffled around to pry itself loose of the crimson containment. It must have been prioritizing Superman's skill set because of how easily he tore off the polyurethane foam.

"ACCESS: CAPTAIN ATOM," the android declared.

It extended its left arm towards Green Arrow. A bright light at the center of its metallic palm pulsated to cease Green Arrow's career short.

"Stop!" Batman hollered.

In the short amount of time that the android threatened Green Arrow, Black Canary elected to rush the android with the hopes of rerouting its aim. But, she rammed through recklessly. The android ensnared her into reaching out instinctively, consequences be damned. Green Arrow's fears came into motion when the android lifted its other palm out at Black Canary intending to land a shot at point-blank range.

The android fired off an energy blast.

Black Canary skyrocketed out of the break line of trees, rolling down to the river.

Green Arrow saw nothing but red.

The gears inside him operated at a much faster capacity. His blood was boiling, steam tunneling out of his mouth. His arms gyrated systematically, refilling his bow, releasing the ammunition. His legs forming a stable stance shifting between balance and agility. His sight saw one thing, and one thing only, his prey.

One by one, Green Arrow rained fire on the android pushing it further into the woodland. Deep-impact arrows began the counterattack, then high-density foam, then piercing heads, back to deep-impact arrows, then high-density foam, some more piercing arrows, then incendiary arrows peppered here and there, and then, the cycle repeated again. Never letting up and bankrupting his supplies rapidly.

All this time, Green Arrow gradually closed in on the android so that the time it took for the arrows to home in as it was driven back remained constant.

A deep-impact arrow smashed the android to a fractured boulder, probably the one from before when Black Canary used her canary cry, Green Arrow wasn't certain. His facilities were still heightened and all he cared about was making sure that this thing belonged to a junkyard at the end of the day.

The android flinched.

Green Arrow quickly landed an explosive arrow on its forehead.

The android sunk down to its knees. When the smoke and the dust settled, Green Arrow noticed the scrapes, gashes, and bumps that were more prominent after his bombardment.

It flexed its palm open.

Before Green Arrow could move away, the android shot an energy blast directly at his right foot. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" The hooded archer rounded in on the pain, cupping his foot tenderly. Without missing a second, the android hounded over, springing from his lowered state and clubbing Green Arrow on the torso with the entirety of its metal arm.

Green Arrow was lifted in the air. Instinctively, Green Arrow flicked all his concentration on the android's wrist. Using a piercing arrow, he shanked the exposed cables on its wrist, scalping anything remotely important. Anything that would cease motor functions immediately.

But, it soldiered through.

With an unstrained push, the android pancaked him onto the rocky ground. The rough rocky edges pricked him slightly, but Green Arrow was thankful for the bodysuit which took out much of the pain.

A blue, translucent gel covered its eyes and a second later, detonated, rocking the android back to the embrace of the boulder.

Green Arrow took this as a sign of good grace and struggled to retreat towards Batman's position. Batman held Black Canary at his right side as he pocketed an onyx gadget that fired off the explosive gel. When Green Arrow reached them, his blue eyes pinpointed the blood that stained the edge of Black Canary's lips and the strained markings on her eyes.

He wanted to hold her then, but he couldn't.

The android calmly climbed back to its feet, glancing at them with a blank expression.

"This thing won't fucking stop," Green Arrow expressed between labored breathing. "Where are they?"

"Radio silence," Batman replied. "I don't know."

It took a step closer to them.

"ACCESS: SUPERMAN," it declared. The android's already red eyes intensified. Green Arrow put all the chips together when he realized that it was going to use Superman's heat vision to turn them into paste.

Dipping into his quiver he searched for a grapple arrow.

The hair on his forearm stood up when he discovered it entirely empty.

The android prepared to fire.

A gigantic golden fist slammed onto the android's left side. On the backside of the fist, a black whirlpool, into a black strip coming up on the side of an arm. Green Arrow burned it in his head when he witnessed the android propelling high to the air and smacking the mountain face first. The force had been too mighty and it bounced off and pinballed, hitting every protruding slab on the way down.

A young man with short, spiky hair whirled to align himself back to the earth and presented them with a beaming smile. His golden glowing fist disappeared and what was left was a kid dressed in a black jacket with a black headband, and dark orange pants with a pair of black open-toed sandals. But, even with how goofy he turned out to be, Green Arrow couldn't forget how this kid's sapphire pools, weird whisker-like feature, and square posture instilled the warmest confidence.

"Are you…" Naruto hesitated when he took in the appearance of the people he rescued, "…okay?"

Starting out with the normal-est one out of the bunch was a woman with long blond hair. She was drop dead gorgeous, if Naruto was being honest with himself. Her intense blue eyes captivated him and someone like Mei Terumi couldn't hold a candlestick next to this woman. She was in a black bodysuit with separated armor plating reminiscent of the typical ANBU gear.

Standing next to her was a hooded archer whose identity was covered in a domino mask. He was dressed in a similar fashion as the woman, but he took extra efforts in adding a thick green, open jacket. Naruto didn't overlook the empty quiver in the back and the pouches by his hips and thighs. A wave of his empathy sensors revealed that the hooded archer held no threats or suspicion of him.

Lastly, and by far the goofiest of the bunch, was a man dressed in all black, bodysuit and plating, with a ground-reaching cape and a cowl with long, pointy ears. If Naruto had to go anything by the symbol on the weirdo's chest, everything was probably wrapped up in a bat-themed persona. Naruto held the bat weirdo in the same regard by flashing his sensors on him and finding out that the weirdo is cautious of him and curious at the same time.

The hooded archer held out his hand, "Watch out!"

Naruto's ears picked up on the launch behind him. He lowered his form and let the metal arm sail by. Swiveling, Naruto homed in on a nasty right haymaker to the torso. With Kurama's chakra partially coiling around his fists, Naruto landed three more strikes before he pounded his left foot on its stomach, catapulting it onto an open field.

The iron puppet, shockingly, landed on its feet, forcing Naruto on the offensive so that it couldn't recuperate. Boosting up and caverning a large imprint on the soil, Naruto pumped as much chakra on his right fist as he could muster.

"ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER," the iron puppet said, leaving Naruto quite confused as he tried to decipher what the hell it was talking about.

Its form transformed. Strangely, Naruto could vaguely perceive the patchy grass, bushes, and trees through the iron puppet's body. Naruto's glowing gold fist passed through its frame, as if it was never there. All he could think about was a certain Uchiha in a spiraling, orange mask hellbent on destroying the Shinobi World.

A chill ran down his spine, "I'm getting flashbacks!"

A pair of cold, metal hands clamped on his shoulders.

"Oh, no…" Naruto breathed out.

Then Naruto saw the world sideways as he was hurled across to the other side of the field. While the earth rotated in his vision, Naruto fought to control the harsh force around him. With amazing agility and his masterful deployment of his chakra, Naruto twisted back around and landed perfectly on his feet with no injury to his name.

"Hah," Naruto proclaimed proudly, "You gotta be better than that!"

The iron puppet took up his challenge. It flew towards him rounding about on the left side and Naruto flared his arms in Kurama's chakra in response. Encased in Kurama's chakra, Naruto wouldn't feel any impact in slapping, punching, blocking, or sidewinding his arms against the iron puppet.

"ACCESS: BLACK CANARY," the iron puppet declared irritating Naruto as he was completely lost to what it was referring to.

The first stage of their encounter had been a straight up dogfight in stretching his skills in taijutsu. Everything Naruto threw at it seemed to be coming right back to him. The iron puppet wasn't better at him to say the least, but Naruto could feel that it was doing its best to redirect him or pull him into an error. A jab here was blocked by an iron elbow, a strike to the right side ended up being slapped away, even a knee to the stomach was getting avoided by it. No matter what angle Naruto closed in on, the iron puppet contrived to oppose.

Startlingly, the iron puppet managed to shove Naruto back with two open palms. He was on his knees when the iron puppet breached for more action. Using its momentum against it, Naruto dashed in to meet it halfway. Naruto's shoulder shove was successful, and it was rocked back to its previous position.

But, it was far from over.

The iron puppet prepared for their next scrap. It extended its arms defensively, but Naruto worked to slither between its forearms and punched the daylight out of its systems. When that clearly wasn't enough, Naruto lingered about, waiting for the iron puppet to repay Naruto's strikes with one of its own. Naruto actively kept his footwork light in anticipation of the greatest turn around in his young shinobi career.

The iron puppet flailed to comb a hit on him.

Getting the only chance he was going to get now, Naruto caught its wrist with his right hand. It had to be his dominant hand, grabbing it was a priority. Naruto stepped to the side and struck its elbow as he pulled on the wrist in an effort to separate the limb adequately.

Augmented by Kurama's chakra, Naruto pushed to tore off its forelimb. Ultimately, it was an uphill struggle when it came to strong-arming the iron puppet. Instead, all Naruto accomplished was extending the gash near the elbow revealing electrical cables within.

However, Naruto's dominance didn't end there. Hitting the ground in all fours, Naruto spun, sweeping it off its legs. As soon as the iron puppet timbered over, Naruto's clone from before emerged with an ultra-Rasengan roaring to life in his hand. It didn't take a second for the iron puppet to eat one of his most destructive technique for an afternoon snack.

"Who's the new guy?"

Flash came up behind Green Arrow, Batman and Black Canary. From the dirt and the blood stains on his armor, Batman knew that the speedster had his own share of sufferings.

"A friendly," Black Canary answered.

"That's not certain," Batman made sure to take them out of that thinking. He may have rescued them, but that didn't mean that he wasn't working at an angle. From his experience in fighting the degenerates in Gotham, Batman learned first hand the advantage of leaning on someone then striking when they least expected it. Batman carried the scars to prove it.

Being wary now might save a life down the road.

"Well, he's not after us," Green Arrow chimed in. "So, the kid gets a point from me."

"In any case, he seems more than capable in terminating the android. We stop the android, then we question him." Batman guided Black Canary to a plateau slab which was the perfect substitute for a bench. Patiently waiting for her to pick out the best place for a breather, Batman assisted her in ambulating from his right side to the impromptu stony couch. "Stay here."

"It's okay," Black Canary fought to get back up. Her expressions strained when she tried to straighten her abdominals. "I can still fight."

"Stay here," Batman repeated.

Reluctantly, Black Canary surrendered, reeling in from the full might of Batman's intimidation techniques. Her pained breathing growing louder than before. Batman understood it was high time for them to finish this once and for all and provide proper medical attention to Green Arrow and Black Canary.

Flash rested a hand on Green Arrow's shoulder, "You too, man."

Green Arrow was more supporting at the idea of a downtime, taking a spot next to Black Canary. Batman and Flash departed for the android and the glowing individual as soon as they were satisfied in calming down Black Canary and Green Arrow.

Naruto and the iron puppet had been brawling much more than he liked. Most of the time had been spent exploring new roads to uncover its vulnerabilities. The iron puppet was extremely good at adopting to Naruto's attacks. When Naruto landed a clean lick, he could use it two to three times before that door was completely sealed. Even when Naruto thought he was being tricky, the iron puppet would work extra hard to handle him directly.

Naruto wouldn't win against the iron puppet if things continued this way.

The other option had been to locate and tract the chakra strings back to its source. Naruto resigned a few defensive checkpoints just to lure in the iron puppet so that he could closely inspect for any indication of chakra strings. Dishearteningly enough, Naruto found none and he'd been remorseful in letting the iron puppet smack him around just for his efforts to be wasted.

But, there was a ray of light in all of this.

Naruto pulled all the stops, drew all the cards, and summoned every single technique in his arsenal. Whenever he erected a preventative technique—techniques where the key strategy is to imprison or block enemies, the iron puppet motioned through with a 'ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER' and it would Obito-walk out of any obstacle.

However, its secondary ability is what Naruto was aiming for.

When the iron puppet was in 'ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER' mode and Naruto baited it to a rough-housing session, it elongated its arms, legs, and sometimes the torso to reach over certain blind spots that even Naruto was unaware of. The iron puppet accomplished this by separating its limbs and exposing the black cables within. But, as complicated as it seemed, the technique used by the iron puppet exposed one undeniable truth:

Access to its black cables would lead to the iron puppet's demise because it had the blemishes and scratches and gashes from its previous encounters with the weirdos Naruto rescued earlier.

It was his only lead, but Naruto was willing to drive it to the ends of the world.

Through some good luck, Naruto was able to deliver a roundhouse kick which knocked the iron puppet away for several meters. Predictably, the iron puppet sprung back for more beating as it met him halfway.

Their fight now had devolved into more of a savage beating, if Naruto was being completely honest. What was supposed to be a dance of trained strikes and calculated effort transformed into guerrilla hit-and-runs and sneaky jabs. Recently, the only way for Naruto to home-in on a certain angle was if he allowed the iron puppet to get a smack here and there; which he didn't mind at all since Kurama's chakra absorbed most of the contact. The rule for this particular encounter, it seemed, that whoever grounded an attack was closer to serializing a string of combos.

A man in a blue bodysuit with a long red cape and matching boots harpooned the iron puppet from the left side. Though, Naruto was lucky enough to pick up on the sonic boom of the man's flight pattern and latched himself onto the iron puppet by employing chakra on the bottom of his feet.

There was no way in hell Naruto was letting go of the iron puppet. Especially since he was the one who detected the key to defeating the iron puppet.

The iron puppet hustled to guard himself against the man's hold and Naruto's punches.

"Let go," the man ordered. "I got this!"

"Hey man!" Naruto responded, slightly offended. "I was in the middle of something. If anything, you shouldn't have butted in."

"This is for your protec—"

The iron puppet stretched his palm forward, rocking the man's chin in an unnatural direction. The force of it was so strong that he let go of the iron puppet and crash landed onto a river.

But, Naruto found a way to take control of a dire situation. Still glued onto the iron puppet, Naruto realigned himself to the horizon and conjured a Planetary Rasengan in an open hand. Instead of intercepting, the iron puppet decided to shield itself by boarding its arms in front of it. Naruto expelled some chakra on the sole of his feet, creating some distance between them, throwing the Planetary Rasengan for an added measure.

The massive explosion sent the iron puppet skyrocketing to an unknown location of the forest.

Naruto was going to trail the iron puppet, but he decided to make a detour towards the man with the red cape and check up on him. By the time Naruto arrived, the man was already standing tall, nursing his jaw.

"I thought you'd be down for the count," Naruto started, calmly walking towards the man. "For the record, I was the one who had it."

The man frowned, "This is a dangerous area. The android is capable of studying its opponents then duplicating their talents. Please, stand back. I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's called 'the android', huh?" Naruto said. "All this time, I've been referring to it as an iron puppet. Well, in any case, I've got something up my sleeve if it ever started copying me."

The man glanced his way. Naruto didn't have to use his sensors to know that the man didn't trust him. "Who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," he answered, enthusiastically. It was rare for someone to be unaware of him since his efforts in the recent Shinobi War skyrocketed his fame throughout the Elemental Lands. Even villages isolated from the Lands knew of him, in some way. "And you are?"

"Superman."

Naruto couldn't contain it, "Superman!" He threw his head back while he laughed, resting a hand on Superman's shoulder to set him upright. Naruto wiped a tear, relaxing down when Superman glared at him. "…oh, you're being serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be," Superman questioned, his frown more prominent than ever before.

"Because that has got to be the goofiest title I've ever come across with. No one beat the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha. But, you're definitely up there."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Which one?" Naruto asked. "Gai's bingo book title or your silly ass name?"

"The first one," Superman detailed as a sigh escaped from his lips. "I don't know who Gai is or the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha. And, for your information, I didn't pick the name 'Superman'. It was given to me by the people of Earth and I continue to honor them with it."

Naruto scrunched his brows, "Earth?"

"Yes," Superman illuminated, irritation peppered in his words. "It's the planet you're in. Are you alright? You don't have a concussion, do you?" Superman stuck his index and middle finger together. Then, he waved them left to right, sluggishly. "Follow my fingers."

"Stop that," Naruto batted Superman's fingers out of his face. "What do you mean by the planet I'm on?"

"Earth," Superman delved deeper. "In the Sol System. The third planet from the Sun."

In the Shinobi Academy, students were taught astronomy for the real-world application of navigation. While Naruto skimmed through most of the textbooks—he found training in ninjutsu a better use of his time—he still remembered reading a passage that mentioned scientists categorizing only two planets in a system. It was Amaterasu (sun), Izanagi (planet where the Elemental Lands are located), Izanami (moon), and Susanoo (a smaller gas planet with frequent storms of methane).

Now, here comes a stranger, retconning Naruto's only expertise when it came to the science that dealt with the material universe?

He had to be lying.

A quick scan of his emotion sensors proved it to be otherwise.

Naruto looked far beyond Superman, stewing in discontent at a possible nightmare. A darkness was brewing within him despite the vocal reassurance coming from Kurama. He couldn't help but murmured out, "What the fuck…"

From the distance, the android made a ruckus trying to make its way back to them for the hundredth time since Naruto's first engagement. Trees toppled over and birds were spooked away.

"Look, I'll make you a deal." Superman negotiated. "I'll answer everything you want from me, but we have to stop the android first. If we don't, it'll terrorize the farmlands in Litchfield County. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, protect the people from harm. I got it." Naruto settled in his stance as he stared down the android which demolished everything in its path to smithereens. Naruto turned to Superman once more before the android reached them, desiring to confirm, "All my questions."

"Sure," Superman acknowledged. He pressed on a gadget in his ear, "Justice League, I have the android contained with a friendly. Regroup on my location."

Naruto wasn't an idiot, he knew that it was a radio. But, he was still astonished that they advanced the technology to the point where they could conceal it in their ear. Once he got back, maybe he could push it on to the scientists at Konoha's Research and Development Division.

A maelstrom of energy pulled Naruto's attention in. While the android was leaping from tree to boulders and back to trees, it had molded a Planetary Rasengan within its right hand. And, he was pretty sure that the android had plans in shoving it down Naruto's throat.

"Son of a bitch…"

Naruto acted fast. Nicking his left palm with a handy-dandy kunai knife, Naruto breezed through a series of handseals: rat, dog, rat, dragon, snake, rat. Smoke spouting from his hand revealed an onyx sphere the size of a large fitness ball. With the greatest weapon in his arsenal, Naruto let the Truth-seeking Ball do its thing.

The android fired off the Planetary Rasengan.

The Truth-seeking Ball greeted it intermediately. Instantly expanding beyond the size of the Planetary Rasengan, it swallowed it whole, never to be seen again. Inside the black sphere, Naruto could feel the Planetary Rasengan chaotically discharging striking the Truth-seeking Ball from every point. Favorably, the Truth-seeking Ball withstood the charge.

The android stood on a boulder with a blank expression, "ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER."

Superman flew crossed to his left, "You hit it low."

It was a smart tactic. Unchained to the gravitational properties, since Superman is proficient in flying like the old man Tsuchikage, this opened a possibility of marking the android beyond its scope of efficiency. Naruto was tasked to the lion share of the work by anchoring the concentration of the android to him so that Superman could come in and ram through any openings. Agreeing, Naruto voiced, "On it."

Synchronizing his movements to his teammates has always been Naruto's bread and butter. Instilled in him when he was a greenhorn shinobi, Naruto performed many impossibilities through collaboration combat. Where would he be if Sasuke and him ditched one another while trapped in Haku's Crystal Ice Mirrors; or if they didn't work together to save Sakura from Gaara's hands during the Sound-Sand invasion of Konoha; or if they let their negative emotions obstruct their intentions of releasing everyone from Kaguya's illusions.

Naruto wouldn't have survived most of those engagement without teamwork. He owed his life to this sacred ideology.

So as Superman rained down on him, with what looked like to be the same energy Pakura used, Naruto raked his hand on the mud by leading the android to the left where it was sandwiched between an impressionable boulder structure and Naruto with his Truth-seeking Ball which he morphed into a black buckler.

Coerced to tackle Naruto, the android sent four hasty punches while Naruto aligned his buckler to the android's slugs. Then, Naruto bludgeoned the surface of the shield to the android's cores. The android sent a swinging haymaker to the left, its limbs detaching from one another, unveiling the black cables within.

As Naruto let it sail over his head, he prepared the buckler in his arms. Throwing the Truth-seeking Ball with all his might, Naruto's buckler was successful in tearing off the android's right arm entirely. Thrusting a right kick to its chest had been a satisfying bonus.

The android flew backwards.

It lifted its ugly mug up, its chin almost touching its chest.

"ACCESS: CAPTAIN ATOM," the android declared as it opened its palm out to Naruto. The energy blasts never touched him as Naruto was taken to a completely new location within the blink of an eye. Naruto stared at the man to his right clad in a different theme of red and yellow lightning.

"I'm usually a lot faster than this," his rescuer said. "It's just been a hell of a day."

"I'll take it," Naruto replied. "That was probably going to be the last thing I see, if you didn't."

"Flash," the human lightning introduced. Naruto was slowly accepting the funky cultural norms of this new world.

Off to the distance, three new individuals and the bat weirdo joined the battle.

There was a guy, definitely painted in platinum—no matter how much Naruto narrowed his eyes to zoom in on his features. This platinum-guy was flying around shooting energy blasts at the android. Now that it'd been dismembered, the android was working twice as hard to thwart off a concentrated attack between Superman, Platinum-guy, and the bat weirdo.

Next was a guy encased in a royal red, metal armor; which Naruto could tell because of the guy's similar smell to the android. He had a blue cape (seriously, what was the deal with this world and their fashion statement) and a yellow arrow on his forehead. This guy was much more of Naruto's speed, sending wave after waves of cyclones, jailing the android in one spot.

The last guy smelled funky to Naruto. He didn't smell like other people, and at the same time, didn't smell like any other animal either. This guy didn't smell disgusting, if anything, there was a slight sweet tinge to him. Of course, this guy was dressed in another blue cape with a black bodysuit underneath. Naruto wasn't put off by this guy's green skin color since he had been dealing with Kisame for a good portion of his life. With a wave of his hand, this guy hurled three large boulders to the android which further astonished the Uzumaki jōnin.

"Naruto," he countered. "Hey, listen up. I know how to beat this thing. Can I get your radio to communicate with your team?"

Vibrating at the speed of sound, Flash presented his radio to Naruto in less than a second.

Cupping the radio to his ear, Naruto presented himself. "Hello? Is—is this thing on?"

"What are you doing on this line?" the voiced belong to the bat weirdo.

"Never mind that," Naruto dismissed him expeditiously, which earned him a chuckle from Superman. "If you wanna beat this bastard, listen up. When it's doing the whole 'ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER' thing, it uses two abilities. The ability where it passes through object and another where it stretches its body. We gotta get it to stretch its body."

"Why?" It belonged to a voice unfamiliar to Naruto.

"Because it shows the black cables and they're a lot easier to beat than the android's metal skin," Naruto explained. "I can bait it to be in the 'ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER' mode, but we all gotta put our shit together and wipe this motherfucker out in one go!"

"You got a mouth on you, kid." Another unfamiliar voice decided to express their thoughts.

"Once it settles in that mode," the bat weirdo said. "Martian Manhunter, can you suppress its density manipulation?"

"I can," Martian Manhunter responded.

"Everyone, stand by at the ready." The bat weirdo directed, hijacking Naruto's assertion. "What's your name?"

Kurama, Gyūki, Chōmei, Saiken, Kokuō, Son Gokū, Isobu, Matatabi, Shukaku, the First Hokage's statue at the Valley of the End, and the Hokage Mountain shimmered in his mind.

Naruto raised his head high, "You can call me, Monolith."

Superman laughed vehemently.

"Really, you're gonna go with that?" Flash conveyed to Naruto's right. "You're not that tall."

"Hey man!" Naruto yelled back. "My doctor says I'm still growin', y'know!"

"Sure, sure," Superman said in between his laughter.

"Everyone, focus." The bat weirdo leveled them down. "Monolith, at your discretion, move in when the opportunity arise. Everyone else, join up with Monolith."

Naruto fished out the radio from his ears, reeling in from the discomfort in plugging up his ears for the first time.

"When do you think you're gonna do it?" Flash asked, returning his radio back underneath his red cowl.

"Right now," Naruto observed the android from the distance. Even with one arm, it was still stalemating five high-tier combatants. Currently, the android was applying Flash's skill set to dodge everything lobbed at its direction. "Let's do it now before it picks up any regeneration ability along the way."

It was zooming in on Superman's location. Superman tried to shoot down the android before it made much progress, but with the android's present speed, it zig-zagged through the volley of lightshow.

Charting the destination course, Naruto intercepted on the android's path, blockading it from approaching at Superman's position. Cloaked in Kurama's energy, Naruto mixed it in with the natural energy to compound a stronger chakra. On his back, a pair of golden hands clasped together, confining the android. Further advancing his plans, Naruto smuggled the Truth-Seeking Ball inside his golden prison.

The android bounced within Naruto's energy prison.

"Fucker's rumbling!" Naruto coaxed the rest of them to pick up the pace.

One by one, they formed ranks. Circling around the gold prison. Superman, Martian Manhunter and Platinum-guy were hovering above, The guy with the arrow on his head and bat weirdo stuck around by the river. Flash was on his right and stood at the ready.

"ACCESS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER."

Three beautiful words that were melody to Naruto's ears.

Martian Manhunter focused his palms towards the android, he was wincing and his arms were rattling, "It is contained. Be quick!"

"Got you now, bitch." Naruto commented, deactivating the gold prison.

The android stretched its only arm towards Naruto. It straightened its fingers out in a rough attempt at a spear; with its metal exterior, it might as well be.

But, it never got the chance since the Truth-seeking Ball separated into multiple spheres; one curving out, arresting the wrist in place. The rest of the Truth-seeking Ball went inside—through the exposed arm and detached limb. Each one stuck itself to a section of the android, and once Naruto felt the Truth-seeking Ball in place, he pried the Truth-seeking Ball away, disconnecting sections of the android.

The android's neck was stretched.

The android's waist was stretched.

The android's left shoulder was stretched.

The android's left thigh was stretched.

The android's right thigh was stretched.

"NOW!" Naruto screamed in anticipation of the wildest attack. In one decisive moment, all their attacks barraged in. Batman sent a translucent gel to the android's left shoulder. Platinum-guy organized his energy blasts on the android's right thigh. The guy with an arrow on his forehead whirled cyclones to the android's waist. Superman lasered his heat vision on the android's left thigh. And, finally, Flash surged through, effectively divorcing the android's head from the rest of the body.

All the other parts of the android sank to soil, supplying a metal thwunk as it hit the ground.

Superman descended to Naruto's left.

"Don't forget your end of the bargain," Naruto reminded Superman. "It's time I know what the hell's going on."

"Not here." Superman steeled through. "This conversation needs to be behind closed doors."

Several hours after the Justice League disassembled Amazo and sent his parts to two STAR Labs facility, a short elderly man with a combed red hair approached the seven monitors. He was dressed in a pine-colored sweater vest over a white buttoned shirt and a red tie. Inside this room, his brown slacks and matching oxfords appeared darker than what they normally were.

Professor Ivo cleared the snag on his throat, "The Junior League deactivated and disassembled the android and completed their mission to escort it to two separate STAR Labs facility. Had I produced more MONQIs, I believe I would've had enough assets to recover the android."

"This, 'Amazo'," A Light member began. "It was successful in recreating the abilities of numerous Justice League members?"

"Yes," Professor Ivo responded. "During combat, Amazo studied their movements and tactics, then duplicated it efficiently. Because of the current processing chip, Amazo was limited in accessing one Justice League member ability at a time."

"If given time and with more funding," This time the voice belonged to the only female member of the Light High Cabinet. "Are you able to improve your Amazo, Doctor Ivo?"

Professor Ivo nodded his head, "Yes. Now that the prototype worked well beyond my expectations. I can produce more versions of Amazo to counter the entire Justice League. Though, I ask that my timetable be expanded than before."

"Of course," Another Light High Cabinet member agreed with a French accent. "Anything to disrupt the Justice League works well within the expectations of the Light."

"I am concerned of this new individual," A Light High Cabinet member stated. "The boy ran circles around Amazo."

"That's absurd!" Professor Ivo slipped up. Correcting his tone, Professor Ivo continued. "The diagnostics revealed that Amazo created a blueprint to counter the boy using the duplicated abilities of several high-tier Justice League vanguards. Though at the end Amazo improvised with Captain Atom's energy manipulation, Amazo still wielded it similarly to the boy's abilities."

"It did indeed, Doctor Ivo. But, tell me, does this look like the face of someone who was struggling against a stronger opponent?"

On another monitor, a video was pulled up. From the perspective of the drone, the video feed zoomed in on the blond boy with whiskered blemishes on his cheeks. Whilst fighting the android, the boy ducked under Amazo's sweeps and effortlessly flipped the android and stamping it further into the earth with a simple heel-drop kick.

Professor Ivo remained silent as the video progressed through other clips of the boy dancing around Amazo.

"I have high expectations for the next iteration of Amazo, Doctor. I have confidence in your performance to serve the Light."

AN: Canon Naruto doesn't have any Truth-seeking Ball which is a shame. It's so versatile and so good. I believe it's a next step to Naruto's unpredictability and it's unfortunate Kishi dismissed it offhandedly. My Naruto will be using the Truth-seeking Ball heavily like Minato uses the three-pronged kunai.

I'm hella pumped for the second half of Young Justice season three. It's why I cooked this bad boy up.

Thanks for reading!