Death wasn't at all as he expected. He was aware of it, for a start, even if that awareness was of a fragmentary, even if short lived. His consciousness came and went in waves, drifting in and out on unfathomable tides. He sank and surfaced at the whim of forces he couldn't comprehend nor control. All he could do was ride it out with them and hope that death would be kind to him.

There was a surprising amount of pain, considering that his body no longer existed, moments ago before he felt darkness cover his vision he remembered the searing, burning pain of having fragments of souls, both tailed beast and human being shoved inside of his own body. Forever leaving them sealed in a dream like illusion within him. He sacrificed his own life to end the lives of those who had caused pain for so many innocent people, and to bring about world peace to all shinobi nations.

Slowly, as the cold fingers of death began to drag him ever so slowly into the darkness as he continued to sink. Further and further into its embrace, he couldn't help but notice that his mind began to see visions, and hear voices too. They were harder to rationalize. But some of them were familiar, such as Sandaime soothing him when he was but a child, as he did for many years.

But there was an odd feeling he felt as he continued to be pulled into whatever it was that death was supposed to pull him into. Except, something felt different, out of place somehow. Naruto Uzumaki felt himself falling.

He could have really sworn that he felt the wind rushing, howling in his ear, ripping through his lengthy blond spiky hair. It came as a surprise to him when the visions and memories began to evaporate, and the voices he'd been hearing went with them. For a welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. He could rest, and be. His heart simply rose as his eyes suddenly shot open, his mouth sucked in a deep, raspy breath of air and he coughed violently.

A groan left Naruto's lips as he shook his aching head to clear his thoughts as he slowly pushed himself off of his hands and knees, the way he felt was unlike anything he'd experienced before and he couldn't help but wonder why in the world was going on. Wasn't the technique he used supposed to take his life in the end?

Only once choice gave him time to think this strange happening through. Only one decision came with the option of changing his mind later. Only one fork in the road before him left him alive, and not dead. He didn't know exactly know how it happened, but he really was truly alive. He slowly got up, and looked down at his body. The skin was fine, smooth and unblemished without a hint or sign that he had been in mortal combat. He flexed his fingers, feeling stronger and different somehow.

The drowning feeling he had felt was gone. He felt better than he ever had before, as though he had awakened from a wonderful sleep. Instead of pondering the issue, his eyes took in everything around him, making the dark alley around him a montage of bright colors from neon signs and bright colors that danced in front of his eyes.

Naruto took his hand and brushed it across his bare chest, feeling the smoothness of it and marveling at his amazing return to health. It seemed almost too good to be true. He flexed his hands and his knuckles moved the same way as always; his fingernails were surprisingly neatly trimmed and even. The only odd detail was that he would be running around in battered and beat up pants that looked like they had been through the first, second and third shinobis war that were almost exposing his boxers to the world.

His ears met a cacophony of different sounds, a small auditory assault which made him wince slightly. His nose was assaulted with sweet, musky, putrid, spicy, wet and metallic scents. He felt as though he was under the affect and control of some kind of psychotropic drug and that he would soon circum to some kind of sensory overload, his queasy stomach a measure of that.

After what felt like days to the Sage, but was mere seconds in the real world, his brain began to adapt to the bizarre changes. He began to successfully interpret the information from his ears first, the heavy footsteps and breathing of nearby passerby's walking along the sidewalk, his own rapid breathing as he gulped in large amounts of air as he slowly made his way out of the alley he had landed in moments ago.

"Where… in the world am I?" He spoke to himself, he headed out of the alley, his eyes and ears took in the strange and wondrous sights and smells all at once. Buildings were so tall that they seemed to pierce the very heavens with their size alone, he felt a bit claustrophobic somehow.

Something blurred past his vision, his hand shot out and grabbed a piece of paper that must have been floating in the breeze. He was sure that even if the street lights were off, he still would have been able to read the words on it. 'Welcome to Jump City, California!'

Taking it in hand he quickly began to scan the contents of the pamphlet and for a moment the words seemed foreign to him somehow. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, or at least he though he did, until the words suddenly seemed to become clearer in his eyes until he could understand it.

He was very surprised at that, but he felt that it must have had something to do with his body and these bizarre and strange changes all of a sudden.

From what he was able to read from it, the weather here seemed usually bright and sunny, giving an optimistic feeling to it all in the day, but for multiple reasons, Naruto felt boxed in somehow, and a cold feeling slivered into his gut. He wrapped his hands instinctively around his stomach.

I may be alive but I'm so hungry, I wonder if I'll find a place to eat around here or something. The young man thought, even though he did feel extremely better, as if he was on top of the world, he was unbelievably hungry. He peered down the street and realized that the sidewalk was practically barren; the sounds of dogs barking and cats screeching were audible in the dark of night. The most he wanted to do now was to eat, take a bath and find a place to sleep.

A movement to the side several feet away, the slight shift in the shadow and his keen nose picked up a greasy smell, one that caught his attention and made him want to gag. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as a figure stepped out into the sidewalk, blocking his path, arms crossed over his large and burly chest.

"What's up stranger, you new to Jump City?" the man asked, his voice was thick with a southern accent.

Naruto didn't answer, he just kept his shoulders straight, his head pointing straight ahead, and his ears picked up several footsteps within the vicinity. Even though he couldn't see them visibly, he could smell them and that was good enough for him. His head never moved, but slowly his eyes trailed towards the many spots that a person could use as cover or to hide.

"You gotta pay to walk my street kid," The burly man went on. "I'll even be nice enough to be your guide too, savvy?" With that he bowed and came up showing a mouthful of brown and yellowed teeth.

Naruto didn't bother answer him, but he was aware of such tactics from where he came from, a favorite tactic among bandits used to intimidate common folk for money, though this was a first that this had ever happened to him. Still he didn't answer, and the burly man shifted, throwing wide his coat to reveal a strange square under his belt, which he assumed was a weapon.

"So kid, how much cash do you have to offer?" the man asked.

Naruto started to tell him step out of his way but changed his mind and gave a weary sigh. He really didn't need this right now, but seemed that fate loved to toy with him for some reason. Even after being so kind as to let him live.

You deaf or something kid?" said the man, and he drew his strange weapon and advanced another step. "Here, I'll spell out for you. You pay me, or me and my friends will take you money after we fill with enough lead to make you a paper weight, go it?"

Naruto didn't reply, didn't move, didn't even bother to weave any hand-seals or use any of the weapons sealed on his person. How he knew that they were still there he didn't know and neither could he explain. He just simply stood there, and his defiance seemed to anger the burly man all the more.

The man glanced to the side—to Naruto's right—and he wasn't surprised when he felt something metallic and cool pressed against his neck. His eyes glanced down at the knife for a fraction of a second, and he noticed a shift to his left, just slightly, but the ninja caught on quite clearly. Another of this robber's companions, holding a similar weapon in the shadows of another alleyway several meters away. These men were no contest to Naruto, not at all. He saw the sneer of revulsion and disgust on the man's face, looking at him as if he was some kind of exotic but repulsive creature.

"Now," said the burly man. "Last chance for you kid, what's it going to be?"

Naruto simply glared at the man, and his top lip curled up a bit, revealing long straight white teeth and really pointed canines. He didn't know why, but he knew he looked menacing. The man wearing the sun glasses didn't seem so confident anymore, but Naruto didn't make a move yet. He simply stood there, waiting, watching and glaring at the burly man. It was obvious that there were about four guys all together. One was in the front, one behind him, and the last two that hid on the left and right alley. So well he could the sage read the movements and body languages of men, he could discern how a person felt or guessed what they were thinking.

He could hear the man's racing heartbeat racing in his chest, he could see his sweat slowly trickling down his forehead, slowly sloping down his face and the glasses on his face were visibly shaking. Naruto took that as a sign, and it would be he who would make the first move.

Naruto grabbed the man's wrist and simultaneously struck the man's chest with a chakra infused strike, surprising him completely as he was disarmed of his bladed weapon and rendering him unconscious in one fell swoop before he motioned the knife in the direction of the man who was hiding in the alley, and as he planned, the knife hit home in his shoulder.

The man cried out, taking his eyes off of him for only a moment as he felt the hot, lancing pain in his body. That was all the ninja needed as he moved with blinding speed and agility, clearing the distance between himself and his assailant.

The man looked on with growing alarm as the boy was now in his face, up close and personal. He fired his gun on reflex. The shot connected with the boy's shoulder, but he was too alarmed and gripped by fear of that animal like growl that had left the young man's lips, his eyes narrowed at him before he chopped him across the throat. Naruto grabbed the knife from his shoulder as he flipped over and slammed deeply into a dumpster, he slammed into it dully before he dropped to the floor with a groan.

His ear perked up at the footsteps pounding against the ground, and he bolted for cover in the shadows as the wall was being peppered by automatic pistols, spraying debris and brick peelings everywhere. Finally the bullets in the chambers were empty and smoking, a long moment past and there was a sudden calm that suddenly came. The leader couldn't help but feel anxious about the situation; he cursed his own underestimation of the enemy.

A long moment passed.

"Damn it, where the hell is he?" the shooter cried out, obvious fear and frustration in his voice. "Mark, did you see him?"

Another long moment passed.

"Damn it, where did he go?" the man questioned, unable to comprehend how in the hell someone could move like that. It was so fast that he was unable to register anything at all. "Mark, where is he?"

"Right behind you," Came a whisper in his ear. A chop flashed, slicing his weapon in half like a hot knife through butter and then, before the stunned man could begin to react, a hand grabbed his throat and hoisted him effortlessly into the air; like he weighed absolutely nothing at all.

The man shook, petrified, his mouth slack and Naruto felt him shake in his grasp. "P please….I-I...I have a wife, yes, and children, lots of chil…"

Naruto smashed him clear across the jaw, rendering him unconscious easily. He dropped him to the ground softly and watched him land into a heap. The sage knew that he could have killed these men if he had wanted too, quite easily in fact, but he chose against it as he did not know how things worked in this world.

"Try coming up with a better lie, baka," Naruto answered, though the man could not hear"

Peering over towards the opposite alley, the fourth assailant was unconscious also and was resting against a wall. Naruto had taken care of him when the leader had opened fire with that strange weapon he had in his hand, he looked at his shoulder and saw that something metallic popped out and his fingers caught and inspected it.

Never seen anything like that before, little bugger stung a little. Naruto noted, before pocketing the bullet, noting that the moment his body ejected the bullet his shoulder sealed the wound up automatically. He felt a breeze sweep through and realized that he was almost, practically next to being naked and that would not do. Now where was he going to find clothes at a time like this?

His eyes trailed across the forms of the four men, and an idea came to him along with a wicked smile. Well now, it wouldn't do me any good if I go around in what I have on. And they did almost rob me, so……

With a shrug of his shoulders he grabbed the men and dragged them into an alley.

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(Ten minutes later)

"Okay, now this is more like it" Naruto spoke to himself, looking at his reflection in a mirror that had been conveniently thrown away. He had to admit that the clothes fit him like a glove, it was perfect. "Wow, it's like I'm a whole new man or something."

(Think of Albert Wesker's clothing from Resident Evil 5, shades included ^_^)

His stomach growled viciously, causing him to wince and scratch his deeply whiskered cheek sheepishly. A blush of embarrassment was present on his cheeks. "Alright, now that I got the clothing situation taken care, I just need to find some food somehow."

Slowly, Naruto began to sniff the air, searching for a sign that something was edible in the vicinity. It took a while and some concentration before he locked to a scent, it was faint, but there nonetheless though it seemed to be accompanied with music?

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders before he made sure the sunglasses were on properly before he got into action. He jumped fifteen feet into the air, and landed softly on the edge of the rooftop. Above him the sky was completely overcast. The clouds were black with shades of grey, meaning that it was going to rain soon and he hoped that it didn't rain.

The soft grumble of his stomach reminded him of his mission to get some food in his gut. Slowly, but gradually he began to follow the smell of food, letting his nose be his guide.

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"Friend Robin, what is it that we are searching for again?" Starfire asked through the Titans communicator as he flew through the air of Jump City.

"I told you Star," Robin answered, crouched on the top of a building. His jaw was set and his eyes were looked about for anything out of the ordinary. It was late, and he'd been sleeping soundly in his bed when the computers alarm had sounded, signaling that there was an abnormally high energy signature had just popped up into the middle Jump City. It was so massive that the machine couldn't fathom just what it was, and overloaded itself when the limiter went beyond the maximum capacity. "We're looking for the cause of the large energy signature that just popped up out of nowhere, when you communicator starts beeping you'll know that it's close by."

"Uh, dude," Beast Boy interjected, dropping in from the sky as an eagle to land on a roof. "What if it was just a glitch in the system or something, I mean it's not like it hasn't happened before and it can't be nothing bad or anything, right? How the heck are we going to find something like that?"

"A glitch?" Starfire questioned.

"A glitch is a kind of malfunction Starfire," Raven intoned from the passenger's side of the T car. "Even so glitches don't move on foot and make an entire super computer explode, it's obviously alive and if we're near it I should be able to sense it."

"Same with my bionic eye," Cyborg added, while yanking the wheel to the right to navigate through a left turn. "And if it's dangerous we just kick its butt, sounds fair BB?"

"Oh." BB replied stupidly.

Robin sighed and flipped off his communicator before shoving it back into his belt. He and his team had been searching the streets for at least an hour or more maybe. He couldn't help but mentally curse in his mind and pinch the bridge of his nose, a growl built up in his throat. Come on already, something with that much energy shouldn't be able to go unnoticed without leaving a trace.

The teenager sighed and stood up. As he did, his communicator began to beep rapidly. His eyes widened behind his mask before he whirled his eyes towards the shadow at the corner of his vision, just in time to see a tall figure disappear into the shadows. "Found you," Robin growled and took off after the figure.

The shadow had jumped clear across the next building with ease, and was steadily moving. Robin followed without hesitation, though a part of him screamed that this was definitely a bad idea. A really bad idea. Robin reached a hand for his communicator, but stopped inches from it.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was Slade somehow, the man had always haunted the deepest reaches of his mind. If this really was him then he was going to be the one to bring him down, once and for all.

The figure leapt powerfully across the next building, clearing a fifty foot jump like it was nothing to him, the moon casts his shadows over his billowing coat on the streets below. Robin, with the help of his cable was able to jump after him, his eyes narrowed, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. His heart was pounding and racing in his chest, blood roared in his ears. It has to be Slade, it has to be! He pumped his arms faster as he ran, not even slowing down for a second more. The figure matched Slade's build almost identically, he was sure of it.

"Stop!" Robin yelled, but he saw that he was promptly ignored. His ire flared at that, causing him to scowl and reach into his utility belt. He pulled out two batarangs and as he leapt to the next building he threw them with all his might.

They ripped through the air as they made their way towards their target, and Robin couldn't help but visibly gape as the two tails of his trench coat simply blew up with an intense force, knocking them out of the way. He faltered at the sight, but recovered and continued racing after the figure.

Robin snarled when the figure continued to increase the distance between them, he wouldn't allow it and neither would he let this guy get away. He pulled out a sticky exploding disk, narrowing his eyes in concentration before throwing it just as he did his batarangs just moments before. A grin of triumph marred his face when he saw the tails of his coat tried to brush them off like his other projectiles, but instead stuck firmly and exploding in a might flash of white light.

The figure was pushed violently across the gravel roof, and grunted in pain as he slammed into a billboard before dropping to the floor. Robin landed on the roof about ten feet away from the figure as he shook the cobwebs from his head, and got back to his feet. Robin didn't even give him time to recover as he bum rushed him, colliding hard with his chest.

The two fell to the ground in a heap with Robin on top, giving him the advantage in height. He reared his fist back to punch the shadowed figure in the face, but man lashed out first with a sucker punch to his lower jaw, followed by a kick in his stomach. Robin flew into the air but recovered quickly with a flip, he landed woozily on his feet and his hands up at the ready. He couldn't help but wince in pain though, his jaw and stomach hurt like hell.

Just as the figure stood back up, the moon came out behind a large gray cloud and shone down on them both. Robin narrowed his eyes at his opponent, and noted that this guy was most definitely not Slade. Not in the least bit.

He was tall and broad shouldered with deep spiky blond hair that seemed to reach down mid back, six feet tall of wiry build and what appeared to be whisker like markings on his cheeks, deep whisker markings. Robin couldn't see his eyes, but he saw his brows narrowed at him for the sneak attack.

He felt something shocked him and quickly yanked his communicator that had sparks dancing around it before it turned off completely, and then stopped. The Boy Wonder was positive that this was the guy with the freaked up energy reading. He watched as he brushed the dirt off of his coat, but kept his eyes on him nonetheless.

"Well, that was unexpected," He spoke before he folded his arms across his chest. "Alright you got my attention, what the hell do you want?"

"I want to know who you are NOW!" Robin shouted, his teeth bared and his nostrils flared up.

Naruto simply snorted at that and simply looked at that guy, before turning back on him and spoke. "No, I don't believe I have to tell you anything, little boy" he said calmly, but couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't know why but this guy reminded him of Sasuke and the way he was during their Genin days, one of his biggest character flaws was his anger and temper. So if this guy was anything like Sasuke, in the attitude department anyway, then he should have a short fuse and lose his patience in 3…2…1

Naruto motioned out of the way from the strike of a bo staff that was headed for his back, before he flipped backwards and cricked his neck. He could tell that this was going to be a rather long night, but he supposed that he could spare a few minutes.

Robin scowled menacingly behind his mask and took and offensive stance, his staff held rigidly in his hands. "I'll show you what this little boy can really do," he snarled and leapt at Naruto with a shout of anger. He swiped his staff down, aiming at blond guy's head, but his arms were jolted to a stop, and his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

Naruto had caught his staff between the gap of his index and ring finger, holding him in place quite easily. He took advantage and slammed his foot directly into his neck, sending him exploding backwards into an air-condition unit into tin foil. Robin didn't even have time to worry about the pain as he yelped when he saw something red flash in his direction and he got the hell out of dodge's way. Slamming into the spot where he had been resting moments ago.

The Boy wonder realized that his bo staff had disappeared, figuring that his opponent had it he looked up and instead saw that his opponent was instead armed with what appeared to be a large scythe, a three bladed one to be exact. What stood out uniquely about it was that the blades looked like razor sharpened fangs of a viper and the handle itself looked to be beautifully made out of some kind of strong, shiny red and black material, but shone like it was marble in the moon light. The grip was had a black and crimson material and at the end what appeared to be a coil was fastened around the end of it, and seemed to somehow reach inside of the guy's coat.

With his weapon he swung it a few times before posing at Robin threateningly.

"That's a wicked looking scythe you got there, I don't believe I've never seen anything like that," Robin said, pulling out another collapsible Bo staff from his belt. "I'm assuming its custom made."

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't" Naruto shrugged, not at all wavering his weapon away from his opponent, and quirked his head to the side. "Either way bird boy, you're going to get bitten by Anko here if your not careful."

"Ready to fight," Robin challenged.

"As ready as I'll ever be, little boy" Naruto simply taunted. "Show me you strength"

Robin visibly grimaced on hearing that remark, a growl built up his throat. No one was going to get away calling him a little boy, no way, this guy was a threat and he was going down hard. He charged with his staff once again, and gave another yell as he threw himself at his opponent. All the while his opponent simply watched him intently as he clashed and evaded all of his strikes, like a serpent, and that annoyed him. He maneuvered himself with grace and fluidity; all the while he held an emotionless look on his face.

Robin was having great difficulty landing a solid blow on the stranger because of that crimson and black coil that was attached to the safe. He continuously used and flashed it in his face or looped around his leg, even though he tried to keep his attention on the blond which resulted in his confusion and miscalculation. It effect, Naruto was able to land a series of strikes on him, resulting in deep bruises, and when Robin reached out to strike at him again. Naruto simply sidestepped and speedily smashed him in the gut with the butt end of his scythe, causing the young Titan to roll away on the gravel.

The Boy wonder grasped his chest in pain, wheezing and gasping several times in pain and loss of breath. He held his aching stomach while holding his staff for support, trying to get his strength back.

"Surely little boy," Naruto hefted his weapon his shoulder, dragging his hand through his spiky hair. "This isn't the best that you got is it? You spent all that time chasing me to only show me that pathetic flailing around you call bojutsu? Poor performance indeed."

"This isn't over yet," Robin growled while forcing himself back up. He gripped his bo staff tightly, ignoring the burning and searing pain in his stomach and muscles. "I'll show you!!!"

"Then show me"

Robin engaged Naruto again, this time, more fiercely than before.

He appeared to be pushing Naruto back with the amount of adrenaline that pumped into his system. Robin felt confident that he was about to corner this guy. That however was shot down to hell when he started pushing him back, forcing him to fight harder against him. He took a swipe at his feet, but Robin barely jumped over the long crimson blades and flipped backward as Naruto threw his scythe at his neck. Getting back to his feet quickly, Robin quickly deflected a cut aimed at his neck, he was sure that he warded off his attack, he was positive even, but soon felt a stinging sensation on his face as something warm trickled slowly down his cheek.

His gloved hand reached up and saw that his left cheek was bleeding across and he cut itself reached his ear. Robin was shocked.

"You act as if you've never seen your own blood before." Naruto simply stated, as the edges of his scythe were stained a bit with the other boy's blood. He flicked it away and stepped back, giving him some room to soak in what happened. Robin was stupefied and he couldn't believe that this stranger managed to penetrate through his defense, twice, and this time he made him bleed. The only one who was able to make him bleed like this was Slade, the thought of that masked man only made to increase his present anger further. Clenching his teeth, he growled as he braced his staff and aimed it at Naruto, again.

"Are you sure you want to continue this little pissing contest little boy, Naruto warned, his face held no emotion whatsoever. "Why don't you accept your loss like a man and give up, there's no point in throwing yourself at a wall if it's not going to go anywhere."

Robin's eyes narrowed darkly. "I'll make you regret that!"

"Come make me," Naruto said. "Show me what you made of, little boy

Coming at him again, Robin battled him with even more aggression than he did before. Naruto simply returned it equally, refusing to concede to the boy's offense of this deadly duel. The Boy Wonder refused to lose a third time in one night. He was one of Jump City's defenders of justice; he was trained in martial arts and the bo staff by the Batman himself when he was his sidekick.

A hero so well known that his very name and reputation alone made people think twice before engaging him, a name that instilled fear and intimidation within the hearts of even the most hardened criminals everywhere. Robin had left him because he had to prove that he could be the best, just like him. But for the life of him he couldn't break through his defense and his offense shook his staff arm multiple times as the number of hits and cuts he'd accumulated seemed to increase.

Not only from his weapon alone, but from his fists and feet as well.

This guy was pushing him to the very limit of his abilities, forcing him to give everything he had. His movements were as polished as the pole of the scythe he was holding in his hand, his moves were coordinated and yet they weren't, he was everything and nothing at the same time. This guy was unpredictable.

At that point, Robin was in his own world. To him, nothing and no one else existed except for him and this guy he was facing. Strike after strike, hit after hit, Naruto kept on coming with a speed and strength even he had a hard time dealing with and it seemed like he was only getting faster and his monstrous strength seemed to increase with each blow he landed. He turned and made to run from him, Robin pursued him, only seconds later he leaped on the back end of billboard and sent himself over his head, surprising him.

He speedily turned just in time to receive a kick in the face, which sent him spinning into the ground in a heap. Robin quickly moved, just in time to avoid another slash from the crimson weapon that rend where he had been standing moments ago. He got back to his feet, nursing the shallow cut that now appeared on his right cheek from a kick that had missed his face completely. Naruto spun his weapon on his fingers with expert attention and care, before he posed it back at the masked super hero.

"Time to wrap this up," Naruto suggested. Snarling at him, Robin gripped his weapon and had prepared to meet him again. But that option was denied to him when he suddenly appeared in front of him and slashed down viciously. Robin barely managed to evade the blades as it sliced off a few strands of raven hair off of his head. Not giving him a time to think, Naruto came at him sheer stamina, cold unrelenting prejudice and sheer strength.

Damn it, who the hell is this guy, Robin thought frantically as he continued to come after him. He tried backing away to make some distance between them, but he just kept on coming without signs of relent of that he was tired in anyway. He really didn't know how much more of this contest he could take as Naruto kept shoving his scythe in his face, and Robin had to muster using every ounce of strength he could dig up just to dodge and get the hell out of the way, only each time he did so he received a shallow cut for his efforts.

"Disappointing," Naruto noted as he continued his attack, he sensed his panic and used it to his advantage. "I guess I overestimated you abilities a bit there, though I suppose it can't be helped, you disappoint me. Is that really the best you got?"

Robin cried out in pain as he rolled on his back, gasping deep breaths into his burning and aching lungs, he was able to make out Naruto standing over him through the tears in his eyes, and he groaned in pain. He tried to force himself to stand, but his arms couldn't support his weight, and he ended up trembling on his hands and knees.

His masked eyes looked up and saw the blond man standing over the edge of the building they had been fighting on just moments ago. His jacket was only dusty from when he threw that exploding disk at him, but there wasn't even a scratch on his person. "The wounds I gave you were very shallow so you will not die of blood loss, so count yourself lucky that it was not my aim to end your life. You only have yourself to blame, tailing someone whose capabilities you know nothing about was a very foolish and dangerous error on your part. Though I should expect such a thing from a foolish little boy like you, I'll let you off with a warning. Don't. Follow. Me."

He cast one last look at the masked teenager before he jumped into the night sky, landing on another building and was a blur in the distance. Robin watched him go, still clutching his aching stomach with a gloved hand. He woozily stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily against a wall, questions assaulted his mind. Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?

The Boy Wonder didn't know how much time passed on the roof, but he knew that it must have been a while since his cuts had stopped bleeding, and he'd been dozing off until his communicator suddenly crackled to life, followed by Cyborg's voice.

"Yo Robin, we found it! The energy signature made a beeline towards a Warehouse on 6'Th Street."

At that Robin grabbed the communicator that was lying in the gravel, pushing past the pain he'd felt just moments ago. "What was that, Cyborg?" he barked, his voice was rough from his multiple losses, and anger.

The half-robot faltered at his leader's gruff tone, but answered nonetheless. "Uhhh, the energy source we're looking for, we found it but we haven't confirmed visual. Its in a warehouse on 6th street, the others are already there, but it looks like there a part going on"

"Alright, I'm on my way," Robin cut the call. Luckily, 6th street was only a couple of blocks away from his position, so it wouldn't be too taxing to get there. Robin glared spitefully at the spot where that blond guy had been standing, his hand brushed against the cut on his right cheek that had stopped bleeding. If you really believe that I'm going to let you waltz around Jump then you got another thing coming, I'm gonna beat my answers out of you. One way or another.

Robin vowed, before he got back to his feet and made a sprint towards his awaiting team.

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Hmmm, this must be the place where the smell if originating from Naruto thought as he slunk his way through the swaying and grinding bodies of teenagers he didn't know, dancing to the pounding beat of rock. Colored lights flashed in tune and different shades of red, orange, blue, and Naruto was really glad that he was wearing shades to shield his eyes from the multi colored assault. Now all I have to do is find it and chow down.

He had to admit that he had been sidetracked with dealing with that little kid, but he was partly thankful for the exercise he got out of it. Everything was working at optimum efficiency, and he was just as fast and strong as he was before, maybe even a bit more; maybe. But to be honest he didn't really see that boy as a challenge in his eyes, and he knew that if he wanted to he could have killed him from the very beginning. But chose not to because he didn't feel that he should die, and that he wasn't a major threat to him anyway, self preservation was his main goal for the moment and after doing so would he then figure out what he would do next.

Initially he had believed that it would have been difficult to sneak into this 'party'. All he did was simply walked through the door, and blend in. Oddly enough, it did surprise him when the bouncer and several others who were in line openly gawked at him, and gave him a small smile as she waved him through.

Naruto slowly made his way through the swooning bodies of teenagers dancing all around him. Most of them were clad in outfits that were… very stimulating, he couldn't help but try to keep his head down and try to blend in and follow the smell of food that he could smell was nearby. He was getting closer and closer to it when…

"Hey, sexy," A girl with spiky black and blue hair giggled, leaning heavily on Naruto's chest, her hands danced across his lower abdomen. "Where have you been all my life, care to dance?" She gave a cute expression that made him melt on the inside, but he had to decline.

"I wish I could take you up on that offer, but I'm afraid I can't dance, I'm sorry." He gave her a soft, apologetic smile and a tip of his shades, and motioned away from her quickly, feeling his cheeks burn with red when he felt her fingers give his butt a sharp pinch and she frantically called to him as he disappeared into the crowd. Naruto looked about from where he stood, and his shaded eyes looked over couples who seemed to be enjoying themselves and the atmosphere.

His stomach growled again, reminding of what his primary objective and the reason why he had come to building in the first place. He felt like he was on the verge of collapsing if he didn't get any food in his system, finally it hit him, and he spun around. There standing underneath what he believed to be a white, holy light from the heavens was a table stacked with food beyond his wildest dreams. There was so many different smells that it made his mouth water, and he hastened towards the food, practically in a daze.

He was close. So close that he could feel his teeth sinking into that gourmet and the cacophony of smells that lulled him, drew him, like a moth to a flame. He was but a few steps away from filling the empty void that was his stomach when somebody slid in front of him.

"Hmm, I hope you didn't come to ask me to dance because I don't swing in that direction." Naruto said, his arms folded across his chest, and the green skinned person with elf ears shook his hands rapidly and seemed to panic.

"No! no! I…Uh was wondering if you could tell me where the restroom was" The green kid smiled sheepishly, his voice was high-pitched and squeaky.

"Nope, I have no idea, now move," The green boy yelped when he was picked up and placed aside like an empty box. Naruto turned his full attention to the table, his eyes stared hungrily at the food before his very eyes and he could swear that drool was forming in his mouth and he didn't really care. He was hungry.

Alright, come to papa He cooed mentally to his starving innards.

He reached a hand out to grab a slice of pizza, when a black energy suddenly encased his hand, freezing it in place. What in the nine gates of hell. He turned his head towards where the energy source was coming from.

As he turned, Naruto bumped his head against something hard and metallic, and shook his head slightly. He was staring at a rather strange teen made of metal; half of his face was made entirely of metal, complete with a glowing red eye, while the other seemed normal.

Naruto yanked and pulled against the strange, dark energy and surprisingly broke free from its hold. For some reason he didn't like the way they were looking at him like that, not at all. Slowly, without taking his eyes off of them, he began to back away, giving himself some distance.

"What the hell?" Naruto said, watching as two other people joined the robotic teen. A girl with a dark blue hood pulled up, covering her face and another girl with bright fiery red hair and orange skin, clad in a purple outfit that made her appealing.

"You're gonna have to come with us," the metal teenager said, just as the green skinned boy appeared beside the others.

Naruto simply stared at all of them, just when he thought tonight couldn't possibly get any weirder for him, this shit had to happen to him. What kind of messed up city was this?

"Please, do not be frightened," the girl with large green sympathetic eyes and orange skin spoke. "We do not wish to harm you."

The blond ninja couldn't help but listen to her as there was something in her tone of voice that made him relax, if only for a few moments. But that was all shot to hell when another teenager came to stand with the group. It was the kid from the roof, and boy did he look pissed. Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger at the spiky haired boy, he'd warn this guy specifically not to follow him, even after that royal cut hip he had just handed him not to more than an hour or so ago when he was exploring, and he still didn't listen.

Was this guy brain dead or something?

"You're a persistent little boy aren't you bird brain?" Naruto spoke calmly all of a sudden, his voice was like ice. "You couldn't beat me before on the roof by yourself, so you decided to get your friends involved. I really don't have time for your bullshit." He made a mad dash to the left, all the while avoiding bucking or bumping any of the other teens present.

"Titans GO!" Robin shouted, and they gave chase after him. Naruto could hear them giving chase as he moved swiftly, motioning through the deepest throng while keeping his head down so he wasn't so noticeable.

He could make out the door to the exit; he swerved around a group of females before he jumped over several heads of a small group that seemed shock.

"Whoa, how'd he do that?"

"Hey!

"Dude did you see that!"

Damn it, can't I even get one, small, teeny, little break? Alright Naruto, stay focused. Come on you can do it! Naruto slid on his knees between the legs of a woman who was shocked, and disappeared underneath the turntables. He was sure that they didn't see him in all of the confusion, so all he had to do was make it to the exit. Naruto slowly stuck his head out of the other side, before he got to his feet and sprinted and his face lit up and he grinned in triumph when he found salvation, which was the exit.

But just before he was able to make it, a loud voice shouted.

Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

A wall of black energy appeared before him, covering the doorway completely. Naruto banged on it several times, but he didn't break it as easily as he did the one before and he cursed mentally in his mind. His mind was quickly calculating the situation carefully as he didn't move from his spot.

"It's the end of the line for you," Robin spoke out, and his friends gathered around, blocking any other exit in case he tried to pull a fast one. "There's now where to run, now tell me, who are you!

"I don't need to tell you anything," Naruto's voice was harsh and cold as he shook his head. He didn't need to see if the boy's face red with anger and rage, he knew he was the by acceleration of his beating heart. "As it is you're becoming a bother, so why don't we skip the formalities and get right into it shall we."

"Titans Go!!!" Robin shouted and was the first one to react, having managed to slightly follow the high speed movements coming from the blond boy. He'd warned them when he arrived that this guy was dangerous and would have to use extreme caution when dealing with him. The saw for themselves the cuts and bruises he inflicted on him and took his word for it. Everyone got out of the way, except for Raven who quickly brought up a dark shield just in time to block a black blur that connected with her energy shield.

Her eyes widened in alarm when she realized it was him, his fist connected solidly into her barrier, the force of his strike surprised her as black shards came into her vision. The recoil from her exploding shield threw her backwards; his body was like a black blur of motion that seemed to be heading her direction. Raven erected another shield in an attempt the block the incoming strike, to stop it somehow, but it didn't even slow him down.

He faked the kick, and in doing so swerved skillfully around her defense, her eyes widened in surprise when she felt a presence behind her, and for her effort she was wrapped up tightly, and hit a pressure point on her neck. Knocking her out, Naruto had tied her up with a bunch of wires he took from underneath the turn tables and speakers when he started running away from these other teens, just as a safety measure in the event something like this happened.

"Friend Raven!" Naruto heard a gasp, looked up into the air only to be peppered by an assault from that red haired girl with orange skin. Her eyes blazed a fluorescent green that meant that she was visibly upset about what happened and she threw starbolts like nobodies business, but he simply ignored it by flipping out of the way. Skidding across the ground, he lashed out with the remaining wire he had left which wrapped around her ankle, and he yanked harshly bringing her down to earth.

Her head hit the ground with a thud, and for a moment she saw black spots in her vision. Not once did she see the shadowed figure that struck a nerve in her neck, rendering her unconscious and the green light died down.

"Starfire!" Robin yanked and sent a series of batarangs at him, wanting to get him away from his friend. But he didn't move, instead he simply swiped his hand up, slicing them in half. Naruto picked her up in his arms and blurred to where the robed girl was lying unconscious, her back against the wall and gently rested her next to the girl. His hand smoothed over a few stray strands of hair that was in her face, and he couldn't help a sigh.

Alright, two down, three to go. Naruto thought before standing and turning around, only to nearly meet the far end of a hairy fist. He ducked a series of blows coming from a gorilla that had green fur. It roared with anger as it seemed to come after him, but he calmly assessed the situation by catching one if its fists in his hand. clamping down on the knuckle hard. His body didn't budge and the gorilla seemed surprised by that.

Naruto struck three blows that each practically found their mark. The first smashed in a certain part of its jaw, the second chop in his windpipe which left him gasping and the last an elbow smash into one of his eyes. The green gorilla was sent flying back, smashing through a speaker which slammed into a wall and formed a good sized crater before Beast Boy fell to the floor in a heap of dust.

Heavy footsteps sounded in his ear, so he did a Chinese split just in time to avoid a punch that was aimed for the back of his skull. Naruto pushed himself into a handstand with both hands and landed a vicious kick to his ribs, and swerved both of his feet to sweep him off of his. Spinning and lifting him off of the ground momentarily before he flipped forward, Cyborg's eyes widened when he found his opponent practically in mid air with him, right before Naruto stamped down, sending him not only into the ground but also using his chest as a launch pad to spring himself air borne. Landing in a crouch with his legs spread, his facial expression never changed.

Four down, one to go. Naruto looked around the room the masked one, only to momentarily be surprised. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at this situation and found that Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg managed to get back up, despite the fact the latter two were breathing heavily from the bruises they got, and BB was sporting a wicked looking black eye. Naruto realized that Robin must have snuck around the room somehow, and brought the red head and the purple haired girl back to consciousness.

This, is really starting to get annoying, Naruto thought. Why won't they just stay down?

"Are you hurt?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy despite his own injuri

"Just my pride and my eye." Beast Boy grumbled, nursing his eye momentarily before he winced in pain. It stung like hell.

"You all only have yourselves to blame for underestimating me." Naruto made clear.

"Perhaps," Raven retorted, "But we will not make that mistake twice."

"We'll never be able to beat this guy like this," Robin advised, "Its obvious he's faster, stronger and smarter than he lets on, so we'll have to change tactics."

Naruto simply gestured for them to bring it; if they wouldn't listen to reason then he would have to continue beating some more sense into them. But truthfully, he felt like he was on the verge of collapsing as he realized his hunger kept growing and growing with each move he made.

Damn it, my body is practically running on E and I haven't eaten a single thing since I came here. This is starting to get bad and I can feel my strength waning gradually and rapidly from the strain of just expending energy. I think I can maybe go one more round before my body gives out on me, but I don't want to take that chance. I gotta--

The roof from above practically bent inwardly before it came with a death rain of metal, screws and bolts as a thunderous dark pink energy sparked from the opposite side of it. Not wanting to get crushed, Naruto rolled out of harms way, instinctively covering his head and face. He was flung even further by the explosion that shortly followed, and he was sure the teenagers that were after were blown away also.

Something heavy landed on top of him, he couldn't make heads or tails of what it was, and then it rolled off of him.

A wave of heat washed over Naruto almost instantly, hitting him like a solid brick wall, taking his breath away. The air seemed to turn acrid and bits of metal and rubble showered him, and a large dust cloud washed over him as more metal came down over his head. A barrage of loud crashes later and he vaguely recalled screaming before he saw black.

The Titans shakily got up to their feet, shaking the cobwebs out of their heads, before they realized what was going on. Teenagers were screaming their heads off and were making a beeline for the exits, metal was slowly raining down, and things became clear when they realized who it was.

"Darn it…" Robin bit out as he looked at three very familiar figures that stood in the distance. "It's the Troika"

"Sorry to rain on your little party Titans," a young girl with pink hair and equally with eyes with black cat like slits said. "But it looked like you were having so much fun and I hope you don't mind if we literally crash the party."

"Why are you guys doing here?" Robin questioned.

"Oh nothing much," Jinx shrugged casually, a smile found its place on her lips. "We were just in the neighborhood to pick up a very interesting package, of course"

"What package?"

"The kind that was capable of wiping your sorry butts of course, what else would I be meaning," Jinx looked over her shoulder slightly to her partner Mammoth, in his burly arms was a boy, but even at the distance she could had a clear view of the rise and fall of his chest and knew that he was unconscious but he was alive. They got what they were assigned to retrieve, and she turned back around and her smiled seemed to widen even more when the saw looks of alarm run across their faces. Their master would be pleased with their success.

"Let him go!" Robin growled as he stepped forward, despite the numerous injuries and the hopelessness of the situation of going through another fight. He refused for that guy to slip away from his fingers again. No, not when they were so close.

Gizmo couldn't help but guffaw at their expressions. Those idiots really believed that they would up and listen to him, ridiculous. "You must have snot for brains bird boy. You really think we're going to just up and hand you this guy, after watching everything we'd seen him do to you. You better think again!"

Gizmo pressed a button on his suit launching several rockets aimed directly at them from his jetpack. They wasted no time in dodging them, even though they did feel that they barely had any strength left in their bodies as they escaped the explosion. But to their dismay, it had been a distraction, a distraction they had needed to make their getaway, they were gone and Robin's roar of rage and frustration didn't help matters either.

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Love it, hate it? Give me your feedback and honest, mature opinions and let me know. I should be able to have the chapter for my Naruto/Rosario crossover up real soon, but cross your fingers for me please.

Thank you

Dark Spidey.