The search for Raven took them across the globe. With Naruto's speed and ability to sense energy signatures, it was far from a slow process, but it wasn't exactly simple either. Raven's magic was distinct—dark yet familiar, powerful yet elusive. She had always been a master at masking herself, but with something so personal as the glove, Naruto could lock onto her unique signature.
Their first stop was Antarctica, a land of endless ice and chilling winds.
Beast Boy, wrapped in thick green fur as a polar bear, grumbled while trudging through the snow. "Dude, I get that we're looking for someone, but are we sure she didn't just decide to become an ice queen? I mean, I wouldn't put it past her."
Naruto, hovering above the snow with a flicker of golden energy around him, barely flinched at the sub-zero temperatures. "I don't sense her here, but I figured you'd like the chance to stretch your legs."
Beast Boy let out a loud, bear-like sigh before shifting into a penguin and waddling dramatically. "Yeah, thanks, man. I've always dreamed of being an ice cube with feelings."
They didn't linger long before moving on, zipping across the globe toward Asia, stopping briefly in the dense jungles of the Amazon.
Perched on a massive tree, Beast Boy transformed into a monkey, swinging from vine to vine. "Okay, I know Raven isn't here, but wouldn't it be wild if she was just chilling in the jungle like some mystical hermit?"
Naruto glanced at him, unamused. "You just wanted an excuse to turn into a monkey, didn't you?"
Beast Boy grinned. "Guilty as charged!"
Another pulse of Naruto's senses told them this wasn't the place. They continued, flashing through the bustling cities of Tokyo, the towering mountains of Tibet, and even a quick sweep of New York just to be thorough.
At one point, they stopped in Africa, soaring above the vast savannahs. Beast Boy, now a cheetah, ran circles around Naruto as he hovered just above the ground.
"This is my dream, dude! Ultimate speed! No cars, no traffic, just pure animal instincts!"
Naruto watched him for a moment before effortlessly matching his speed. "Yeah, yeah, enjoy it while you can. Raven isn't here either."
Beast Boy screeched to a stop, panting. "Dude, can't we take like, five minutes to enjoy the scenery?"
"Do you want to find her or not?"
Beast Boy sighed. "Fine, but next time, I'm picking the search spot."
Within an hour, their search finally led them to the Sahara Desert, where an oasis stood like a shimmering mirage amidst the endless golden dunes. In the middle of the oasis sat a small, modest hut—something that looked like it had been built recently, yet held an air of isolation and solitude.
Naruto's eyes sharpened as he landed gracefully on the sand, his gaze locked on the hut.
"She's here?" Beast Boy asked, his voice uncertain.
He hadn't expected Raven to end up in a desert. Out of all the places they had searched, this seemed the most unlikely. A part of him had even considered the possibility that she wasn't on Earth at all—that she had returned to Azarath, her true home.
"I don't know," Naruto admitted, his voice calm yet firm. "But this is what my senses are telling me, and I haven't been wrong yet."
He started walking toward the hut.
Beast Boy hesitated before grabbing Naruto's arm. "Hey, hey, slow down, man! Give me a second to catch my breath."
Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Come on, man up. We're just outside her house now. You can't chicken out here."
Beast Boy groaned. "Dude, do you know anything about relationships? Things are always complicated even when they should be simple."
Naruto smirked. "And how would you know that?"
Beast Boy grinned slyly. "I just threw the bone, and you took it."
Naruto blinked before frowning. "I can't believe I got tricked like that." He exhaled, then crossed his arms. "Regardless, we're going inside now, or I'm throwing you in."
Beast Boy held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, no need to get all aggressive just 'cause I got you, man." He quickly jogged ahead and stopped in front of the door.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked.
Silence.
Beast Boy glanced at Naruto. "Uh… maybe she's not home?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, she's inside."
Beast Boy felt his heart skip a beat.
This was it. After everything, after all the mistakes, after all the regrets—he was finally about to face her.
And he had no idea what to say.
Beast Boy took a deep breath, standing in front of the worn wooden door of the secluded hut. The structure, small and isolated, sat at the heart of a once-thriving oasis now eerily silent. He hesitated for a moment before pressing his palm against the rough surface of the door and calling out.
"Raven, it's me—Beast Boy. Please open the door. I want to talk to you."
His voice carried through the still air, filled with an edge of desperation and hope. But before he could knock again, Naruto's senses flared in alarm.
"Careful!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Beast Boy's arm and pulling him aside just as a bolt of inky black energy erupted from within the hut, shattering the door into splinters. The blast struck the sand where Beast Boy had stood a moment before, leaving a charred crater in its wake. Before either of them could react further, another wave of darkness pulsed outward, consuming the entire hut and obliterating the oasis in a storm of raw destruction.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged from the chaos.
She stood amidst the devastation, her presence alone exuding a suffocating aura of power and fury. Her violet eyes had been replaced with two pairs of glowing red ones, a clear sign that her inner darkness had fully taken hold. Her superhero attire remained familiar—her dark blue cloak billowing with an ominous presence, her blackish-blue leotard clinging to her form, accented by the blood-red gemstones on her belt and cloak clasp. The contrast of her pale, almost gray skin only enhanced her demonic aura. The crimson gem embedded in her forehead pulsed with malevolent energy, a stark symbol of the corruption that had overtaken her.
Beast Boy took a shaky step forward, his voice hesitant. "Naruto... this is bad."
"No kidding," Naruto muttered, his sharp eyes scanning Raven's transformed state. "Try talking to her. I'll keep her in check."
No sooner had he spoken than another barrage of dark bolts shot toward them, each one crackling with a nightmarish force. Naruto moved swiftly, his hands a blur as he swatted them aside, detonating them harmlessly in midair. Even so, the sheer power behind them sent waves of force rippling through his body.
'That actually stung,' Naruto thought grimly. He could feel the damage creeping through his limbs. If Raven's power climbed any higher, even he wouldn't be able to shrug it off so easily.
Determined to subdue her, Naruto flashed forward with blinding speed, reappearing behind Raven in an instant. His arms locked around her in an unyielding hold, attempting to restrain her power before it spiraled out of control. But Raven merely smirked—her expression twisted into something unrecognizable—as another eruption of darkness burst from her body.
Naruto's instincts kicked in. Reacting in a fraction of a second, he substituted himself with a single grain of sand, reappearing beside Beast Boy just as the wave of destruction engulfed where he had been.
"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, his voice raw with emotion. "Please, fight back! This isn't you! You're stronger than this! Don't let it win!"
Desperate, he transformed into a towering gorilla, pounding his chest before charging at her, hoping that proximity and familiarity would reach her. But before he could close the gap, Naruto caught the movement of Raven's hand and knew what was coming.
"Move!" Naruto barked, grabbing Beast Boy just in time.
A massive black beam shot forth from Raven's palm, splitting the air with a deafening roar. It didn't simply fire in a straight line—it adjusted, following her thoughts, bending and shifting as if hunting its target with unnatural precision. The beam cut through the desert landscape, extending for miles, leaving nothing but a path of annihilation in its wake.
Naruto's danger sense screamed as several portals suddenly materialized around them, each one spitting out identical beams from all directions, boxing them in.
"Tch. Alright, no more playing around," Naruto muttered, eyes hardening.
Realizing words alone wouldn't reach her, he knew she needed something more tangible—something that would force her to snap out of it. He extended his golden chakra, shaping it into a dense, compressed barrier that took the brunt of the next attack. But even as he substituted himself once more to avoid the delayed impact, he could tell that defenses alone wouldn't be enough.
"Alright. Time to go with the usual tactics."
With a single hand sign, Naruto summoned hundreds of clones, each one brandishing a chakra blade that gleamed with golden energy. They moved in unison, flashing toward Raven in a synchronized attack. As the battlefield exploded into motion, the golden swarm of clones darted through the air, weaving around Raven, striking at her defenses. Yet, even as they landed blows, her dark barrier held firm, absorbing their attacks without so much as a crack.
Raven, surrounded and bombarded by golden light, narrowed her four crimson eyes. The energy was overwhelming—an attempt to drown her darkness in brightness. But it wasn't the clones she focused on. It was the voice cutting through the chaos.
"Raven!" Beast Boy's voice rang out, his desperation rising. "Listen to me! I know you're in there! You're not a monster—you're Raven! The Raven I know would never let herself get consumed by this!"
His words pierced the storm, but Naruto knew they weren't enough. She needed something stronger. Something she could feel.
Naruto clenched his fists, golden chakra swirling around them as he infused every ounce of his willpower into the next move. Without hesitation, he blitzed forward, slipping through the cracks in Raven's barrier, weaving between her dark tendrils. He reared his fist back, golden energy pulsating around it.
Then, he struck.
The impact wasn't just physical—it was a connection. His chakra surged forward, wrapping around Raven's own turbulent energy, trying to reach the person buried beneath the darkness. His emotions poured into the blow—not of anger or violence, but of understanding, of care, of an unshakable resolve to bring her back.
Raven was an empath. And so, in his own way, was Naruto.
As their energies clashed, the battlefield around them faded, swallowed by an endless black void.
Naruto found himself enveloped in an endless abyss of darkness. It stretched infinitely in every direction, a suffocating void that threatened to consume all light. Yet, in the distance, a faint glow remained, flickering like the last dying ember of a once-blazing fire. Beneath that glow stood Raven, her figure barely visible in the oppressive gloom. She wasn't running anymore. She had stopped resisting, allowing the darkness to coil around her like chains.
Naruto knew he had to act fast. If he didn't pull her out now, he wouldn't get another chance. Even worse, she wasn't using her full power yet. If she unleashed everything, he wouldn't just be in danger—he would be erased. Raven had been fighting this battle alone for too long. The isolation had taken its toll, and the shadows had begun whispering lies, rewriting her memories, convincing her that she was fated to be the daughter Trigon always wanted: a pawn for his use.
A narrow path of light formed between them as Naruto stepped forward, his presence pushing back the void. Raven looked at him with surprise and curiosity, violet eyes filled with doubt.
"Why would you put your life on the line for a stranger? For a demon?" she asked, her voice laced with bitterness.
Naruto smiled softly, his golden chakra radiating outward, merging with the light. "Because you deserve it. And being a demon means nothing to me. I've been called a demon all my life."
Raven scoffed, but it lacked true malice. "Deserve it? I only helped others on a whim. I don't actually care about people. They're just distractions."
Naruto tilted his head. "Is that what the darkness told you? Lies. If you didn't care, you wouldn't have risked your life for them so many times. You wouldn't have stayed in the middle of nowhere just to make sure you wouldn't hurt anyone."
A deep, guttural voice rumbled from the shadows, shaking the void itself. "Do not listen to him, child. He is here to take your power for himself. He seeks to control you."
A monstrous form took shape in the darkness—a grotesque figure of pure malice, a distorted manifestation of the evil feeding on her pain. Naruto didn't hesitate. He formed two Rasenshurikens and hurled them forward, the spiraling energy ripping through the shadowed monstrosity. The explosion of light momentarily illuminated the abyss, making Raven's eyes widen.
"Raven," Naruto continued, stepping closer, "I know the pain you've felt. I know they've hurt you. But Beast Boy is here because he regrets what happened. He knows his words wounded you, and he wants to make things right. Don't let the pain control you. Fight back, or you'll lose yourself."
Raven's expression wavered, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions. "Do they really care?" she whispered, the vulnerability in her voice betraying the walls she had built.
Naruto nodded firmly. "You don't need to ask. Just look outside. You were the glue that held them together. Without you, they fell apart. There is no Teen Titans without Raven."
Raven let out a shaky breath. "Did Robin tell you that?"
"No," Naruto replied with a smirk. "But to me, a team isn't complete without its heart. And you were theirs."
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Raven let herself believe. She reached out, drawing strength from the warmth in Naruto's chakra. The positive emotions within him—unwavering kindness, deep-seated determination, and a willingness to sacrifice—flowed into her, fortifying her spirit. The darkness recoiled as light erupted from within her, pushing back the overwhelming shadows. The abyss shattered, and Raven's inner world came into focus.
Naruto found himself standing on a vast landscape unlike his own. Towering mountains stretched toward a dark sky, their peaks connected by delicate bridges. Ancient buildings, seemingly abandoned, dotted the terrain. It was a world teetering between order and chaos, filled with echoes of a soul that had struggled between two identities for years.
Compared to his own inner world—a peaceful expanse of mountains, forests, a tranquil lake with a cascading waterfall, and a bright sun overhead—Raven's was complex and turbulent. He even spotted Kurama resting beneath the shade of colossal trees that reached over a kilometer high, clearly enjoying the serenity. Before he could explore further, Naruto was yanked back to reality.
His fist hovered just inches from Raven's face. She had opened her eyes, their usual violet hue restored. Naruto exhaled in relief and lowered his hand.
"Thank you," Raven murmured, her voice softer than before. "I was really struggling, and it all just… exploded today. People like you are rare. Most have more darkness in them than they show."
Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just a simple guy. Maybe that's why I don't have those problems."
Raven gave him a knowing look. "Liar. I felt it when I touched your soul. You've suffered just as much."
Naruto chuckled, but he didn't deny it. "Maybe. But I don't let it control me. Neither should you."
The golden sands stretched endlessly under the twilight sky, the gentle breeze carrying whispers of past regrets and unspoken words. Beast Boy knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed into the warm grains as he clenched his fists. His voice, filled with sorrow and sincerity, broke the silence.
"Hi… I am sorry, Raven."
Raven's violet eyes settled on him, the young man who had once stolen her heart with his boundless charm and bright personality. But now, he was different—defeated, burdened by guilt and fear. Fear of her, just as he had been on that day when he stood hand in hand with Terra.
She didn't blame him. She never had.
Raven had long accepted that being with her was dangerous. Until she could break free from her father's shadow, she had believed happiness was beyond her reach. Love was a luxury she dared not dream of.
"There was never a reason to apologize," she said, her voice calm yet distant. "You broke up with me. That was it. You didn't cheat on me, you didn't betray my trust. We just weren't right for each other. My powers put your life in danger, and for what it's worth, I thank you… for your patience, for your love."
BB lifted his head, his green eyes wide with surprise and unshed tears. He had expected anger, resentment—anything but this cold acceptance. Before he could find the right words, he saw her turn away, her dark cloak billowing with the wind.
"Wait! Where are you going?" he blurted out, scrambling to his feet.
"I'm traveling," Raven replied simply. "There are answers I need to find for myself."
"You don't have to do this alone," BB insisted, desperation creeping into his tone.
Raven turned her head slightly, her gaze meeting his. "Are you coming?"
BB faltered. He wanted to, but he knew this wasn't a casual adventure. This was Raven's personal battle, one that she might not even want him involved in. Searching for another option, he grasped at an idea.
"Why don't you get help from Dr. Fate?"
Raven scoffed softly, shaking her head. "We are just not compatible."
She didn't need to explain. Dr. Fate had always viewed her as a dangerous anomaly, a power too great to be left unchecked. She had heard the whispers—that her potential far surpassed even that of her demonic father. The forces of order saw her as a threat, a being whose very existence was a risk. They wouldn't help her. They wanted her gone.
"Raven," Naruto's voice cut through the conversation, steady and filled with conviction. "You need our company. Being with the Titans kept you in check. It helped. The reason your mind fell into this darkness was because you isolated yourself. Isn't it better to stay with us and just teleport wherever you need to go?"
BB's ears perked up at the idea. "Yeah, yeah! That way, you won't be alone, but you can still do your thing!"
Raven remained silent for a moment, considering Naruto's words. He wasn't wrong. Solitude had made things worse. Her control, her mental state—they had all spiraled when she cut herself off from the people who had once been her family.
Finally, she nodded. "Okay… but I'll leave if I feel like it."
"Great! Let's celebrate!" BB beamed. "My treat!"
Raven said as she stretched lazily. "Well, I am famished, so I don't mind."
"Same here," Naruto added, flexing his fingers as if preparing for battle. "I feel like I haven't eaten anything today."
In truth, he had only eaten two small fish earlier. That hardly counted. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to show off his true power—his legendary eating prowess.
A mischievous glint flickered in Naruto's eyes as he threw an arm around BB's shoulders. "Beast Boy, I hope your wallet is ready for some real pain."
BB paled slightly but chuckled nervously. "H-Hey, no need to go overboard, right?"
Naruto just smirked.
Tonight, the battlefield would be the dinner table.