"So, did you talk to her?" Diana asked curiously.
They were in Lobo's warship, something that Diana didn't even know that Lobo had. Lobo had power suppressing inhibitors locked around their ankles, their necks, and their arms, and had them locked in adjacent cells that were entirely made of force field generators.
The warship itself was state of the art, the technology inside of it rivalling even Kryptonian technology as far as Diana could tell, which was saying something, because Diana had never seen any technology that even approached Kryptonian tech.
"Who? Supergirl? Yeah, well, I'm busy talking to her right now actually." Naruto replied casually.
"I don't understand? How are you doing that all the way from here? We are literally galaxies away from earth." Diana asked confusedly.
"My shadow clone is talking to her. Think of it as an extension of me, where everything that the shadow clone experiences and every memory that it has is returned to me when it dispels. I've also recently modified the technique so that I can even simultaneously experience what the clone experiences and directly control it even from across the universe." Naruto replied, Diana's mouth agape in surprise and awe.
"You mean to tell me that you're talking to her right now while also talking to me? How are you able to give us both your undivided attention?" Diana asked curiously.
"Well, my mind I guess is just that flexible. I am arguably the best telepath and empath in the universe. I can apply my mind in all sorts of ways. I do however hope that it does not offend you that I am talking to both of you at the same time." Naruto said sincerely.
"N-no, not at all. I mean, I could see how it could be offensive, but right now I am just in too much awe to be offended." Diana replied innocently.
'She's very open minded. Perhaps she and I really will get along.' Naruto thought, even though, as far as he was concerned, the fact that she would go this far for him, without even knowing him that well, but just because she felt he needed to have someone by his side through this ordeal, was already enough for him to consider her as a very good person, and consequently, questioning and verifying her intentions was just him being himself, that being, the best shinobi in the world.
"I see. Anyway, there is something that I found a little peculiar about you…." Naruto trailed off.
"What is it?" Diana asked innocently.
"Well, when Lobo initially took us into space, he was carrying us on his space bike or whatever you call that thing. And I couldn't help but notice you suffocating to death. I wasn't aware that Olympians were unable to survive in the vacuum of space, in fact, I'm pretty sure that they can survive in the vacuum of space, as am I that you are indeed an Olympian. So…what gives?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"I…I've actually never thought about whether Olympians can survive the vacuum of space or not, and I never even considered that I could ever survive without oxygen. Honestly, Nathaniel, I am at a loss of words. I have no answer for you, I'm probably more confused than you are." Diana said a little self consciously, feeling a little inadequate now that she was in the presence of another God who seemed to have powers that she could only dream of.
"I see. Well, I have a theory. You see, I too, once upon a time, needed to breathe oxygen, to eat, to sleep, and all that other stuff. Not as much as normal humans admittedly, or even metahumans, but I did nonetheless." Naruto replied.
"What changed?" Diana asked eagerly.
"My power grew too strong for the seal that was suppressing my power, which brings us to what I think is happening to you." Naruto said cryptically.
"You think my power is sealed away?" Diana asked with both surprise and concern.
"I believe so. I do not think you have access to all of your potential. Something is suppressing your full power. Perhaps it was a fail safe or something, who knows. The most important thing is that I can break the seal and unleash your full power, but now is probably not the right time. We have no idea what could happen to this ship if we unsealed your power right now, nor how long it would take before you could master it. A weapon can be used to destroy your enemies, but unmastered, it can destroy you instead." Naruto replied sagely.
"I…I think I understand what you mean, but how can you even be sure that my power really is sealed away. What if I'm just weak?" Diana asked self consciously, Naruto laughing openly at Diana's response, which didn't do much for her self confidence.
"Why are you laughing?" Diana asked with a hurt tone.
"Lady Diana, you are many things, many, many things, but weak is absolutely not one of those things. I've seen your battles on tv, I've read reports about them too. I have even physically been to some of them, or at least my recon clones have, and trust me, nothing about you even remotely resonates with the word weak." Naruto said with absolute conviction.
"You have recon clones?" Diana asked, surprised.
"Heh, you don't miss anything do you. Here I am complimenting you and all you can think about are my recon clones." Naruto retorted.
"I…I'm sorry, and…thank you, for complimenting me. It means a lot to me." Diana said sincerely.
"No need to apologise, that was also another compliment. It is good that you do not miss anything, it's part of what makes you such a great warrior." Naruto retorted.
"Thank you." Diana said with a dazzling smile.
"My pleasure." Naruto replied.
"In any case, to answer your question about how I know that your power is also sealed, the answer is that I do not know for sure. However, finding out is rather easy for me…" Naruto said as he took a closer look at Diana, Diana somehow resisting the urge to jump up to her feet in shock as she stared at the Blonde Uzumaki with fear and concern in her eyes.
"Nathaniel! Something's wrong with your eyes! They just turned metalic grey, and they have…rings, rings around the pupils!" Diana exclaimed.
"Do not worry, this is just my power, at least one of them. I call it the rinnegan, it's a doujutsu that gives me visual prowess, such as telescopic vision, microscopic vision, infrared vision, 360 degree vision, xray vision, ultra-violet vision, precognition vision and many other forms of visual prowess, such as the ability to perceive and discern magical, cosmic, and meta physical energies." Naruto replied.
"W-what? That sounds like its even better visual prowess than Superman!" Diana exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, I don't know the full extent of Superman's visual prowess, so I really cannot say, but I can say that I was right after all, because there is a seal on the inside of your bracelets. Right now, I'd say you only have access to between 65 and 70 percent of your full power. Also, the sealing matrix is lightning based and is constructed with celestial magic, so it was probably put there by Zeus himself." Naruto explained in detail.
"Lord Zeus? But why would he do that to me?" Diana asked with a hurt tone and facial expression.
"Don't be offended. My own mother sealed my power too, but not to punish me or to make me weak, but in order to protect and hide me from Darkseid. Zeus probably had similar reasons for doing what he did to you." Naruto explained as his eyes went back to their normal ocean blue, much to Diana's relief as she honestly found Naruto's rinnegan to be terrifying and intimidating.
"I see, then he probably did it to hide me from Ares." Diana thought out loud.
"Ares the God of War? That is one of his sons yes? Why would he feel the need to hide you from your own brother?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Ares…has become power hungry. He seeks to spark wars for no reason other than to feed his own power and lust. He is dangerous and is an enemy of the Amazons who Zeus created in order to fight for peace, truth, and justice." Diana replied.
"I see. Then you yourself must be a fail safe. Maybe Zeus cannot bring himself to kill his own child, and is counting on you to kill Ares if the need ever arises. I mean, there are other Olympians I suppose such as Hercules, Apollo, Athena, Hermes, etc, but none of them, except maybe Hercules, have the kind of battle prowess and experience that an Amazon Born Godess would have." Naruto pondered.
"They may not have the skills of an amazon but they have far more experience than I do, and they were presumably trained by Lord Zeus himself. It doesn't make sense that Zeus would rely on me instead of any one of the others." Diana retorted.
"I get what you mean, but the fact is that he hid you from Ares and sealed your power. That implies that he sees you as some kind of trump card. If not to kill Ares, then at least to protect the Amazons from him…..by killing him." Naruto replied.
"I see…." Diana said with a small frown, not liking the idea of killing her own brother, even if she didn't know him personally, but nevertheless vowing to do what needed to be done if it meant protecting her mother and sisters.
"….".
"So uh….I won't need to breathe anymore, or eat, or sleep at all when my full power is released?" Diana asked excitedly, deciding to steer the conversation back to where it was originally supposed to be headed.
"Well, yeah. You probably do not need to eat or sleep that much already though." Naruto replied.
"I don't. I can't even remember the last time I slept, about a three weeks ago probably, and I only have to eat about once every other week." Diana replied.
"See, almost there. You'll be dancing in the vacuum of space in no time at all." Naruto replied light heartedly, causing Diana to involuntarily burst out laughing as the two of them continued to strengthen their bond throughout the journey, although one thing was bothering Naruto deep at the back of his mind, which was that why did Diana, a magical being, not seem to know any magical spells or techniques?
Yes, he understood that she possessed magical items like the bracelets, the lasso, her armour, and even her sword and shield, and she was very proficient in using them even if he had to say so himself, however, if she were to compliment her amazing physical abilities and skill with sorcery, she would become so much stronger, even with some of her power sealed away.
So why then had she not bothered to learn sorcery? Why had the amazons not taught her? Did they not have sorcerers? That didn't seem all that possible though. Even humans have powerful and skilled sorcerers, so it didn't make sense for a race of magical beings not to have any. Or was there no one willing to teach her? Did she not have an interest whatsoever in the arts? No it couldn't be, she didn't seem like the type to waste talent like that. So what was it then?
'She has the potential to surpass even Fate, Captain Marvel, and Superman and doesn't even realize it.' Naruto thought, only to be broken from his thoughts by the angelic sound of Diana's voice.
"You used your powers just now, to evaluate my bracelets of submission. I guess that means that Lobo's power suppressors neither work on my celestial magic or your cosmic energy." Diana said with a naughty smile.
"Shhhh, don't let him know that." Naruto said humorously, the two Gods laughing together at Lobo's expense.
"Besides, I ninja never does anything without at least several back up plans. Even if his power suppressors worked on beings like us, I would have still been able to get us out of these cuffs and these cells without much difficulty." Naruto added.
"…"
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow
"It's really nothing, just…."
"Just…?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I just love the way you hold firmly to your upbringing and the teachings that were imparted to you by your ninja clan. It reminds me of me, my upbringing, and the teachings of the Amazons. It is nice to be in the company of a kindred spirit. I do not think I have ever had that since I left Themiscyra, and even there, I was the half Amazon half Godess, so I wasn't exactly like everyone else. But with you, I feel like we are two sides of the same coin, like our meeting was and is a fated encounter." Diana said warmly, referring to the fact that Naruto was also of two worlds seeing as he was a half meta human-half New God, while she on the other hand was half amazon-half Old God.
"I see…." Was all Naruto could master, the words stuck in his throat as he was a little overwhelmed by the trust and affection that was already developing between him and Diana.
Of course, Naruto knew why things were developing so fast. Not to say Diana was desperate, but the hole in her heart was quite obvious, the yearning to know true companionship had been left unattended for too long, and the opportunities for her to find such a precious gift were few and far between, given that, well, Naruto was probably the only person she had ever met who could truly understand her, and having met such a person after such a long time waiting, understandably she wasn't going to let the opportunity to explore this phenomenon pass her by that easily.
Another reason Naruto figured that things were progressing so fast, at least emotionally, was due to the situation that they found themselves in. Extreme circumstances like this cause extreme emotional activity in the mind and the spirit, and as a result, situations like this tend to strip people of all their mental walls and emotional defences and reveal a person's true character, which causes people to bond quickly over the shared experience.
There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that he was physically attracted to her, and there was no doubt that he liked and trusted her to a certain extent, after all, being a telepath, an empath, and a sage who can pick up physical and spiritual energies, he had been able to almost instantly discern the sincerity and honesty of Diana's intentions, and of course, the purity of her heart and soul.
The only problem was that he was still in love with Supergirl, something that Diana was obviously aware of, but seemed not to care nonetheless about. Sure, she had told him that she just wanted to be a friend to him, and she had meant it as far as Naruto could tell, but the way things were going, it seemed rather impossible that things would stay platonic as far as Naruto could tell.
Therefore, Naruto's final assessment was that Diana was a very instinctive person. She didn't try to rationalize or theorize situations, but rather she was someone who followed her heart and her instincts. Where others would use logic and rationale to make decisions about such matters, or any matter actually, Diana on the other hand simply followed her heart and her instincts, and didn't seem to be affected or care much about the opinions of others.
'It's probably why she is such a great hero I guess. Her purity of heart, and her commitment to listening to and following that heart is what makes her such a great champion of justice. However, Kara is similar to her in that aspect, which makes me wonder, could I be making the same mistake as I did with Kara by allowing her to get close? Will she be able to reconcile her beliefs with my way of doing things? Or will her warrior background and upbringing even her out?" Naruto pondered deeply.
"Are you alright?" Diana asked with concern.
"Uh…what?" Naruto asked dumbly.
"You drifted off for a moment, like you were in deep thought about something. Is it her? Supergirl I mean? Do you miss her?" Diana asked curiously.
"Uh…well, yeah, I guess. But I wasn't thinking about her…I uh…well I guess I was kinda thinking about her, but mostly about you…in that moment." Naruto stammered, causing Diana to release a soft, angelic giggle at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.
"What?" Naruto asked with a curious frown.
"Nothing, I just…it's a little reassuring to know that even the Great Kitsune the Sage God can get flustered. In that little moment, there was no difference whatsoever between you and a flustered teenage boy." Diana laughed.
"Woman don't make break these cuffs and come over there. I'm warning you, no one has better tickling hands than I do." Naruto said playfully.
"And here I thought your hands were good for something a little more than tickling, but I suppose it cannot be helped, you being such a young God and all." Diana teased, causing Naruto to freeze in place as his mind blanked out for a moment, lust, desire, wonder, and excitement all taking root in his mind and body and growing rapidly.
Twenty Minutes Earlier: Planet Earth
"Don't be alarmed, don't make any unnecessary moves, and don't make a sound, and speak only in your mind and not out loud because you're being watched!" Kara heard an all too familiar voice in her head, and would have jumped up and started shouting despite the warnings if the person speaking in her head hadn't temporarily taken control of her mind.
"What the fu..what the heck Naruto-ku… I mean, Nathaniel! What do you think you're…how the hell are you even doing this? Why can't I control my body!" Kara mentally exclaimed.
"As I already said, you're being watched." Naruto replied simply.
"By who? And why do you care? What do you want from me?" Kara asked stubbornly, feeling weird about seeing her body move around and doing city patrol with her only being a passenger for the ride.
"By Batman and Martian Manhunter. I on the other hand, or rather, my other shadow clone, is being watched by the Question." Naruto replied.
"W-what? Why? Why on earth would they be watching us? Barb…Batgirl? Did she betray…n-no, no way! She wouldn't! She's my best friend!" Kara said in denial.
"Wow, you really figured that out quickly. I'm impressed. You really would make a great kunoichi you know that?" Naruto said earnestly.
"A kunoichi? That's a female ninja right? I dunno Naruto-k…Nathaniel, I'm not a fan of assassins, and I'm not sure I appreciate you comparing me to one." Kara said with displeasure.
"It was meant as a compliment, but nonetheless, given your background and your belief system, I suppose I understand why the compliment might not be received well." Naruto replied calmly.
"…."
"Anyway, uh…I do not know if Barbara Gordon would or wouldn't betray you, but at least I know she didn't betray you this time. Batman is keeping tabs on her, he has a video recording of probably every single conversation you have had with Barbara, at least, every single one you two have had while she was in her Batgirl costume." Naruto replied.
"Oh my God that controlling, dastardly prick!" Kara mentally screamed, anger and hate at the forefront of her emotions, that is of course, until it was completely replaced with realization and suspicion.
"Wait a minute! How do you know that? How do you even know Batgirl's real name?" Kara asked suspiciously.
"Don't be ridiculous Kara-chan, how many times have I told you that I am a ninja?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
"...I guess Batman and Manhunter aren't the only ones spying on me." Kara said venomously.
"No different from you. You were spying on me just yesterday." Naruto retorted.
"I wasn't….I wasn't spying on you! Pshht! Like why would I want to spy on you? I'm like…totally over you." Kara said the most unconvincing lie Naruto had ever heard in his life.
"Sure, okay, I guess you just blasted my window and gave me and Diana a look straight out of The Grudge for no reason then." Naruto said, mentally rolling his eyes at his ex girlfriend.
"F-fuck off Naruto! You know what, go eat Diana's gigantic amazon pussy for all I care! I don't want or need you, you got that!" Kara said furiously.
"Martian Manhunter just tried to read your mind. I've blocked off your mind from outside interference of course, so that no other telepath can hijack our frequency. The problem is that now he knows that you are communicating with another telepath, or he thinks that someone is controlling you, which of course is true." Naruto said, completely ignoring Kara's outburst, which probably would have sent her off the rails if it wasn't for the gravity of the situation.
"Shit! What are we going to do now?" Kara asked warily.
She would never admit it, but she didn't want the conversation with Naruto to end. She hated him more than anyone else in the world right now, but she also loved him more than anyone else in the world. If she were honest with herself, she wanted nothing more than to run back into his arms, or for him to come running back to her and do everything in his power to win her back, promise her he would change and become a better person, become a hero like her.
It was the reason why she hadn't even bothered to try and wrestle control of her body back from him, because as long as he was controlling her body, then they could talk like this forever, even if it was only her just venting her anger and taking out her frustrations on him. So the thought of the Martian Manhunter interfering with their little set up really had her terrified because she was really afraid that Naruto would just disappear from her life entirely.
"Relax, its rather simple. I will hand over control back to you, and once I do, you will fly at your max speed in the direction exactly north east from here for exactly six thousand miles, upon which you will make a ninety degree turn and fly at the same speed for exactly five thousand five hundred miles, and then stop. When you stop, you will be just a few metres from where I am" Naruto explained.
"What the hell Nar…Nathaniel? Won't they just follow me?" Kara asked incredulously.
"Negative. Your top flying speed is mach 4.5, Manhunter's top flying speed is mach 3.5, just a bit faster than the fastest jet on planet earth, and he has a much slower acceleration speed compared to you so it takes longer to reach his top speed. Batman's aircraft is even slower, so it will be impossible for them to follow your trail if you follow my instructions to the latter." Naruto explained patiently.
" Oh I see. That's…that's actually very impressive. I mean, it's very suspicious how you know our exact top speeds and acceleration speed but I guess it has proven to be quite useful this time around." Kara replied.
"That's actually a far better response than I expected, but nevertheless, timing is essential. Go as soon as you have control over your body again…in 3, 2, 1…" Naruto trailed off as Supergirl took off at her top speed, following Naruto's instructions to the latter, and consequently, by the time Batman and Manhunter could react, and by the time Batman had gotten inside his aircraft, Supergirl had already reached her destination, and even Manhunter could no longer follow her trail, especially since Naruto had already teleported Kara and he to his Kamui dimension.
"This is…."
"A replica of my penthouse." Naruto replied.
"So we're not inside your penthouse?" Kara asked confusedly.
"No, we are somewhere else entirely." Naruto replied simply, Kara eying him up and down as she realized that he was wearing his Kitsune outfit, except without the head gear, not used to seeing Naruto like this period, but especially inside his penthouse, which was where she always found him in his formal business clothes.
"Okay, let's get this over with." Kara said as she threw herself on the couch.
"So what is it going to be? Goodbye sex? Breakup sex? Or a meaningful and mature conversation that will give us both the closure that we need?" Kara asked half seriously and half sarcastically.
"There is no way I'm letting you get me pussy whipped all over again." Naruto said as he too sat down on the opposite side of his ex girlfriend, Kara unable to help but to giggle involuntarily at Naruto's response, having forgotten just how insufferable and yet funny and adorable his blunt and quite frankly ridiculous responses could be.
"I can get you pussy whipped any time I want, in fact, I know you're still whipped like cream in a cup! But….I….I can't go back there with you. I can't. You're…you're a merciless killer, a murderer even. You're…probably a villain, in fact, you definitely are one." Kara said in despair.
"Yeah, about that. What exactly makes me a villain? I mean, apart from being an assassin of course." Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Are you kidding me? You attacked a government facility, mind raped and brainwashed everyone, and stole Government propert…ummm…government people. You collaborated with an evil metahuman demon sorcerer hybrid and stole classified information from a government official, driving her mad in the process. Let's not forget that you mind wiped one of their scientists too. Does that sound heroic to you?" Kara asked incredulously.
"No, not at all. But there are always two sides to a story. Another person might say that I was attacked by a Government Official, who threatened to kill the woman I love as a way of controlling me. I thereby acted out of love in driving her mad so that she wouldn't have the capacity to hurt my loved one. The demonic metahuman sorcerer hybrid I collaborated with was being tortured and used as a slave and a weapon against her will, I liberated her and gave to her the constitutional right of freedom and equality."
"Let us not forget to mention that the government facility I attacked was kidnapping and experimenting on children and then turning them into weapons to be used against the Justice League. Honestly Kara, who really is the villain here? Well, don't bother to answer, because I know that you already know the answer to that, after all, if you thought I really was a villain, you would have apprehended me already, and if you felt you couldn't do it yourself because you saw my power and skill against Lobo, or because of your feelings for me, then you would have at least gotten Superman or even the Justice League involved." Naruto said with only the blunt honest truth as his agenda.
"You didn't do any of these things though did you? Why? Do you know what I think?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
"W-what?" Kara stuttered, finding it hard to take the truth when it was being so harshly thrown at her but nevertheless having no choice but to listen as there was nowhere to run or hide.
"I think you're scared. You're scared of facing the truth about the powers that be because if you do, you will have to acknowledge the Government as your enemy. And if the Government becomes your enemy, and you start fighting against them, you'll have to have a plan for who will lead once you dethrone the government, and you might possibly lose the fanatic love of National City, the US as a whole, and others of the world. After all, you're an alien, and the people might not want to be ruled and governed by an alien, even if she has their best interests at heart. That would hurt you wouldn't it? After all, you just want to be loved, you just want to fit in. Losing another home would…" Naruto trailed off, deciding to stop right there as he saw just how much stress he was putting on Kara as she looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown.
"…."
"I'm sorry." Naruto said as he sat next to Kara, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight in his arms, Kara initially resisting him but ultimately surrendering to his touch, surrendering to her need for comfort, and surrendering to her feelings, if only for the moment as they stayed like that for the next fifteen minutes before Kara spoke up.
"S-so that's your plan? D-destroy the Government and replace them? That….no matter your reasons, that just sounds tyrannical, and villainous. How many people will you kill to reach your goal? What happens to those who resist or outright defy your rule? How many corpses will lay at your feet?" Kara asked with concern.
"I don't intend to kill anyone who doesn't attack me first. I only kill in self defence or the defence of others…and in terms of my defence of others, only innocent others and loved ones. I would never kill for the sake of an evil man or woman, at least I do not think I would anyway." Naruto replied sincerely.
"You do not think you would? Yeah, okay, that's so reassuring." Kara said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the Blonde New God.
"Instead of trying to vilify me, why don't you look at the real villains around you? Martian Manhunter tried to mind rape you, and would have had I not been there to stop him. Batman has been spying on you too, and consistently violates your best friend's right to privacy. Your government is kidnapping and experimenting on children and is concocting plans to destroy the Justice League….and plans to destroy you personally. You need to take a good, long hard look at yourself, the people around you, and the people that run your country, because that is where the threats are." Naruto retorted.
"I….I want to go home! I…I don't want to ever see you again! I mean it this time! I know I my words might not carry much weight after I spied on you and Wonder Woman, but that was a moment of weakness, one that I will not repeat. Besides, how can I believe a word you say when you either have been cheating on me the whole time or only needed two days to replace me?" Kara retorted.
"I told you nothing happened between Diana and I. She heard and watched the recording Batman made of yours and Batgirl's conversation and came to find out the truth from the source's mouth…"
"I don't care for your excuses!" Kara exclaimed, finally gathering the strength to completely detach herself from her ex's arms.
"I…I don't want to hear it, okay? Coming here was a mistake. It's going to take a while to get over you, I know that now, but I won't give up until I do, because my decision is final. I don't want to be with someone who…I don't want to be with someone like you." Kara said with tears in her eyes.
"I know. You seem dead set in your ways, as am I unfortunately. However, at the very least, let me put a mind barrier on you, to prevent people like Manhunter from reading your mind…"
"That won't be necessary!" Kara quickly interrupted before Naruto could finish speaking.
"I'm going straight to Kal's place when I leave this place. I'm going to tell Kal what Batman and Martian Manhunter are up to. I'm sure they'll stop once he talks to them. He'll be angry when he hears what they tried to do to me." Kara replied with unshakable trust and faith in her cousin.
"It's a good idea, I approve. But I would still feel much better if…"
"The answer is no Nathaniel!" Kara said with an edge to her tone, Naruto realizing in that moment that the only way he was going to place that mind barrier on her is if he did it by force.
"Okay, I guess I'll take you home then…." Naruto trailed off, unable to help but to feel a sense of déjà vu as this moment seemed awfully familiar.
'How long can she stay in denial though? How long can she keep lying to herself and subjugating herself to a false reality? Is the blissful lie really that important to her that she would sacrifice everything for it?' Naruto pondered as he teleported he and Kara out of his kamui dimension, certain at this point that only Kara could make herself see the truth right in front of her, and that as long as she refused to see it, that there was nothing he or anyone else could do to change her mind.
Later: Unknown Planet in Sector 667
"So, you crash landed? Interesting…" Naruto said, now having his Kitsune mask back on after he and Diana broke out of their restraints in order to be prepared for whatever the hell was happening.
"Interesting? Karee! Are you a fraggin idiot? What's interesting about that? And the main man doesn't crash land! My ship was attacked, see, the glowing mother fraggin fairies attacked us!" Lobo said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the three individuals that were floating above them.
"I dunno, they look more like fireflies to me." Naruto retorted with a thinking pose.
"Fairies, Fireflies, its all the same if you ask the main man!" Lobo retorted.
"No one is asking you, fortunately. And no, those are not fireflies or fairies, those are members of the Green Lantern Core. They are basically the police officers of, well, the universe. Given the company we're keeping, namely, you, Lobo, then it really isn't that much of a surprise that we have been attacked by them. You probably have a long list of offenses and consequently, a large number of bounties on your head." Diana replied eloquently.
"Hahaha! And you poor fraggin idiots have no choice but to help the main man escape justice, that is to say, if you bastiches want to ever know where to find Big Barda and Mister Miracle." Lobo retorted.
"….."
"Great Police Officers of the Universe. I am Nathaniel Wilson, also known as Kitsune The Toad Sage. These are my colleagues Diana of Themicyra, also known as Wonder Woman of the Justice League of planet Earth, and Lobo The Bounty Hunter, also known as The Main Man." Naruto introduced himself and his comrades.
"We are on a mission of the utmost importance, and we were just wondering why it is that you shot down our ship? Given the damage done to the ship, it kind of gives off the impression that you were trying to kill us. If we…if we were not as special as we are, we would have surely died. So uh…what the hell?" Naruto asked, incredulity, a little agitation also slipping into his tone at the end.
"Not that you worms deserve the honour of me introducing myself to you, but I am Thaal Sinestro of the Green Lantern Honour Guard. These are my colleagues Boodikka and Ardakian Trawl." The sole male figure of the three, now identified as Sinestro, introduced himself.
He has red skin and a rather sizeable forehead, and seems to be in good physical condition, not too buff and not to lean either. Based on his tone of voice and demeanour, one could easily tell that he has a very strong military background, and of course, he is wearing the traditional black and green uniform of the Green Lantern Core.
The woman on his right, Boodikka, is a very beautiful, fit, and sexy woman possessing silver grey hair and purple eyes. Her beauty is only matched by her sex appeal, which are both extremely high and she is wearing the green lantern uniform as well, form fitting as it is.
The woman on Sinestro's left hand side, Ardakian Trawl, looks like a cross hybrid species between a humanoid species and an animal species, as she possesses a long, thick, and strong looking tail, has long, pointy ears at the top of her head, and has werewolf-like legs. However, other than that, her body looks even more voluptuous than Boodikka's body, causing Naruto to wonder how much fighting they really needed to do to complete missions as their looks alone seemed to be enough to subdue most men.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Thaal Sinestro, Boodikka, and Ardakian Trawl. As a member of the Justice League of Planet earth, I am partner and comrade to two Green Lanterns. Their names are Hal Jordan and John Stewart. They are respectable and noble men, great heroes, as I suspect you as well are." Diana said with earnest.
"We're supposed to care about this because?" Sinestro asked condescendingly.
"She means to say that if you can contact either of Hal Jordan or John Stewart, then they can vouch for her honour and strength of character." Naruto retorted, not liking at all the negative emotions radiating in waves off of this particular guy.
"We have no way of contacting them all the way from frontier space, but even if we did, it wouldn't matter. Nobody enters or leaves the forgotten zone. It's for your own good, and everyone else's." Sinestro said with finality.
"The Guardians erected an indestructible barrier that seals and barricades the forgotten zone from the rest of the universe, so in essence, we just saved your lives. You should be thanking us instead of defying us." Boodikka said with a calm and eloquent tone, her accent not quite the same but reminding Naruto of how a polished British accent would sound like, at least that was the closest comparison he could get.
"So you saved our lives by trying to kill us?" Naruto asked incredulously, Boodikka at least having enough shame to be flustered by Naruto's retort.
"We may have been a little harsh in our approach, but if you knew what horrors lie in the forgotten zone, you would not judge us so harshly for the actions we have taken." Ardakian said with a strong but unmistakably feminine tone of voice.
"Enough of this charade! More than enough of our time has been wasted here. Head back to where you came from, or die. It's really that simple. We have the authority to use lethal force if necessary when it comes to this particular matter." Sinestro said angrily.
"You do not understand. Nathaniel's mother might be…"
"No Princess! Do not waste your time, or your energy. This man will not yield, nor can he be persuaded. The only way we're getting past them is through brute force, or I suppose we could teleport away if The Main Man were forthcoming with Mister Miracle's co-ordinates." Naruto said, directing that last part at his notorious kidnapper.
"The Main Man aint forthcoming with not a frag of faeces for no one! You either let the main man take you there, or the Main Man kills you and takes you there anyway." Lobo replied testily.
"Okay, fine. I do have one question though, how on earth did you get to the forgotten zone in the first place? Even if it wasn't these three in particular, there must have been at least another squad that would have stopped you going there. What made you get caught this time?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
"The Main Man was minding his own business when a portal went boom right in front of meh and took meh to that fraggin hell scape known as the Forgotten Zone." Lobo retorted.
"Of course. You were boomed there and back with a boom tube. It makes a perfect amount of sense actually now that I think about it." Naruto said as realization dawned on him.
'That they didn't offer to boom him back must mean that they didn't expect him to succeed in his mission. He was just a means to test me, first by defeating him, and secondly, by seeing if I would be able to track them down to the forgotten zone. Essentially, this could mean that my plan to get myself fake kidnapped is doomed to fail if they already didn't expect me to lose to Lobo in the first place. I might have underestimated Mister Miracle after all.' Naruto thought analytically.
"Fine then. I got dibs on face shield forehead over there, Lobo, you take Ardakian and Wonder Woman will take on Boodikka." Naruto ordered.
"Lethal Force it is then, just like the forehead bozo said." Lobo said excitedly.
"What? No! Those are Green Lanterns. We cannot kill them!" Diana exclaimed.
"If we do not kill them, they will have our names posted all over the universe as dangerous inter galactic criminals. I cannot imagine that would be good for your reputation both as an individual super hero and as a member of the Justice League. Besides, they already tried to kill us, and made it clear that they would try again if we tried to go to sector 666." Naruto retorted.
"Yeah, plus keezy femme carries a sword and a shield. Your main weapon is a sword but you're scared of getting a little blood on your hands?" Lobo asked incredulously.
"I'm an amazon warrior, no group of people know what it means to shed blood more than our great warrior race. But it has to be not only for a just cause, but also, the blood that is shed has to deserve the taste of our blade. I am not convinced that these noble protectors are deserving of death." Diana said passionately.
"That sounds a lot like a you problem. The main man has no reservations about shedding the blood of any bastiches who get in his way." Lobo said with his nose in the air and his arms crossed over his chest, Diana giving him an incredulous look before looking to Naruto for support, causing the blonde Uzumaki to shake his head in dismay.
"Okay, maybe we can make a compromise then. No killing of the green fireflies, but maiming, and brutal punishment to the brink of death is totally and unequivocally permissible." Naruto said with a sinister undertone.
"That's not what I…" Wonder Woman trailed off as she was cut off by Lobo's boisterous laughter.
"Ahahahahaha! I like the way you think you little bastich. Maiming and beating the crap out of some punks until near death it is then." Lobo said excitedly.
"Great! I'm glad we could…" Naruto trailed off as Sinestro came flying at mach 3.6 speed, which was quite an impressive speed Naruto had to say, especially with how quickly he managed to reach that speed.
Most people would have been split into minced meat if a powerful entity like Sinestro came at them with that speed, however, Naruto was no normal opponent, because not only was he a meta-human God hybrid, but he was also arguably the most powerful of his kind, which is why he was able to not only sense and react to Sinestro, but was effectively able to guard against the Green Lantern from Korugar.
"Don't look so surprised. Did you really think your little firefly ring made you a God or something? Let me guess, nobody has ever successfully guarded against that attack before? At least, no one who didn't also have their own little firefly ring?" Naruto taunted.
"Big words for someone who just got pushed three miles away from guarding a simple head on strike!" Sinestro grunted as he tried to sweep the demon masked Uzumaki from right under his feet, Naruto however seeing right through the attack as he jumped up and flew away, successfully creating some distance between him and his opponent.
"….."
"What?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side as he tried to analyse the baffled expression on Sinestro's facial features.
"Ooooh…..hehe! You're surprised because I'm flying? Just how sheltered from the world are you fireflies anyway? Did you really think that only firefly ring wielding people could fly?" Naruto asked condescendingly.
"Oh, and for your information, I allowed myself to be pushed three miles away dumb ass. I didn't want any of us getting in each other's way. I wanted you all to myself, you should feel honoured, Commander and General of the Green Lantern Core Thaal Sinestro." Naruto said half seriously and half sarcastically, Sinestro's eyes narrowing suspiciously as realization dawned on him.
"I don't recall mentioning that I was the Army Commander of the Green Lantern Core. You already knew who I was, how? And why did you pretend you did not know of me before?" Sinestro asked warily.
The stakes had just become much higher, because Sinestro knew that his reputation as the strongest Green Lantern and as the General and Commander of the Entire Green Lantern Legion had never meant more than it did now. As commander, and as the strongest green lantern, losing was not an option for him. If he lost, the entire reputation of the Green Lantern Core would take a massive hit, especially if word spread across the Universe about his loss.
It was the reason he was so harsh and ruthless, at least part of it anyway. His understanding was that the entire universe needed to fear not only his name but that of the entire Green Lantern Core. People needed to be struck and paralyzed by fear at the mere mention of his and the Core's name, otherwise they would never be able to establish and maintain order in the universe.
That applied more so to powerful beings like the one in front of him, because those two exchanges alone were enough for Sinestro to know that this battle was not going to be an easy one. They needed to not only defeat and kill these people, but also to parade their victory to the rest of the universe, especially when it involved someone as notorious as Lobo.
"I keep tabs on the entire Universe, of course, at least, the entire Third World. I've also had some high profile missions here and there, but mostly covert and discreet stuff, nothing flashy. I real ninja doesn't seek glory but lingers in the shadows. He is at his best when no one knows about his existence." Naruto replied, causing Sinestro's suspicions and trepidation to increase even further.
"Pretty bragadacious words for someone who wishes to remain in the shadows." Sinestro said condescendingly.
"Come now Sinestro, we both know you'll do everything in your power to hide the fact that you were defeated today. It wouldn't be good for neither yours or the core's reputation if word got out." Naruto aired a reflection of Sinestro's thoughts.
"You act as if you have already won this battle. That arrogance will lead to your downfall, and my victory!" Sinestro exclaimed as he charged at the blonde Uzumaki again, this time creating a green death canon at the centre of his chest and firing rapidly as he charged, analysing the blonde Uzumaki's movements as he tried to get a read on his patterns.
However, instead of dodging the canons energy blasts, Naruto was content to just swat them away with the back of his left hand, much to Sinestro's surprise as he didn't expect his attacks to be so easily deflected. Nevertheless that did not deter him as he moved at mach speed once again in order to physically assault the blonde Uzumaki, sonic booms reverberating all around the atmosphere of the uninhabited planet as the two warriors repeatedly clashed in the sky.
The battle seemed to go on forever, but in reality it was only twenty minutes of intense combat. Initially it seemed like the two foes were evenly matched but as time went it became clear that one was superior to the other, as Sinestro started taking more and more heavy damage, whereas Naruto had yet to concede a single clean it on his person, having dogged, blocked, and deflected every single one of the Korugaran's attacks.
"I see now. It appears that only the damage you have taken is slowing you down, but not fatigue. As long as your ring has energy you will not tire or run out of strength to fight. That is a most impressive weapon indeed." Naruto said in awe.
"But it is slow to heal injuries, although it does seem to clot your blood quickly in order to prevent excessive bleeding, and I've noticed that the energy allows you to subconsciously create re-enforcement for damaged body parts, like for instance your fractured right forearm and your left shin. Truly a marvellous work of art is that firefly ring." Naruto said earnestly, although Sinestro absolutely did not appreciate the sentiment as to him, it sounded like he was being mocked, and understandably so one had to say if they were being honest.
"You dare mock me you insignificant ant!" Sinestro said as he shot a blast of green energy at the demon masked bounty hunter, or would have, if he still had his ring, his eyes widening as nothing came out of his ring after he willed it to fire a concentrated blast of plasma energy, staring in shock at his empty ring finger before his eyes quickly snapped in the toad sage's direction, eyes widening even further as Sinestro realised that the Sage God was somehow able to move in, pull his ring out of his finger, and fly back to his original position, in what had to have been a hundredth of a second.
"I….impossible!" Sinestro said in shock, looking in horror at the ring that Kitsune the Sage God was holding in the palm of his glove, Sinestro instantly trying to will it back but unable to do that as some kind of barrier seemed to be erected around the ring, the ring smashing against the barrier as it tried to go back to its wielder but with no success at all.
"This is probably the most glaring flaw to your power. I suppose most of your opponents are so overmatched that they couldn't pry out your ring even if they tried. Even the strong ones are probably not fast enough to pry it out of your fingers during battle, or even skilled enough for that matter. This is definitely something you should work on improving." Naruto said sagely.
"W-why am I not falling?" Sinestro said with a slight stutter, internally cursing himself for showing any hint of fear or weakness to an enemy.
"Oh yeah, I was just holding you up so that I can give you some advice. I'm done lecturing you now, so…..happy falling." Naruto said as he released the gravity field that he was using to hold up Sinestro, the Korugaran falling helplessly to the ground and hitting the surface with a loud thud and a few cracks, breaking multiple bones all across his body.
"Ouch. That's going to hurt in the morning." Naruto said as he released Sinestro's ring, thereby allowing it to go back to its user, after all, he couldn't let the guy die, he'd promised Diana that there would be no killing of the Green Fireflies.
10 Minutes Later:
"It seems like the battle is over. This would be the point where you yield, Ardakian." Naruto said matter of factly.
Ardakian Trawl was a great warrior, Naruto could not deny that and he was sure that even Lobo must have had a great deal of respect for her. She was the last one standing, her courageous and powerful leader lomg defeated, her other superior, Boodikka, also defeated by Wonder Woman, and yet there she was, fighting valiantly, determination shining in her eyes.
They say respect is earned and Ardakian, in Naruto's book, had done more than enough to earn it, especially when she kept on fighting despite losing both her legs in the battle, using her ring energy to stop the bleeding and to create energy prosthetics. How she could endure all that pain and continue to fight a sadist like Lobo was something straight out of legendary tales of warriors.
Another positive warrior point for Ardakian was that Lobo had also lost both his legs in the battle, but had already regenerated them and was busy regenerating his left arm now. To have taken Lobo that far showed just how powerful and skilled she was, as not even Supergirl had been able to deal that kind of damage to Lobo, although admittedly, skill wise and experience wise, Supergirl was likely far too lacking to handle a guy like Lobo.
"Green Lanterns do not yield. We fight for truth and justice until the end!" Ardakian said passionately.
"A noble sentiment. However, and please be honest, what percentage of a chance would you say you have of succeeding now that both Sinestro and Boodikka have been put out of commission?" Naruto asked rhetorically, knowing that the chances of Ardakian succeeding here were close to zero percent, if not in fact, zero percent.
To be fair to Ardakian, she actually took the time to analyse the situation and think carefully about her answer, and the results were underwhelming to say the least.
Sure, Boodikka was not entirely out of commission as she had not sustained any serious injuries but was just subdued by that seemingly inescapable magical lasso, but even if Ardakian were able to free her, she didn't think it would help that much at all because Wonder Woman herself had only sustained minimal injuries which were already almost completely healed.
Sinestro was completely out of commission and would only be a liability, in fact, he was already a liability as it was because he would only be a burden in his current state. There was also the fact that Ardakian herself was burning a ridiculous amount of green light in order to maintain her energy prosthetics and also fight such a tough battle. The answer to the question was therefore easy and clear, she had no chance of winning whatsoever.
"The chances of winning may be non existent, but I still have the will to fight, and my will is the only weapon that I need." Ardakian said earnestly, Naruto resisting the urge to clap his hands to honour the unbreakable strength of will that Ardakian possessed.
"I recognise that, Ardakian, and I appreciate it as a fellow warrior. However, what if I could heal and regenerate your legs, and allow you to leave with both Boodikka and Sinestro, alive. What would you say to that? Is your will to fight greater than the love you have for your comrades? Would you sacrifice their lives for a mission that is already guaranteed to fail?" Naruto asked.
"Wait what the? Heal and regenerate? You can regenerate other people?" Lobo asked with both curiosity and incredulity.
"Ah yes, of course this would be a matter of interest for you as an expert on all things concerned with regeneration." Naruto retorted.
"An expert? The main man is thee lead expert on regeneration!" Lobo said with an insulted tone.
"Not if you cannot regenerate others. Anyway, this offer will not stand forever Ardakian, in fact it will expire in 3, 2, 1…." Naruto trailed off as he threw Sinestto to the ground, created a rasengan in his right hand, and motioned as if to slam it into Sinestro's torso, stopping at the last possible moment as Ardakian called out to him.
"Wait!" Ardakian cried hastily.
"just wait! O-okay, okay I'll take the deal. Don't kill our leader, please." Ardakian begged.
"You better not go back on your word. After I heal you, you and Boodikka will take Sinestro and leave. Understood?" Naruto demanded.
"Y-yes, yes we will. But if you could, could you please heal the general too?" Ardakian asked with concern for her leader.
"Negative. If I heal him too we'll be back to square one. The point is to get you out of the way so that we can make our way to sector 666, so you'll have to find someone else to heal him. " Naruto said what should have been obvious as far as he was concerned.
"Okay, I understand." Ardakian said dejectedly.
"That's what I wanted to hear. Now….get over here."
Fifteen Minutes Later:
"Finally, they're gone." Naruto said jovially, having reverse summoned his mask as soon as the Green Lanterns were out of sight.
"As much as I hate to admit it, but good riddance." Diana added, Naruto smiling warmly at her as he looked her over, just to make sure she was okay, both physically and emotionally.
'She defeated a Green Lantern Honour Guard while sustaining minimal damage despite only having access to plus minus seventy percent of her power. She has incredible talent and skill. The Justice League is lucky to have her, in fact, I envy them.' Naruto thought.
"What is it?" Diana asked curiously.
"Nothing. I was just….appraising you, I guess." Naruto replied.
"I take it by the goofy smile on your face that you like what you see?" Diana asked cheekily.
"Hehe! Tell me Princess, what does it say about you that you seem to think so highly of yourself?" Naruto retorted.
"And you think even higher of me, so what does that say about you?" Diana retorted with a naughty smirk, causing Naruto's brain to freeze momentarily as he got caught completely off guard by Diana's response.
"Haha! Hehehe! Okay okay, I yield, okay. I yield, you win." Naruto said with his hands in the air.
"Maybe the next time you yield to me I'll tie you up with my lasso and make you my slave." Diana retorted mischievously, Naruto's getting another brain freeze as images of he and Diana doing role play filtered into his mind.
"Woman, you'll be the death of me." Naruto said, shaking his head both in dismay and as a subconscious attempt to get rid of the dirty images in his head.
"You love birds better do whatever it is that you want to do to each other back in your cages while I fix the ship." Lobo demanded.
"It will go faster if we all work together to fix your ship." Naruto retorted.
"Yeah, no! The main man thinks you should go back to your cages, right now!" Lobo said as he pulled out his universal canon blaster and pointed it at the Diana.
"Unless you want me to kill her like I almost did your keezy Kryptonian girlfriend." Lobo said with menace, almost choking on his breathe immediately afterwards as a massive amount of sinister intent and pressure suddenly washed over him.
"Lobo, I'll only give you one warning before I rip out your soul from your body….literally." Naruto said with a grave undertone.
"…"
'Did he just say literally? Oh hell no!' Lobo thought warily, knowing better than to doubt the power and abilities of the God Sage, and of course, fully aware that regenerating a removed soul was likely beyond even his own abilities.
"F-fine! Whatever! Do what you want! But you better not be thinking about escaping else the main man will have to start lopping off some limbs! You got that, you bastich?" Lobo said angrily, nevertheless putting his universal canon blaster away as he started making his way back towards his ship.
"Got it." Naruto replied as he followed behind the main man.
"Even if we fix the ship, how are we going to breach the barrier that the guardians have put up around sector 666?" Diana asked warily.
"You leave that one to me. I have a number of methods that I can use for us to breach the barrier. It should not be an issue." Naruto replied simply.
"Okay, but what about the horrors waiting for us on the other side?" Diana asked warily.
"Yes, about that, I think maybe it is time we removed that power suppression seal of yours. We do not know what Barda and Mister Miracle want from me, or how powerful they are, and of course, we know nothing of the horrors that lie beyond the barrier. We are all probably going to need all the power that we can get on our side." Naruto replied.
"I thought you said it was too dangerous to release my power?:
"It was, while we were inside the ship. We are now in an uninhabited planet. It's the perfect time to experiment and train." Naruto retorted.
Of course, destroying their mode of transport had not been the only reason Naruto had been delaying the removal of Diana's seal, because the other reason, and most important reason, had been that Diana, as a member of the Justice League, was technically an enemy of his, seeing as the Justice League had not only attacked him and attempted to mind rape him, but were also actively spying on him and investigating him.
It therefore hadn't made sense for him to help her get stronger when she could turn around and use that power against him. However, they were about to go into the forgotten zone, a place known to possess an untold amount of horrors. On top of that, they were possibly going to go up against two elite New Gods of Apokolips. In other words, he needed for her to be as strong as she possibly could in order to ensure both of their survival.
"I…I have actually been meaning to spar with you. Me and my amazon sisters used to spar all the time. I cannot wait, this is so exciting." Diana said with almost child-like exuberance, Naruto smiling at her warmly as a result as he grabbed her hand and teleported the both of them into a spiraling portal, leaving two shadow clones behind, one of him, and one transformed to look like Diana so that Lobo wouldn't be any wiser to what they were up to.