Chapter 50: Chapter 50 - Retribution
A winged man landed on the sidewalk of the street, somewhere at the outskirts of Gotham City. He was tall and muscular and the enormous draconian wings spanning from his back should have made him impossible to ignore. But, in spite of that, nobody appeared to be able to see him.
Naruto exhaled slowly and concentrated on restraining his chakra and suppressing his presence as much as possible.
'I don't want to cause any further complications.' he said to himself as he thought back to what happened less than half an hour ago in a small city in Texas where he had stopped by after his evolution, intent on getting himself some clothes since the Heavenly Tribulation destroyed his previous ones. Flying across half of the US in a Henge to hide the fact that he was naked was not an idea he was comfortable with.
It had not really hit home to him what he had become until he finally met other human beings. He had brazenly landed in the centre of Odessa (a small town in Texas), on the boulevard that crossed the city through the middle. When his feet touched the ground, the people 1 mile around him were abruptly assaulted by a feeling as though the gravity doubled. The children and some of the weaker adults fell to the ground and even some light traffic accidents took place. Those in his immediate vicinity immediately lost their consciousness. While there were no casualties, there were dozens of people that were injured in the aftermath.
It was then that Naruto finally realized what becoming a higher form of existence meant. Now, he was a god - ordinary humans could die just because of his simple presence if he were to not suppress it. But he had learned from his mistake and he was currently employing the stealth techniques he had acquired in the childhood of his past life - even before he became a genin, Naruto's stealth had been so good that he had been able to evade elite shinobi operatives like the ANBU, all the while wearing a stringent orange jumpsuit. With his chakra and aura restrained to the maximum, ordinary people couldn't even perceive his existence.
'Ok, this is enough for now.' he decided after a while of standing on the sidewalk.
It was a small success that he managed to suppress his presence but it required a great deal of concentration. He was still unfamiliar with his newly gained powers, with his new self and, because of that, he could not maintain a good degree of control over himself at all times.
'For a while, I'll have to stay away from Gotham...or any other normal human settlements for that matter.'
With a soft gust of wind, he disappeared. Had it been him from his past life, that thought alone would have saddened him greatly. Back then, his utmost desire had been to be acknowledged by his peers, to live amongst them and to be a part of their lives. However, as he stood atop of one of the taller trees in the woods nearby Gotham City, Naruto was serene. It wasn't only that his body and powers that had drastically changed; although he was not fully aware of it, his mentality had changed too.
Absent-mindedly, he clenched his hand into a fist. Without even meaning to, because of the strength he had put into it, a sonic boom exploded from his grip, greatly startling the surrounding wildlife.
'What the heck?!' he muttered in annoyance.
Gradually, the sky began to grow dim. Out of nowhere, heavy black clouds appeared and covered the sun, making the day look almost like evening. The wind quickly picked up and it looked like heavy rain was about to start falling any moment then.
He sighed again. Stepping on air as though it was solid ground, he slowly let himself fall and sat down cross-legged on the grass. With his eyes closed and his hands resting on his knees, he started to meditate.
'If a storm appeared out of nowhere just cuz I was slightly annoyed, what's gonna happen when I'm angry? This is unreal...'
He had to learn how to control his great power soon because he could cause other people's death without even meaning to. Naruto didn't care about helping others most of the time, but that did not mean he didn't care if he harmed someone. He tried to never hurt innocent bystanders. Misaki had been at some point an innocent bystander that had been 1 step away from dying when the 2 yachts were blown up by the Joker. He understood the pain of the weak people and he didn't want anyone else to feel what he had felt that day. As he thought of that, Nagato's words from his past life rang in his head once again.
'If you don't share someone's pain, you can never understand them.'
Naruto rarely ever thought about his past life - there weren't many beautiful memories from that life and he tried to ignore them for the most part. Why would he think of a life where he had been abused for the first half of his life and then hunted by an international terrorist organisation for the remaining half? Furthermore, the ending was just as violent as his birth.
'At birth, that Obito cunt caused my mom's death and then, that retard of a Hokage got himself killed and also cursed me, his son, to a life of loneliness and misfortune. Years later, Madara finished what Obito started: he killed me and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi over the whole world.'
Just thinking of his past life, of how his own father sacrificed him for the sake of some strangers and of how the Uchiha's remaining clansmen - Sasuke included - made his life miserable from the very moment he came into the world until the very moment he died, made his pulse quicken. And, along with his rising ire, a thunderclap boomed in the skies above him.
'I wish I could meet Madara now!'
When Madara became the jinchuuriki of the Ten-Tailed Beast, he had also stepped out of the threshold of humanity into the domain of gods - that's why Naruto and Sasuke could not defeat him even despite the ridiculous boost in power received from the chakra remnant of the Rikudo Sennin. Even with the power of their ancestors, Indra and Asura, Naruto and Sasuke had been too weak.
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion shook the atmosphere and a large part of the woods was obliterated. For miles, the ground collapsed in itself and a massive crater was left behind due to Naruto abruptly sitting up and launching himself in the air. Now, at over 6 miles high up in the air, he was floating among the dark clouds which started to revolve around his body like a vortex.
Another sound akin to a thunderclap sounded, but it did not come from the discharge of a natural lightning bolt. It came from Naruto clapping his hands and, following that, the dark sky instantly became an azure blue as the black clouds were banished by a powerful shockwave.
'Now, I could kill that Uchiha bitch, rip his body in half and crush his Perfect Susanoo to dust with my bare hands!'
A tornado of black lightning burst from his body and exploded outwards, darkening the sky for dozens of miles around him with its black ominous light.
Only a few moments after the enormous explosion of black lightning, a purple tear appeared in the air close to him and 4 silhouettes flew through a portal, all of them wearing a grim expression on their faces. One of the newcomers, a man wearing a blue suit and golden helmet and cape, said in surprise when he finally realized the identity of the man that caused the lightning explosion and jammed the telecommunications over the entire Northeastern coast of the USA.
'Uzumaki Naruto?' Doctor Fate called out probingly, as he slowly flew towards him.
Naruto looked over to the one who called his name and smiled. It was a genuine and pure smile that magically calmed not only the sorcerer but the others flying behind him too. Naruto was still not aware of the extent to which his every action influenced the lesser beings.
'Doctor Fate, we meet again.'
Then, looking over the others behind him, he greeted them as well.
'Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern. What brings you all here?'
The Green Lantern, John Stewart, who had wanted to snap at him and tell him off for the massive disturbance he had caused, found himself unable to voice out his thoughts. Naruto's simple gaze made him feel as though he couldn't even breathe properly.
'You've got your arm back... how did you do it?' Doctor Fate asked when he saw the three superheroes behind him remaining silent.
'Evolution. I stepped into an entirely different realm of existence.' Naruto said.
It wasn't like him to use sophisticated words but he couldn't just say something like 'yo, I just became a god'. That would lead to more questions and more disbelief from their side and he didn't feel like explaining everything at that moment.
Doctor Fate wanted to ask another question but he stopped when what looked like a human bullet suddenly collided into Naruto's body and the two skidded back for several dozens feet through the air. It was Galatea.
'Why have run off without saying anything, idiot?!'
In spite of her harsh words, her actions were saying something different. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his torso and her face was buried into the crook of his neck. For the first time in what had felt for him like an eternity, Naruto could finally hold Galatea with both of his arms. He cupped her face with his hands and lovingly caressed her cheeks with his thumbs before leaning in and kissing her lips.
'Everything is alright. Better than ever, actually!' He said with a smile and lightly pinched her cheek with his left hand - the one that Doomsday had previously torn off. It was then that she finally took notice of it and she exclaimed:
'Oh my gosh, Naruto, your arm!'
Smiling widely, he grabbed Galatea from her buttcheeks and lifted her up. The blonde girl eagerly jumped into his embrace laughing. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and, completely ignoring the 4 superheroes that were blatantly staring at them, they began to kiss and embrace each other passionately, as though they were the only persons left in the whole world.
After a long while, with their faces flushed in excitement, they slowly parted. With their foreheads resting against each other and their noses softly touching, they continued to share short tender kisses, unable to stop expressing their need for intimacy, for affection.
'I love you!'
'Love you more!'
'No, I love you more!'
A groan came from one of the superheroes flying on the side at their sickening sweet display.
'Oh for god's sake, get a room you two!' John Stewart said, with Superman and Wonder Woman mirroring his feelings if their uncomfortable looking faces were anything to go by.
[...]
A few minutes later, after exchanging a few more words with Naruto, Doctor Fate opened another portal in the air and made a sign for the others to follow him. Superman and Green Lantern flew after him but Wonder Woman stayed behind.
'Wonder Woman?' Superman called.
'Go without me. There is something important that I have to speak with Uzumaki.' the Amazon said and added: 'Alone.' when the others looked like they wanted to stop and wait for her.
Although wariness was painted on their faces, Wonder Woman's glare stopped them from further insisting on remaining there. The three superheroes flew through the purple portal and disappeared.
When they left, before Wonder Woman could say anything, Galatea flew in front of her, between her and Naruto.
'What is that you need to speak with him 'alone'?' Galatea asked, her blue eyes narrowing. Faint wisps of crimson flames started to flicker around her hands as she clenched them into fists and her eyes began to glow with a red colour too, heat beams ready to shoot from them at any moment.
'I bear no interest in your lover if that is what you are worried about, Kryptonian. Amazons are not interested nor are they allowed to bond with men.' Wonder Woman said bluntly.
Galatea became visibly flustered. She didn't expect Wonder Woman to address the issue of her being jealous so directly. But Naruto saved her from giving an answer when he placed a hand on her shoulder and said:
'Let's just hear her out, Tea. Remember that we're allies, not enemies.'
The blonde crossed her arms under her generous chest and huffed but stopped blocking the way and flew to the side.
Without beating around the bush, Wonder Woman said:
'I know that you have become a god. I can feel it.'
With those words, she managed to capture 100% of Naruto's attention. Similarly, Galatea also listened raptly.
'I have a piece of advice for you: generally, gods are as powerful as the number of worshippers they have.'
Naruto frowned, not liking where the discussion seemed to be going.
'I never asked anyone to bow to me. Nor will I ever demand someone's worship.' Naruto said coldly.
Despite all of his power and his new status, he had never thought about lording over other people. He was not interested in something like that.
Wonder Woman smiled:
'I was not wrong in my belief about you. Your words further assure me of my decision to let you know how to become even more powerful.'
'Even the Olympian Gods no longer demand temples or sacrifices from the people that believe in them. They have devised a different method of harvesting the power of people's faith. But, of course, because of that, especially in the few past centuries, the balance of power amongst the gods has changed. Gods that were previously very powerful are no longer as strong as they were before and vice-versa.'
Wonder Woman did not go in too much detail but in her mind the situation was clear. In present, Zeus and Hera were almost like shells of their former selves. The reason for that was that very few people still worshipped them or what they represented anymore. People no longer feared the lightning and the largest part of the population no longer saw marriage as a sacred thing like before either. But gods like Athena, Ares and Aphrodite have become more powerful than ever - science and technology have advanced in leaps and most people nowadays placed utmost importance and focus on their education; sex has become an open thing in society and people no longer saw it as a taboo to have sexual relations outside of a marriage; they saw no reason not to give in to their lust. As for war, the weapons of mass destruction that humanity had built and the death and the destruction caused by them during the recent world wars outgunned everything that had ever happened before.
'Nowadays,' Wonder Woman continued 'the Olympian Gods feed on the psychic energy generated by people whenever they perform acts included in the domain over which they rule.'
'Take the Second World War. Nobody specifically worships Ares nowadays but the acts that humanity commits - the destruction, the hatred and the killings - are empowering the God of War like nothing before.'
'My advice is for you to decide what do you stand for as a god. And you have to proclaim it, to let everyone know about it. Once you do that, whenever people act in accordance to what you stand for or if they directly place their faith in you, your might shall know no bounds. That is where the true power of a god comes from!'
Scene break - a week later
He held the hairbrush expertly as he combed through the long crimson-red locks of hair. The girl let out a hum of content and closed her eyes, fully enjoying the sensation.
'I'll never get over how beautiful your hair is.' Naruto said in wonder and Misaki's face glowed with happiness at his words.
The two siblings were in Misaki's room. She was seated on a chair in front of her mirror and Naruto behind her, combing and caressing her longer-than-waist red hair. It used to be one of their favourite moments in the past. Before the whole fiasco with the Joker's bombing happened, Naruto would often play with his sister's hair when he had the time in the evenings and she would eagerly accept it just like a kitten enjoyed a petting session.
Misaki let her head fall back on the chair's backrest, looking above at Naruto who could only smile and place a tender kiss on her forehead. Her whiskered cheeks became rosy but she didn't protest against his gesture of affection. Because of how the two of them grew up and because of the lengths to which Naruto had always gone to ensure her happiness, Misaki had always loved Naruto. In time, it became a love that passed the boundaries of what a sister should feel for her brother. And it was almost the same for Naruto, though with a different nature - for him, it was more like an obsession. And it was because of that that Misaki had never had any interest in dating other guys and why she was having a hard time responding to Barbara's intentions of becoming more intimate.
Sitting up from her chair, the redhead turned and raised her arms in a silent demand to be hugged.
'Onii-chan?'
'Yes?' Naruto asked, wondering what was on her mind. These days, Misaki rarely still called him like that anymore because she thought it was embarrassing.
'I love you. More than anything!' she whispered and hid her face into his wide, muscular chest.
Naruto pecked the top of her head and lovingly caressed her hair.
'Me too, sis. Me too.'
Misaki sighed. Naruto didn't get the real meaning of her words. She knew that the types of feelings she held for him were one-sided.
'He's in love with Galatea.'
Her slender arms tightened around his back and she rubbed her cheek on his chest. Until then, she had never addressed her real feelings for Naruto herself. But after so many years and after nearly dying more than once, she came to realize what she was really feeling for him.
'Only, it's too late... and it would have been impossible anyway.'
Unknowingly, a few silent tears started to fall down her cheeks.
'Hey, you're ok? What's wrong?'
'It's not fair.' she said to herself and, for the first time in her life, Misaki wished she wasn't Naruto's sister. For the first time in her life, she wished the two of them were not related. That way, there would have been no barriers in her pursuing him. 'He will soon marry and go on with his life. I'll be left all alone.'
Naruto didn't know what was really on Misaki's mind but because of how close the two of them have always been and because of his new state of existence, he could feel her emotions. Cupping her small face with his big hands gently, he wiped her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs and looked her in the eyes:
'If you think you're going to be left alone, don't! You're my sister. You're the reason I wanted to become strong my whole life. I've told you before - you're my reason to live.'
'Nothing will drive us apart, you hear me? Not even Galatea. We'll always be together. I will never leave you alone.'
'Damn it, why do you have to be so perfect?' Misaki lamented inwardly and choked with a sob but ended up smiling at the concerned look on his face.
'Don't worry. Galatea knows that if she's marrying me, she's sort of half-marrying you too. We're a 2 in 1 type of deal: she either gets us both or nothing.' Naruto said jokingly and Misaki laughed despite her tears.
It was at that moment that Galatea entered the room and came next to them.
'He's right. Don't worry, I'll never try to pit him against you or anything like that. I have no intention of driving you apart because, in the first place, it was his blind and unconditional love for you that made me fall in love with Naruto.'
Naruto and Misaki looked at Galatea in surprise. It wasn't only Misaki who had not heard of that before, it was Naruto's first time too. Galatea looked down slightly bashful.
'After I was led to believe that my father betrayed and killed me and after seeing him committing suicide right in front of me, I was left all alone, broken.'
'At that time, Naruto was the one that occupied my thoughts most of the time because of how unforgettable our encounters were, even if not in a good way. I studied him, in hopes of finding his weaknesses, to plan against him. I wanted revenge.'
'It was then that I realized the reason behind all of his actions: the Arkham Massacre, Joker's death and torture, his attack on Cadmus, and him trying to kill me in my father's secret underground facility: everything that he had done had been for your sake. Because he was heartbroken over your death or because he was desperate to get you back.'
'I found myself deeply admiring this trait of his: the ability to love someone so much that he would be willing to make the entire world his enemy for their sake.'
'I wanted someone to love me like that. As we grew closer, I found myself wanting him to love me. I wanted to become the object of his love and affection. Because there is nobody else that would be able to love me as much as he does.'
Naruto was rendered mute at Galatea's confession. It was the first time that she had outright told him why she loved him. Until then, while she never shyed away from telling him that she loved him, she never said why. She had never given him such a clear answer. He felt humbled.
On the other side, Misaki couldn't believe how similar was what Galatea thought with how she felt about Naruto - that she would never be able to find someone else as good as him. With that thought in mind, it was actually Misaki that suddenly grabbed the blonde and pulled her in a group hug with Naruto.
It was a heartfelt moment that none of them would ever forget.
Scene break - beginning of August
Tens of millions of people were out on the streets of New York and the other big cities of the USA that were about to be evacuated. The day before, after being summoned by Sinestro to an urgent meeting, Kyuubi secretly informed Naruto with an astral construct that the Sinestro Corps were going to start their invasion according to the plan they had established months before and that New York was going to be their first target, with Metropolis and Gotham following right after.
The construction of the underground reinforced shelters had not been kept a secret from the population. It had been the Government's decision to inform the population and prepare the people for what was waiting for them.
It was not the first time the Earth had been invaded on a large scale by aliens. First, it was Imperium and, quite recently, also the Thanagarians. Both times were very close calls for the Earth and many innocent people lost their lives. Therefore, the government decided to get the population ready. Furthermore, this time around, they were prepared for the alien invasion. They had plans and methods to lower the damage and the casualties to a minimum.
Floating in mid-air above the everyone were some of the Justice League's members. Using a voice amplifier made by Hal Jordan's Power Ring, Superman held a heartfelt speech, hoping to calm and reassure everyone that the Justice League was going to protect everyone even at the cost of their lives. The sky above the city was littered with helicopters as reporters from TV channels all over the world were filming the Justice League, the live feed being played on the entire Globe.
Superman was known for its charisma and his leadership but not even his reassurance could calm the agitated masses of people beneath. Many were panicking. Others were fearing for their children's safety. Others were desperate because of their material possessions. Moreover, the horror of the first alien invasion, in particular, was still fresh in everyone's memory even if it happened more than 5 years before. The aliens led by Imperium had simultaneously attacked the entire worlds, their killing machines nearly razing off the map entire cities. In America, Europe, Asia and even Australia - no large city was left unscathed in the wake of their invasion.
Suddenly, a feeling of oppression as though gravity doubled assaulted everyone. As if it was magic, the millions of anxious people out in the streets quieted down like one, at the same time.
An eerie silence followed.
As though they all thought about the same thing, they looked towards the sky at exactly the same time.
A tall and muscular man was flying above their heads, with a pair of large, draconian wings slowly flapping on his back. His chin-length spiky blonde hair contrasted with his black clothes and the metallic lustre of the scales covering his wings gave him a wicked appearance. He looked like a demon.
'You know who I am.' a voice was heard. He spoke quietly, without shouting, but the voice reverberated deep within the minds of everyone present there as though he was right next to their ear.
He was flying too high up in the air for the specific birthmarks on his cheeks or any other of his facial features to be distinguished by the ordinary people below but there was no shred of doubt in anyone's mind in regards to his identity.
'I will protect everyone... Nobody will die on my watch... I will save each one of you ... I won't be the one to tell you such idealistic bullshit!'
A wave of unrest coursed through the immense crowd below, but none dared to say a word. Everyone listened with rapt attention, only the sound of their breathing was being heard. Millions of people quietly listening to one man - it was a scene that made goosebumps appear on the Justice League's members' backs.
'Saving everyone is impossible. We can't be everywhere on the planet. I can't protect everyone! In the first place, I am no hero! But, if there is one thing I can promise you, it is this: none of those that attack us this time will escape my wrath!'
An oppressive killing intent began to leak out of him as he continued to speak:
'For the sake of my sister I killed over a hundred criminals in Arkham, I caused a massacre! On the island where I've been imprisoned for 2 years, I slaughtered over 200 death row metahumans after they tried to kill me.'
'Out of pain, I became a killer.'
His voice was deep and powerful, covering even the noise made by the helicopters flying above.
'Out of hatred, I turned into a monster!'
The millions of people below were as though they were hypnotized. It was like his voice was the only thing that existed in the world at that moment.
'For the sake of revenge, I became a demon!' He said and the people below felt as if an electric current passed through them.
'But for Earth, I became a God... a God of Retribution!' Naruto screamed and the millions of people below burst into roared cheers and threw their hands in the air.
It took a long time for the crowd to settle down. When the people finally became silent again, Naruto said quietly:
'I can't promise you will all be safe and unharmed. I can't promise you a good life. But if you put your faith in me, as the God of Retribution, I swear: none of those that harmed you shall be spared!'
'I will kill them. I will kill them all!'
The fanatic cries that followed actually made the windows of the surrounding buildings crack, their voices making the ground vibrate like an earthquake.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
OtakuWeibo
OtakuWeibo many of you were probably wondering what was going to be Naruto's domain now that he became a god; after all, every god has something that he stands for. The summary of the fic was unchanged from the beginning: 'after going through hell, a true vigilante is born.'. It was a foreshadowing of him becoming a God of Retribution/vengeance.
As for Misaki's feelings, those that read the story from the beginning can understand that it was only a matter of time before they reached this stage. Unfortunately for her, Naruto doesn't have that kind of love for her.
I hope that you liked the chapter. Next time, the Sinestro Corps, Anti-Monitor and Superboy-Prime will finally invade. Look forward to it
PS: I know that that there is one Greek goddess of vengeance but Nemesis/Adrestia was more about punishing those that disrespected the gods, dealing divine retribution on them. From what I understand, it wasn't a goddess of revenge for the 'little man'. Even so, I do understand that this chapter could give birth to another arc where Naruto deals with the consequences of becoming a god and the inevitable confrontations that would follow up with the Greek Gods. Once I finish this story, whoever wants to make a sequel has all my support as long Naruto does not become a harem king and starts fucking everything that moved. Crass language aside, you know that that's how most fanfictions are
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