The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 41 - A Hand Of Things...

Walking out of a McDonald's restaurant, Skye held the bag that contained her dinner for the long night ahead of her and Patronus. In her other hand was another bag that held something so essential, Patronus had commented it to be his life-line for eternity.

The duo had just returned to Downtown Manhattan in a rather long drive from the power station from southern New York after their confrontation and apparent victory of Spider-Man over Morlun. But now their stomachs were the enemy and they could actually die stated by one ninja.

Skye chuckled when, arriving at the van parked at a nearby alley, she caught her partner sleeping if the snores weren't any indication or so. From what she's seen, Patronus wasn't exhausted from his battle against Morlun so he must be taking a nap.

She entered the van quietly and shook the hero from his nap as he stirred moments later. "Here's your dinner."

With speed so incomprehensible, Patronus snatched the bag while a small smoke stream emanated from Skye's left palm.

"Thank you!" Naruto said with glee as he grabbed Skye's hotplate and turned it on while pouring water into the contents within the bag.

Skye was curious as to what the food she bought makes the rookie hero so obsessive over it.

"Ramen…" Patronus took out the water-filled ramen cup out of the bag with the utmost respect. "Ramen is the best food ever made in the world." He stated sagely while placing the cup on the hotplate to be cooked and ready.

"How'd you—"

"Know? I'm a psychic."

"Really?" Skye asked with surprise.

"No, not really." Patronus answered bluntly, unintentionally bringing down his hacker friend's hope down. "Hey what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The hero shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then."

"So when will we contact Black Cat?" Skye asked after taking several bites of her dinner.

"In an hour or two." Patronus answered casually as he yawned a bit. "I'm a little sleepy."

"You just took a nap."

"I know. I'm sleepy still."

Minutes later, the hero and hacker duo sat in their small mobile base enjoying each other's company as they eat their preferred meals. Skye tensed up when a police car raced past the restaurant with its sirens blaring, but to her surprise, Patronus didn't make a move at all except eating.

"Patronus?"

The said hero looked at her. "What?" Seeing her pointed look at the various passing police cars, Patronus shrugged his shoulders. "They can handle it." He stated simply after finishing another bowl with expert throws at a nearby trash can.

Unbeknownst to Skye, Naruto had channeled his wind chakra through the bowls and they disintegrated into nothing before reaching the bottom of the can thereby leaving no DNA behind.

"What?" Skye asked afterwards with blinking eyes.

"The police can handle it. They're trained to do so."

"What if it's a supervillain? They'll need help."

"You have their police scanner frequency, don't you?" Patronus asked, getting Skye's reluctant nod. "Then we'll go when a crime is too much for them."

"But—"

"Today's been busy with Morlun and such." Patronus looked at Skye. "You may try to hide it, but you're exhausted. Driving around and using your hacking skills takes a lot I assume. As your partner of slightly higher standing, I say we rest a bit before we meet Black Cat."

Skye was lost. She expected him to be a strict and professional hero who'd probably work himself and her to death when she first heard of him. However, Patronus was laid-back and sometimes childish if their past arguments were evidence of that but also calm and concerned about her well-being while being supportive of the local police department.

"Thanks…boss." Skye joked with a smile. Although she couldn't see it, Patronus was smiling back at her. "So…"

"So…"

"What made you become a hero?"

"What made you be a hacker?"

"I asked first." Skye insisted for the hero to tell his reason.

Patronus saw the look from Skye. The same look he'd get from his girls whenever they'd disagree about something. "Fine." He relented with a sigh. "A friend."

"Okay."

"He was someone who taught me a lot about the world. We would talk about politics, values, etc." Patronus commented about his deceased friend, Connor, without actually revealing a lot about his life. "He's no longer with us."

"I'm sorry." Skye apologized. "What happened?"

"A robbery." Patronus said curtly, telling Skye to leave it at that. And she did. "So what about you? What's your story?"

"…"

"Okay then. What's your favorite color?"

Looking at him, Skye sent him a strange look. "What?"

"What?" Patronus repeated.

"You're not going to pry into my life? No 'if you don't tell me, you're out' kind of speech?" She received a shake of Patronus' head. "Why?"

"Because it's your choice." Patronus answered simply. "We'd only just met each other and while I'm more awesome and easily trust you, I won't force someone to tell their secrets to a stranger whom she barely met." He finished with that before focusing on finishing his big bowl of ramen.

"…Green."

"Hmm?"

"My favorite color is green." Skye repeated a little happy this time.

"Orange." Patronus said afterwards with pride. He received a strange look from Skye: the 'are you serious' look. "What is it now?" He asked exasperatedly this time.

"I just thought your color is black given the whole…" Skye waved her hand around Patronus' costume, exemplifying the dominant color. "But why orange?"

"Because it's the best color." Patronus answered like it was obvious. He pointed at the different orange parts of his robes. "It, combined with black, makes my costume look awesome."

"Well it makes you look something all right."

"Excuse me?" Patronus asked in a mock-offended tone.

The duo continued to make small talk while they begin to grow together as a team and partners. After all, their line of work requires absolute trust against forces beyond their understanding in the near future.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Two Hours Before Midnight)

Uptown Manhattan, Upper East Side

"What am I doing here?"

Those words were repeated several times through Felicia's head as she stood atop the roof of her and his rendezvous point back then. Sometimes they would meet up to relieve stress or for physical pleasure to each other bodies.

Of course this was before he married that red-headed actress.

"So what changed?" Felicia stood with crossed arms as her costume creaked slightly. "Perhaps he got divorced and decided to go after me for a fling or two. Not that I would do it since I'll crush his heart like he did mine."

When her transmitter beeped back in her apartment, she was really surprised that Peter contacted her at all. After her attempt to ruin his life before leaving for Europe, their relationship was somewhat strained but they managed to reconcile beforehand.

"The rumors were really true then."

Felicia's eyes widen when the unfamiliar voice was behind her and turned around to see someone who is clearly not Spider-Man. In fact, it was the hooded hero of Boston. The actual hero.

"So the real deal is here. Thought you'd be taller." Black Cat said as Patronus jumped off the billboard and landed in front of her. "What's your name by the way? I never caught it."

"Patronus and I know yours, Black Cat." The hooded ninja glanced over the woman's costume that accentuated her figure. "I like your costume."

"Thank you."

"Especially since it brings out both your hair and blue eyes." Patronus admitted honestly. He calls it as he sees them. After all, four beautiful women and his children are waiting for him to come back home.

"Smooth operator aren't you?" Black Cat asked both surprised and impressed. She didn't expect this at all and this guy's flirting with her on a rooftop. "Why are you here?" She asked before realizing something else. The transmitter used to call her. "You're the one who called me here."

Patronus raised a gloved hand and showed her the 'peace' sign. "Yep."

"Why?" Black Cat asked in annoyance. "Why did Spider-Man give you the transmitter to call me?"

"The artifact you took from the museum in Boston last night."

"…I see." Black Cat finally spoke after learning of the hero's reason in Manhattan. "Why?"

"Because it belongs there. Simple as that."

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Black Cat stated resolutely as she prepares to fight just in case.

Arching a hidden raised eyebrow, Patronus crossed his arms. "Why can't you?"

"Nothing you should be concerned with."

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Patronus activated his Kitsune Sense and saw Black Cat's aura being blue with a tinge of yellow. Originally it was full blue, but the yellow tells him differently. "Perhaps she's nervous about something. Maybe…" He decided to go with his hunch. "Is someone forcing you to do this?"

Black Cat flinched slightly but her posture remained firm. Unbeknownst to her, her aura changed to half yellow and half blue only visible to Naruto using his Kitsune Sense. "No." She finally said as her fingers flexed, slowly extending her silver claws from the fingertips.

"I can help you."

"I don't need help. I'm fine on my own and there's no one forcing me to do so."

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Meanwhile)

The shadows within the buildings 'moved' across the floor as they slowly emerged from them but remained hidden. They had eyes on the target whom their master and leader had a 'business' deal with to bring them an artifact that will bring their organization to the top everything and everyone.

However, their decoy and hired men's meeting with Black Cat in Boston were unfortunately interrupted by someone. Afterwards, Black Cat had disappeared with the artifact for the time being.

Earlier the night, their target had left her penthouse after receiving a message of sorts.

They tracked the target down to a rather lavish building's roof and found her making small chi-chat with a black hooded unknown. Upon doing so, one of them had made calls to their leader for the order to proceed and take Black Cat against her will to bring them the book.

It was just half of the puzzle as their brothers and sisters are currently acquiring the other half from deep Arizona. Before their departure, they were briefed about it arriving in no less than two hours now.

One of the shadows flinched as its head tilted a little before nodding in agreement. The rest of them knew what the order was even if they didn't hear it.

Take her. Leave no one else alive.

With that, the shadows sprang across the wires and buildings with acrobatic skills honed only by years of training.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Patronus wasn't convinced as Black Cat's turned completely yellow from the original blue. Perhaps the aura color change reflects one's state of emotion at the time. "Nice. I can use this on the girls later on and—" He turned his hooded head to the south and narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"We got company." Patronus stated as his Kitsune Sense registered around ten black/red auras surrounded both him and Black Cat. After deactivating his new sense, the disguised Naruto flexed his fists that creaked under his strength while Black Cat readied herself as their enemies wielded their various weapons at them. "Ninjas?"

The ninjas were wearing red shozuko that are considered traditional ninja attire in the world. Several of them brandished katanas, kurasigama, spears and lastly dual swords.

"You're surprised?" Black Cat asked sarcastically.

"Just that they're not as awesome as me and my friends." Patronus answered internally. "Who are you?"

"That won't matter since you'll be dead."

"Is that a challenge?" Patronus asked with a smirk, earning glares from the ninjas. He also noticed Black Cat giving him one as well. "What?"

"You don't know who they are, don't you?"

"Nope."

"If we survive—and by 'we' I mean you—I'll tell you." Black Cat stated unconvinced. However, she needs to see what Patronus did to compel Spider-Man to inform him of their former secret rendezvous point. As far as she knew, Spider-Man was very cautious when it came to trusting new people.

"Sounds like a plan."

Patronus and Black Cat were the defensive as the red ninjas came at them in waves with their weapons. First were the spear-wielding experts who attacked them with low wide sweeps in an attempt to knock out their legs, but the hero and thief jumped over them to avoid contact.

Landing behind one of them, Black Cat delivered a swift reverse-elbow strike onto the ninja's back before connecting with a side-kick that sent her enemy crashing against an air conditioner unit. Sensing an attack from behind, the masked Felicia pivoted on her heels and twisted her body to the other side to dodge a spear thrust before she broke it in half and shifted forward to thrust palm-strike to the other ninja's chest.

"Impressive." Patronus muttered before jumping over a charging attack from a kusarigama-wielder as he pedaled backwards to dodge the heavy weight. Grabbing the chained weight, Patronus yanked on it to pull the ninja forward and clothesline him to the ground before dashing towards one of the katana-wielding ninja.

Said ninja readied herself and slashed several times at the hooded hero who blocked each of her strikes before kicking at him. Patronus saw the kick and blocked it with his leg before countering in the form of a straight fast punch to the chest as he quickly moved onto the next katana-wielder.

Except two more ninja came to aid the katana-wielder with a spear and dual swords.

With that in mind, Patronus unsheathed Tenkaichi and threw it at one of the ninja. The most unfortunate one to react late was the spear expert who now was lodged to the wall, screaming in pain as he was wrapped by a round of steel wires. The katana and dual-wielding ninjas pressed on their attack on Naruto who responded with one action.

*Slink*

Patronus had his Pivot Blade and regular Hidden Blade to meet their blades in a clash. However, it didn't last as the swords broke against the Adamantine Hidden Blades much to the ninjas' confusion and shock. Patronus took that opportunity to kick their legs that brought them to their knees before knocking them out with two quick knee strikes.

"Nicely done." Black Cat thought as she couldn't help but be a little impressed.

From there the duo continued to make quick work of the remaining ninja as Black Cat grabbed the last one by the arm and flipped her over, slamming the ninja hard onto the ground before knocking her out with a hard punch.

And boy was it loud.

"Damn you're strong." Patronus mused after hearing the 'boom' from Black Cat's punch.

"Are you surprised."

"Actually yeah. And impressed."

Patronus walked over to the restrained ninja as both his Hidden Blades retracted back inside his sleeves. Apparently he or she hasn't escaped yet due to Tenkaichi's connection to Naruto being that no one but him can move it.

"Now who are you and what do you want?" He asked the struggling ninja whose red uniform is now soaked with crimson blood.

No answer came from the snarling ninja as expected. Both his people and the apparent ninjas from both Soul Universe and this world share that one trait called stubbornness.

"No need. I know who they are." Patronus looked back at Black Cat who approached him. "They are the Hand." She informed the hooded hero.

"The Hand?"

Black Cat sighed as she continued to inform him. "If you're going to do this work, you need to know the players of the game." She walked closer in front of the Hand ninja. "The Hand is a ninja organization formed since feudal Japan. They follow the orders of several Grand Masters and they revere something called the Beast."

"The Beast?" Patronus asked skeptically, earning a snarl from the weaker ninja.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME! YOU'RE NOT WORTHY OF IT!"

"…"

"…"

"You done?" Patronus asked the heaving Hand ninja. "Good. Now I'm going to take a wild guess here: you or your boss are the ones who hired Black Cat here to rob a book from the Boston Museum of Art & Antiquities last night. Probably you guys have something against Black Cat to force to do your dirty work." He paused while tilting his head. "How am I doing so far?"

The Hand ninja spit at Patronus who tilted his head further to dodge it.

"Now that's not very nice." The disguised Shinobi squinted his eyes with a flash of his Kistune Sense. "Interesting." He proceeded to punch his hostage up the chin, knocking her out as a result. "Take a nap will you." He took something out from her mask, revealing it to be an earbud radio.

"I thought heroes don't interrogate henchmen." Black Cat teased nonchalantly.

Patronus spared a glance at the somewhat reformed thief for touching his left ear within the hood. "Skye, are you there?"

="Yes for the past 15 minutes. What do you need?"=

"I got a radio from one of the Hand ninja-wannabes." Patronus said while inspecting the device in his hand. "Can you hack their frequency so we can find their base of operations?"

="Of course I can. Hold the radio to your Smartphone."=

"Okay." Patronus hesitatingly said as he took out the phone and held it close to the earbud radio. The Smartphone's screen scattered with infinite rapid numbers before the words 'Connected' were displayed moments later. "You got it?"

="Tracing location now…Come on, Come on…Got it. Looks like their base is located deep within Soho. I've marked it on the map in your phone."=

"Soho, got it." Patronus dropped the radio to fix his gloves. "Now we can go—" He paused after turning around and seeing the spot where Black Cat now empty. "Great."

="What?"=

"I have to go catch a cat."

With nothing more to say, Naruto dived off the rooftop as he began to look and chase after Black Cat across the skyline of New York.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Half-Hour Before Midnight)

Hand Base of Operations

Soho, Lower Manhattan

"Hello~"

"…"

"Kitty-kitty~"

"Just ignore him."

"Now that's not nice."

The cat-themed thief groaned as she and Patronus silently traversed to the roof edge of the building. Across from them was an abandoned building with several 'vacant' and 'condemned' signs but no signs of guards from the looks of it.

However, both Patronus and Black Cat know that appearances can be deceiving if one does not look closely enough.

"Hold on." Patronus held his feline associate by the arm when she tried to progress onwards. "We don't know how many there are. Wait a minute." He said before activating his Kitsune Sense, allowing him to see blurry lights within the building. "So far there are about 25 or so: ten on the first floor, five on the second, another five between the third and fourth. The last five patrolled the roof."

"I figure there'd be more considering who they are. Are there any entrances we can sneak in?" Black Cat asked despite being skeptical of the hooded hero.

"Skye?"

="On it."= The hacker ally worked to find the schematics for the Hand-affiliated building. ="I just sent it to your phone now."=

Both Patronus and Black Cat looked at the phone as the building's blueprints were displayed on the screen. To the experienced thief, Felicia already recognized two entrances they could exploit without alerting the ninja. However, Patronus wasn't having the same luck given his covered head was tilted to the side like he had been given an extremely difficult schoolwork.

"Looks like you need some help." Black Cat teased the rookie who blushed in embarrassment. Luckily for him, that was hidden thanks to the hood. "According to the schematics, there are two hidden entrances we can use to enter without alerting them."

"Shoot."

From there, Black Cat explained further of the plan and how they could stop them from sounding the alarm. Furthermore, she explained that they may have a hostage with them. The two readied themselves for a potential butt-whooping against the ninja. Before they could proceed, their progress was halted by one complaint.

"Why am I going through the sewers?" Patronus complained.

Black Cat stopped from diving to answer him. "Don't you know how long it'll take for me to wash off the stink?"

"No idea whatsoever." Patronus said honestly as he crossed his arms.

"Of course you don't. And no thanks to that." She explained simply before diving off the roof.

"*Sigh* She's got a point although the image of her in the shower isn't bad. And her eyes…"

"Easy boy. You already got four girls. Don't be greedy."

"Don't do that, Kurama. Do you blame Naruto for thinking that about her. Given her attire, I'm surprised he didn't jump her bones right there." Ashura pointed nonchalantly as Kurama snorted in agreement while Naruto gawked in surprise.

"I AM NOT LIKE THE PERVY SAGE!"

Ignoring the taunting from both his partner and ancestor, Patronus left for the building but not to the route Black Cat basically ordered him to take. After all, there are better ways to infiltrate an enemy's base of operations. It wouldn't do him or his family to make a mistake like leaving your costume on the floor in plain sight.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Meanwhile)

Forest Hills, Queens

Queens Borough, New York City

"Ah-choo!" Peter sneezed, briefly waking up before returning to slumber. "Damn that someone talking about me." He muttered before snores escaped from him.

After being unceremoniously thrown by the rookie hero Patronus, he had crash-landed near the Queens borough in the river. He had vowed vengeance against the hooded man whenenver the opportunity presents itself, but for now a nice long rest is all he needs right now.

Fighting Morlun and being overpowered and hunted like an animal by said man for days before Patronus came along was really exhausting for the Web Slinger. Upon arriving in the comforts of his childhood home, extreme fatigue washed over Spider-Man after hours of adrenaline had finally dissipated from his bloodstream.

He barely made it to his bed after ridding himself of his costume and dropping it on the floor before sleep took him already in its grasp.

If Peter had kept his eyes open or his Spider-Sense weren't dulled by exhaustion, he would've seen and/or sensed his only living relative open the door to his room with wide eyes targeted on the red/blue costume and his identity now exposed to her forever.

"Peter…Y-you're…Spider-Man?" May asked in awe and shock as she stared in the heavily bandaged sleeping form of her nephew.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Hand Base of Operations

Soho, Lower Manhattan

The doorknob turned until the door opened as Black Cat entered the room after entering through the rooftop and taking out the five ninja patrol. Her footsteps made no sound due years of martial arts training around the world as she walked through the halls while keeping in mind for possible surveillance cameras the Hand may have installed in the building.

"So far so good." Felicia thought to herself. She spotted a vent nearby that was big enough for her to crawl through and pried it open quietly before entering.

Her tight journey took her past through unsuspecting Hand ninja who were either debating politics in the organization, betting on which hero will fall or in case she spotted a couple having sex in the bathroom. Coming upon a vent in front of her, Black Cat used her small silver claws to cut through the edges before pushing it out enough for her to slide it to the side and quietly landed on the floor in a room of sorts.

The room was filled with advanced computers whose screen had opened windows belonging to different websites. All of them were of creatures belonging to different mythologies and cultures. However, there were two creatures that apparently caught the Hand's eyes that were vastly different from each other.

This prompted her to take couple of photos for anyone to translate and explain to her about the meaning of the images. There were also various research and theories about combining creatures and humans together.

"On…R-rr-yu…Ki?" Black Cat pronounced as best she could.

The first image was that of a large humanoid creature with fumes of flames around its body and a disfigured face of sorts. Next to the image was Japanese kanji written in its indigenous grammar which she couldn't read unfortunately.

The second image looked familiar to Felicia since it was on the book she stole from the Boston museum: an avian creature. And this name was familiar for her say aloud.

"Th—." Black Cat stopped as she turned around to the door when she heard voices. "Crap." She saw another door and silently ran to it and got out just in time as a few Hand ninja entered the room.

"The project is almost complete. Our men at the docks have the product secured from Arizona."

Black Cat looked through the crack of the door and saw one of the ninja talking to the semi-circle of his apparent underlings. He was either their leader of this sector or just a high-ranking commander but either way, he commanded authority.

"But sir, what about our people in uptown and the target? She escaped with that…unknown."

The commander growled at the mention of Patronus. "A minor setback but they lack knowledge of our base. Even if they know where our base is, we have two advantages."

"You mean the woman in the basement. One of the best bargaining chips in our line of work."

"Black Cat is many things but even she wouldn't risk her life." The commander answered astutely.

"You mentioned a second advantage. Are you talking about that thing in one of our boats—The Ieyasu—in the port?" One of the ninja asked nervously. "Our people in Japan died bringing it here in the States."

"Their deaths will not go in vain. What we're trying to accomplish will put The Hand at the top."

The fear around them dissipated upon hearing their organization being at the top of the world. "Yes sir!"

"Now patrol the perimeter as usual and if you see anything out of the ordinary, sound the alarm. We worked too hard to fail our leaders and the Beast now."

"Hai!"

With nowhere else to go, Felicia exited out of the adjoining room and continued on the route she took before coming across a set of stairs taking her to another large room. When Felicia opened the door, she soon found herself confronted with a group of five relaxed Hand ninja who were now staring at her with blank stares.

"Uh…Hello." Black Cat greeted sheepishly before she was attacked by charging ninja.

It was a silent battle as neither side said no more words but with their fists. Felicia saw the incoming punch before dodging it as she grabbed hold of the elbow and struck the shoulder with her free hand. While doing so, her heightened senses alerted her of an incoming attack and kicked away another ninja with enough force to send him out of the room against a wall, knocking him out.

The third and fourth ninja lashed with simultaneous jump kicks, intending to knock her out in case one of them misses their mark. Black Cat however countered by shimming between the airborne ninja and spun around with dual back-hands that sent their heads deep into the walls.

The last ninja, upon seeing his downed comrades, chose the last resort instead and ran towards the alarm behind him. But before he could, his feet were knocked out from under and his neck was sieged by tons of pressure as his eyes soon blacked out.

Felicia released her victim's neck once his body grew heavy after unconsciousness. Years of studying marital arts helped her subdue enemies easily especially after specializing in Judo and Goju-ryu Karate. Her cat-like abilities from the process—unknown to her at the time—sponsored by Kingpin made her more than capable to take down enemies with ease and a match against supervillains.

"Hopefully they—"

*Blare-Blare-Blare* *Blare-Blare-Blare*

"So much for hope." Black Cat cursed herself as she ran down the hall and another set of stairs. The cat-themed thief continued her way until she came across a rather large room, assuming it to be the living room. As Black Cat was about to open the doorknob, her outstretched hand froze when sounds of grunting and blows landing before sliding backwards when the door burst opened by a red object.

That red object being an unconscious Hand ninja.

"Come on out Black Cat. It's secured." A familiar voice called out much to her surprise. Felicia walked out slowly as she faced a nonchalant Patronus sitting atop a huge pile of Hand ninja as he waved at her, prompting Black Cat to return the gesture. "Thanks for the sounding the alarm. Gave me enough time to knock them out before they even knew what hit them."

"Uh…you're welcome." Black Cat said unsurely while staring at the pile of ninja. It totaled around all ten of the ninja in the first floor mentioned by Patronus. "There are five more remaining. They probably escaped to bring reinforcements here."

"What are we looking for?" Patronus asked as he followed Black Cat who hurried out of the room towards the basement sub-level. Then it hit him given the pace she was in like a concerned friend. "Who are we looking for?"

"None of your business."

Sensing the hostility, Patronus raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Easy, easy, Just a question."

The two made it to the basement sublevel after Black Cat kicked down the metal door with no problem. It was small and cramp for anything big but perfect to stash a hostage. Patronus almost stumbled into Black Cat when she stopped and followed her gaze at someone sitting on a chair underneath a lone light above.

The hostage was an elderly woman with gray hair slightly curled up. Her rather expensive clothes were dirty and ruined by the rough handling of the Hand with few scars and bruises around her face.

No longer holding herself back, Felicia ran to the woman and hugged her in a tight embrace. "Are you okay?" She whispered to the woman.

"*Cough* Fine now that you're here." The woman whispered with joy as tears filled her eyes.

Naruto watched the two hugging each other before cutting the elderly woman's binds. He walked to them as they separated from a second hug. "Ma'am, are you all right?"

"A little roughed up by those hooligans but otherwise I'm remarkably well for a hostage." The woman answered before introducing herself. "Lydia Hardy." She offered a hand to the hero.

"Patronus." Naruto greeted back before taking the hand. "Now we should get out of here before—"

"Neither of you are escaping alive!" The trio turned around to see the five remaining Hand ninja led by the commander Felicia saw earlier. In his hand was a glowing grayish rectangular tag with vertical Japanese kanji writing. "Hello and goodbye."

The glowing tag grew prominent as it obeyed the commander's nonverbal command. The glowing grew brighter and brighter until Patronus, Black Cat and Lydia couldn't see anymore and resorted to protect their eyes from the intense light.

Moments later, the basement sublevel was cleared from the light including the Hand ninja and the hero/thief rescue party as the building soon erupted in a shower of flames and debris.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

The Ieyasu, Port of New York City

Lower East Side, Manhattan Island

Patronus grunted in frustration upon the light ceased to blind him. His vision blurred until they adjusted and he looked around for Black Cat and Lydia, but they were not by his side.

"Looking for someone?"

The disguised Naruto searched for the origin of the voice and found the commander standing atop a control room with his men holding Black Cat in a submission hold and a bound Lydia by the arms from the looks of it. Seeing this, Patronus scanned the area around him and saw that it was a rather large space like an arena but covered with blood and…

"Bodies." Patronus suppressed the urge to throw up when the smell finally kicked in.

"Yes and you're next on the menu." The commander taunted smugly at his would-be dead victim. He took a closer look and his eyes narrowed greatly as rage began to take over. "I thought your kind was wiped out all those years ago."

"His kind?" Felicia repeated internally as she looked at Patronus.

His mind performed flips as worry began to consume him. "Does he know about the Assassins?" Patronus thought to himself while a soft rattling came from behind him.

"Not so talkative I see. Your kind excelled at that and boy would I love to see you beg for mercy from our leader, but sadly you are a nuisance; not worth the trouble." The commander snapped his fingers as several fires ignited around the arena, lighting it up for all to see that Patronus was not the only being there. "Say hello to our visitor from Japan."

Patronus gulped when the rattling grew prominent as he turned around to face a creature of sorts.

It was a giant being with burning red molten skin as heavy iron balls were chained around its clawed arms. Small evil red-orange spikes protruded from its shoulders with two glowing large horns on its forehead as half of its face was contorted in endless anger while the other half was twisted with unparalleled rage. Soft long wisps of deathly hollow white hair showered the back of the head as it huffed and puffed with taste for human flesh.

"Damn what an ugly."

"Meet the Onryoki, Assassin!" The commander declared with a hiss.

The Onryoki roared with rage as it ejected a ring of floating and gloomy ethereal energy around itself. And Naruto sensed it as he gasped in visible shock.

"Such rage and anger!" The Uzumaki member thought internally with wide eyes as the monster slowly trolled over to him before trying to smash him into the ground with both its fists and iron balls. "Oh crap!" He leaped to the side and dodged the spheres before counter-attacking with a strong punch to its legs.

Onryoki snarled in annoyance but also felt pain from the attack as it spins the weapons around in a large sweeping motion. Patronus saw this coming and dodged high in the air while the iron balls missed him as he soon punched the large demon right in the head, receiving another snarl from the Onryoki.

Rolling to land softly, Patronus turned around and saw another round of the balls trying to smash him again as he once again rolled out of the way and ended behind the Onryoki before pounding its legs and back with rapid-fire punches and kicks. The demon eventually fell to its knees from the strength of the attacks before it tensed up and swiped its left clawed hand to the side at him.

The hooded Naruto quickly threw a couple smoke pellets to hide his movements just before Shunshining out of the way as he reappeared on the other side of the arena. "Okay just punching and kicking him is doing all right, but I might have to use the big guns." He also sensed a great concentration of the Onryoki's power concentrated in its horns before the fight began. "If I take them out, perhaps the demon will weaken."

Meanwhile the commander, Hand ninja and their hostages were watching in shock as the hooded figure continued to evade the attacks of the Onryoki which seemed to grow angrier and angrier by the passing second. Felicia observed Patronus' movements and attacks for a long duration until it hit her. "He's not a normal Human! Could he be like me and Spider-Man? It's the only explanation since his fists and legs didn't become chopsticks at the first strike."

And she was about to learn more of Boston's own residential hero from here on.

Dodging another hand swipe followed by another smashing, Patronus drew Tenkaichi and slashed across the Onryoki's face as the horns soon fell afterwards, leaving behind two clean stumps in their place. His slash had also cut through the chains and separated the two iron balls from the Onryoki, relieving it of its weapons.

"Or not." Naruto muttered when the Onryoki, despite its much larger size, approached one of the iron balls with stunning speed and threw it at him like a baseball.

The projectile missed its target and instead slammed against the wall of the ship, causing the anchored ship to rock side-to-side as a result. The human occupants fought to hold their footing before Naruto used chakra to his feet to stabilize himself and saw an opportunity in front of him.

"Get the ship under con—" The Hand commander stopped to duck under just as Patronus' sword sunk into the wall. He rose smugly as Patronus continued another bout of dodging and hitting with the Onryoki. "Nice try, but now you failed."

"Actually I just did what I planned."

Those words didn't make sense to the Hand commander and his lower-ranks until they were all attacked by a ferocious Black Cat who attacked their knees, elbowed their sides and double punched them with the Goju-ryu Karate. It turned out that the sword was a distraction for everyone's attention and it provided Felicia the time to strike with all her rage.

The Hand commander grimaced as blood filled his mouth after being palm-thrusted in the face before being finished off with a hard head-butt.

And Felicia was about to do a lot more to the ninja before a hand on her shoulder stopped the thief. She looked back and Lydia looking at her as the elderly woman spoke, "That's enough, dear. They had it coming to them."

"They should feel worse than this." Black Cat said bitterly as Lydia shook her head.

"Their time will come but not by your hands. I don't want your hands sullied by the likes of them."

"…" Black Cat stared at Lydia before their attention was drawn another rocking of the boat and an explosion afterwards. The female duo looked down at the arena and saw a spurt of flames splattered across the chamber as it began to spread slowly.

Their eyes also caught the Onryoki grabbed an iron ball for another attempt to throw it at Patronus. She was about to help him out or distract the creature until...

"STAY THERE!" Patronus shouted with a raised hand at her. "I can handle this thing! Get Ms. Hardy out of here!"

Black Cat bristled at the idea leaving him alone. "What about you!?"

"I'll be fine! Now go!" Patronus demanded before throwing his right fist at the incoming projectile this time. The iron ball shattered to pieces upon contact much to the female audience's great surprise. "Go now!"

Lydia was impressed at the man's strength. "Hubba-hubba."

"Mother!" Black Cat whispered harshly although she had to admit that it was impressive. Patronus' strength, reflexes and speed are clearly a cut beyond a normal human and that piqued her intrigue. "You better come out alive!"

With nothing more to say, Black Cat and her mother ran out to the room to leave the ship and call the police as suggested by Lydia. Luckily for Felicia who was in front, her mother couldn't see the very slight hint of blush embarrassment on her cheeks.

As soon as they left, Naruto grinned at the Onryoki as he cracked his fists before charging this time. His feet left the metal floor after jumping high in the air as Patronus tightened his right fist with strength, releasing it in downwards motion right above his enemy. "Furinji Ninryoku Goukenha!"

The charged Furinji Style technique and fist hit dead center on the Onryoki's deformed head as it slammed hard on the metal floor, denting it greatly from the impact. The ship rocked both side-to-side and up-and-down motions as a powerful shockwave rang out from Naruto's fist and actually cut through the hull.

Rushing water began to fill up the arena as it quickly rose up to Naruto's knees when he landed in front of the beast. Seeing that it was unconscious, Patronus spoke aloud to the earbud. "Skye, call the NYPD and inform them about the Hand ninja on a ship in the port."

="What about the creature? The local police aren't exactly equipped to deal with situations like this. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. would be—"=

"No. They shouldn't get involved and I don't know what they might do if this creature is under their custody. I'll take care—GAH!"

A red hand had reached out and grabbed Patronus by his torso as the Onryoki rose up with a blackened and dent skin from the punch covering its right pale eye. The demon snarled greatly as it brought the struggling hero close to its face and roared loudly at him with its jaws so close to his head.

="Patronus! Patronus! Can you hear me!?"=

Its maw still open and close to him, one single course of action rang in Naruto's mind as he quickly manipulated chakra into his free right palm before it condensed into a familiar sphere shape except it was bigger than usual. "Rasengan!" He smashed his signature technique at the Onryoki's face just as it closed its mouth.

The swirling and powerful technique grinded through the strong flesh and bone of the demon until it plowed through the head cleanly. The grip no longer existing, Patronus was freed and watched as the Onryoki disintegrated moments later with no trace of its existence present.

"Damn Onryoki." Naruto said a little heavy as he summoned Tenkaichi back to his hand before sheathing it. He jumped out of the arena to the upper levels and summoned clones to bring the unconscious Hand agents outside the ship while leaving for the nearest exit.

After receiving memories from his dispersed clones of their completed agenda, Patronus used Kitsune Sense to search for any stragglers and found none but one particular energy source. He ran up the stairs and down the metal hall before entering a room where the source laid stationary before him.

Upon deactivating his Kitsune Sense, Naruto found an egg of some kind; unlike any he ever saw in his life. It was rough and its color was whitish-gray like the cloudy day as the egg intermittingly glowed light yellow with a low 'hum'. The sound and glow grew prominent as Naruto got closer to the egg and it intensified when he picked it up.

"What are you?" Patronus asked himself before the ship rocked once more, prompting his question to leave unanswered as he sealed the egg within his cloak and ran to escape from the sinking ship.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Black Cat and Lydia watched from afar as local law enforcement and fire department secured the area around the now-sunken Ieyasu. They became worried when there was no sign of the Bostonian hero as Felicia used her feline-enhanced eyes to look for him.

Instead she found the police arresting and escorting the Hand agents into one of the custody vans.

"Felicia, any sign?"

"…No." Black Cat said after a while.

"Was that a hint of concern I hear?" Her eyes widened when she heard that voice as both Lydia and Felicia turned around and saw a wet Patronus standing there with crossed arms and an aura of amusement. "I'm very touched, Black Cat." Patronus teased.

"H-how did you—"

Patronus swelled his chest with pride. "I'm just that good."

"That's what all men say, especially in bed." Lydia teased loudly before she saw the younger duo snapped their necks at her. "What? We're all adults here."

"Still…"

"Yeah." Patronus fidgeted a bit in the spot just like Black Cat. "Well now that you're safe and sound, I'll be heading home."

Getting in his way, Black Cat held up a hand in front of him. "Hold on. Aren't you forgetting something?"

Patronus scanned around and patted his body before he shook his head. "No, not really."

"Really?"

Black Cat sighed with a roll of her masked eyes as she walked to Patronus. "You came for the book."

"Right, right." The hooded ninja said with realization as he snapped his fingers in remembrance. "So when?"

"Now."

"What about Mrs. Hardy?" Patronus asked as he gestured his head at her. "I think we should keep an eye on her until she's safe at her home."

With all three agreeing, Lydia took a cab while Patronus and Black Cat ran across the vast rooftops as a protective escort for the elderly woman in case the Hand were not done for the night. The ride took several misdirection routes and cab-changes until it stopped at the Upper East Side in Midtown.

The duo waited a bit longer just for safety's sake and Felicia's own worry until they were sure that it was safe and left for Black Cat's location for the book. Their trip took them back to Uptown in the Upper West Side and Naruto waited for Black Cat as he stood across from the building where she supposedly hid the book.

"This day was just…wow. Imagine living here." The ninja sighed heavily after the day he just had.

"Are you mocking my city?" Black Cat asked in mock-offense after landing in front of him with the book in hand. She waited a moment before giving it in his hands. When Patronus simply turned around without questioning its authenticity, Felicia stopped him as she said, "Aren't you going to ask me if that is the book?"

"I trust you." Patronus answered casually with a glance.

Black Cat raised a skeptical brow. "Trust is overrated you know. Especially in a world like ours."

"But it's exactly that trust is how we all live with each other. I tend to…look for the best of people." Patronus reasoned to the thief. "Like you."

"Me?"

"You're something, Black Cat. And I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

"Friends?"

"Yep. Besides I know how to find you." Naruto answered simply as he faced Black Cat. "It was great meeting you."

Felicia stared at the retreating back of the hooded man who now became an enigma. He only met her today, unhesitatingly helped save her mother and unyieldingly trusts her on her word on a stolen artifact without knowing whether she lied or not. A smile slowly formed on her lips as she chuckled in amusement.

"Oh you're something, Patronus. I can't wait to know more about you."

Her business done with the Bostonian hero and her mother safe, Black Cat ran before diving off the roof top towards north with thoughts of a hot bubble bath and the hooded hero fresh in her mind.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(The Next Morning)

Uzumaki Manor, Homestead Grounds

Forested Massachusetts

Upon returning late last night to Boston, Naruto had dropped off the book at the Boston Museum of Art & Antiquities and wished a hasty good night to Skye who was upset about his returned earbud and Smartphone being damaged from the water. Afterwards on his way back home, crimes occurred in his surroundings and his heroic mind compelled him to stop them.

Basically he pulled an all-nighter.

Finally taking off his hood as his blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks were visible for what felt like a while, Naruto opened the door out of the basement and quietly ascended to the second floor to the Intelligence Room across from his and the girls' bedroom.

Immediately he created a file regarding the Hand organization. "I'll write notes about them later. Now I need some sleep—Oh right." Naruto said upon remembering his reward as he undid the seal and placed the egg from the table. "Now what are you? Oh well you'll have to wait until…." He looked at the clock and saw it was six in the morning. "Noon."

"More like 3:00 in the afternoon from the looks of it."

"Can you guys wake me up until then?" Naruto asked hopefully, receiving a chorus of grunts from his partners. "Thanks."

The Uzumaki ninja undressed from his barely dried hero uniform and sword on the floor, leaving only his Hidden Blades and Hidden Leaf headband on as he fell flat on the couch in the room and snored loudly shortly afterwards. If he had stayed awake a few moments later, Naruto would've noticed a presence outside the room as it entered shortly after.

The presence was motherly as she smiled at her peaceful and drooling boyfriend. In her arms was a tray of breakfast she just conjured up as a silver dome-shaped cover concealed the smell to prevent waking him up from his needed sleep.

"Poor dear, you're so tired." Rhea mused lowly before she walked to the nearby table and placed the tray on it. She quietly approached the sleeping Shinobi and kissed him softly on the lips before leaving the room with his uniform in her arms. "Have a good sleep, Naruto. Love you~"

Her steps stopped briefly when words came from the ninja. "I love you too, my queen~" Naruto whispered with a small smile before another snort escaped from him.

With nothing else to do, Rhea quietly closed the door to let Naruto enjoy complete isolation of sleep. If the two of them had noticed their surroundings more vigilant, they would've had noticed the egg glow once more until a small crack formed on its shell. The crack grew larger with each peck of something sharp until it was big enough for a lone eye to see through it and stared right at the sleeping Naruto.

*Screech*