Chapter 1: "You Wake Up in a Crater… What Do You Do?"
(Hint: Flail dramatically and make friends with a flying girl in tights.)
If Konoha had a weather app, it would've read something like this:
Current conditions: 95% rubble, 60% chance of emotional trauma, and a 100% chance of backstabbing politics.
Pain's attack had turned the once-bustling ninja village into something that looked like a mashed-up LEGO set stepped on by a kaiju. Buildings? Gone. Trees? Toast. Peace? Hah. Good one.
The night was bitterly cold, the kind of cold that made you want to punch something just to feel alive—which, ironically, was the exact opposite of what had just happened to Naruto Uzumaki.
In a modest, half-burned room that smelled like ashes and betrayal, moonlight dripped through a shattered window, pooling on the still form of a blond-haired teen lying face-up on a futon. His signature orange jacket—now torn and bloodied—was stained the kind of red you only see in horror movies or after a poorly thought-out prank involving ketchup and shadow clones.
A kunai, still humming faintly with wind chakra, lay discarded on the floor like a forgotten party favor. The party? A very exclusive one-person murder party. And the guest of dishonor?
Naruto Freaking Uzumaki. Savior of the village. Ramen connoisseur. Occasional menace. Dead.
Standing over him like the world's worst bedtime storyteller was Danzo Shimura, the human embodiment of a suspicious cough. Wrapped in more bandages than a hospital gift shop, Danzo stared at the boy with all the emotional depth of a soggy rice cracker.
"Blame Saru for this, Naruto," he said flatly, because of course he'd dump this on a dead guy and a retired Hokage.
He let the kunai fall from his fingers, like he was discarding a used tissue instead of the murder weapon of Konoha's most promising hero. Blood soaked into the futon, whispering secrets of regret and ruined dreams, but Danzo wasn't listening. He was too busy mentally rearranging the political chessboard.
"With this, the threat has been silenced," he muttered, already turning on his heel like a discount Bond villain. "Now… to use the Hyūga clan."
Because nothing screams "good leadership" like emotional blackmail and clan manipulation.
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So, picture this:
You're dead.
Or at least, you were dead. That's a pretty important detail. Because the last thing Naruto Uzumaki remembered was falling asleep in his bed back in Konoha—tired, sore, but victorious. The kind of tired where your whole body feels like cooked ramen noodles. He'd saved the village. People cheered. Sakura didn't punch him for once. Everything was going great.
And now?
Now he was lying in the center of a smoking crater like someone had tried to microwave the floor and accidentally summoned him instead.
"WAKE UP."
The voice jabbed into his mind like a lecture from Tsunade, or worse—Iruka's disappointed tone. Which, in its own way, hurt more than getting punched through a building.
Naruto groaned, blinking up at—trees?
That was his first real clue that something was seriously off. Konoha wasn't exactly famous for its forests smack dab in the middle of downtown.
His body felt floaty. Not chakra floaty—more like, "I had three bowls of ramen and forgot to sleep" floaty. He pushed himself upright and realized he was surrounded by wreckage, like the world had rage-quit and tried to erase him from existence. Earth cracked around him. His clothes were dusty, his limbs shaky, but he was… fine?
Cue the internal screaming.
'Kyuubi?' he thought, reaching inward like he always did when life started getting too weird.
A rumble echoed through his thoughts, deep and grumpy.
'Boy. We died.'
Naruto stopped breathing.
No, seriously. For a full five seconds, he just forgot how to breathe. His brain tried to reboot like an old computer.
'You—what?'
'Dead. Slain. Snuffed. You were murdered in your sleep. Danzo's doing. Real dramatic. Classic betrayal.**' Kurama's voice was all sarcasm and fire, like he'd had way too much coffee.
'No way. I would've remembered that!'
'You don't usually remember getting stabbed in the heart.'
Naruto let out a shaky breath and stumbled to his feet, trying to pretend he hadn't just been given the worst morning update of all time. Dusting himself off, he noticed something even weirder.
People.
Lots of people.
Standing at the edge of the crater like they'd just found a baby dragon at the bottom of a cereal box. Holding tiny black devices that blinked and clicked. Some looked terrified. Others just confused. One guy was filming vertically. The horror.
'Cameras? Are they… recording me?'
Naruto straightened up awkwardly. "Hey! Uh… anyone know what's going on here?"
No answer. Just more blinking, flashing lights, and one lady visibly mouthing "Is this a cosplay thing?"
And then Kurama, bless his snarky soul, said the words that really made Naruto's stomach do somersaults.
'Look up.'
Naruto did.
Skyscrapers. Neon signs. Giant digital billboards with a grinning man selling something called "cola-zero-energy-blast." The air buzzed with life, machines, and a level of confusion only rivaled by being trapped in a genjutsu designed by a caffeinated Kakashi.
This… wasn't Konoha.
This wasn't even Naruto's world.
Back inside his mind, Kurama dropped the final bomb like a fox-shaped mic.
'Danzo killed you.'
'You're serious?'
'He wanted control. You were the biggest threat. No guards. No warning. Just... slice, stab, dead.'
'That cyclops mummy…' Naruto's fists clenched. Anger rose like a storm, thick and wild—but he forced it back down. This wasn't the time.
No, the time was now apparently "try not to get arrested or dissected for being a weird guy in a crater."
He turned to the crowd, forcing a grin so awkward it could've cracked a mirror. "Uh, hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Where… exactly am I?"
More silence.
Then chaos.
A man screamed, a kid dropped his ice cream, and the crowd scattered like he'd just declared himself a radioactive llama. Apparently, giant chakra craters were frowned upon in this neighborhood.
Just great.
Then, like a scene from a movie—or, okay, a really expensive comic book—she appeared.
A blur of blue and red shot through the air, hair like spun gold trailing behind her. She hovered above the crater, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the boy below like a teacher grading homework.
Naruto stared.
"…She's flying," he muttered, brain struggling to catch up. "Like Pain. Except, y'know, not evil."
Her blue suit shimmered with power. The red cape flapped dramatically behind her, like it had a personal wind generator. There was a symbol on her chest—a yellow one, kind of like an 'S' wearing a seatbelt.
Naruto gulped. "Okay. Not an illusion."
He raised a hand and smiled. "Hello!"
To his complete shock, she smiled back.
"Hello," she said in fluent, unaccented Japanese—or whatever the heck he was speaking now.
Naruto blinked. "Wait, you can understand me?"
Either she had a translation jutsu built into her earrings, or something way bigger was happening. He filed that under "Questions For Later" right next to "Did I actually die?" and "What even is cola-zero-energy-blast?"
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The crater wasn't even ten minutes old and it was already trending. If there were ninja reporters in this world, Naruto was certain they'd be lurking in bushes and launching smoke bombs for "dramatic lighting." But instead, he was surrounded by flashing lights, phones, and whispers that felt more like static than conversation.
And at the center of it all?
A blonde girl floating above him like some sort of goddess who accidentally missed her thundercloud appointment and landed at a cosplay convention instead.
Her hair danced with the wind like it was being directed by a high-budget film crew. Her red cape swirled dramatically, catching the sunlight in a way that should've been illegal. Naruto almost wanted to bow—but that felt way too formal for a guy wearing dusty sandals and ramen stains.
She wasn't just impressive—she was impossible.
But Naruto had seen impossible before.
He'd fought pain incarnate, outrun death, and negotiated with a homicidal fox that lived in his belly. He could handle this. Probably.
"Thank God!" he said, grinning in relief like someone who'd just spotted a familiar bowl of miso in a desert. "My name is Naruto, and I'm from the Land of Fire. Could you please guide me home?"
It was a simple request, spoken with hope and the polite urgency of someone trying very hard not to panic. But Kara's face twisted slightly, the way someone looks when they're about to explain to a child that Santa skipped their house this year.
"There is no Land of Fire on Earth," she said gently. "Are you… human?"
Naruto blinked.
"…Do I look like a talking raccoon?"
He checked his hands. Two arms, two legs, zero tails. No fur. No alien antennae. Still blonde.
Kara chuckled—just a small one, but it eased the tightness in Naruto's chest. She was kind, he could tell. Maybe a bit wary, but not hostile.
"I don't know," she said. "You're not… exactly normal."
Naruto gave her a cheeky grin. "No one's ever accused me of being normal. I take that as a compliment."
What she didn't know, of course, was that inside his mind, a thousand-pound fox demon was pacing and growling like someone had insulted his fur conditioner.
'It's another world, boy.' Kurama's voice echoed, grumpy and distinctly not thrilled. 'Our souls and bodies have somehow awakened here without our permission.'
Naruto didn't answer right away. His gaze stayed locked on Kara's—curious, worried, grounded. Something about her reminded him of his old sensei. Or maybe Hinata. That strength wrapped in gentleness.
'Do you know how we got here?'
'No. And I hate that. I don't like being dragged around like some summoned beast without even a summoning circle.'
'So I really did die…?' Naruto thought, frowning slightly.
'Yes. You were betrayed. Stabbed. Bleeding. We both felt it. Danzo took everything from you—again.'
The weight of that truth sat heavy on Naruto's chest.
But Kurama wasn't finished.
'Either find out why we're here… or live like a monk. Just don't get us killed again. I refuse to die looking this stupid.'
Naruto smirked faintly.
'You're cranky when you're confused.'
'And you're flippant when your life is in danger.'
'We all have our coping strategies.'
'Next time we talk, I expect better dialogue.'
Their mental bickering paused just in time for Kara to offer an unexpected lifeline.
"Let me check with my cousin," she said. "He might know something."
Naruto nodded. "Great. Let's go where he is."
Kara smiled, but shook her head. "No need. He'll come to us."
Naruto blinked and looked around again. The crowd had only grown. Some people looked scared. A few had already begun whispering the magic words he was growing to hate:
"Metahuman?" "Threat?" "Containment?"
Kara noticed it too. Her voice lowered, more serious now. "Let's go somewhere quieter."
She extended her hand.
Naruto hesitated. It was the kind of moment that could go either way—friendly alliance or unexpected body toss into a power plant.
Still, he reached out and gripped her hand.
The ground vanished.
For half a second, his gut forgot how physics worked.
He was flying. Like, actual flying. Not chakra jumps, not being hurled by a giant frog, but genuine superhero floaty time. It felt like someone had pressed pause on gravity.
"Whoa…" Naruto muttered, eyes wide as the city unfolded beneath him like a steel-and-glass puzzle box. "You really are strong."
Kara smiled, holding him with ease. "You're heavier than you look."
"I eat a lot," Naruto said proudly. "Mostly ramen."
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The rooftop offered a moment of peace—well, as much peace as you could get when you were standing beside a flying girl who could probably punch through mountains and had just yanked you into the sky like it was casual Tuesday.
The city buzzed below them, distant and muffled, like the hum of cicadas back in Konoha. Except instead of cicadas, it was honking cars, LED billboards, and the occasional screaming cab driver. Honestly, Naruto wasn't sure which was worse.
They landed with a soft thump, Kara's grip releasing as her boots met solid concrete. A breeze swept past them, ruffling their hair like an invisible hand trying to style it mid-conversation.
"Thanks for the help, uh…" Naruto trailed off, scratching his cheek and waiting for her to fill in the blank.
"Supergirl," she said with a small, casual smile.
Naruto blinked. "What?"
"Supergirl," she repeated, a little slower, as if that clarified anything.
Naruto squinted. "I know you're a super girl, but what's your name?"
There was a beat of silence, and then Kara let out a laugh—clear and bright like wind chimes caught in summer air.
"That is my name. Well, my public one, at least."
Naruto folded his arms across his chest, nodding sagely. "Ohhhh, I get it. You use an alias to protect your identity. Smart. Wouldn't want enemy ninjas launching surprise kunai at your apartment while you're brushing your teeth."
Kara's eyes lit up in amusement. "Exactly. Though in my case, it's more 'wouldn't want galactic warlords showing up during grocery shopping.'"
"Yikes. That's a whole other level of troublesome." He tilted his head. "And you don't even have ramen here?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Naruto frowned like someone had just told him frogs were extinct. "This place really is a wasteland."
Kara laughed again. "And you? What do I call you?"
Naruto straightened up proudly. "I am a Shinobi and a Sage! A warrior of peace and protector of ramen bowls everywhere!"
She raised a perfectly skeptical eyebrow. "You don't look like one."
Naruto gasped, clutching his chest with the melodrama of someone who just discovered their favorite anime was canceled. "I take offense to that! I am a great ninja with many achievements!"
"Uh-huh," she said, arms crossing. "Like?"
"I defeated a giant snake, talked down a psycho with six piercings, survived a literal invasion and much more."
"…Wow. That escalated quickly."
Naruto puffed up his chest, radiating pride. "And I once tricked Kakashi-sensei into thinking I was studying when I was actually drawing a new jutsu on my pants."
Kara tilted her head. "That last one doesn't sound like an achievement."
"It is when your teacher has a ninja dog that can sniff out lies."
"Okay, that's fair."
They both chuckled. The rooftop air felt lighter somehow, the tension from earlier slowly melting like ice under sunlight. For the first time since Naruto had clawed his way back into the world of the living (and possibly other living), he didn't feel completely out of place.
There was still confusion. Questions. The weight of betrayal back home and the mystery of how he ended up in this neon jungle of weird names and flying people. But right now?
He was talking. He was laughing.
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If Kara's entrance had been dramatic, the guy who landed next could only be described as cinematically over-the-top.
With a gust of wind and the subtle "whoosh" of someone too cool for stairs, he appeared—floating down like a divine press conference. Broad-shouldered, square-jawed, and wearing a cape so regal it probably had its own mailing address, the man looked like he could lift mountains and lecture you about taxes at the same time.
Naruto stared.
Not at the glowing red-and-yellow "S" on his chest. Not even at the fact that he was clearly also defying gravity.
Nope.
It was the red underwear.
Right there. Bold. On the outside. Like it paid rent.
Naruto blinked twice. Then, in a tone of utter disbelief, he asked the only logical question:
"Why are you wearing your underwear on top?"
The rooftop fell so silent you could hear a pigeon rethink its life choices. Kara's eyes widened. For half a second, she looked torn between horror and delight.
Then she lost it.
"HAHAHA!"
She tried to muffle the sound with her hand, but her shoulders were shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. She was definitely laughing too hard for someone who fought Doomsday last month.
Even Superman—yes, Superman—sighed. It was a dignified sigh, full of resignation and the eternal patience of someone who'd heard this question too many times at Justice League brunch.
"It's not underwear," Clark said, voice low and amused. "It was inspired by professional wrestling uniforms. The look is… symbolic."
Naruto tilted his head. "You do know there are other ways to stand out, right? Like face tattoos. Or walking around with a giant toad."
Clark actually chuckled under his breath. "Noted."
Kara was still snickering behind him.
"Alright," Clark said, regaining his composure. "Let's talk. Do you know how you got here?"
Naruto's face turned serious. The grin slipped, replaced by the quiet intensity he wore during life-or-death missions. Arms crossed, eyes narrowed just slightly, he answered, "No. I was asleep… then suddenly, I woke up in the park."
Clark nodded slowly. His gaze turned analytical, scanning Naruto with quiet precision. X-ray vision kicked in, and what he saw made his brow crease.
The kid was human, yes. But his biology was… different. His muscle density was far above normal, bordering on superhuman. Chakra? Maybe. But to Clark, it looked like compressed power, a hidden energy lying coiled beneath his skin like a sleeping dragon.
Kryptonian levels of durability. Which made one thing clear: this boy—Naruto—wasn't just some lost traveler.
He was dangerous. And powerful.
But also… hurting.
"You're in a different world," Clark said gently. "A different dimension, to be exact."
Naruto didn't flinch. Didn't even blink. Just nodded. "Okay."
Kara and Clark shared a brief glance. That was... an oddly chill reaction.
"Most people freak out when we tell them that," Kara said softly.
"I've been through a lot," Naruto replied. "Alternate dimension? Just another item for the checklist."
He said it lightly, but there was a weight to his words. Kara, who had also lost her world once upon a time, heard the echo of grief hidden behind his casual tone.
"We don't have a way to send you back," Clark continued carefully, not wanting to add salt to a wound that hadn't even finished bleeding. "Not directly. But… we know someone who might be able to help."
Naruto's response was immediate. "Okay. Let's go."
No hesitation. But the flicker in his eyes told a different story—grief, worry, maybe even guilt. He didn't let it show for long, but Kara saw it. Clark did too.
They didn't say anything.
Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do for someone is to not mention the tears they refuse to cry.