869Yo, been a hot minute since I last updated this but here we are. You can thank the guys in the discord server for getting me back to this story. If you want to join to chat about fics or just anything else with other writers and readers feel free to join the server. Link down below.
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Naruto was the first to wake up from their nap. He ran a hand over the sheets that covered him and his wife's bodies and let out a content sigh. Even though the universe was in danger, he took a moment to revel in the feeling of once again waking up in bed with seemingly no worries.
He looked over and saw Hela still blissfully asleep. He wondered what the people would think if they saw their new queen with her frazzled hair, messed up makeup, and a tiny bit of drool dripping out of the corner of her mouth. The thought was funny enough to almost bring a chuckle out of the blond. He was sure she wouldn't find it as funny as he did.
Turning away from his wife, he extended a hand and quickly closed it when the staff containing two stones landed in his palm. Raising the staff up toward the light, he admired the soft glow the stones emitted. It was difficult to believe that these tiny objects held so much power and propelled him to a new level.
"I wonder how these could have changed the way things went back home." He thought to himself. It wasn't often that he would reminisce about his past life, but every so often he couldn't help but think back.
With the infinity stones a lot of events could have been avoided. Hell even with just one his fate could have been altered. The chance of growing up with an actual family was one of many that could have potentially come to pass.
As good as it sounded though, he knew not everything was as good as it seemed in his head. For all he knew his life could have ended up worse somehow.
He remembered a time back when he was still part of Orin's main forces. Soldiers would always talk about what they would do when the fighting was done and how much better their lives would be after. For some that was true, for some it wasn't. All that showed Naruto was that the grass wasn't always greener on the other side.
All things considered, his grass was pretty green. Once you were able to look past Odin's betrayal, his lonely upbringing, and his wife's occasional overreaction to other women talking to him, his life had turned out pretty sweet.
He blinked rapidly and focused once more on the stones, or rather the area on the staff where the stones were embedded. The special material Hela could create was strong, very much so. However the metal wasn't designed to contain power on this scale.
His hand reached up to the medallion hanging around his neck and brought it up to eye level. The intricate pattern that protected the Time stone quickly unraveled revealing the dark green gem. He knew if he tried to integrate the stone into the staff, it would surely destroy it.
It was doubtful that Thanos would show up now, but if he did there would be no medium to channel the power from which would essentially mean he would fight a single or double stone titan without any of the stones he had.
"I need a new staff. Soon." He muttered. One specially designed to withhold the power of the stones. He already had the design in mind. He would just need to have it be made.
Fortunately, he knew exactly who would be able to have it done. His eyes glanced up at the C shape at the top of his current staff and shook his head. As much as he liked the simplicity it would need to be replaced.
Naruto would be the first to admit the change in design wasn't for practical reasons. Thanos had a golden gauntlet, Adam Warlock had his belt, Thor with his hammer, Loki with his headpiece, Hela with the antlers and so on. He was the only one who was missing a signature of sorts. Something that would forever be synonymous with him.
His wife would likely argue that the stones themselves would be his symbol. Anyone that knew of the infinity stones would immediately think of him since he would be their current weirder but it wasn't the same.
"Is there a reason why you're staring at the stones so intensely darling?" He heard Hela ask. "You have to channel energy through the staff to make them function."
He stared at her with a blank face. Even though her hair and the blanket obscured most of her face, he was still able to make out the pleased smile on her face. One would think that as her husband he would be safe from her ridicule but it seemed he was mistaken.
"I'm fully aware of how they work." He replied flatly. "I was just lost in thought for a moment."
"What troubles you?" She asked as she pulled the cover up to cover her body.
"Nothing troubles me. Just thinking of replacing this. I need the Time stone integrated instead of just hanging around my neck. It'll be safer that way." He explained.
Hela hummed to herself briefly. "You'll need to go to Nidavellir soon then. You can have the staff made of Uru and not worry about overloading it."
Naruto nodded. That's exactly where he'd planned on going. They had created Hela's, now Thor's hammer, after all.
"That's what I was thinking. I'll probably go later today. I still need to talk to Thor about his allies and what they plan to do about Vision. He'll be expected to do things humans do naturally in order to survive when he's been a machine his whole life. That won't be an easy change to adapt to."
"And you wouldn't be willing to take the stone and deal with the problem later." Hela pointed out.
He shook his head. "Not unless the need to do so outweighs taking consideration of his life. As long as he's by us, the stone is with us. That's good enough for now."
Hela sighed. As much as her darling had changed over the years they'd been together, he still did hold on to some of his old beliefs. The would-be execution was only allowed to go on because they'd been wronged, but Vision was a different case entirely.
"So have you thought of what we'll do once the purple eye sore has been dealt with?" Hela asked after a moment of silence.
Naruto leaned against the golden headrest of their bed and looked up to the ceiling. "Not really. You know me. I've never been a guy with a plan, I just do things."
Hela snorted in amusement. She knew that very well. She had since lost track of how many detours they'd been on both during official jobs and when they were spending alone time during their courting process. It would be a lie to say it wasn't fun though, but she wouldn't tell him that. It would only encourage him.
"I'm aware. I have two ideas." She began.
Naruto nodded and gazed intensely at her.
"The first is simple. I've taken my rightful place on the throne and as such, we must make sure there is an heir."
"You could've just said you wanted a baby." Naruto deadpanned.
"Number two." Hela continued, ignoring his teasing remark. "I believe once Asgard has been returned to its former glory, I believe we could reclaim the territories that once belonged to Asgard." She said only to pause when Naruto shook his head.
"Whatever realms are free will remain so. I'm not using the stones to conquer places that managed to gain independence unless need be." He said, shutting her idea down.
Hela frowned. Didn't he see the need to reclaim Asgards territories?
"With the stones we can…" She felt her ire rise when he once again cut her off with a resounding 'no'. Which quickly shit that part of the conversation down.
Hela raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He usually went along with all her plans, that's how things had gone for years. Now he told her no?
She opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself as she saw him giving her a knowing look. If she tried to press the issue, she would look like a spoiled child whining because she couldn't get her way.
"Get dressed. We have things to do." Naruto ordered as he got up off the bed. With a tap of his staff, he was once again dressed.
Hela followed suit but kept her idea in the back of her mind. Perhaps he just needed time to come around. She could always try again in the future.
"What's first on the agenda?" She asked as she stood up, feeling slightly envious that he could completely bypass the need to physically dress himself.
Naruto turned around and glanced at her before going silent. Hela looked around the room, wondering what had caused the man to clam up until the answer hit her.
She glanced down at her nude form and found that Naruto's blue eyes were still glued to her chest. Rolling her eyes, she picked up her clothing and made a point of covering up while keeping her eyes glued on his.
"If seeing me naked still gets you so excited you can't speak, then you're a child." She commented.
Naruto shrugged. "Doesn't matter if it's the first or the millionth time. It's always gonna have the same effect."
Once she was dressed Hela walked alongside him as they made their way down the lavish halls toward the throne room. As they walked the goddess of death mentally cataloged everything that lined the walls deciding what would stay and what would be replaced.
One was a large mural of Odin sitting on the throne. Even as a painting it still managed to radiate a certain poise that only a seasoned leader could give off. Extending her hand toward it, Hela released a small burst of power until nothing remained of the image. He might be gone but her feelings about him were still very much fresh.
"Really?" Naruto asked, giving her a flat look. "The old man is dead and you're still destroying things that have his image?"
"What of it?"
Naruto sighed but remained quiet. The man was already dead. What good was it to be mad at someone who wasn't even here anymore?
When they entered the throne room, the pair saw Thor who perked up as they came into view. Loki, much to their confusion frowned as if disgusted, and looked away while muttering something to himself.
Naruto glanced at Thor to see if he had any idea what that was about but the man shrugged lazily.
"Perhaps he's just having a bad day." Thor replied smoothly, not wanting to tell the two what his brother had seen. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here."
"Are you?" Hela asked, crossing her arms and letting a smirk cross her face.
"I'm glad you're here." He repeated, this time making sure to look at the blond.
Naruto held back a laugh at the frown that crossed his wife's face. "What can I do for you?"
"We were hoping you would allow us to use the time stone." He began. "When Surtur was released, it caused a lot of damage. Many peoples' homes were destroyed. And those that were spared by Surtur were then used by you as nails to keep him in place." He accused.
The blond felt the slightest bit of heat make its way to his cheeks. Maybe he'd done a little too much.
"Well I was actually planning on dealing with that before taking care of other business." Naruto said as he walked past the god of thunder.
"You were?" Thor asked. "I thought you didn't care about Asgard anymore."
Naruto opened a door that led out to a balcony that overlooked the ruined city and sighed. "To a degree I still don't. But we have bigger issues. With Thanos on the loose we'll need everyone in top shape. Hela draws her power from Asgard and if it's in ruin…" He trailed off.
Thor made a quiet sound of understanding and glanced at the woman who had walked behind them. That was the reason they'd sought to unleash Surtur in the first place, to bring her down to a level where she would be manageable.
"I see. Well then, I think the best thing to do would be to start with the residential districts. Get the people back in their homes and then we can move to other places." Thor proposed.
"Districts?" Naruto asked curiously. What was Thor going on about?
Tapping into his six paths power, he crouched down and then leaped high into the air. His form quickly passed the highest point of the golden structure that he and Hela now occupied and continued his ascent at a rapid pace.
Odin's children down below looked up with frowns on their faces as they wondered what exactly he planned on doing. Soon, Naruto was no more than a black dot in the sky.
"What's he doing?" Loki asked Hela. If there was one thing he knew about their new brother in law, it was that he was insane. He had to be. The man had married their sister and found great pleasure in upsetting one of the greatest forces in the universe.
"I'm not too sure." The woman replied.
The trio soon received their answer in the form of a dark green light appearing on the streets below. Intricate lines connecting and interesting at different points lit the streets and soon, the patterns began to move at an almost hypnotically slow rate. Before any of them could speak, the ground rumbled.
Bits of debris began floating, some high some low, until they collided with one another to form a larger piece. The process repeated itself continuously until full buildings were constructed and placed back where they had originally been. In less than three minutes, Asgard once again stood tall.
Hela took a deep breath and extended her arms out as she relished in the feeling of energy returning to her. She could feel her power slowly progressing back to its natural state and she couldn't fight off the pleased grin that split her face.
Thor and Loki glanced at each other, both glad that their previous issues had been dealt with. As much as they hated to admit their own powerlessness, they knew even together they wouldn't win against the pair.
"How's that?" Naruto asked, suddenly landing in front of them. There were traces of sweat along his brow and his forehead but other than that the man didn't look as fatigued as one would expect.
"Pretty good I suppose." Thor replied feeling the slightest bit of envy. "So what's the plan now?"
"We have plenty of time before any of the real fighting starts so for now do as you please. It's probably a good idea to figure out what changes will be made to Asgard, how to implement them, and all that other stuff." He replied.
"I suppose you'll be going for your staff?" Hela asked from her seat on the throne.
He nodded. "It shouldn't take too long hopefully."
Tapping the staff on the ground, the dark blue portal manifested in front of him. Without hesitating, he stepped in and disappeared from Asgard once again.
"I honestly thought that would take longer." Thor commented.
"All that means is that you're free for the day. Come along, we must plan my official inauguration." Hela ordered.
Both men sighed to themselves, suddenly wishing that they had followed the blond. Stark was likely busy doing something and Cap was somewhere in Africa recruiting. No matter how many different plans Thor went through in his mind, he couldn't think of anything that would get him out of this.
Nidavellir
When naruto stepped out of the portal, the first thing he noticed was that the area was damn near in ruin. Most of the tools the dwarves used to create their weapons and materials were nothing more than scrap metal bunched together.
The blond scanned the area, taking note of anything that might give him a hint as to what had gone down. There was no smoke or debris in the air making it clear that whatever happened had transpired long ago.
Walking further into the absurdly large work area, he carefully stepped around a large mallet and continued on. The feeling around him was eerie, it almost felt as though he were being watched even though he knew no one was within a hundred feet of him. After a few minutes of walking, a sound finally reached his ear.
Rustling, as if someone were searching through rubble. Being careful not to make any noise, he tightened his grip on the staff and prepared himself. If Thanos was here he would put him down swiftly.
Coming up on where the noise was coming from, Naruto lowered the staff when he realized it was one of the blacksmiths. From what he could see from his position behind the man, he was in rough but manageable shape.
Taking an extra step, he let his footsteps resonate through the almost silent environment. As expected the man turned around in surprise at his sudden appearance and got into a defensive position. Naruto could see the man's eyes eyeing the staff as well as his posture looking for any holes in his defenses.
Naruto was slightly impressed at the man's tenacity. He was definitely hungry, tired, and partially beaten but still ready to hold his ground.
Raising his hands up in a peaceful manner, he paused his stride.
"Relax. I'm not here to cause you any harm." He said slowly.
"Who are you?!" The dwarf demanded.
"A friend. I was hoping you would be able to create a new staff for me but It seems that's not possible at the moment." Naruto replied carefully.
The dwarf scoffed but didn't drop his guard. "It's impossible. Everything has been destroyed by the mad titan." The man said, his tone becoming somber at the thought of his fallen comrades. "I thought if we did as he asked and built him the gauntlet he would leave us alone but…"
Naruto's hand clenched at the thought. He could see clearly how that exchange must have gone down. With the gauntlet and an infinity stone, power no less, it would've been impossible to stop him.
"Thanos won't stop here…" Naruto began. "The mad titan is on a quest to gather the remaining stones. I'm sure you can imagine what will happen if he achieves this. The gauntlet you built, it's capable of withstanding all six stones, yes?"
"It is. It was made from the finest metal in the universe. We have more but without our power source, it's impossible to get the furnace going to melt it."
Naruto glanced at the large furnace with a curious look on his face. Next to it we're large silver bricks of what he knew to be the metal he needed for his staff.
"If I could get things working, could you make a staff for me? I'm going to use it to kill Thanos." He admitted casually.
The dwarf looked up at the blond with shock and disbelief written across his face. "You don't understand. Thanos is a monster, he kills anything in his way with overwhelming force. And he's got an army, going against him is suicide."
Naruto smiled at the declaration and shook his head. "I think you'll find that it's suicide to try something against me at the moment."
Slowly he allowed the two stones to be seen as well as forcing the medallion to open so that the dark green stone could shine brightly. The dwarf's eyes almost bugged out as he realized what was in front of him. Thanos had been unstoppable with a single stone, to see someone brandishing three was almost enough to send him into a panic.
"I need a new staff that can contain the stones at full power. It's safe to say I have four at the moment but that also means Thanos will eventually come for me. If he gets them it's over for everyone."
"So you want me to put my faith in you that you're different? How can I trust your word?" The dwarf asked.
"You can't. But I can offer you a token of good faith." Naruto said as he slammed the base of his staff into the ground. A red veil glided across the area and within a matter of seconds, Nidavellir was back to its former glory.
"I can't bring back everyone, but I can at least give you this back." He said sincerely. The star that had served as the main force for their forge glowed brightly. Bursts of energy flew from its surface as the power the dying star contained continued to make itself known.
The man walked up to his tools and gently took hold of them as if he couldn't believe everything had just been restored. "If you can do this, why can't you create your own weapon? The reality stone should be able to make it happen."
Naruto nodded. That was true.
"Because I'm not sure if it'll be powerful enough to contain the power of all six stones. I can make a staff with no problem, but making sure it can hold up is the issue. I'd rather be certain."
"I see, and you're certain you can kill Thanos?" The man asked once more.
Another nod was his answer.
"Then let us begin." He announced. "Can you make the staff you want? If it's multiple pieces I need them done individually to make the casts."
Naruto easily made the main section of the staff along with the six smaller pieces that would decorate it. The dwarf carefully inspected the pieces while muttering to himself and making notes off to the side.
The man hit a switch and the large rings that circled the star began to move until they all lined up. Three separate holes aimed directly at the star.
Naruto shielded his eyes from the light as a thick beam shot out from the star and traveled down the path created by the rings into a large pit that was settled underneath the furnace.
Three bricks of Uru metal were prepared and soon, the furnace took on a bright orange shine. The silvery metal glowed in a way that Naruto couldn't help but admire. He'd never gotten a weapon forged for himself by Odin or the Asgardians. It was a pretty surreal experience.
The process of melting the steel took no more than five minutes. Carefully, the blacksmith tilted the large pot of molten metal into the single cast block he'd created.
Naruto ignored the pointed look he got from the dwarf as he all but leaned over his shoulder to watch the metal be poured.
"Do you mind, boy?" The dwarf asked in an irritated fashion.
"Oh. Sorry." He replied before stepping back.
Muttering something to himself, the blacksmith began to break the cast until the silvery metal was exposed. Naruto smiled to himself as he saw the staff emerge. Unlike the one in his hand at the moment, this one wouldn't brandish the stones along the main body. Instead, the stones would be held safely along the small holds built into the six rings that were permanently attached to the top section of the staff.
The blond grabbed the handle of the new staff and inspected every inch of the metal weapon. It felt much more powerful than the one Hela had created. The C shape pattern at the top was gone, replaced with a complete circle with six rings jiggling on it.
Whereas the first staff had been modeled after Madara's when he became the vessel for the ten tails, this one was modeled after Obito when he first became its vessel.
The rings that adorned the top of his new shakujo were modified to have a small section near the bottom meant to house the stones. Placing the staff down, he carefully pried the stones out of the staff before placing them into their new home. It seemed as though they were being pulled in of their own accord. Rather than slam them in, the stones flew into place with little effort.
Removing the medallion around his neck, he destroyed the protective casing with little trouble and gazed at the new stone.
Placing it down, his hand let go of the stone and he watched as it took its place in its casing.
"It is done. It should hold up just fine when you add the three remaining stones." The blacksmith said with an air of pride in his work.
Naruto patted the man on the back and took hold of the new staff, though not before taking in a deep breath. He remembered what it was like after inserting the latest stones and each time was more intense than the last. He had acclimated to the feeling by now but that would surely change with this and the mind stone.
Upon his hand making contact with the staff, the now familiar surge of power began flowing through his body. Like last time the power coursing through him was visible in the form of bright lines flowing up his arms and his body. This time with the added green for the new stone he was incorporating.
His muscles tensed and his jaw clenched as he felt the surge make its way up his neck.
"Ahhhhh!" He groaned out in slight discomfort.
The dwarf watched on in apprehension. Never before had he seen someone take the power of a stone let alone three at once. Just as he was going to ask if he was alright, the colors faded and Naruto was left grinning to himself as if he hadn't done something most would think impossible.
"Wow." Naruto muttered to himself. "That felt more intense than last time, but I'm already used to it."
Glancing back at the dwarf he spoke. "Thank you. I can't bring your people back but I can at least leave your home as it is now."
Bringing them back wasn't an issue, he was sure that with the power of the stones resurrecting the dead would be a cake walk. What kept him from doing so, however, was the consequence for interfering with death's domain. Creating resources once for the universe wouldn't save them from death, it just equaled everything out. If he were to begin bringing the dead back to life, who knows what would happen.
The image of a golden light materializing in front of him popped into his mind. He'd been given this chance because of an entity, what if he took it away? That couldn't be allowed to happen.
"Thank you." The Dwarf replied gratefully. "It would have been better to have my people back but I know when something is out of reach. What will you do now?"
"I'm going to check up on something; gather another stone and then deal with Thanos." Naruto replied in a much too casual manner.
The dwarf stared at him. "Make him suffer."
Once upon a time he would have been against it. He would have simply settled for having a talk with the man until he saw the error of his ways. But years upon years of life here showed him not everyone could be reached with words.
Thanos' beliefs were far too ingrained into his mind to be swayed. Now their two philosophies were at war with one another and death would decide which one was right.
"Your people won't have died for nothing." Naruto told him before creating another portal. Without so much as looking back, he stepped inside and disappeared.
Rather than head back to Asgard, Naruto reappeared in the center of the Avengers HQ. Tony, Peter, and Bruce all quickly got on guard upon seeing him before relaxing their muscles.
"Come on in, the door is open." Stark quipped sarcastically.
"New staff?" Peter asked, taking a closer look. "Love the rings. Makes it stand out more."
Naruto preened at the teens words. The staff was doing its job already.
"Don't they?" He agreed.
Bruce got a closer look but his eyes were more so focused on the metal. It reminded him of Thor's hammer only this one didn't have the scuffs that came with battle. His eyes then moved to Naruto's hand which gripped the staff near the top.
He could easily see the new addition to the blond's stone collection. The Time stone was held firmly in place in the center of its own ring.
"And the Time stone. That's three. When are you going to get the mind stone from Vision?" The scientist asked.
"Once I hear back from cap. Once we have the mind stone we'll just wait for Thanos to come to us. He knows where we are so it'll be a waiting game."
Peter rubbed his chin worriedly. "It's safe to assume he won't come by himself. He probably knows most of the stones are here so he won't risk coming alone."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "He'll have an army with him but so will we. Once he goes down and I take the stones the battle ends."
Tony poured himself a glass of scotch and took a small sip before placing the glass cup down on one of the counters.
"What if he's prepared? He doesn't strike me as the type to do something without thinking it through."
"Excellent question. I'll wing it." He answered simply, smiling at the bewildered looks he'd received. While they might think he was serious, the reality was that he also had a backup plan.
His own power was returning to him at an incredible rate. He already felt stronger now than he did when he fought Thanos using his six paths powers with the space stone.
Using the power of four stones combined with a higher output of his six paths abilities would put him on an entirely new level than before. He was never one to feel cocky but at the moment he couldn't help but savor the feeling.
"You'll wing it?" Stark asked slowly. "I'm sorry I must have misheard you."
"Nope. I'll wing it. I've made it this far. I'm pretty sure we'll be alright."
Tony looked ready to retort but stopped when his phone began to ring. The man pulled it out of his pocket and Naruto noticed that it wasn't the same phone as last time. This one looked far less advanced, and seemed to be folded in half.
Tony sighed and took the call, placing the phone up to his ear.
"Cap." Naruto heard the man say. "Uh-huh. Right. No. Well we have a universe threatening madman on the loose, Thor's brother in law here with three stones, oh and he said he'll wing how he deals with Thanos."
"Is he always like this?" Naruto asked Peter.
"Kinda. Yeah." The boy replied. "Would it be possible to make some chocolate or something? I haven't eaten and my stomach is starting to make some pretty loud noises." He requested
Naruto shrugged and pointed the staff at one of Peter's hands. Out of thin air a five pound brick of chocolate materialized in the boy's palm.
"There you go."
"Thanks." Peter grumbled. What was he supposed to do with five pounds? How was he supposed to take a bite? The brick was bigger than his mouth could open and felt more solid than stone.
"It's for you." Tony interrupted, holding the phone toward Naruto.
At least this time he wouldn't have to deal with a jealous Hela.
"Hey Cap." Naruto answered happily.
"Naruto. I heard we have three stones now. That puts me a bit at ease." The man admitted.
"Yup. I even have a plan for Vision. When do you think we can take care of that?"
"Can you come by now? The troops aren't fully prepared yet but so long as Thanos isn't here I see no better time. What's the plan?"
"Have Vision send off a few powerful bursts of power from the stone. I should be able to sense it even from here and I'll go to you. I'll explain everything once I'm there." He finished.
"Sounds good. Oh…don't bring Loki if you bring company." Captain America added hastily.
Loki was pleasant company in Naruto's opinion. The man knew how to liven things up even in tense situations. That and the fact that both of them enjoyed the occasional prank here and there put him pretty high up in his books. People who knew how to relax and not take things too seriously were among his favorites.
"Fine, fine…." He replied into the phone. "I'll be quick about it so I won't be taking anyone. I'll see you soon."
Figuring that closing the phone would end the call, he folded it and handed it back to its owner who looked a bit put off by the whole thing. It was then that he remembered that their group had some sort of civil war and were seemingly on bad terms. They would have to get over it soon. If anything went wrong and Thanos somehow won, they wouldn't be alive to hold that grudge.
Knowing that Vision was somewhere else on the planet, he would need to extend his senses. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and exhaled calmly. Those watching focused their attention to the orange tint that had begun to appear on his eyes. Seconds later they were once again surprised to see that instead of blue eyes, a pair of toad-like eyes stared back at them.
"What the hell…" Peter mumbled. "What is that?"
"This?" Naruto asked, pointing to his eyes. "Something to help me sense the stone a little better. Vision is somewhere in Africa after all." He replied as if it were the most obvious thing.
Extending his senses as far as he could, he waited. Sage mode didn't feel quite the same as it did back home or even on Asgard. The planet was tainted and the natural energy that he did manage to collect felt like a much less potent version of what he usually got. Still, he was able to make it work.
He could feel most of the people walking about for miles almost to the point that he knew exactly what foot they were currently taking a step with. Needless to say mastery over sage mode was something of an understatement. As he tried to extend further, he felt it. A small pulse followed by another and then one more. That was it.
"Excuse me everyone. I'll be back soon. If everything goes well, we'll have stone number four on our side." With another tap of the staff, the blue portal opened up and he was once again gone.
"For someone with that much power he's one of the more normal aliens we've encountered." Bruce commented.
Tony scoffed. "Normal? The guy is friends with Loki of all people. No normal person would willingly hang around that guy."
"Are you still upset that he threw you out of the window of your house?" Peter asked.
"That was a lot of property damage. Do you know how expensive some of the pieces I had were?" Tony shot back.
Both Peter and Bruce rolled their eyes at the man's words. He spent more on the Iron Man suits than he did on anything else. Money was no issue to him.
xxxxxx
Stepping out of the portal, Naruto was greeted to the sight of Captain America and his crew staring at him, or rather, the staff with curious gazes. The blond noticed there was another man among them, this one with a darker skin complexion but the man carried himself well. His head was held high and his clothing gave off the vibe that he was royalty. The added guards that stood behind him added to the effect.
"Naruto." Steve greeted. "Good to see you again."
"Likewise. I assume this is the person you were counting on for help?" He asked, turning to look directly at the man.
"That's right. I'd like you to meet King T'challa, the current ruler of Wakanda."
Naruto nodded and held a hand out which the King took instantly. The man's grip was firm and his gaze never strayed from Naruto's eyes. The blond was impressed.
"A pleasure. Why don't we speak elsewhere about the situation with Vision." The man proposed.
"Lead the way."
Two more guards entered the room and Naruto smiled to himself. A display of force even though it wouldn't really amount to anything. He was sure Steve had told the man he was on their side but it seemed he wouldn't take any chances just yet. That was fine, as long as they got the stone out of Vision's head, he didn't care how many people they brought.
They would need to do this quickly though, he knew he'd never hear the end of if from Hela if he wasn't present for her inauguration.