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Naruto stood.
The room seemed to tense with him. His hoodie shifted as golden energy rippled faintly from his sleeves, subtle but building. Like a storm rolling in.
Kurama's voice coiled low in his chest, rough and certain.
"If we wait, we're giving them the upper hand. Time to move."
Naruto nodded once. Quiet. Absolute. Like the decision had already been made, and reality was just catching up.
Fury stepped forward, snapping the tension. "Then here's how we do it."
He pointed to Naruto.
"You take Ares. Keep him off the civilians. Keep him off our necks."
Naruto cracked his neck, eyes sharpening. "Fine by me."
Fury's gaze shifted. "Bishop, you've got Hawkeye."
Kate spun an arrow between her fingers and smirked. "The bootleg version? Easy."
"Kamala," Fury said, loading a fresh clip into his sidearm, "Iron Patriot's yours. Hit him fast and don't let up."
Kamala nodded, tightening her gloves. "Guess I'm taking out the tin can."
"Chavez," Fury continued, "you're on evac duty. Port as many civilians as you can to the safety zone. Keep them moving."
America gave a lazy salute, star-light flickering in her palms. "On it. One-way portals only."
Then Valkyrie spoke, calm and thunder-wrapped.
"I will face Amora."
Everyone paused.
Fury didn't argue.
Naruto stepped forward, lips quirking into a crooked grin. "Then we hit them hard and fast. Outside the walls. On the landing deck."
America cracked her knuckles. "Finally. I was getting bored of the planning phase."
Valkyrie turned, cloak flaring behind her like a war banner. "To the Bifrost Circle. Arm yourselves."
Kate rolled her neck, drawing an arrow like she was born doing it. "Gods. Aliens. Corporate knockoffs. Tuesdays suck."
Kamala looked at Naruto. "You good?"
He grinned like someone walking into a thunderstorm barefoot.
"Let's go say hi."
EDGE OF NEW ASGARD.
The barrier let out one final shudder then collapsed in a slow swirl of gold and ash.
Beyond it stood the New Avengers, a mockery of the past.
It was just after six, and the sky above New Asgard was bleeding gold into slate. The sun hovered low on the horizon, caught in the last reluctant stretch of daylight. Shadows stretched long across the fractured plains, and the land once quiet, once sacred now thrummed with the quiet electricity of conflict.
Smoke from the earlier barrier collapse still drifted like mist over the hills, curling around the roots of ancient trees and the edges of rune-carved stone. Every breeze carried tension. Every footstep felt too loud.
And high above, circling in perfect silence, the drones moved like vultures.
Their lenses blinked red against the dying sky, feeding live footage to every screen in the world. The camera angles swayed with wind, trying to keep pace.
And all across Midgard, humanity was watching.
LIVE FEED - GLOBAL BROADCAST
"BREAKING: STANDOFF AT NEW ASGARD"
The headline screamed across every screen from Seoul to São Paulo. Anchors scrambled for context, but the footage told its own story. Raw. Shaky. Grainy from drone compression and battle smoke, but real in a way nothing staged ever could be.
This wasn't a press event.
This was a reckoning.
The feed zoomed through the chaos, catching just enough clarity to lock onto the advancing figures.
Sentry hovered at the highest point, glowing faintly, arms folded like a statue of judgment. He didn't move but just watched. Above it all.
Ares followed below, trailing fire like a comet dragged through the dirt. His armor burned with every step, smoke curling from the joints as if the metal itself was furious. The axe in his hand wasn't just for show, it looked used. And it was eager for blood.
Iron Patriot flanked him, polished and purposeful, his every movement accompanied by the low hum of weapons systems on standby.
The light of his arc reactor glinted across his plated chest, red-white-blue turned cold steel.
And beside them moved Hawkeye hooded, shaded, chewing gum like he was bored at a bus stop instead of standing on the edge of war. His grip on the bow was loose, but the air around him was tight. Compressed and waiting.
The camera panned.
New Asgard's defenders stood their ground.
Valkyrie at the front, Dragonfang in hand, armor catching the last light of dusk like it had been polished by thunder. Her posture was calm, but her grip wasn't loose. She'd drawn blood for less.
Kamala Khan's fists swirled with Noor energy. She bounced on her feet once, twice, breath steady. She didn't look scared. She looked ready.
Kate Bishop stood just behind, arrow already drawn, expression unreadable. That tension in her frame wasn't nervousness, it was math. Angles. Wind. Distance. Precision.
And at the center of them all, Naruto.
The camera found him instantly. Of course it did. His name was already trending before the first blow landed.
"Naruto, the blonde-headed brawler from the Young Avengers. The one who leveled the Wrecking Crew in broad daylight.
The one rumored to have captured and arrested Omega Red and collapsed an entire smuggling ring in Brooklyn without backup!"
He stood in a sleeved black shirt tied with a cloth sash, his arms bare and pale with baggy grey sweats.
There was no hoodie, no armor, and no theatrics.
He didn't raise his fists or pose. But something about him pulled the lens in tighter.
NEWS ANCHOR: "That's Naruto! confirmed member of the Young Avengers. Currently facing down Ares, God of War. We repeat: Naruto is confronting Ares directly. This... is unprecedented."
The camera shook slightly.
Something was happening.
ON THE FIELD OF NEW ASGARD
Ares moved first.
No shout. No pose. Just raw motion which was sudden and terrifying.
The landing zone of New Asgard shuddered under his weight, metal plates rattling against ancient stone. Crates buckled. Ares tore across the open ground like a missile wrapped in bronze muscle, his axe high and gleaming, trailing embers as it cleaved the air.
Naruto's body dipped low, smooth as silk.
His feet skated over the edge of the cracked ground. The axe missed him by inches, carving through a shipping crate and sending shattered plasteel scattering like confetti.
Naruto didn't pause. He twisted around, drove a sharp upward punch into Ares' ribs, lean and fast, like a whip crack.
Boom.
The impact exploded out in a ripple, kicking up dust, knocking a stack of barrels clean off their foundation. For a moment, everything wobbled like the world wasn't sure what just happened.
Ares staggered one step back.
Not in pain. But in recognition.
"Youre stronger than you look.."
Naruto said nothing. His hoodie fluttered in the wind, loose stone crunching under his heel as he shifted, stance tight and eyes cold.
Ares grinned. "Good. I'm glad I can have fun with this"
He came again. Fast. Faster than before. The axe swept in like a comet, carving pressure arcs through the air. Naruto weaved just barely. He twisted beneath a horizontal slash, flipped over a backhand swing, and spun around a vertical cleave, his movement fluid and efficient.
But he wasn't untouched.
The haft of the axe slammed into his shoulder with a CRACK.
He dropped hard, one knee cracking the tarmac. Dust flared around him, the metal under his feet spider webbing with fractures.
Above him, Ares loomed like a mountain crowned with fire, axe spinning slowly in his grip.
"You've got power," he said, almost curious. "But do you have war in you?"
Naruto exhaled through his nose. The breath came out slow and deliberate. He rolled his neck once.
CRACK.
Then stood.
His legs were steady but his hands weren't.
Fingers twitched at his sides. Slight tremors ran through his wrists. Not from pain. Not from fatigue.
Ares saw it and smiled.
"Maybe I misjudged you," the God of War said, voice like grinding metal. "You talk like a warrior. Move like one, too. But I see it now."
He tilted his head, almost gently.
"That fear in your hands."
He raised the axe, muscles flexing, flames licking up the shaft like a living thing.
"So I'll make this quick."
And he struck.
No tricks. No windup. Just a clean, vertical execution of an overhead arc with enough force to split the sky in two. The axe came down like a god's judgment, dragging flame and fury behind it.
Naruto didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
Hands opened. Arms rose.
CLAP
He caught the blade between his palms.
The world stopped.
The landing zone detonated with pressure, wind screaming outward in concentric waves. Tarmac buckled. The ground shattered. Twin trenches carved themselves beneath Naruto's feet as he was driven back by the force, boots carving stone like skates slicing ice.
His arms shook violently. Shoulders flexed, muscles tight enough to tear if he was a regular human.
But he was mighty and held steadfast.
He didn't fall, nor did he bend or break.
Ares stared helmeted and unmoving.
Naruto looked up and met his fiery eyes.
Not cocky. Not smug. Just calm.
His fingers curled tighter around the axe's edge, the metal groaning like it was about to snap.
"I'm shaking..." Naruto said quietly, voice low and steady.
The corner of his mouth twitched. A flicker of something close to joy.
"...because I'm having the time of my life!"
Ares didn't speak at first.
He stood there, axe caught between the palms of a boy who should've been vaporized.
The wind hissed around them.
Then,
He laughed.
Not the kind of laugh that fills a hall with joy. No. This one was deep. Sharp. A war-drum laugh, echoing in his chest like thunder across a battlefield.
His grin widened beneath the helmet.
"You're mad."
A beat.
"I like that."
The flames around his armor flared, brighter and hotter, licking up toward the sky. The ground beneath his boots blackened.
"But don't mistake thrill for victory."
He yanked at the axe, once hard. Testing Naruto's iron grip.
"You're not the only one who loves the fight, boy!"
His voice dropped, a growl laced with reverence.
"But I was born in it."
Their grips held for a breathless second as Naruto's palms locked tight around the blade of Ares' axe, heat and pressure screaming between them.
Naruto's feet carved twin grooves in the tarmac, resisting. Sparks flew from the friction, energy rippling around them in waves. For a moment, it looked like he might hold it.
Then Ares roared, shoulders twisting, wings of fire flaring behind him and ripped the axe free with brute, godlike strength.
The momentum forced Naruto off balance. He pivoted, shifted his weight and then vaulted backward in a single fluid motion, flipping once midair before landing hard.
His sneakers skidded across the broken tarmac as he slid to a stop, low and crouched, blonde hair fluttering in the wind.
For a beat, everything held.
Then he looked down.
A fresh cut marked a diagonal line just beneath his collar bone, shallow, but sharp. A gift from the axe's edge during the scuffle. Blood welled briefly, then faded with a hiss.
The wound closed itself, smooth and silent, as if rewinding reality by a few seconds.
Naruto exhaled through his nose. Rolled his shoulder, testing the joint.
"Close," he muttered.
Ares tilted his head, intrigued.
Naruto straightened.
He shifted his weight and eased into position, feet spaced just so, one hand extended forward, fingers loose and open. The other arm curled behind his back in a calm, deliberate motion.
The stance was sharp. Mocking and daring Ares to charge forward.
The grin that followed was crooked and confident.
"Wanna try that again?"
LIVE FEED
The chat exploded:
fightfan101: IS THAT BOY BLOCKING ARES AXE WITH HIS BARE HANDS?
goddesssimp99: That's just raw power.
asgardianbloodline: He's holding his own. Against Ares THE GOD OF WAR. WHO IS THIS GUY?
The wind danced around the combatants, catching the edges of torn cloth and streaks of ash still falling like rain.
Ares stood still for a moment, breathing heavier than before, fire licking at his shoulders.
Then with a slow, deliberate motion he reached up and removed his helmet.
The metal scraped as it came free, steam rising from the edge where it sealed against his skin.
He let it fall.
It hit the ground like a war drum, echoing through the field.
His face, now fully visible, was sharp with old scars and fury. Eyes the color of molten bronze narrowed as he studied Naruto again no longer with contempt.
But with focus.
"You think catching my blade makes you strong?" he said, voice deeper now. Stripped of ceremony. Raw.
"It doesn't."
Then he turned and drove his axe into the earth like he was ending a chapter.
CLANG.
The weapon sank deep, flames crawling down its haft as it locked into the cracked tarmac like it had always belonged there.
Ares rolled his shoulders and flexed his fists.
"I'm the God of War," he said, stepping forward. "And war isn't just fire and steel.."
He raised his hands bare-knuckled and ready.
"It's blood. Bone. Hand to hand."
Naruto's grin curved wider. "Now we're talking."
Ares charged.
No weapons. No holding back.
They met in the center of the landing zone with the sound of thunder being punched in the chest. Dust exploded around them.
Fire bloomed in the sky behind Ares as their fists collided, Naruto's speed matching divine precision beat for beat.
They didn't move like men. They moved like forces of nature.
Ares struck with the fury of countless wars. Naruto weaved and countered, low and fast, trading blows like he'd been born on a battlefield.
On the ridge, Fury stood with arms folded, watching every frame.
"He's holding his own," he muttered.
Valkyrie didn't take her eyes off the fight.
"For now," she said. "But Ares is just getting started."
Author's Note: If you're enjoying the story and want to support my work (and get early access to advanced chapters), head over to Patreon and search for banmido.
Thank you for reading. It truly means a lot.