The knowledge of so many deaths crushed him.
Naruto had seen death before.
He had watched friends, comrades, and innocents fall in battle. He had known that Konoha had been reduced to nothing in the world he left behind.
But those?
Those were events beyond his control.
This time…
This time, he was here.
And he had missed it.
The numbers weren't just high—they were beyond comprehension. Before coming to this world, Naruto had never even seen a city with a million people. And now, millions had died.
And the worst part?
If he had just paid closer attention…
If he had just looked for crime everywhere more carefully…
Maybe—just maybe—he could have stopped it sooner.
But life didn't allow regrets.
He knew it wasn't his fault. He knew that even better heroes, those who had lived in this world far longer than him, had failed to notice it too.
And yet…
The traitorous whispers in his heart wouldn't listen.
A simple "if" was enough to make his mind spiral.
But he couldn't afford to drown in guilt.
No more.
He clenched his fists.
He would face this pain, bear this weight—and never allow it to happen again.
The tension in the Watchtower was palpable.
A room filled with some of the greatest minds and most powerful beings on the planet, and yet... no one had a solution.
Naruto sat at the round table with the other League members, his arms crossed as he listened to the discussions around him. The weight of their failure—of millions dead, of millions more possibly lost—hung over them like an inescapable storm cloud.
The worst part?
They weren't just reacting anymore. They were caught in a game of cat and mouse—except this time, the enemy wasn't making mistakes.
He was too careful.
Too hidden.
Too smart.
And worst of all…
The damage he caused was irreversible.
Crucifier had already begun spreading his influence. There was no cure for vampirism, no way to undo what had been done. Even if they found him tomorrow, the suffering wouldn't end overnight.
And that meant they had two massive problems.
They had to find Crucifier. Fast. He was careful, avoiding the spotlight, but moving far too quickly for comfort. They had to hunt him down before it was too late.
There was no cure.
No way to save those who had been turned.
Cyborg sighed, his mechanical fingers tapping against the table in thought.
"The only thing we can do is increase security measures and hope we can find Crucifier," he finally said.
"He can transform," Flash reminded them, voice grim.
"That's all we have left," Clark agreed, his hands clenched into fists. His frustration was evident—this was a situation where all his strength meant nothing. His heat vision, his super-speed, his ability to move planets—none of it helped.
And knowing how many had already died only made it worse.
"For now, let's do what we can instead of worrying pointlessly," Batman interrupted, his voice sharp and firm. The Dark Knight wasn't one to wallow in despair—he demanded solutions.
"Take some of the vampires to Veritas. Maybe she can figure something out."
Naruto nodded. He had already stored hundreds of vampires inside the Watchtower—prison wasn't an option for them. Unlike normal criminals, they weren't choosing to be predators. If they were thrown into a prison with normal criminals, it would be a massacre.
A feeding frenzy.
They needed an alternative.
"Superman," Batman continued, "for now, we'll use your Fortress of Solitude as a holding facility for them."
Clark hesitated, but ultimately nodded.
Shazam, the youngest among them, looked down at his hands, struggling to wrap his mind around the problem. "Is there actually a way to undo genetic transformation?" he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"We can only keep trying," Batman replied, his tone cool and pragmatic. "The other option is banishment."
Naruto stiffened.
Banishment.
Throwing them away.
Like they were trash.
Like they weren't people anymore.
It made him sick.
"Even if we can't cure them… why don't we find a way for them to live without hunting humans?" Naruto blurted out, his voice cutting through the room. He hesitated for only a moment before continuing, "We should at least try solving their blood dependency problem first before deciding to exile them."
Silence.
For a brief moment, no one said anything.
Then, the debate exploded.
Some agreed with Naruto's idea, others weren't so sure. Even if they could solve the blood dependency, could they trust the vampires not to hunt humans?
Could they be trusted at all?
They were predators. That was a fact.
And humanity wouldn't be so forgiving.
If they let vampires exist freely, it would lead to panic. Fear could cause a global witch hunt—people would start attacking anyone they suspected of being a vampire, guilty or not.
But banishment was just as bad.
They'd be exiling people who had committed no crimes—people who had been turned against their will.
Millions of people, thrown away.
The chaos would be immense. Governments would collapse trying to manage the sheer number of removals. Entire industries would crumble if people from high positions were suddenly outed and exiled.
And that wasn't even the worst possibility.
If they couldn't cure vampirism…
If they couldn't control the spread…
Then the millions who had already died… might just be an appetizer.
The door to Veritas' lab closed behind him with a soft hiss, but Naruto barely noticed. His mind was elsewhere—buried under the weight of too many problems and too few solutions.
He stared at the metallic surface, lost in thought.
"I understand, and I will support your mind."
A familiar voice.
Naruto turned slightly as Raven stepped forward, her dark cloak billowing slightly from the movement. Her expression was calm, yet there was something gentle in her gaze.
"Thanks," he said, exhaling slowly. "And… I'm sorry that you have to see me like this."
Naruto wasn't one to show pain. Not openly.
Not when people depended on him.
But this time…
This time, it was unavoidable.
He was about to do something risky.
Using one thousand clones for a complex task was a gamble—one that could easily cost him his mind.
His memories.
Naruto had always known the dangers of his Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. It was his greatest strength, but also his greatest weakness. The memories transferred from too many clones at once could overwhelm even his advanced healing.
He had learned that lesson the hard way.
Last time, he had been too confident, trusting his healing factor to protect him. Instead, it had failed him. His childhood memories had become hazy, blurred at the edges—things he had once remembered so clearly now felt like distant echoes.
If it hadn't been for Raven…
If she hadn't stabilized his soul, grounding him before the damage could fully set in…
He might have lost himself completely.
It was a terrifying thought.
A shinobi's personality—his very being—was shaped by his experiences. If he lost enough of them…
Who would he even become?
"Naruto, don't worry this time. I am ready."
Kurama's deep voice rumbled through his mind, steady and reassuring. The fox was never the type for empty words.
"I won't let anything happen to your mind and soul."
Naruto let out a breath, feeling the tension ease—just a little.
"I know."
But it was Raven's voice that pulled him fully back to the present.
"I don't like it when you're not smiling."
He blinked as her fingers gently pressed against his cheeks, tilting his head up so that their eyes met. Her violet irises shone with quiet concern, her touch grounding him in reality.
It was… unexpected.
Not just the words—but the feeling behind them.
For a moment, Naruto was caught completely off guard.
"Ah… okay," he muttered awkwardly.
The words felt strange coming from her. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Wasn't that something he was supposed to say to a girl?
His mind flickered back to Kara.
He had said something similar to her once.
Funny how things always came back home.
Naruto let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.
"I'm just thinking too much—making a mess of my head," he admitted.
"Acting is my way of doing things."
Raven didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her hands remained on his face for a second longer before she pulled away, stepping back.
And just like that—his focus returned.
Naruto took a deep breath, exhaled, and sat down in a meditative position.
He focused.
Not just on his thoughts, but on the space around him—the endless, shifting void that stretched beyond what most people could even perceive.
This was it.
A gamble.
But he had no choice.
If he wanted answers—if he wanted to make sure they never reached this point again—
He had to risk everything.
The cold vacuum of space held no warmth, no comfort—only the silent, watchful gaze of a thousand pairs of Naruto's eyes.
His clones spread across the planet, sweeping every city, every alley, every shadow for any sign of Crucifer. Their senses, honed to their limits, stretched beyond what was humanly possible.
Yet—
Nothing.
The search came up empty.
Again.
And again.
Naruto refused to accept it. He pushed his clones harder, faster, deeper—until the whole world had been scanned eight times over.
And still—
Nothing.
Crucifer had retreated, taking his army of vampires with him. No more hunts, no more massacres.
But the cost of this failure was devastating.
Naruto's head was breaking apart.
The pain was unbearable. It wasn't just exhaustion—it was overload. The sheer amount of information flooding back into his mind was too much, too fast.
Even his healing factor couldn't keep up.
Blood dripped from his eyes.
From his nose.
Then—
Darkness.
When Naruto woke up, the first thing he felt wasn't pain.
It was grief.
Not his own.
His mother's.
His family's.
Kushina stood over him, her face pale, her red hair a mess, and her eyes swollen from crying.
She hadn't slept.
She hadn't stopped crying.
And when he finally met her gaze, her hand lashed out—a hard slap across his cheek.
Her delicate hand trembled, but her voice was fierce, broken, and filled with agony.
"Never… do this again… or I will kill myself."
The words hit harder than the slap.
Naruto's breath caught in his throat as pure horror spread through his mind.
"Mom…"
He looked around the room.
Raven stood strong as always, but he could feel it—her emotions were off-balance, unstable.
Kara wouldn't even look at him. Her anger, disappointment, and sadness were a storm threatening to burst.
Impulse was just… sad. He had seen too much already, and now things were spiraling into chaos.
Heroes were disappearing.
Villains, too.
Even the United States wasn't safe.
Robin and Black Canary—captured.
Jaime and Lagoon Boy—worried, frustrated, helpless.
Even Veritas had cried for him.
Naruto could feel her confusion.
She had never experienced these kinds of emotions before.
And it was all because of him.
He had hurt them.
He should have stopped when the first search failed. But he didn't.
He had pushed forward, ignoring the risk, because the thought of millions more dying or turning into monsters had been unbearable.
But in doing so—he had nearly lost himself.
Holding Kushina's trembling hand, Naruto opened his mouth—then closed it.
His throat felt dry.
His head ached with the weight of his guilt.
Finally, he lowered his head.
"Never utter those words again… or I will lock you up so that nothing wrong will happen to you."
His voice was firm, but shaking.
"I promise I won't do something like this again. I'm sorry for hurting all of you. Please… forgive me."
Silence.
Then, without warning—
Kara crashed into him.
Her arms wrapped around him in a crushing hug, her heat radiating through him as she pressed her forehead to his.
"You idiot. You blonde bastard. If you do this again, I will burn ramen all across the globe and punch your teeth out before locking you in my fortress so you can never escape."
Her words were harsh, but her embrace was desperate.
Naruto barely had time to react before Veritas wrapped her arms around him from behind.
She said nothing.
She didn't have to.
Her emotions screamed everything.
Adoration.
Care.
Happiness.
Worry.
Desire.
Naruto let out a breath, sinking into their warmth, his exhaustion finally catching up to him.
But then—
"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you."
Raven.
She turned away, her voice controlled, but heavy.
Naruto's body was still weak, but his chakra wasn't.
He caught her wrist before she could step away.
"That's nonsense, and you know it," he said, his tone gentle but firm.
"I would have died without your help. Kurama is still learning about this field—he wouldn't have been able to stop my brain from exploding."
"This isn't your fault. It's mine."
Raven's eyes flickered with something unreadable, but she nodded.
Yet Naruto could tell.
She wasn't pacified.
'I will talk to you alone,' she said in his mind, her voice sharp. 'And I am not leaving until you stop taking responsibility for this blunder.'
Naruto smirked tiredly.
'I'm closing my room today.'
'That has never stopped me before.'
Raven's lips twitched. He had her.
But she didn't argue.
Instead, she simply turned back to the others.
"Keep him in bed today. His head still isn't operating normally."
And with that, she walked away.
Naruto sighed, his body finally sinking into the bed as the others began to leave, some still scolding him, some still worried, but all of them…
Still here.
Still caring.
Still his family.
Naruto closed his eyes.
He had a lot to make up for.
But first—
He needed to rest.
Naruto had barely processed what happened before exhaustion dragged him into unconsciousness.
He didn't even realize that Robin and Black Canary had been captured.
The problem was the vampires themselves.
They weren't acting out of malice.
To them, this wasn't evil.
They genuinely believed that turning others into one of them was a gift. A blessing.
Hunting? That wasn't an atrocity to them—it was normal.
Would a human consider hunting for food an evil act?
No.
And that was why—
Naruto never sensed their evil.
Because to them, they weren't doing anything wrong.
The revelation was frustrating. It meant his instincts, his sensory abilities—everything he relied on to track threats—had failed him.
And now, two of their own were gone.
Captured.
The women refused to let him move.
Even if Naruto wanted to argue, his body wasn't listening.
His mind was sluggish.
The past two days had been spent without sleep, and his brain had nearly melted from the overload. If not for Raven and Kurama helping him stabilize, he wouldn't have woken up at all.
"It would be wise to think of a way to cancel the connection with the clones."
Kurama's tired voice echoed in Naruto's mind as he slowly drifted off.
Naruto silently agreed.
He needed to figure out a way to prevent the clones from feeding memories back to him in certain situations.
Because if something like this happened again…
It could kill him.
As Naruto fell into a deep sleep, Veritas stayed by his side.
She didn't move.
Didn't speak.
She simply curled next to him, watching his slow, even breathing until finally—her own exhaustion claimed her.
Kushina, too, never left.
She lay beside him, her grip on his arm gentle but firm, as if afraid that if she let go, he would disappear.
Kara didn't speak.
Didn't complain about Veritas being there.
She hated how openly Veritas flirted with Naruto—but this time, she said nothing.
Because the older woman had shown real care.
She had broken down when Naruto collapsed.
And Kara…
She understood that feeling all too well.
Placing a hand over her chest, Kara felt a sharp ache.
I almost lost him.
Her eyes softened as she watched the trio on the bed.
She didn't wake them.
Didn't disturb the moment.
Instead, she hovered over Naruto and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"Hope you have good dreams."
Then, without another word, she turned and flew away.
There was work to finish.
Naruto had started this fight.
Now, it was her turn.