Injustice Book 2: Darkness in the Light (Naruto + Young Justice Crossover)

Chapter CXIX - Chosen

"Normal Speech."

'Normal Thought.'

"Demon Speech."

'Demon Thought.'

"Other Speech variants."

Location/Time.

-X- Line Break -X-

Saturday 1st February 2014, 14:30.

Ninth Circle,

Lake Cocytus.

His heart was pounding loudly in his chest.

Blood rushed throughout his body.

Sweat glistened off his body.

Muscles contracting tightly.

Mind sharp and focused as he studied everything around him.

There was only one time in his life that Naruto had felt like this, only one time in all the battles he had fought that he had been this focused. Where he could feel every muscle in his body working in perfect unison with one another. Where his mind was so sharp, everything around him clear and open, all moving in slow motion.

It was that time when he had been ambushed by Talon and his team, Dove's death fresh on his mind and consciousness, rage and desire for revenge fueled his actions. It was in that moment of near-death that Naruto stepped into the realm of the truly great fighters.

Guys like Batman, Deathstroke and Talon, they were each incredibly skilled. All of them standing as some of the most skilled and deadly fighters to ever exist; period. That was a fact that no one could deny nor argue against. Yet what truly made them great fighters was not the endless hours of training, not the weapons at their disposal or the skills and experiences they had accumulated over the years.

Did they contribute massively? Yes, they did and anyone who said otherwise was a liar.

Yet by that logic, Naruto should arguably stand not only on equal ground to them but above them. His powers should make any conflict an easy victory, but they didn't and wouldn't. Curiosity had gotten the better of him many times when training with the team, a question of what advantage his powers would give him over those like Batman, those without powers.

After seeing Black Canary hand Superboy his ass on a silver platter day in and day out. Naruto asked for a chance to go up against her, he lost, and it wasn't even close.

So, the question was; why?

Why was it that despite everything Naruto had accomplished, everything he had gained and learned, why couldn't he match them? And the answer was a simple act of the principle of mental state.

The Peak Performance Zone or more commonly referred to as the Zone was a state in which someone became completely immersed in the act itself. Everything around it was tuned out, no fear, no doubt, no worry. Without those things weighing an athlete down they could truly shine and show what they were really capable of.

It was in moments like these that athletes have described the world around them seemingly slowing down, their minds working in overdrive to process all the information around them at a speed as of yet, inexperienced. Other athletes described the ability to control their entire bodies actions, their running form, power output, techniques and so on as being flawless.

Yet, it was not a Zone anyone could reach nor could achieve consistently.

Every elite level athlete will have experienced a phenomenon like this at least once in their life. Yet some people may have never experienced a moment like this in their lives. Even those that could and had achieved this state, couldn't do so every time they went into a game and despite taking steps to try and recreate this, it didn't always end up in success.