Mount Olympus trembled—not from thunder or war, but from silence. The gods were arguing. Again. Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, and the others stood in a half-circle around the hearth of the council chamber. Heated voices collided, emotions high.
"He was a child! One of ours!" Hades roared, his shadows flaring with rage.
"He was your child," Hera snapped. "You knew the laws. No child of the Big Three—"
"Enough!" Zeus's voice cracked like lightning.
Before the argument could flare again, a swirl of iridescent light shimmered in the air before them. The goddess Iris stepped forward, her face pale, solemn.
"I bring the final Iris Message from Naruto," she said, her voice heavy with grief. "He sent this to all gods and demigods. There won't be another."
Without another word, she waved her hand, and the image blossomed into color.
---
The Iris Message begins.
Naruto Uzumaki—16, golden-haired, cooler than any storm or fire—was kneeling at the base of Thalia's Tree. His tattered orange cloak fluttered in the breeze, his sword stabbed into the earth beside him.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the tree. "But this is the only way. I don't want to leave. But I won't let them take this place... not you."
The screen faded to the battlefield.
Camp Half-Blood was under siege. Monsters, rogue demigods—two thousand strong—marched like a living storm toward the heart of the camp.
And Naruto stood alone.
He charged.
The gods watched in stunned silence as Naruto cut through enemies like a tempest of blades and chakra. Shadows danced around him. His father's legacy.
Every stab he took, every cut he endured—he didn't fall. When a blade pierced his side, he snarled. When a spear skewered his shoulder, he ripped it out. He bled, but never yielded.
Ares leaned forward. "That kid... he's still standing?"
"Fighting," whispered Hephaestus. "He's still fighting."
Down on the hill, Naruto screamed a battle cry that split the skies.
Then the scene changed.
Half-Blood Hill. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover arrived with the Golden Fleece. They froze.
Naruto stood at the top of the hill, swords impaled through his back, sides, arms—like a living pincushion—but still holding his blade. Nine hundred enemies surrounded him.
"GO!" he shouted hoarsely.
"But—!" Percy began.
"PUT THE FLEECE ON THE TREE!!" Naruto roared, voice like thunder, eyes blazing.
They obeyed.
The moment the fleece touched the bark, golden light erupted. Leaves shimmered, and slowly, a body fell out of the tree.
Thalia Grace. Alive.
Gasping. Staring.
"Naruto?" she whispered.
He turned, eyes locking with hers. Blood streaming down his face. And he smiled.
From behind him, monsters howled.
"Hurry! Kill them now!"
Naruto turned back, panting, legs shaking. He looked to the sky—looked through the Iris Message—his expression raw and desperate.
"I wanted more time," he said.
The gods leaned in, breathless.
"I wanted to stay with them longer. I wanted... to protect them..."
His voice broke.
"I didn't want to die this way."
A wave of black energy exploded from him, hurling the front line of monsters backward. His golden eyes turned dark—but he stood. Silent. Still.
A monster crept forward—testing fate.
It lost its head.
Naruto did not fall.
---
The message ended.
Silence.
Apollo was the first to speak. "He... he should be dead."
Athena stepped forward, voice reverent. "He is. His body has perished. But his soul—his love, his desire to protect—anchors him."
"Like a guardian spirit," murmured Artemis.
"No," Athena said softly. "Like a promise. Anyone who approaches Camp Half-Blood with malice in their heart… will find Naruto there. Still standing. Still ready."
Hades looked away, his face hidden in shadows. A single tear slid down his cheek.
---
Back at Camp Half-Blood, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia stood on the hill.
Thalia wept, staring at Naruto—still unmoving, still facing the battlefield.
"I didn't even get to say thank you," she whispered.
Annabeth clutched Percy's hand, her voice breaking. "He saved all of us."
And Percy, voice raw, simply said, "He was the best of us."
Above them, the wind carried Naruto's final words, faint as an echo.
"I didn't want to die this way…"
But still—
He stood.